R18: Team #15 ~ Better Read than Dead

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Hey ladies! Getting close to the end. For this shelf, I’ll be reading

[Jothany]

I'm choosing . I like Chloe Neill's Devil's Isle series so I'm hoping I like this series as well.

Going to start this along with , , and . May was a month of series for me and I love it!

[Melissa]

Selection Post



Shelf: Favorite Series
Book: Sweep in Peace
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Innkeeper Chronicles #2
Pages: 237
How it fits: shelved 25x

[Raquel (Rocki)]

For favorite series I will be rereading im thinking its time to continue on with this series but to do that i have to reread book 1

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Great choices, everyone! Happy reading!

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Wicked Kiss by Rebecca Zanetti
Series: Realm Enforcers #4
Shelf: favorite series (shelved by 3 people)
Read: 25 May
Rating: ✮✮✮✮½

Review:
Wicked Kiss continues with the story set in Wicked Burn . Adam Dunne, Enforcer for the Coven Nine, is tracking Victoria "Tori" Monzelle, a human who's been kidnapped. She's witnessed immortals and now her life is at risk. He's trying to rescue her while remaining anonymous as he's the last of his family and the enforcers the Council hasn't either dismissed or held under charges of treason for helping Simone.

“I, Adam Dunne, Enforcer for the Council of the Coven Nine, give you my solemn vow I will mate this human and thus negate her threat.”

“So be it.” Peter crashed the gavel down. “You have twenty-four hours to mate, or you’ve committed treason—much like the rest of your family.”

Tori shoved against Adam. “Oh, hell no.”

While Adam vows to do whatever needs to be done to protect Tori, despite having made this vow to the Coven of Nine, he will not mate her against her wishes. And, the push/pull between these two, who are so very much 'opposites attract', is one of the best parts of this installment of the Realm Enforcers. Tori's involved in more than just trying to flee the witches that hunt her. She's become entangled with a DEA agent who is tracking the distribution of Apollo, a drug harmful to witches and deadly to humans.

She wore her wildness like a shield and her defiance like a sword.

Tori's spunk was obvious when we first met her. Zanetti beautifully paired these two - very different yet very much made for each other.

He needed to get out of his own head, to step back from the war going on inside him between family and duty, and she was the woman to take him away.

Tori's wild and fearless spirit is just what's needed to bring Adam out of his head; it's what allows him to truly feel and fall. He's aware of her past, her lack of trust. He's aware that he must gain that trust before mating her. Yet, while he's been trying to win her over, he's surprised to realize she's managed to do the same.

He’d been trying to get inside her mind, inside her heart, and she’d just figured out everything about him. She was trying to find peace for him.

While these two are on the run, much is resolved and revealed: We finally learn who's behind the blackmail scheme against Simone, Tori learns a lot more about this new world she's becoming a part of and readers are set to learn more about Nessa Lansa and Bear McDunphy, the head of Grizzly motorcycle club in Wicked Bite.

[Melissa]

Completion Post

Shelf: Favorite Series
Book: Sweep in Peace
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Innkeeper Chronicles #2
Date Finished: 5/27/19
Rating: ★★★★★
How it fits: Shelved 25x; 237 pgs

Review: I can't tell you how happy I was to see George, Jack, Gaston, and Sophie from the Edge series again! I missed them so much!! I wasn't really surprised by what they had become as adults because I think it was the natural progression from where we left them in Steel's Edge. I was surprised that (view spoiler)[ it took so long for them to kill Spider (hide spoiler)] and I have to wonder what happened to the rest of the Mars. I really wasn't mad at George for being so (view spoiler)[ manipulative - remember, throughout the Edge Series we see the seeds of this behavior? He uses his "cool, detached prince" routine more than once to get what he wants and he is constantly spying on anyone he can. (hide spoiler)] This is totally in line with who he grows up to be. I was a little sad that (view spoiler)[ he and Sophie hadn't found a way to be together as adults (hide spoiler)] but again, that makes sense based on what we know about the characters. Although, I won't give up hope just yet! One more thing about George and then I'll make a few observations about the book ... (view spoiler)[ I was really disappointed that George didn't mention to Dina that he knew her brother after the linking! I know Dina feels like he made some sort of restitution for the apple trees and the manipulation by endorsing The Gertrude Hunt (plus the bonus) but if The Khanum and Dagorkun saw Dina and Klaus looking for their parents on Nexus and felt Dina's despair, then George did, too. Also. George knew the pain that he caused Rose when he disappeared leaving only a note - and Sophie reminds him so it's fresh in his memory! It's really kind of cruel that he didn't even hint that he knew that Klaus was alive and safe. I think Dina would have preferred that knowledge over anything else. (hide spoiler)] Maybe I'm jumping the gun on that and I'll be pleasantly surprised in one of the following books. Fingers crossed!

Anyway, I bet people lost it when George showed up in the prologue for the serial! I know I would have!

Sweep in Peace is a lot darker than Clean Sweep. The story is much heavier in general and I definitely needed some tissues for the climax. Dina and The Gertrude Hunt are hosting peace negotiations for three warring factions and as you can imagine, she's got her hands full trying to keep them all comfortable and safe. You know, while I was reading, I couldn't help but think, in a lot of ways, Dina is the exact opposite of Kate Daniels. I bet that was refreshing for the Andrews' to write. Dina is accommodating and very much blends into the background. BUT, when she is pushed to her limit, I think she would rival Kate for the top spot as the "Scariest B*tch on the Block". No joke. I was definitely shrinking into my covers when it was time for her to confront the delegations! I was totally amazed at that power and how different it was from the other heroines from the various Andrews' universes. So cool!

Other things I loved/wanted more of:

> Caldenia is still at the top of my list of characters that I want to know more about.

> The new, Red Cleaver Chef, Orro - described as "an oversized, hysterical hedgehog with a martyr complex" - was freaking fantastic!

> Beast and The Nameless Cat - how could you not love the pets of Gertrude Hunt??

> I could take or leave the romance, so I was really glad it didn't play a huge role throughout the story.

> I am looking forward to seeing how the Officer Marais thread plays out. I bet he ends up being an ally in some way.

[Melissa]

Week 12: Urban Fantasy

[Melissa]

Selection Post

Shelf: Urban Fantasy
Book: One Fell Sweep
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Innkeeper Chronicles #3
How it fits: Shelved 733x; 257 pgs

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Great review! So happy you’ll be able to continue on. That’s such a fantastic series!

For this shelf, I’ll read

[Jothany]

For this shelf I’ll be reading . I have about half of my other book left to read as well

[Raquel (Rocki)]

I will be reading

[Melissa]

Congratulations to Team 6, our round 18 champs!

All of our outstanding reviews are due before 6/7 so we can earn our completion badge.

I am headed to beautiful Siesta Key for a much needed vacation! I'm not anticipating any wifi trouble so I'll be checking in. It's been fantastic playing with you ladies!

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Have a great holiday Melissa :)

[Raquel (Rocki)]

Have a great time!

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Thanks for captaining us, Melissa! ;) Hope you have a great vacay! I'm almost finished w/my book, so I'll have my review up before 6/7.

I had a great time reading along with y'all! I hope you'll all join us again for future rounds of BSB.

[Raquel (Rocki)]

Shelf: Kindle Freebie
Rating: ★★★★
Finished: 6/1/19
Review:
This one started off as a slow start but it grew on me quickly. Gio was very stiff but B quickly stoked that fire. It intrigued me enough that I definitely want to continue with the series. I really wanted to know more about B's father and what he found and why everyone is looking for him. Is he even alive, we have no clue's as to where he could be. I am glad that B's grandmother was really cool and kind of already knew about vampires. I also liked that the vampires had control of different elements, Tenzin and Carwyn are my favorite. His friends have so much character and life for being old vampires. Though I bet he needed that being a stuffy vampire himself.(view spoiler)[ Some parts at the ending with B annoyed me only because if she wants him go get him he is right there.... I understand you want him to say he loves you and know that you can trust him before you move in. Come on life isn't like that, and I get it young girl has to live life and see if it is actually what she wants. Fine waste all that time you could of had with him. (hide spoiler)] Yea I definitely see myself continuing on I have to know what happens next on this great mystery.

[Raquel (Rocki)]

Shelf: Favorite Series
Rating: ★★★★★
Finished: 6/1/19
Review:
This is a reread for me and I am glad I have, I wanted to continue on with this series for a while now, and this was just as great as the first time I read it. Eragon a boy and his dragon against the army of an Empire. What more is needed for a great adventure and battle of wills. I listened to this on Audio book this time and the only thing that bothered me was the voice he did for the dragon and the werecat they sounded the same and so was hard to tell the distinction between. Plus I didn't like that the girl dragon didn't have a more feminine voice I know it was read by a guy but still. That was the only thing that I had an issue with.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Wicked Bite by Rebecca Zanetti
Series: Realm Enforcers #5
Shelf: Urban Fantasy (shelved by 3 people)
Read: 1 June
Rating: ✮✮✮✮½

Review:
Wicked Bite is the final book in Zanetti's spin-off/same world series Realm Enforcers. It was one that I'd been looking forward to since meeting Bear, the closed off alpha who heads the grizzly nation. We've learned a bit about him in previous installments and knew his actions in Wicked Burn caused him fatal harm. At the end of Wicked Kiss, Simone asked Nessa Lansa, a witch who was on the ruling council, to help save Bear. And, that's exactly where this installment begins.

“I’m not certain I fully thought this out,” she admitted. The corners of his eyes crinkled. “No shit.”

Beauregard "Bear" McDunphy discovers Nessa in his cabin. She tells him her plans, all while keeping several important secrets. The only thing Bear dislikes more than witches are lies, so her selective disclosure of the facts doesn't sit well with him. Yet, he cannot deny she is able to help him in a way no other could. She realizes quickly that her "plan" isn't going to be as easy or as straightforward as she'd thought.

Throughout the series everyone has been searching for the manufacturer and distributor of a deadly drug Apollo. Progress has been made, yet even after one major distributor was stopped the drug remains on the streets and in the hands of those tracking Nessa. The perpetrator is discovered and stopped, but I found it all a bit anti-climatic following such a long and deadly pursuit.

I thought one of the best parts of this installment was the cooperation between all nations - vampires, demons, shifters and witches - coming together to stop this threat. I'm glad Zanetti is continuing on with her Dark Protectors series. Because of that it's easier to say farewell to this one.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Raquel (Rocki) wrote: "
Shelf: Kindle Freebie
Rating: ★★★★"

Glad you enjoyed it, Rocki. I really enjoyed that series.

[Melissa]

Stamp for Kindle Freebie has been requested!!

[Melissa]

Completion Post

Shelf: Urban Fantasy
Book: One Fell Sweep
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Innkeeper Chronicles #3
Date Finished: 6/6/19
Rating: ★★★★★
How it fits: Shelved 733x; 257 pgs

Review: I have no idea how the next book in the series can keep being better than the one before it but the Andrews consistently pull it off. One Fell Sweep was freaking fantastic. So much action. So much drama. So much intrigue.

>> I loved Maud & Helen! I definitely need more of them in my life.

>> The history between the Hiru and the Draziri was so interesting and I was really surprised by the twist!

>> I was so glad that the love triangle was resolved in a satisfying way - I hate those things and this one was so "meh". I'm glad that's over.

>> Dina continues to be totally BA. I love her.

>> The ad-hals are totally intimidating! I wonder if we are going to see more of them.

>> I'm so glad that the stuff with Officer Marais went the way it did! Looking forward to more with him.

Even though bingo is over, I'm off to start book 4!

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Book #4 Sweep of the Blade won't be released till the end of July, so unless you've downloaded the serial, you'll have to wait till then :)

[Melissa]

Uuuugggghhhh .... so, I am on vacation with both of my sisters, my daughter and my 1 yo nephew, and even though I totally intended to download book 4 immediately, baby cuddles totally took top priority. He's just too stinkin' cute.

Now that I'm winding down getting ready for bed I open up my kindle app, seach for book 4 ... not having any luck, I come to GR and see a July release date. Thanks, Sandra. I should have checked my notifications first. Waiting stinks.

[Raquel (Rocki)]

I will post my review of my book after work

[Raquel (Rocki)]

Shelf: Urban Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★★
Finished: 6/6/19
Review:
OMG that ending of course that better be dealt with in the last book. I mean we all saw it coming and that would be nice kind of what she needs but seriously, I don't know how she is going to deal with that and Eric. I mean he is going to most likely go be husband to some queen anyway or love slave what ever you call it, Eric is just disappointing me at every turn.(view spoiler)[ I am glad she finally used the compact, It was slowly killing me how it would work. (hide spoiler)] Though if they see repercussions from it, it wont be till later. I am very interested in how this is going to wrap up, and (view spoiler)[ Does this mean there are no more Faerie that are going to be popping around after he took the ones at the bar and at Sookie's house? I am very interested in if she will still find ones wandering around (hide spoiler)]

[Steph, Serious series addict]

CONGRATULATIONS, Better Read than Dead!
We now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'kindle freebie'. 

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

Yay!! :D

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Melissa wrote: "Uuuugggghhhh .... so, I am on vacation with both of my sisters, my daughter and my 1 yo nephew, and even though I totally intended to download book 4 immediately, baby cuddles totally took top prio..."

Well, of course, baby cuddles should always take top priority :D Hope you're having a great time!

Glad you enjoyed your book, Rocki. I still have TBR. The last two books were among my least favorite when I read them back in 2013, so I wasn't in any rush to read it.

[Raquel (Rocki)]

Yea my friend who rereads this series each year said that the last two books were her least favorite as well. I was afraid that I wasn't going to be into this next one, but we will just have to see.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Hopefully you’ll enjoy it.

[Jothany]

Sorry I’ve been absent. Work has really ramped up so I’ve been working 10-12 hour days 4 days straight. Reading happens here and there (if I can manage it). Life has definitely gotten in the way

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Congrats on the stamp Peaceful Activists!

I never bothered with either. From the reviews of my friends, there is no way I'd buy it, but if I see it at the library, I'd borrow it.

Jothany, its sad when work interferes with reading, but then its good to have a job to buy books :D

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Sorry RL has been so busy for ya, Jothany! Hope you get a respite soon.

Thanks, Miss Sandra 😁