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R14: Team #1 ~ Reading Aces
I think I'm going to take Katie's recommendation and read Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh for the paranormal romance shelf. It's on page 1.
Tracking:Team 1 - Reading Aces:
Free Space - 2/4
Tracked here
Week 1:
Hunters - 4/4
Tracked here
Week 2: Paranormal Romance - 4/4
Katie - Feversong by Karen Marie Moning - Review - ★★★
Regina - Feversong by Karen Marie Moning - Review - ★★★★
Natalie - Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews - Review - ★★★★★
Sam - Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh - Review - ★★★★
I'm not sure what I will read yet. I have about an hour on my free space audiobook, so that will be finished today. I just have to stop being distracted.
Free SpaceBook: A Hunger Like No Other
How it works: Listed as #7 Best PNR
Date Read: 1/25
Rating: 3/5
Review:
I read The Warlord Wants Forever sometime last year for another bingo game, and wasn't sure if I would continue. Then this came up as a group read in another challenge, and I know a lot of people enjoy the series so I decided to continue.
I listened to the audiobook and wasn't sure if I made the right choice at first. There is only a male narrator, and especially for romances I prefer male/female as not all men can do a convincing woman, and vice versa. Also, the first words he spoke as the female did not sound right to me at all. He really played up her southern helpless female role. Luckily, he did get better at her voice.
I was also put off as the male lead was a big jerk in the first part of the book. He's been locked up and tortured for >100 years, but senses his mate and breaks free, only to find she is a vampire, the race that had been imprisoning him. He does not react well and it turned me off him for a bit.
The book does suffer from a lot of "I'm not going to tell you information that would benefit you and our relationship" on both sides, which can be annoying.
I did only give it 3/5, but I think I will keep reading the series. I know a lot of people who give it high praise. I don't think I'll be continuing on audio, though I hear the narrator gets better as well.
Sam wrote: "I think I'm going to take Katie's recommendation and read Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh for the paranormal romance shelf. It's on page 1."I hope you like it, Sam!
Week 1: HuntersSins of the Night
1/25/17
Shelved 2 times
3 stars
I love this series, but I didn't love this book. It's definitely the worst of the series so far, in my opinion. The MCs never really grabbed me and for a full length novel, I think it really lacked some key info. So much of Ias' life and afterlife were glazed over and Ash's secrecy is becoming a little tiresome. (view spoiler) Anyway, hoping for something great in the next book.
I may do Feversong as well, but I have it on audio and I have another book I need to listen to before, so I may pick up something else in the meantime. Feversong isn't going anywhere :)Also, Katie and Sam, can you add the number of times your week 1 books were shelved as hunters into your reviews or what page number of shelves it was on? Sorry, I totally overlooked that they weren't in there.
Natalie wrote: "I may do Feversong as well, but I have it on audio and I have another book I need to listen to before, so I may pick up something else in the meantime. Feversong isn't going anywhere :)Also, Kati..."
Angels' Blood was on page 1 of the hunters shelf. I added it to my review of hunters and added where I got my free space book from into that review as well.
Oh man, I was just looking over our bingo card. Both hunters and paranormal romance are in corners, where they will do nothing to help us get bingo.
Sam wrote: "Oh man, I was just looking over our bingo card. Both hunters and paranormal romance are in corners, where they will do nothing to help us get bingo."I know! Not a good start for us. But there's a ways to go in the game and we need to have every shelf read in order to win :)
Natalie wrote: "Sam wrote: "Oh man, I was just looking over our bingo card. Both hunters and paranormal romance are in corners, where they will do nothing to help us get bingo."I know! Not a good start for us. B..."
I guess we can look at it that if we get the corners out of the way, most of the rest of the shelves called will help us. We'll get some momentum going.
Ah, no need to add details of where on the list the books chosen are or how many pages etc. We only need the where details for the Free Space Book.
Sandra wrote: "Ah, no need to add details of where on the list the books chosen are or how many pages etc. We only need the where details for the Free Space Book."
Oh, I always thought we needed to add that. Well, learn something new everyday.
I need to read Burn for Me for another challenge so I will use that for this week. I'm sure Feversong will be used soon.
I'm planing a re-read of that one sometime soon, too, Natalie. I'm so excited that the next book is finally coming out soon!
Katie wrote: "I'm planing a re-read of that one sometime soon, too, Natalie. I'm so excited that the next book is finally coming out soon!"It's a first read for me :) I think it was the first Ilona Andrews I picked up, but then I put it off when I saw the other two books were pushed back. Now that's it's 2017 I've been planning to read it.
Ah! I get so jealous of people who still have new Ilona Andrews books to read (aside from the new releases, of course). I wish I could go back and read them all again for the first time. :P
Me too! This pnr series is my least favorite of theirs though.
Yeah, I agree Regina, but I still thought it was pretty good. :P It's just that the others are so amazing!
Exactly! Its not quite fair to compare. :)
Katie wrote: "Ah! I get so jealous of people who still have new Ilona Andrews books to read (aside from the new releases, of course). I wish I could go back and read them all again for the first time. :P"You will be very jealous of me as I have multiple I still haven't read:
I like having more to read from them and taking my time. But I also look forward to finally being caught up. I just tend to bounce around between series. Right now, I'm not letting myself read the newest innkeeper since I wanted to read all the Edge books so I can reread the second one knowing who George, Sam, Sophie, and Gaston are.
Shelf: HunterWeek: Week #1
Book: The Beast
Date Read: 1/24
Rating: 3/5
Review:
Full disclosure, I used to love this serious. I read, re-read and listened to every one of these books. Toward the last few books I began to see multiple problems with the series and the world created by Ward. I dnfed The King and I did not read The Shadows. Against all of my control issues, I jumped back into the series at this book and enjoyed it. Ward addressed many issues I and other fans had with earlier books. This book was fun, it was sexy (but not as sexy as her earlier books) and I loved the progression of Rhage, Mary, V, and Jane. I likely will read the next in the series.
Natalie wrote: "Katie wrote: "Ah! I get so jealous of people who still have new Ilona Andrews books to read (aside from the new releases, of course). I wish I could go back and read them all again for the first ti..."That's a good idea!
Yeah, I totally agree with you, Regina. I was losing faith in that series, but The Beast kinda/sorta started pulling it back in the direction of the earlier books in the series. I also started reading her Black Dagger Legacy books that stem from The Beast.
Katie those books intrigue me but I admit to have lost faith. Do you like them in the same way you like the earlier bdb books?
I submitted our books for our week 1 stamps! Regina and Katie how are your free space books coming? Regina, I've also read the BDB Legacy series. She splits the book between a new couple and an old one, I think as a way to explore more about the earlier couples without writing a full book about them. The first one has Butch and Marissa, who are one of my least favorite couples. I liked the new couple and their storyline. The second book has Mary, Rhage, and Bitty so if you want to know more about them, I'd recommend reading it. The new couple of that book took a backseat to them.
I've kinda decided just to keep reading the series unless it gets really bad. I am excited Layla is up next because I am so tired of her in everyone else's books.
Oh - I may read those next!Feel like I am on a nostalgia trip since I reading a fever book and just finished a bdb book. :)
Natalie -- I haven't even started my FS book yet. I have a few I need to finish up for other January challenges so I might not get to that one until February.I think the new ones are a little better because they're not as splintered as the BDB. That's kinda why I got fed up...there were 5 million storylines and the actual couple the book was supposed to be about got the same amount of page time as everything else. I agree with Natalie, I'm at least staying to read Layla's book. It's about time...
Katie wrote: "Natalie -- I haven't even started my FS book yet. I have a few I need to finish up for other January challenges so I might not get to that one until February.I think the new ones are a little bet..."
No rush, but as your captain I have to crack the whip once in a while :)
I identify book 8 as really the split for the series into more of a UF series than PNR. There's still a main couple, but I wouldn't recommend picking up the books at random because there are so many ongoing plots.
I started reading the series in 2013 and I caught with The King. Since then I get to wait with everyone for who the new book will feature as a couple and I've been hoping for Layla so her plotline can have resolution for a while. I was frustrated enough with Quinn and Blay going back and forth until their book and Layla has been around longer, and Xcor since book 9.
I am so behind in this series. I really need to go back to the beginning and start over because I don't remember much about it other than they fight the lessers who smell like baby powder and are controlled by the Omega.
What else is there to remember?
Lol. My thought too - for me the bdb stories are enjoyable bc of each couple in the book - the world is a easy to pick up on again I say just move forward.
That's pretty much all you have to know. Though I will always happily reread Lover Awakened, it's my favorite.
Ward also has an appendix and there is a wiki page. ;)
LOL, you guys are cracking me up. The other problem is that I don't remember where I left off and I'd hate to miss something. Someday I'll start over and carry on, just don't know when.
Shelf: PNRWeek: Week #2
Book: Feversong by Karen Marie Moning
Date Read: 1/27
Rating: 4/5
Review:
I came to this book cautiously. I have not fully enjoyed most of Moning's book in this series that have been written/published after Shadowfever. Iced was a bizarre tribute to pediaphilia and statutory rape and had major conflicts with previously written story lines and the previously described world in both Moning's Fever series and her Highlander Series. I actually enjoyed Burned but then I DNFed Feverborn. But, I enjoyed this book! It isn't perfect. There is far too much inner dialogue. Barrons isn't the Barrons of the original Fever series -- but then, how can anyone be in a relationship with that Barrons? Similar to how Moning wrote Burned, she seems to have self-corrected and is bent on apologizing or correcting for readers' interpretations of what she was doing in Iced. But the path to this book was not straight and I can't shake the impression Moning did not have the story arc post-Shadowfever mapped out.
Quickly - -this book spends too much time in Mac's head and feels like a wrap-up/reunion book. Anything and everything happens but loose ends are left - spin offs? However, I enjoyed it, it kept me up late, it entertained me on a cross-Atlantic flight and I was glad to be back in the Fever world.
I think Fever fans will enjoy this book. It isn't perfect, it doesn't encourage the same breathless excitement that the original 5 did and the storyline is not as rich but it is enjoyable and fun.
Book: Slave to Sensation- Nalini Singh
Shelf: Paranormal Romance
How it fits: on page one of the shelf
Date read: 1/27/17
Rating: 4 stars
Review: Slave to Sensation is book one of the Psy-Changeling series. It is an interesting world, where the psy people have psychic powers (telekinesis, telepathy, etc) but have removed all emotion from their lives. Their children are programmed to never feel anything. This is supposed to help prevent the abuse of power that the psy population had in the past. Then there are the Changelings. They are essentially shapeshifters and they revel in their feelings and their families. Changelings and Psy are enemies. So of course, we have Lucas, a Changeling, and Sascha, a Psy, becoming involved. That part was predictable, the classic Romeo and Juliet storyline. However, I became very interested many of the characters and look forward to learning more about them. I must confess that even before I finished this book, I got online and bought the rest of the series. Now I just have to find time to fit them into my reading schedule. Nalini Singh is moving to my list of must buy authors if these recent books (this one and Angels' Blood) are any indication.
She's on my auto buy list Sam :D
Sandra wrote: "She's on my auto buy list Sam :D"The problem is that my auto buy list keeps getting longer the more I read. Good thing that I still have a good job to pay for my addiction.
CONGRATULATIONS, Reading Aces!You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'hunters'.
[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Good Job!! :D
Congrats on the stamp RA!
Week 2: Paranormal RomanceFeversong
1/28/17
3 stars
I've been waiting for this book. After the disappointment of the last one, I was dying to get into this one and hoped we would go back to a more cohesive story. Sadly, it just sort of did that. There were so many storylines that were (to me) unnecessary, but there were many sections that I enjoyed and wish there had been more. I think this was supposed to be the last book in the series (??) and if so, it wasn't very satisfying as such. It was too splintered to have a real feeling of closure.
ETA: It's not the last one, but so many people are talking about it like it is. *so confused* I feel better about it now that I know that wasn't meant to wrap it up!
SOS: Serious Overload of Series
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Michelle Hodkin (other topics)Rhiannon Held (other topics)
Seanan McGuire (other topics)
Meljean Brook (other topics)
Nalini Singh (other topics)
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:)
I have a few hours left on my audiobook for free space so I should finish later today, likely right around shelf time :)