SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion
Archive: Past Team Challenges
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R16: Team #16 ~ Seeing Double
I've got Reader View on my laptop its a Microsoft 8, but I've only used it once or twice, so I forget what its like exactly. But I've never had adds or crap on any device, going back all the way to 2009 with XP, 7, 8, kindle, whether I'm reading ebook or kindle. And I've only had Adblock Plus for the last 2 yrs or so on the desktop.
GTK. Huh, that's nice. Maybe it's your router? Hubby recently set up ours to block all ads and it's been amazing. Catches anything that might fall through AdBlocker.
Probably not the router as I've had 2 or 3 over the yrs. And I just do what it says to install, nothing fancy. It could maybe that I don't read epub, just PDF or kindle?
Shelf #9 - Urban Fantasy 
Read: May 7
Rating: 4 stars
Review:
Someone has raised a zombie...a killer zombie...
There is a lesson to be learned from this book. If you want to raise the dead, make sure that the dead had no magic in life. If so you will not have the control you so desire.
There was some intense moments in this one, I can not imagine what it would be like to wake up from your dream because you smell a corps in your room...a zombie sent to kill you. But with this little attack we the reader find out about a soft spot Anita has...stuffed penguin collection.. Anyone else think that's cute?
Book 1 was great, fantastic even. Book 2 even better...book 3 will you keep up on the winning streak?
Carrie, You're still good to go on three and up to around Obsidian Butterfly then it got a little crazy for me... I still hung in there longer than I should have, but have avoided the newer ones. Not sure how the time line of the books went with her own personal life, but somewhere I read that Richard was based off her ex-husband. Well... must have been a tough break if that rumor is true. :)
Sandra wrote: "Probably not the router as I've had 2 or 3 over the yrs. And I just do what it says to install, nothing fancy. It could maybe that I don't read epub, just PDF or kindle?"I'm not sure. I use the 'reader view' when viewing websites with a lot of rubbish scattered about or just save as PDF and read that way. All of my ereads are read on my kindle, which is free of ads :)
Flatline by S.A. Magnusson
Series: Medicine and Magic #1
Shelf: Urban Fantasy
Read: 7 May
Rating: ✮✮✮☆☆
My Review:
Flatline introduces us to world where the Veil hides magic from those who cannot wield it. Kate Michaels is a second-year resident physician working in Hennepin General's ER department. She was raised by her grandparents after the loss of her mother. They aren't able to determine what type of mage she is and she's unable to go to those who may know because, if she has dark magic as she and her grandparents believe, they would burn it out of her, which could destroy her.
There are many things I enjoyed about Flatline . I have experience in the medical field, so I was drawn to the mix of human medicine and the magical world. Additionally, I'm intrigued by the slow reveal of this world and those within it. All of the characters are likable, especially Kate who, while being uncertain about her magic, isn't afraid to use it when necessary to take care of herself and others.
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure if my midrange rating is a result of my true enjoyment of this book or just a case of "anything that follows Jane Yellowrock is sure to suffer". Either way, I'm interested enough that I'll check out book two Postmortem soon to further explore the world.
Glad to hear it might just be a case of Jane Y blues, cause I liked the blurb & bought it :DAfter us talking about Reader View, I noticed that its coming up here on GR for me, had a quick look & its horrible of course. Its not meant for this style of interaction.
Yeah, it really could've just been due to post-Jane blues. I'll wait a beat before reading book 2 to see if my thoughts change. I did like it though, just not as much as I'd anticipated.GR is one of the sites I don't see it on, weird. But, like ya said, I'm not surprised it's no good for this site.
Urban Fantasy shelf ~ Completion Post
Title/Author: Dark Queen by Faith Hunter
Series: Jane Yellowrock #12
Date Read: 5/7/2018
Shelf: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 432
Rating: ★★★★★+++
Review: Well this is the big one that the storyline has been building towards... Leo, Master of the City of New Orleans vs the European vamps. The big showdown is coming to NOLA since Leo has home court advantage and Jane's team is front and center and intertwined with Leo's Clan Pellesier for the Sangre Duello. This is basically Leo's clan and Jane's family dueling the European vamps to first blood or to death with the final outcome of who will rule all Mithrans. This was a rough one, since you know there is going to be true deaths and even Eli is not spared from the duel. Leo is a sneaky one with his long game, so now we also have Clan Yellowrock, which was full of the feels. A few extra surprises and time with fav characters that includes Beast, Eli, Alex, Edmund, Gee, Brute, Rick, Molly, and a new twist along with time with Bruiser who is just so sigh worthy on any day. What an emotional rollercoaster ride with Jane's memories from arriving in New Orleans to the present day, and flashes of others during the vows. I was so afraid that this was the final book... But it just can't be with that cliff hanger...
This book was awesome and JY is one of my all time favorite UF series. For me Faith Hunter is one of those rare authors that can really place you into the book along with her characters. Whether hanging with Jane and her "family" or Nell Ingram in Soulwood, I'm right there seeing her world and her creation. This is a series that I have followed in audio, and the narrator is very good. FH's books deserve so much more than a 5 star rating. I fear that I will be suffering from the Jane Y blues too for a few weeks.
Yeeeessssssss! So very much agree, Lis. Great review :D
Book - Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop
Shelf - Hunter
Pages - 493 pages
Date Read - May 8
Rating - 5 stars
Review - This was a reread for me <3 I will never get enough of Meg and the Lakeside community.... (okay, mainly Meg/Simon because I live for that).
I can't believe how much of this book I had forgotten. I've reread the first two but only read the others once. Meg grows a lot in this book and it's fantastic. Love Skippy and his glorious 'arrrrooooooooo'. The Others taking care of the Wolf Lovers... Really, really glad I'm doing a reread. Anne Bishop writes beautiful characters and I love each and every one of them.
I will hopefully get caught up on posts tomorrow. Hope you all have been loving your books!!! I've had one of those weeks where I have to do a lot of things I really hate and I've been stuck on 'mentally tired'.
Ohhh I've been in the mood for something gothic, let's see what we got.
Hope your week improves, Kait!For this shelf, I'm going retro horror and will be reading:
Since
is only 98 pages... I'm going with
in audio and
on my kindle and the one I finish first will be my gothic horror pick. If self-absorbed Lestat starts to drive me crazy, I'll switch to
. Nothing is really jumping up and saying "read me"
Also this week's shelf gives us 4 in a row with a shelf call of FAE or Supernatural Thriller for the win. No pressure, but we still have a few shelves in those rows that are not stamped... getting closer, this might turn into a nail biter. Happy Reading!!
I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on Lestat, if you go with that one. I've had it since published, but have been hesitant to read it. I loved the earlier books and don't want this to ruin that for me, if it's bad.
Lis wrote: "Shelf #10 ~ 9/5/18: Gothic HorrorDIRECT LINK - https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/..."
Thank you for posting the new shelf call! :)
It took some hunting but I think I'll read
for gothic horror.
Steph wrote: "Hope your week improves, Kait!"Thanks! :) Work drama and major adult-ing... so glad to finally have some days off.
Lis wrote: "Since is only 98 pages... I'm going with in audio and on my kindle and the one I finish first will b..."I haven't though about Bunnicula is ages!
I had the same problem after being discovering that Soulless was shelved three times as gothic horror, but the second book, which is the one I'm on, isn't at all! After that nothing caught my eye.
Nice!! Looks like I'll be busying reading my books to get caught up!
CONGRATULATIONS, Seeing Double!We now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'hunter'.
[Our updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Yay!! :D
Kait wrote: "Steph wrote: "Hope your week improves, Kait!"Thanks! :) Work drama and major adult-ing... so glad to finally have some days off."
Hope you're enjoying it!
Another stamp! yay!
I'll share my 'gothic horror' review shortly :)
Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite
Stand-Alone Novel (takes place in same town as Lost Souls)
Shelf: gothic horror
Read: 11 May
Rating: ✮✮✮✮☆
My Review:
Drawing Blood is a dark and twisted, yet touching tale of how lost we can become held down by the weight of horrors from our past and how others can ground us in the present, make us look to the future and all it might hold.
Sometimes your mistakes showed you the really interesting connections between your brain, your hand, and your heart, the ones you might otherwise never know were there. They were important even if you had no idea what they meant.The story begins in Missing Mile, North Carolina in the summer of 1972. Five-year-old Trevor is traveling with his family (mom, dad and little brother) when car trouble halts their progress in this tiny town. (Side note: Poppy/Billy fans may remember Missing Mile from Lost Souls) Robert "Bobby" McGee, Trevor's father, is the "... creator of the crazed, sick, beautiful comic Birdland". As Bobby's drawing stops, Trevor's begins as does his horror story.
Artists always come back to the places that created them and ruined them.Flash forward twenty years: Trevor is returning to Missing Mile to confront his past seeking answers to questions that have continue to haunt him. It's there that he meets Zachary Bosch, a young, talented and now hunted computer hacker fleeing New Orleans and TPTB. Since fleeing from home at a young age and through hacking, he's found a way to live his life to the fullest. His abusive household taught him never to fight back, but in Missing Mile he's found something/one worth fighting for.
Congrats on the stamp Tired and Emotional!
Thank ya, ma'am :D
Congrats on the stamp team! Didn't get much reading time this weekend but back after both books today... Lestat is kind of meh, but I'm liking the Fireman... but it's a chunker at 768 pages or I'd be posting a review by now. Still letting them both race it out...
Book - The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens
Shelf - Gothic Horror
Pages - 376 pages
Date Read - May 15
Rating - 3 stars
Review - I was not fair to this book at all while reading it. I'm sick and stress-y still and it felt like everything about this book made me grumpy. I loved the first in the series. It was so unique and mysterious in all aspects. I didn't really know what to make of Devlin from the previous book but I wasn't expecting him to be completely absent from this one and there to be a new... 'man' in Amelia's life.
I did enjoy all of the restoration portions and the small town of Asher Falls. Angus was a wonderful addition as well, always a fan of dogs in books (provided nothing terrible happens to them!).
Shelf #11 ~ 16/5/18: Spin OffDIRECT LINK - https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Not a winner for us...
It is a winning shelf for Team 19, but they are behind two shelves not including the new shelf...
I don't know how it's a spin off but I'm going with it as it's there, tagged by 1 person on page 19 of the list
Eek! Maybe another shelf will be announced before they catchup. Could happen, maybe. LOL! Okay, for spin-off, I'm reading:
I have 3 hrs left of Lestat... it's finally getting interesting after too many hours of meh... not sure if it's me or if it's just post Jane Y withdrawal...
Completion Post ~ Gothic Horror shelf
Title/Author: Prince Lestat by Anne Rice
Series: The Vampire Chronicles #11
Date Read: 5/18/2018
Shelf: Shelf - Gothic Horror
Pages: 458
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review: This book spans several years and multiple characters and POVs. Little confusing at first with characters I was somewhat familiar and others I could not remember. Also a few new characters, which I did like thrown into the mix to add a new layer of storylines and a very interesting twist. I would divide this book into three parts, first is info dump and Lestat, the melancholy years. 2 stars. Then the second actually gets interesting as the mystery voice that is in several vamps heads steps up his aggressive plan to annihilate a majority of the vampire population. I will refer to this as part two, when Lestat grows a pair. 4 stars. Final part is the kumbaya part, where everyone loves one another. Another 2 stars.
Overall I'm trying to be fair with this review and the fact I just came off an awesome 5 star read. The original Lestat book was so new and interesting when the series started. Broke the mold of the traditional Dracula template. Dark and still somehow romantic, then it turned into this self absorbed character that I've held off from reading for several years. Kind of what's happened to the Anita Blake character from Laurel K Hamilton's series. Too much inner dialogue and reflection on the main character and what or how everyone loves or thinks about that character that the story gets lost.
Love your review, Lis! I’m thinking I’ll continue to keep that one shelved on my TBR (eventually) shelf. I hear ya re: post-Jane withdrawal. Great reads have a tendency to dim other books.
I finished my shelf read and really enjoyed it. I’ll try to post my review tomorrow. .
Shelf #5 - Demons 
May 19th
3 stars
Ivy has psychometry, something she discovered in a horrible horrible encounter as a child. No will never touch anything or anyone unless she has gloves on or it is needed to a case. She uses this second sight as a detective.
A lot of shit goes down in this book, it's full of happening things and the plot is rather good, it's the presentation that has left me not in hurry to read book 2. It took me over a month to read this small little book (that should tell you something). The author is a tad bit repetitive, and info dumps galore. It felt as it she was trying to hard with it, if you have read it I think you will get what I'm saying.
I liked it, I'm hoping to at some point see what happens next to Ivy and co but like I said not soonish..
Spiral of Need by Suzanne Wright
Series: Mercury Pack #1
Shelf: Spin-off
Read: 18 May
Rating: ✮✮✮✮½
My Review:
Mercury Pack, set in the same world as Suzanne Wright's Phoenix Pack, picks up after Dark Instincts and tells the story of Alyssa "Ally" Marshall and Derren Hudson, Mercury Pack's Beta.
Ally is a seer in the Collingwood Pack. She's being harassed by their Beta female who recently mated with Ally's ex. Ally supports their mating, but Rachelle manages to convince the pack that Ally is insanely jealous and out to get her. Derren and his pack mates have a serious dislike of seers, for many reasons. Thankfully, it doesn't take long for Ally's selflessness to shine through and win over those in the Mercury Pack.
I loved Ally's strength and resilience. She has some great scenes with her nemesis Rachelle, but this was my favorite burn (Ally to Zeke, Beta male):
"... there's no need for me to be envious of her claim on you - I always give my used stuff to the needy and disadvantaged."As Seth Myers would say, (blocked for those who dislike gifs) (view spoiler)
Both Ally and Derren have had a tough childhood and suffered losses. Together they make a great couple. I thoroughly enjoy Suzanne's writing style, her world and her characters. I'm looking forward to continuing on with this spin-off and Phoenix Pack #7 due out later this month.
Thanks for trucking along, everyone!! :)I've updated the tracking and requested our Demons stamp.
As far as keeping up to date, we're just missing Me for UF and Carrie for Gothic Horror (and then Spin-Off, of course). We have lots of ways to win, hopefully we get another shelf call!!
I am switching my UF book as I just can't focus on Poison Study and that makes me sad. I am almost done with
and will use that for the UF shelf and will likely read the next book asap for spin off
.
CONGRATULATIONS, Seeing Double!We now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'demons'.
[Our updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Yay!! :D
T19 is still pending reviews before their 'spin-off' stamp, so ya never know. ;)I love that series! *Only* 43 days until book #4 :D
Congrats on the stamp Tired & Emotional!And yay for
, can't wait 43 days!!!!! I want it now!!!!
Yes, reviews are starting to come in for WH, all good, though I haven't read them. LOL :)
Ready for both... congrats teamies on the stamp.
I’m wondering when we’ll get Dominic’s book. He cracks me up. I can’t wait to see which girlie will tame/temper that one.
SOS: Serious Overload of Series
Books mentioned in this topic
Lake Silence (other topics)Lake Silence (other topics)
Burn (other topics)
Burn (other topics)
Burn (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Anne Bishop (other topics)Suzanne Wright (other topics)
Sandhya Menon (other topics)
Anne Rice (other topics)
Suzanne Wright (other topics)
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Thanks! I hope it will be :)
I've fallen in love the "reader view" option on websites. I'm not sure if it's just a Mac/Apple thing, but LOVE! It is like a print-view and gets rid of all the vids, ads (if you don't already have a blocker) and any other side/top/bottom junk they've thrown on the webpage. Reader view isn't available on all sites though.