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R9: Team Double Won (11)
I will be reading Nice Dragons Finish Last- Rachel Aaron. It's the first book in the Heartstrikers series and has 287 pages.
I will read:Pages: 434
How it fits: The Demon Cycle #1
Note: I MAY want to change this if I can end up squeezing in a book for a series I can finish this challenge.
Found one that will work!
Roll #2 Spot 16
Book: The Fairy Godmother
Pages: 496
How it fits: #1 in Five Hundred Kingdoms
(I think you'd be able to tell, but I edited my post to use a series I can potentially finish this challenge.)
Amanda, I am going to read I, Alex Cross by James Patterson, which is #16 in the Alec Cross series. I am on my mobile though so I can't like it. It's the audio version so I am not sure which book to use for page count. I will be able to link it later today.
I usually link the hardcover or whatever the default edition is on Goodreads for audiobook page counts.
Well...as it turned out I've already read I, Alex Cross so I've had to switch up.I'm reading Flat-Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy
It's 308 pages, and is the first book of a series - Fast Track #1
Completed: Roll #2, Spot 16Task #1 in series or a standalone
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Date finished: 6/13/17
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 577
How it fits: The Heroes of Olympus #1
Review:
I think I may end up liking this series more than Percy Jackson.
When Jason wakes up on a bus full of teenagers, he has no idea where he is or even who he is. But apparently he has a girlfriend and a best friend and he's on a school field trip to the Grand Canyon. Seems simple enough, right? Wrong. Turns out Jason, his girlfriend and best friend are all demigods so of course monsters show up. After a little scuffle, they are whisked away to Half-Blood Camp where we quickly learn that Jason doesn't really belong there. Something is different about him. Off. For starters, he keeps referring to the Gods in their Roman names, not Greek... If only he could remember why.
Then there's the girlfriend, Piper. She finds it hard to believe that Jason just showed up in her life and that he hasn't actually been her boyfriend these past few months. On top of that, she's a Gods kid. And just wait until she finds out who. But Piper also has a secret, and it involves betraying those close to her to get her father back.
Lastly, there's Leo. Resident humor demigod sidekick. But don't be fooled, Leo is a force on his own. Blessed with a gift from his Godly father who most thought was lost to their generation. Leo will play a very important part from beginning to end with this crew. Even if he doesn't quite believe in himself.
I loved the introduction of new characters. I felt like we got just enough of some of our old crew to know that this is connected to Percy Jackson but also it's very obvious that this isn't Percy Jackson Take 2. The stakes are higher. The quests harder. And help comes from the unlikeliness of places. Though it was a little long, it never really dragged. And while I figured out the twist at the end before it was revealed, that didn't lessen my excitement for the next book in this series. Because now I gotta know what happens!
Completion postTask: spot 16- read 1, 6 or 16 in series
Book: Nice Dragons Finish Last- Rachel Aaron
Date: 6/13/17
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 287 pages in kindle edition
How it fits: Heartstrikers #1
Review:
This is the first book in the Heartstrikers series. Julius is a dragon, but he doesn't act like the rest of his family. His mom becomes frustrated with him so seals him into his human form and exiles him to the Detroit Free Zone, giving him 2 weeks to convince her that he can be dragonish before she kills him. Marci is a mage who's dad was killed by a mobster for an artifact that is now in Marci's possession. The mobster is out to get her and reclaim the artifact. It was fun to see these two work together to solve their problems and do it their own way. I enjoyed this story and look forward to seeing more of their adventures.
Finished:
Book: Flat-Out Sexy|Erin McCarthy|06.13.17|✿✿✿
Task: 16 Spot, 1st in Serieis = Fast Track #1
Pages: 308
Brief Review:
This was a hot little read...plenty of action, girly stuff, with a great HEA. I loved Tamara - her commitment to her children first and foremost, and always thinking of what's best for them.
Elec was just the right guy to get Tamara back in the dating game.
The story had just a bit of angst, but after a while I got tired of the needless in-law situation.
A strong 3 stars.
Completion ~ Spot 16Changed my book to #1 in series
Date Read: 6/13/17
Rating: ★★★★
Pages: 260
This was an enjoyable read. I loved Thano's family and found them very funny, especially his mom. I felt sorry for Thano and Kilyn at the beginning because they both endured such tragic circumstances in the past. It made their love story so sweet to watch as it developed. The last part of the book reminded me of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. This is the first book by this author that I have read but I have others on my TBR so it definitely won't be the last.
FinishedRoll #2 ~ Spot 16
How it fits: Vampire Huntress #1
Minion by L.A. Banks 6/15/17
Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 304
Review:
I was worried going into this book with all the 3 or less star reviews, but that ended up being a good thing. While I wasn't overly wowed with it, it was better than I was thinking it was going to be. It is more about world building and character building then having a huge story line, so while it doesn't end with a cliff-hanger, it is left open with no real ending.
Damali is a vampire huntress. She wont come into her full powers until her 21st birthday, which is only a few days away. She has lived and learned almost her whole life with a team who each has special abilities themselves. Damali and her team (all but 1) learn about who and what she is to become the same time as the reader. We learn what this means for her, as well as what it means for the vampires. I'm very interested to continue the series.
Completion Post - Spot 16Book Read:
The Fairy Godmother
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Pages: 496
How it fits: Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, #1
Rating: 4 stars
Review:
I had this on audio (have owned it for years) and FINALLY listened to it. The narrator's voice didn't match the voice I wanted in my head, but she was good.
So this book has an interesting take on fairy tales. "Tradition" is a powerful force, and if things happen in a persons' life that resembles any of the archtypical fairy stories, tradition tries to guide them on that path. The main character was basically a Cinderella, but things just didn't work out, and she becomes a fairy godmother.
I enjoyed this, and I'm glad I picked this one as my potential series to start and complete this round - hopefully the rolls will let me do that :)
Roll #3: 8Spot: 24
#2 in series
#4 in series
Alternate: Road Trip
Jenn - The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2) | Review
jingles - Guilty as Sin (Deer Lake, #2) | Review
Sunshine✰✰✰ - Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic (The Dowser, #2) | Review
Sam - One Good Dragon Deserves Another (Heartstrikers, #2) | Review
Suzanne - One Good Knight (Five Hundred Kingdoms, #2) | Review
Amanda A - Truffled to Death (A Chocolate Covered Mystery, #2) | Review
Reviews need to be posted before midnight CDT on Thursday, June 22nd
Roll #3 ~ Spot 24
Vampire Huntress, #2
300 Pages
Roll #3 - Spot 24Book One Good Knight
Five Hundred Kingdoms #2
393 pages
(Note: I may need to change this if one of my other challenges continues, but right now it is a great choice!)
I think I'm going to go with One Good Dragon Deserves Another by Rachel Aaron, #2 in Heartstrikers series. I am trying to read the entire series for the bonus point (in case Suzanne doesn't make it). This could also work for 3 books in the same series if Suzanne does continue to read the same series (once I read the 3rd book when we get into the 30s). The book has 463 pages.
Oh nice Sam - between the two of us, that's a much better chance of getting that complete series read!
Suzanne wrote: "Oh nice Sam - between the two of us, that's a much better chance of getting that complete series read!"Uh oh. I just realized that book #4 doesn't come out until July 28. Depending on our rolls and how long this game lasts, I might not get book 4 read in time, so I might only be able to do 3 books in one series.
well that works - mine don't even need to be read in order - yay!
And getting 3 in a series is awesome =)
Completion ~ Spot 24
Date Read: 6/19/17
Rating: ★★★★
Pages: 304
Erica and Michelle are asked to host a reception for the local museum at Chocolate and Chapters. Erica is accused of stealing Maya artifacts by a professor she has history with and the professor ends up dead. The ladies are determined to prove Erica's innocence. I liked the development of the characters and the mystery kept me guessing until the end. I am interested to see where each of their relationships with Bean and Bobby are headed. The bookstore and chocolate shop combination would definitely be a place I would like to visit! I plan to continue with the series and look forward to reading the next one.
Completed: Roll #3, Spot 24Task #2 or #4 in series
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
Date finished: 6/19/17
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 513
How it fits: The Heroes of Olympus #2
Review:
Yay, Percy's back! I really did miss this guy, but unfortunately, things are not all there for Percy. For one, his memory. Yup, following a similar premise of The Lost Hero, Percy wakes up with no memory of who he is or even what he is. He also seems to have lost around 8 months while sleeping. Good job Hera/Juno.
Percy eventually makes his way to Camp Jupiter - the Roman version of Camp Half-Blood where he meets some pretty interesting characters and learns all about the Roman demigods way of life. But something feels off. Percy doesn't feel like he's where he should be. And as his memories start to slowly come back, he realizes just what he's in for and he's not quite sure if it's going to work.
I didn't love this one as much as the first in this series, which was weird because Percy. But I enjoyed getting to know our new heroes: Frank and Hazel. Both have interesting pasts that they are trying to hide and both are trying to prove themselves in camp. When a quest is issued, the three of them set out to stop another giant - this time from killing Death.
The mix of Roman mythology was a nice change but Riordan's books have all pretty much followed the same formula up to this point and I'm interested in seeing if he ever deviates from that. The next book seems to be where both worlds collide and I cannot wait to see how this plays out.
Finished:
Book: Guilty as Sin|Tami Hoag
Task: 24 Spot, #2 in Series = Deer Lake #2
Pages: 608
Brief Review:
A great mystery as it turns out in the end, but this book was entirely too long. I like the way it started out, I liked the many twists and turns, and I liked the ending. The middle where all the unnecessary filler takes place was just plain boring and on the edge of ridiculous!
A weak three star read for me.
Completion Post
One Good Knight
Task: 24 Spot, #2 in series - Five Hundred Kingdoms #2
Pages: 393
Review:
This felt a lot more YA than the first book in the series, but it was cute. We had a princess in danger, a dragon, and a champion come to save the princess and slay the dragon. And evil people! Of course, there were twists, but the people were all pretty straightforward. It was a fun, cute read.
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4
I switched my bookFinished
Roll #3 ~ Spot 24
How it fits: The Dowser #2
Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic by Meghan Ciana Doidge 6/21/17
Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 318
Review:
I really enjoyed the first book so I bought the Books 1-3 Box Set. It has been almost 2 years since I read the first book though, so I found myself really lost for the first half of the book. So much refers to the first book, which I only remember bits and pieces of. The ending is definitely left open and now that I'm interested in the series again, I need to get to the next book soon before I forget it again! :-)
I do enjoy Jade's quirkiness and I want to see more of her with Desmond and even what is to happen with Kett. And of course, there is quite the interesting twist at the end about her heritage. Didn't see that coming. :-D
Completion postTask: spot 24- read 2, 4 or 24 in series
Book: One Good Dragon Deserves Another- Rachel Aaron
Date: 6/22/17
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 463 pages in kindle edition
How it fits: Heartstriker #2
Review: Once again Julius gets caught up in the machinations of other dragons. He is also being hunted by a dragon hunter, unwillingly assisted by Marci, who has been put under a killing curse. Estella is back and has declared war on the Heartstrikers. Dragons aren't acting like themselves, Bob is worried and it is all falling on Julius to fix things. Julius finds hidden depths within himself. I am greatly enjoying Julius's adventures and how he is growing as a person, if not a dragon, during them. I look forward to the next book in the series.
Roll #4: 8Spot: 32
#2 in series
#3 in series
Alternate: Fairy Tale Retellings
Jenn - The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3) | Review
jingles - Ocean Beach (Ten Beach Road, #2) | Review
Sunshine✰✰✰ - The Hunted (Vampire Huntress, #3) | Review
Sam - No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished (Heartstrikers, #3) | Review
Suzanne - Their Fractured Light (Starbound, #3) | Review
Amanda A - The Cereal Murders (A Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery, #3) | Review
Bonus point earned for reading a book over 500 pages (not used yet)
Reviews need to be posted before midnight CDT on Thursday, June 29th
My series #3 (Fortune's Fool) is checked out from the library. I put a hold on it, but....I'll read :
Their Fractured Light
Starbound #3
425 pages
in case the other doesn't come in.
Roll #4 - Spot 32
Book: The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus #3) by Rick Riordan
572 Pages
Week 4
(Vampire Huntress #3) 565 Pages
I will read No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished, book 3 in the Heartstrikers series by Rachel Aaron. It has 498 pages in kindle edition.
Roll #4 - Spot 32 - Completion PostBook Read:
Their Fractured Light
by Amie Kaufman
Date Read: 6/25/17
Rating: 4 stars
Pages 425
How it fits: Starbound #3
Review: The MCs in this one are ones we've seen briefly in the previous 2 books, and the first half follows just them. Both are after he corporate "bad guy", and it had some good action as we got to know the characters. The second half reunites all of the trilogy main characters, and I'm really glad the author decided to do that because it was nice seeing all of them and getting some resolution/info about everyone at the end. It did feel pretty YA, but it avoided some of the YA tropes I hate the most (like love triangles), and it was a good ending to the series.
Completion ~ Spot 32
Date Read: 6/25/17
Rating: ★★★★
I listened to this one on audio and I think it added to my enjoyment. I really liked Barbara Rosenblat's narration of the characters. The mystery kept me guessing and I was surprised by the culprit. I enjoyed the romance with Tom Schulz that developed as well. The ending was sweet and I look forward to seeing how it develops in the next installment.
That nice review made me remember that - Oops - forgot to do that! I will right now =) I'm glad the audios for that series are good - I've only read them (but not all) and audio could be fun with a good reader.
Thanks, Suzanne! Can you also please add your rating to your post when you get a chance? :-)I have the first one in that series TBR so I am glad to hear that it is a good series.
Done. Lol I was pretty much passing out wanting sleep when I updated posts last night, and I can really tell!I liked Gemina and Illumina better by this author - LOVED those books, but this is a good series.
Finished:
Book: Ocean Beach|Wendy Wax|06.26.17|✿✿
Task: Spot 32, #2 in Series = Ten Beach Road #2
Pages: 448
Brief Review:
While I somewhat enjoyed book one of this series, this was a torture to get through. Following the lives of Nicole, Avery and Madeline (along with a few others) facing real life situations, the angst of them all seemed to drag on forEVER! Combined with way too much whining, this was just not a good book for me.
I hate to not finish a series I've stared, but this may go on my series abandoned list.
A pitiful 2 star read for me...almost a 1.
Ouch - 448 pages is way too long for a 2- star book!
You got that right, Suzanne! I was so aggravated with it, had it been a paperback, I'd have thrown it across the room for sure.I'm not good with whining, and there was way too much of that in this book.
Completed: Roll #, Spot 32Task #3 or #2 in series
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
Date finished: 6/28/17
Rating: 5 stars
Pages: 572
How it fits: The Heroes of Olympus #3
To storm or fire the world must fall.
Riordan really held nothing back here and I'm a little scared to read the next book. I mean, where do you go from there???
In book 3, we have the 7 from the prophecy who are finally together. They set out, rather abruptly, from the Roman's camp to try to stop the twin giants and ultimately, Gaea, from taking over the world. Oh, and also rescue Nico before he dies. No sweat right?
Despite a rocky start to the journey, basically declaring war on the Roman camp, they make their way across the the US with relatively no...ok, who am I kidding? These kids meet problems at every turn. From the Romans chasing them to the spirits trying to possess their bodies, there's hardly time for rest. And this is all before they even arrive in Rome. Once there, everything before seems almost trivial as everyone finds themselves in mortal peril.
This series is so much fun and definitely a kick up from the Percy series (however, I am missing some of my faves from there). Riordan plays well on the humor while also setting the scene for major heartache and loss which I think helps lighten the info dumps that would be happening, because, let's face it, not everyone knows all of this history. Delving so deep into Greek/Roman mythology has never been so fun!
However, I do have to say something. Can everyone just stop hiding things from each other? Yeah, i get it. You're scared and don't know what your visions/dreams mean. But did you ever think that maybe talking about them with other people might help clear some of the fog?? And this isn't just one character, this is multiple. You have 7 people on a quest that have a high chance of failure and people are keeping secrets. They have to learn to trust each other if they are going to make it through.
So much happens in this book with each character that my mind is just everywhere. But it's that ending that left me staring into space wanting more. How could you leave it like that Riordan??? I just can't....
Completion postTask: Spot 32- read 3, 2, or 32
Book: No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished- Rachel Aaron
Date: 6/29/17
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 498 pages
How it fits: #3 in Heartstrikers series
Review: 4 stars
Life in Heartstriker Mountain has changed after the events of book 2, but will the change survive? Julius has his hands full dealing with all his siblings. Treachery abounds. Marci is dealing with issues of her own and is approached by the UN. I greatly enjoyed this book but would have liked to have seen Marci and Julius spend more time together. And that ending!!! When I read it, I wanted to take Chelsie's Fang and stab Rachel Aaron with it, but now that I have calmed down, I have hope that she will fix this cruel mistake ASAP. I greatly look forward to book 4, which comes out next month.
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