R9: Team #10 ~ Divas of Organized Destruction

[Steph, Serious series addict]

:) I hope you enjoy it. I'm reading #2 now.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Yes, I noticed you've actually finished #2 :)

[A book away from an episode of hoarders]

I'm nearly done with this weeks book. It's a little slower going than I'd like. There are a lot of descriptions of the interiors of antebellum homes and civil war history but, there are enough good things about it to keep me going.

[A book away from an episode of hoarders]

Headless H/h:
Date Read: 07-22-2014
Rating: ★★★
Review:

51 year old divorced Trinket Truevine moved back home to Mississippi in order to “take care” of her elderly parents. However, they’re acting like newlyweds again and don’t actually need any taking care of. Her best friend Bitty, is a dramatic southern belle and they are a lot of fun together. Then there are the Divas, an over 30 but under 70 group of ladies who love wine, chocolate and strippers. Personally, I’d love to be one of the Divas. : :)

The trouble starts when an old mule eats a pot of chicken and dumplings on the porch of the Cedars, a historical home where an elderly Mr. Sanders lives. Bitty is trying to woo the gentlemen (used in the loosest sense of the word) into putting the home on the historic registry. Before you know it, Bitty’s fourth ex-husband, the senator, is dead in old man Sander’s foyer and Sanders is missing. Then the senator is missing.

What follows is what I could only describe as shenanigans as Bitty, Trinket and the Divas do the dumbest things you could imagine and the corpse of Bitty’s ex keeps disappearing and reappearing. The cops are involved, finally, and Bitty is implicated in the murder. If the author had cut out about 100 pages of description of the homes and their interior, I think this would be a fun little book. There is a lot of civil war history interweaved in the story, which I believe was necessary but a tad wordier than actually needed. However, I liked it well enough to read another in the series if nothing else to see what kind of mess the Divas get into next.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Sandra wrote: "Yes, I noticed you've actually finished #2 :)"

I liked #2, but not as much as the first. And, I really wanna share a whackadoodle thread in the books, but it'd be spoilery, so I'll skip it. But, I will say, WTH? LOL! :D

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

LOL

[Steph, Serious series addict]

:D

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~]

Week #9

Armed & Ready Shelf: Skin Game by Jim Butcher
Date Read: 21/07/2014
Rating: ★★★★★
Review:
This book was a roller coaster ride for me. Harry Dresden is back (view spoiler)[in the flesh (hide spoiler)] with all the internal commentary and musing that I love. Skin Game bring back fond memories as Michael, Molly, the Deanarians, Karen and a few more are at last reunited in this story. All the choices that Dresden has made in the past come back to haunt him and teach him a lesson in humility.

After 15 (full) books and an inordinate amount of novellas and shorts it's a wonder that Butcher managed to make his world grow, keep it interesting and fresh. Most likely it is in part because the sum of all the recurring characters in this series are cleverly portrayed and more complex than other urban fantasy stories...(Jim Butcher is that awesome and know how to exploit all the grey areas of a person'e character). I especially liked that Harry's moral compass was shaken with the Winter Knight in play.

Parkour!

[Steph, Serious series addict]

:) Glad you liked it!

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~]

Week #10

Headless H/h Shelf: Phantom Shadows by Dianne Duvall
Date Read: 24/07/2014
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
I had put away this series when Ami came into the picture. I'm glad I pick it up again for Sebastien Newcombe's story, the reformed villain from the previous book. I especially liked that the author managed to turn this 'evil' character into a hero. The road for forgiveness is going to be long for him and his vampires minions were a blast.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

That reminds me - I need to continue that series. I've got #4 on-hand and see #5 is due out this fall.

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~]

I went ahead and read 3.5 short and #4. They were quite good and I liked the twist at the end of book 4.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

GTK. I have been listening to the audiobooks and have enjoyed them all - #2 less than #1+3.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

I've got the first 4 books, only read #1, however just went to preorder #5 and BD want AU$13.08 and regular price will be $14.62 for mmp. They obviously don't want anyone buying the pb edition. Kindle is AU$5.23. So I'll have to switch to digital.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

I'd forgotten how much books cost in AU. Definitely not one of the (many) things I miss about living there.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Hi, teammies! Our next shelf is up:
Shelf #11 ~ 'Two's Company' (At least 2 people on the cover.)

I'll post back shortly with my book choice. Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

ETA: For "Two's Company" I'll be reading:

[A book away from an episode of hoarders]

I'm going to read since it's a library book due next week anyway.

I'm having a pretty good weekend myself. I ran the Run or Dye 5k this morning, it's a color run and I was home before noon.

Hope everyone's weekend is fantastic too. :)

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Oooooh, I wanna read that one. I'd forgotten about it when 'red cover' came up. Dangit! Hope you like it.

Wow! WTG! I only run when being chased. I saw a pin the other day that said, "A woman can only run as fast her boobs will allow her" and well, mine don't "allow me" to run fast at.all. LOL! :D

[Desperado]

Armed & Ready:
Date Read: July 26th
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review:

I've been trying to pretend that it's not by the "Katherine Katt" series is firmly in the "filler" category of series for me. I've never had a connection with any of the main characters nor does Koch's humor make me laugh. I thought, hey, this is the book where (view spoiler)[Kitty and Jeff (hide spoiler)] are married, so maybe that'll add some excitement to the series, but it didn't. The addition of Chuckie was amusing but not nearly enough to save this sinking ship. I've tried my best to get interested and stay interested in a series that on paper seems right up my alley. But it's not working and I'm done trying to make it work. I'll keep the next books on my shelf just in case I need them for a challenge but that's as far as it'll go.

[Desperado]

I'm reading for "Two's Company."

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~]

Thanks LL, off to request our stamp for Armed & Ready.

Not entirely sure but I think I'll read

[Rosina]

Not sure what I'll read for twos company.

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~]

Shelves currently in play

Judithe's SOS BookShelf : Bingo R9 Stats

Week #11: 'Two's Company'
(July 27- August 2) (At least 2 people on the cover)
Completed:4/5

Cristina: The Nightmarys by Dan Poblocki,28/07/2014, 3★,review
LethalLovely:London Bound by Nana Malone, 02/08/2014, 2★,review
Rosina: Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge
StephB: Alien Proliferation by Gini Koch, 29/07/2014, 3.5★,review
Valerie:Paul's Pursuit by S.E. Smith, 28/07/2014, 4★,review



Week #10: 'Headless H/h'
(July 20- 26)
Completed:5/5 (Stamp?)

Cristina:Dixie Divas by Virginia Brown, 22/07/2014, 3★,review
LethalLovely: Save Me by L.J. Baker, 03/08/2014, 3★,review
Rosina: Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder, 28/07/2014, 4.5★,review
StephB: Agent I1: Tristan by Joni Hahn, 20/07/2014, 4★,review
Valerie: Phantom Shadows by Dianne Duvall, 24/07/2014, 4★,review

[A book away from an episode of hoarders]

Shelf: Two’s Company
Book:
Read: 07-28-14
Rating:★★★☆☆
Review: This book was a quick read. Part mystery and part ghost story, Timothy is having a hard time. His brother, Ben, was injured in the war and his parents don’t want to talk about it. They don’t want him talking about it either. This drives a wedge between him and his best friend, Stuart. Then he gets partnered up with the new girl, Abigail, for a school project and things start to get really weird.

Its about revenge and the power of fear but also letting go of your past and forgiveness. Mostly, I felt it was about forgiveness and how holding grudges can destroy lives. In real life, its not as dramatic as what happens in this book but you get the idea.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

CONGRATULATIONS, Divas of Organized Destruction!
We now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'armed & ready'. 

[Our updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Yay!! :D

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Congrats on the stamp Divas!

[Rosina]

Week 10 Headless H/h



finished july 28
Rating: 4.5★
Review:
 This was an amazing novel. I found myself falling deeper and deeper into the world called Ixia, the world where Yelena lives and the Commander rules. I loved every twist and turn of this novel and loved the fact that Yelena has these demons in the shape of Reyad and General Brazell, but she doesn't let them control her life. I loved the every little aspect of this novel and am so happy with it that I will be reading the sequel.

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~]

I'm having a hard time getting into my own book. I'm not really in the right frame of mind to read it...I keep turning to silly sci-fi romances. One of them would qualify for 'Two's Company' so I'll use it as a last resort if I don't find something else.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

I'm right there with you on the silly scifi roms Val. Use that instead if it fits :)

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~]

Sandra wrote: "I'm right there with you on the silly scifi roms Val. Use that instead if it fits :)"

would work since they are 2 people.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Yep that works :)

[Rosina]

I ll read for 2 people week

[A book away from an episode of hoarders]

So... just out of curiosity. If this is the last week of bingo, who is winning? I looked at all the cards and I couldn't see the potential winning card. Did I miss something? Or did it mean after this week's book?

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~]

This week's shelf enable a lot more teams to have 4 in-a-row.
The odds of the next shelf being a winning shelf is pretty high.
Rachel did a breakdown of the possibilities and every team has a chance of winning.

We are the only team with witches as a winning shelf. If it's called...only a week to read our books and review otherwise the game continues.

[A book away from an episode of hoarders]

Well personally, I’ve got my fingers crossed that Witches comes up this week. If so, I’ll read .

Its been waiting for me to read it for weeks now. :D

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Witches! Witches! Witches! :D Go, team, go!

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Series: Katherine "Kitty" Katt #4
Shelf: Two's Company
Read: 29 July
Rating: 3.5★
Review:
As Alien Proliferation begins, Kitty is about-to-pop pregnant. During a meeting with Chuckie, head of the CIA's ET division, and some higher ups Kitty gets the niggling feeling that something's off. Before she has much time to worry about it the baby is coming.

With all books in this series, there's a lot of action, snarky humor, and jealousy issues. There was, however, several more solemn moments in this installment. So much of this series is waaaay out there that it was nice albeit surprising to see some(what) real-life human issues appear in the story. That aside, about 380p in I was wondering just how much more would be thrown at these guys.

While I enjoy reading this series and spending time with Kitty and her ACs, I have to space them out. But, after the events in this book, I'm looking forward to seeing how Kitty, Jeff, baby & gang adapt to their life changes in Alien Diplomacy.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Yay!!!! Definitely an OTT series :)

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Oh yeah!

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~]

Week #11

Two's Company Shelf: Paul's Pursuit by S.E. Smith
Date Read: 28/07/2014
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
Since all the princes have their mates it's now time for Morian (The Dragon Lords mother) and Paul (Trisha's Dad) to finally meet each other. I very much liked Trisha's book with her wilderness survival dad and was very pleased to see him have his own book. It's almost refreshing to finally have a story where the hero/heroine don't fight each other...and that the human is male and the dragon is the female.

Paul, after searching the reasons for his daughter's disappearance, gets reunited and quickly beats their asses and pride trains the warriors with military precision for their upcoming battle with Raffvin.

I'm not a big fan of babies introduced in a series but those promise to be a handful.

[Desperado]

Two's Company:
Date Read: August 2nd
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Review:

London Bound in four words: Too. Much. Freaking. Angst. Stupid ass teenage angst about stupid ass teenage bs that could've been resolved if only the h/h WERE HONEST WITH EACH OTHER! Abena Nartly, who seems like she has it together, but she really doesn't. Instead she's got an emotionally unavailable father, a horrid bitch of a mother and oh, a (ex)boyfriend who (view spoiler)[beat her ass on the daily. (hide spoiler)] Given how much she said he'd done to her, she got over it pretty quickly once she met Alexi Chase. Alexi, who's rich and entitled, with a domineering father and oh wait, he (view spoiler)[pushed a potential child molester down the stairs and killed him when he was 6! (hide spoiler)] OH THE ANGST! OH THE BORING ASS ANGST! If that wasn't enough, there's also drama because Alexi's brother Xander and Abena's friend Jasper (and pretty much EVERY hetero man) wants to get between her thighs. And Alexi's in a serious relationship with Gemma, who's (view spoiler)[actually really gay and convinced Alexi to be her beard! (hide spoiler)] Intriguing stuff, right? NOT.



That last one I REALLY did not get. You're this super rich bachelor, kissing and hugging Abena all over the goddamn UK, confessing your angsty love and you not once consider that she might find out that YOU HAVE A GODDAMN FIANCEE?!!? *quadruple facepalm*

I'm so over NA. I've said it before but I keep reading them anyway, hoping for solid gold. But LB might have pushed me over the edge. A girl can dream, right?

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

I'm surprised you lasted this long with NA. It's just crap, neither smutty nor interesting.

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~]

Shelf #12 ~ 3/8/14: link: 'Vampires'

It's a winning shelf for another team if they read and review before the next shelf is announced.

[Rosina]

Are we going to read books for this shelf or not bother?

[Steph, Serious series addict]

I've started a book for 'vampires' (Dire Straits). It's up to y'all if you want to stop now or read it out.

[Rosina]

I like to finish what I start so I will finish my outstanding read and then read a vamp book.

[Desperado]

I'm going to go ahead and review the "Headless H/h" book since I finished it yesterday but I'm not going to even bother with the "Vampire" book. I've found that teams usually speed-read when their winning shelf is called. It's been fun, chicas. Congrats to Team 4!



Headless H/h:
Date Read: August 3rd
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review:

I'm obsessed with zombies. I ♥ them so much that I have a shelf on here titled "I Lob Teh Zombehs"...and "Save Me" did NOT have enough zombie action for my taste. =( In addition, there was as annoying, immature, TSTL heroine who thought she was Billy Badass but was constantly in need of rescue. Also, a love rectangle. And more immaturity. And sappy romance scenes. Why 3 ★'s then, you ask? Because SM captured and kept my attention despite the crap that saturated this book. And also, Dan. Sexy sexy sexy Dan. Kill off Andi. I don't care! Kill of the mean blonde chick who's name I can't remember. I don't care! Kill off everybody else and turn it into the freaking Dan-the-Man Show! I am adding #2 to my TBR solely for more Dan.

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~]

Thanks LL, I'll request the stamp for what it's worth.

[Valerie ~ Val Hall ~]

Shelves currently in play

Judithe's SOS BookShelf : Bingo R9 Stats

Week #12: 'Vampires'
(August 3 - August )
Completed:0/5

Cristina:
LethalLovely:
Rosina:
StephB: Dire Straits by Helen Harper
Valerie: Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews



Week #11: 'Two's Company'
(July 27- August 2) (At least 2 people on the cover)
Completed:4/5

Cristina: The Nightmarys by Dan Poblocki,28/07/2014, 3★,review
LethalLovely:London Bound by Nana Malone, 02/08/2014, 2★,review
Rosina: Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge
StephB: Alien Proliferation by Gini Koch, 29/07/2014, 3.5★,review
Valerie:Paul's Pursuit by S.E. Smith, 28/07/2014, 4★,review

[Steph, Serious series addict]

LOL Lethal! NA is a why? genre it seems.

Jumping the gun and assuming they do get all read up and win the game - Great game, team! Had a great time with ya ladies! :)

I finished my vamp book and really enjoyed it. I'll go ahead and post my review, since I'll be writing up one anyway.