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R16: Team #12 ~ Of Bards and Books
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Lisa Kay
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May 12, 2018 12:05PM
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CONGRATULATIONS, Of Bards and Books!You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'urban fantasy'.
[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Good Job!! :D
Congrats on the stamp Singling Tale Bearers!
Blue-white ball of flame that seals Agnieszka’s fate...SOS: Serious Overload of Series BookShelf Bingo
> R16: Team #12 ~ Of Bards and Books
my goodread review
Date Read: May 15, 2018
Shelf: May be found here on the “Gothic-Horror” shelf.
Pages: 435
Uprooted, by Naomi Novik
★★★★½ This is one of those books that, despite its length, flies by. It has a flow to it that makes it an easy read, and it is unique and interesting enough to make one just keep reading.
I’ll be honest with you; I don’t read many Young Adult books. Those that I do read, I’m pretty picky about, trusting a few GoodReads friends’ recommendations who know my taste. But I picked this one on my own because I’m playing SOS’s Book Shelf Bingo and was desperate for a “Gothic-Horror” book. Not being in the mood for anything too horrific, I decided to go with the YA genre.
What a wonderful surprise this was! Not so much a horror story (view spoiler) as a coming-of-age fairy tale - or Russian & Polish folklore - filled with magic, humor, a bit of romance, layered characters (be they peasant or royalty), plenty of action, plenty of books, evil trees, depths to true friendships, and an epic ending.
I understand Ellen DeGeneres bought the movie rights to this one. I wish she would hurry up and get cracking!
Sorry, Leah, I went with something totally different. This one grabbed me from the start and wouldn't let go!
Lisa Kay wrote: "Sorry, Leah, I went with something totally different. This one grabbed me from the start and wouldn't let go!"No worries!! It sounds like a good one!
Looks like Vampire Queens have the winning call, but they are a few shelves behind and a team member who hasn't checked-in for a week or two.
I might read
... we'll see. I'm in the middle of #4 then would have to read #5 first.
Week 10 -- Completion PostShelf: Gothic Horror
Book: The Madman’s Daughter
How it fits: shelved gothic horror 19 times
Read: 5/16/2018
Rating: 3 stars
Review
At first I thought this was going to end up being The Island of Dr. Moreau just told from the POV of his daughter. Then it took a darker turn. As a reimagining of the story it is fairly well done. Honestly, I found it depressing. Even the characters that started out decent at the beginning of the story were completely unlikable by the end.
For spin-off, I'm going to read
shelved 3 times as spin off.
Team 12: Of Bards and BooksWeek Eleven, Shelf: spin off
LaurLa: Secrets Collide by Kathleen Brooks - ★★★ - May 23 - Review
Leah: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two by J.K. Rowling/John Tiffany/Jack Thorne - ★★★★ - May 22 - Review
Lisa Kay: Irresistibly Yours by Lauren Layne - ★★★★ - May 21 - Review
Deanna: The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan
I’m traveling... won’t get where I’m going till midnight. I’ll try to get a selection in the morning. I’m not feeling hopeful any of my current books are spin-offs, tho. Le sigh.
I'm hoping to read
but it depends if my hold at the library becomes available quick enough...
Completion post: gothic horror
The Death House by Sarah Pinborough
Date Read: May 17, 2018
Rating: 2 stars
To me, this was a book with all mystery and no resolution. I don't want to give away the end, but be prepared to have not very many of your questions answered.
In this book's world, some young teens test positive as 'defectives' and are sent to the death house--a big mansion on an island where nurses tend to them and wait for them to get sick. At that point, they are taken upstairs on a mysterious lift to the sanatorium. There's even a dour Matron who runs the house.
We get a lot of emotional investment in this story--you meet Toby, our protagonist, but you also get connected with all the other teens in the house. You hurt when some of them get sick. The hard part for me with this was that I really didn't feel like there were any 'ups' to offset the intense lows.
And, in the end, we don't get a whole lot of answers about the sanatorium. And by 'a whole lot', I really mean no answers at all. The ending is one of those kinds that you either love or hate, I think.
Not for me!
Week 11 -- Selection PostShelf: Spin-off
Book: Secrets Collide - Kathleen Brooks
How it fits: tagged 2 times
Okay, I finished
. Now I have a decision to make. Do I still try to get to
with or without reading the novellas in-between? Meaning I would have to listen to
first, regardless.Or do I just go with
for my Spin-Off book. Decisions, decisions.
I wouldn't rush Kate, that seems a bit of a waste to me. You need to savour her :)My 2 cents worth, go with the other one Lisa Kay :)
That's what I was thinking, Sandra. Great minds...
I agree with Sandra, too!I'm going with
for my spin-off novel.
Some men woo women with flowers...other, smarter ones, with onion rings.SOS: Serious Overload of Series BookShelf Bingo
> R16: Team #12 ~ Of Bards and Books
my goodread review
Date Read: May 21, 2018
Shelf: May be found here on the “Spin-Off” shelf.
Pages: 265
Irresistibly Yours, by Lauren Layne
★★★★✩ Loved this book, and that is mainly due to the characters. Such a neat experience to actually like both the hero and heroine.
Their friends to lovers contemporary romance is believable. And they do it without a lot of angst, thank goodness. Sure, Penelope has her walls up in the beginning (with good reason), but that doesn’t make her a stuck-up bitch. While clearly putting herself in the “friends zone” early on with Cole, it is fun to watch her struggle with that. (view spoiler)
Even though this is a spin-off series of the Sex, Love & Stiletto series, I have never read this author before. Something I plan to change. So glad I have plenty of reading material from which to choose.
Week 10 -- Completion PostShelf: Gothic Horror
Book: Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton
How it fits: tagged 3 times
Read: 05.21
Rating: ★★★★
Review
I really didn't want to like this book because I don't really need another long standing series to get involved with... but no such luck. I liked it. A lot. Bummer. Anyway, the world building is hard in this one. We're plunged into Anita's world almost as if we've been there all along and so felt a lot like playing catch up. Most things were eventually explained or showed to us, although much of it we were learning right along with Anita. These aren't sparkly benevolent vampires, for sure. I liked Anita, she was snarky and funny but she also loyal and kick-ass. I'll look forward to seeing how things go from here. She is linked to Jean-Claude whether she wants to be or not and that will cause all kinds of problems for her.
Completion post: spin-off
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two by J.K. Rowling/John Tiffany/Jack Thorne
Rating: ★★★★
Date Read: May 22, 2018
I'm a big Harry Potter fan, but I put off reading this for a long time because:
1. It's written as a play, not a novel, and I wasn't sure how I would like that.
2. The description sounded full of parental problems and I wasn't sure I wanted to see Harry, Ron, and Hermoine as parents. I thought it might ruin the earlier books, seeing how they've turned out as 'boring' parents.
I was wrong, mostly, and really enjoyed this book. I will say that the play format didn't bother me at all after the first couple chapters. I even forgot I was reading a play instead of a novel. Having said that, there was a lot less action and a lot more dialogue in this book--and that's because it's a screenplay.
I loved learning about Albus (Harry's son) and Scorpius (Draco's sons). They were lovable, funny characters, almost immediately and I liked their friendship.
I'd recommend this to a Harry Potter fan, for sure. It was an interesting, quick read and the relationships were really well done.
Please post any reviews & request for stamps by Saturday US time so I can add them to the stats which hopefully will be out early next week.
CONGRATULATIONS, Of Bards and Books!You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'gothic horror'.
[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Good Job!! :D
Congrats on the stamp Singing Tale Bearers!
Thanks, Steph & Sandra! Thanks for all you hard work, too. It has been fun.
Thanks everyone!!! It was fun playing with you all :)
You're welcome Lisa Kay :)
Here's my last completion, if we still care ;-)Week 11 -- Completion Post
Shelf: Spin-off
Book: Secrets Collide - Kathleen Brooks
How it fits: tagged 2 times
Read: 05.23
Rating: ★★★
Review
Very meh book. I didn't really like it but I didn't hate it either. The romance part was good enough, but the suspense part is not done well by this author. I know this but I feel compelled to finish the series. I can't really put my finger on it. It's just things don't really feel realistic. A man who is a covert operative for the CIA whose cover is to work as a highly sought after Hollywood stuntman - using that cover to gather information as a Hollywood hottie is one thing but to further it by also saying he has been involved in highly secret black ops against terrorists in Russia and the middle east? Anyway, it was an easy read and did have a sweet romance, so I'll probably read the last book and be done with this author.
Thanks for being such a great team! Hopefully see you around the group!
SOS: Serious Overload of Series
Books mentioned in this topic
Secrets Collide (other topics)Irresistibly Yours (other topics)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two (other topics)
Secrets Collide (other topics)
The Burning Maze (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Janet Evanovich (other topics)Gail Carriger (other topics)
Deanna Chase (other topics)
Anne Bishop (other topics)
Anne Bishop (other topics)
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