R16: Team #1 ~ One and Done

[Tatenisha]

Selection:

Shifters:

[Allison Ann]

Tatenisha wrote: "Selection:

Shifters: "

You might catch up with me in this series before the challenge is over, and I've been reading Anita Blake since 1993. :D

[Allison Ann]

Completion Post

Week: Six
Shelf: Shifters
How The Book Fits: Shelved 152 times as shifters


Book: Dead as a Doornail
Author: Charlaine Harris
Date Read: 4/13/18
Rating: 3 stars
Review: This was probably a four star read until the ending, when everyone got a little too alpha male towards Sookie for my liking. However, in her defense she stuck to her guns and sent them all packing, so 4 stars for Sookie and 3 for everyone else. :D The ending leaves things very much up in the air for her. I don't expect much in the way of rainbows and puppies for our heroine in book 6. She is growing on me though.

Lily Bard cameo for the win. :D

I'll never understand why Harris quit Lily and Harper Connolly so early and just kept going on Sookie. Different tastes I guess.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

CONGRATULATIONS, One and Done!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'detective'. 

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

Good Job!! :D

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Congrats on the stamp O&D!

[Eldarwen]

Thanks, ladies! :-)

[Allison Ann]

Hello team. My internet has been garbage lately, so posting has been a pain (and a failure most of the time). Sorry to have been so absent. Looking forward to shelf call tomorrow. It's finally above freezing today. Maybe I should get away from the computer and start chopping some ice in my parking lot. :D Hope you are all well.

[Eldarwen]

Hello hello!

Temperatures above freezing are nice! We've had a very good few days so far with sunshine and even warmer temperatures (running around outside in t-shirts) without barely any rain! It's such a nice change from the constant drizzle we've had most of winter, it's fantastic!

Spent my weekend at our national Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror con, working behind the bar, so I once again didn't get much reading done but whenever I do sit down to read my demon book, it goes fairly quickly. It's quite interesting!

I know that a Dragon shelf call isn't going to help any with getting 5 in a row but I'm kind of hoping for that one haha.

[Allison Ann]

That sounds like a fun weekend. As much as I love my enormous country, I occasionally regret that I live so far away from anything social that I would enjoy. It would take me 24 hours of driving to get to our national anything. :) And that is just at the other end of my province. It would be another 10 hours or so for me to hit any coast. I can drive to Mexico in less time. :D

I'm okay with dragons, but I still want to win. :P

[Eldarwen]

I have absolutely no notion for those kinds of huge distances!! It boggles the mind haha.

Dragons really only because I want to read a particular book that is on that shelf, but I'll be fine with whatever shelf. And winning would indeed be nice :-)

Alright, I'm going to hit the couch now and try to get a few more pages read for today!

[Victoria]

haha one of my friends from Germany today told me how difficult it was when his wife had to work in a different city from him - a city only 1 1/2 hours away! I just stared and laughed lol I've been stuck in worse traffic while in the states!

I also used to drive from Chicago to Cleveland (about 6 hours) monthly - a distance I never thought was too bad until I told people here (in England)

And sorry I've been MIA! I'm listening to The Warded/Painted Man for my demon book and loving it so far! I would have made more progress while on the train back from Belgium, but the CUTEST little boy was sitting next to me and he kept trying to steal my headphones. For some reason I didn't think demons attacking people to be appropriate listening for 4 year olds lol

Also, I haven't decided on a shifter book and there's a new call tomorrow - I AM SO FAR BEHIND!

[Allison Ann]

Canada is good for distance. Most Europeans really can't get it. :D

I had to drive an hour each way for junior high and high school. 24 hours for university. And now I am 4 hours away from the closest bookstore. :D

My township has fewer than 400 people, but it takes two hours to drive it end to end - at highway speeds, no traffic.

When I lived in France, I could go to Switzerland for lunch. That boggled my mind. :D

[Tatenisha]

Week: Six
Shelf: Shifters
How it fits: Shelved 121 times



Book: Circus of the Damned
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Date Read: 4/15/18
Rating: 4 Stars
Review: Anita must make a decision on which vampire she will accept and again she chooses to go against Jean Claude and will be forced to join with another vampire. She refuses to choose and ends up in a battle for the city and humanity.
Anita still chooses to not listen to what is going on when it doesn't meet her needs. Everyone wants Anita for the power she has but does not know. The series is getting better.

[Eldarwen]

Victoria wrote: "haha one of my friends from Germany today told me how difficult it was when his wife had to work in a different city from him - a city only 1 1/2 hours away! I just stared and laughed lol I've been..."

Glad to hear you're enjoying The Painted Man!
And no, definitely not appropriate reading for a 4 year old haha :-)

[Allison Ann]

Sorry, no dragons, only dead people. Unless your dragon book also raises the dead? ;P

Shelf #7 ~ 4/18/18: Necromancers
DIRECT LINK - https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

[Allison Ann]

Selection Post

by Laurell K. Hamilton - shelved 9 times as necromancers

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Allison Ann you might want to change Demons to Necromancers or you'll have everyone confused :D

[Tatenisha]

Selection Post



Title: the Lunatic Cafe
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
How it fits: shelved 10 times as Necromancers

[Allison Ann]

Sandra wrote: "Allison Ann you might want to change Demons to Necromancers or you'll have everyone confused :D"

Thank you. I changed the link but guess I forgot the title. :D

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Yep, saw you had the right link, and figured it was a cut & paste :)

[Eldarwen]

D'oh.. no dragons..

"I see dead people" ?? ;-)

[Eldarwen]

Allison Ann wrote: "Selection Post

by Laurell K. Hamilton - shelved 9 times as necromancers"

This would be the one I'm currently on in the series as well. Since now two of the team are reading Anita Blake, I'm tempted hehe. It's been years since I last picked up a book but I got annoyed with the story, so... we'll see.

I'll go hunt through the shelf and then I'll decide. Maybe a shorter book might be a good idea for a change :-p Since I'm already behind.

[Eldarwen]

I've decided to go with The Last Necromancer for the necromancer shelf. I've been meaning to read it and it's definitely shorter than the Anita Blake one. I want to catch up haha.

[Tatenisha]

Hello all, I have a question: Since I am new to the Anita Blake series, has the series ended?

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Just had a look at the series page Tatenisha, currently up to Book 26 and a note from LH website that says "At this time, the author has no plans on ending the series."

[Eldarwen]

Seriously, 26 already?!

I knew she wasn't done yet, but I didn't realise she was on 26 already. I wonder how many more she wants to write.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

That didn't include the novellas, that was just the full novels.

And probably as long as she's making money is my guess :(

[Eldarwen]

It's a shame the series degraded to a money making train.

And that doesn't tempt me at all to continue with the series, even though I have to unread books sitting on my physical shelf.

[Allison Ann]

There is no way I'm going to get to Book 26 in this series. I'm on page 29 and I'm already annoyed by Anita. Hell, I'm annoyed by everyone. But it is necromancers and a "N" title, so I shall persevere and then give myself another 5 year break. :D

[Tatenisha]

Yes, she does make you mad. It has been in all the books I have read so far. She just wants to remain clueless and not accept what is going on in her life and her surroundings.

[Allison Ann]

Anita just gets more and more intransigent as the series progresses. It is frustrating for me to read a book where I don't like the MC.

I think the book you are reading is an "Edward" book. The Edward books are so much better than the non-Edward books. :D Hope you like it.

[Eldarwen]

Yess!! Exactly. I hate that she's constantly on her high horse - not to mention prejudiced. She isn't the best MC ever, no.
Looking back, while I enjoyed the series to a certain degree because the action is pretty much constant and there are some interesting facets to the reality she's living in, I don't understand why I rated it so high.

But Edward.. yes.. Edward, he makes things interesting!

[Eldarwen]

Allison Ann wrote: "There is no way I'm going to get to Book 26 in this series. I'm on page 29 and I'm already annoyed by Anita. Hell, I'm annoyed by everyone. But it is necromancers and a "N" title, so I shall persev..."

Hehehe, N title ;-)
You can do it!!

[Eldarwen]

Going to finish my demon book today :-)
Also started the necromancer book already - interesting so far!

I might change my shifters book though and read the next book in the Psy-Changeling series instead.

[Eldarwen]

Completion Post
Demons
Book: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

How it fits: tagged 33 times as "demons"
Date Read: April 21st 2018
Rating: 4 stars
Review
I wasn't exactly sure what was awaiting me and I preferred it that way so I could let myself be drawn into the story. The book began slowly but kept going at a steady pace with interesting bits about Russian fairy tales woven into the story or the characters that made the reading smooth even at times when not a lot was happening.

There were a few characters that made me grind my teeth (Anna and Konstantin especially), others made me grin (Vasya herself most of all) and throughout, I wanted to learn more about all of them, even the ones I wanted to rip out of the book.

I didn't have any prior knowledge about Russian fairy tales so I found this to be a very interesting read and I'm looking forward to continuing Vasya's story in the next book.

[Eldarwen]

And definitely switching my shifters book. Nalini Singh is calling to me so I'm going to read Bonds of Justice, tagged 186 times as shifters.

[Allison Ann]

I am progressing with my Anita book, but it is slow going. I read a few chapters then I stop to read an entire other book, then I go back for a few chapters. :D

Nalini Singh is a another author I haven't read yet. So many books, so little time.

[Victoria]

Completion Post
Demons

The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
How it fits: tagged 166 times as "demons"
Date Read: 21 April
Rating: 4 stars
Review


Had this on my TBR for awhile and so glad it was recommended to me for a challenge, finally forcing myself to read it.

The world-building to include the demons, magic, history, politics, etc were great and I can't wait to read more of the world.

I also loved the three primary characters: Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer. The novel switches through multiple POVs, mainly those three, over the course of about a 15 year time period. I thought the author did a great job developing each character from child to adult. I felt I could really see and understand the paths each character took to get to where they are at the end of the novel; particularly with Arlen.

Arlen is the main character who is set on fighting and riding demons from the world even though most humans for centuries have given up hope and are too scared to fight. I really loved Arlen's journey and as mention earlier, I was able to really understand his actions and loved how those actions shaped and developed him into the 'Warded Man' - the whole thing done very well. My only complaint is that I thought some of his 'demon fighting' revelations he discovered as a child were a little too exaggerated. I get that no one in his tiny village knew anything, but would have thought more of the adults in the rest of the world would have already tried some of the things he'd tried.

I would have liked to have seen more from Leesha's POV. One, because I really liked her character, and Two, because the few female characters in this fell into your stereotypical, housewife, healer, or raving bitch - and it would definitely fail the Bechdel test. Even Leesha falls into your typical kindhearted, healer. She was strong female character so I didn't mind much, but would have just liked to have seen more from the female camp. I will say, however, I was really pissed about the (view spoiler)[rape scene. I'm never going to like it when a character is raped, but when it happens it usually adds to the story in some way. This, I thought, was pointless. The fact that Leesha was a virgin and saving herself was a huge part of her story and for her to lose her 'flower' to a gang rape made her 'saving herself' plot pointless and there was no reason for the author to stress it so much. Especially since after the rape she is suddenly interested in having sex (with Arlen). (hide spoiler)]

I also liked Rojer's story-line, but don't really have anything to comment on it.

Lastly, the final battle scene was amazing. Extremely well done and arguably one of the best battles I've read (at least recently).

*Listened to the audio version. Narrator was good but nothing to rave about. But I did like it overall all and plan on continuing to listen to the series.

[Victoria]

Thanks again for the rec!

I'm also reading Etched in Bone for shifters and thinking of reading Luck in the Shadows for necormancers.

[Eldarwen]

So glad you enjoyed the book!! :-)
I absolutely loved Arlen's development - it could have gone so so many ways and he ended up that way. And I felt for Leesha so so many times; she's a strong character!

[Eldarwen]

Demons stamp has been requested :-)

[Steph, Serious series addict]

CONGRATULATIONS, One and Done!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'demons'. 

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

Good Job!! :D

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Congrats on the stamp O&D!

[Eldarwen]

Thanks ladies! :-)

[Allison Ann]

Three in a row! I guess there are a couple of teams only one call from a line, but let's hope the gods of good call are on our side next week. And that I have finally finished Narcissus in Chains by then. :D

[Eldarwen]

Haha, yeah, some books just take time. Are you enjoying the book at least even though you have to stop regularly?

And Nalini Singh is a writer I can only recommend. I absolutely love her Guild Hunter series, and I recently picked up the Psy-Changeling series, which is great as well. Singh has a knack for fantastic world-building and there's a red thread throughout her series at all times. Everything ties into a bigger overall plot.

[Allison Ann]

Completion Post

Week: Seven
Shelf: Necromancers
How The Book Fits: Shelved 9 times as necromancers


Book: Narcissus in Chains
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Date Read: 4/23/18
Rating: 1 star
Review: I can't really enjoy a book when I dislike the main character so much that I spend the entire novel hoping the shifters get together and rip her to pieces. Yup, that's my position on Anita. Can't say I like Richard or Jean-Claude any more than I like her and the new guard doesn't strike me as any more interesting than the old. There's no way in hell I can ever get through another book let alone the 16 more and counting that exist in this series. Though if I leave out everything that makes me roll my eyes, I'm left with a 100 page novella with a weak storyline. :D

[Eldarwen]

You made it through!! But only 1 star... ouch!

Your review really does not make me want to even try and continue with the books haha.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Me either. I think I read only the first one, thought it was ok but never read any more :)

[Tatenisha]

I have been pushing through the series and now you really make me want to stop!!