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R11: Team Just ONE More Chapter (1) ***Winning Team***

Got it ....
Can you edit your post so it reads "Completion" (rather than Selection...)

Got it ....
Can you edit your post so it reads "Completion" (rather than Selection...)"
Done

The storm is supposed to hit here tomorrow afternoon so I'm going to push to finish the book today and post my review before then.

how is everyone else doing on their books?
I should be done with my book tomorrow.


Finished my book and added my review to post #43.

Roll: 3+2=5
Previous spot 11
New Spot: 16
To Read:
16th in series, 1st in series, 6th in series, or Stand alone
Alternate: Cover Pink
The BONUS point tasks are:
✸ One point can be earned for reading three or more books in a series.
✸ One point can be earned for reading a book with >500 pages.
✸ One point can be earned for starting and finishing a series. There must be at least 4 books in that series. Series + spin-off totalling ≥4 books also counts. For series with >9 books, point will be awarded for reading books 1-9. For still ongoing series, all books published to date (OR up to #9 in longer series) must be read.~ No re-reads on this one.
✔ ✸ 2 in 1: One point can be earned for reading a book that fits both the series number and the alternate for the spot you are on.
✸ One point can be earned for never picking a book from the alternate lists. This point is awarded when your team rolls past 90.
✸ Halloween Bonus: One point can be earned for reading a Horror/Paranormal/Urban Fantasy book for the roll on 10/25.
Happy reading everyone :)
Week 2
Spot: 16
Book:
Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima
Qualification: Shattered Realms #1 AND Bonus: 535 pages
Finished: 9/12/19
Rating: ★★★★
Review: After seeing his father murdered, Ash flees to the south changing his identity and attending a school for wizards to develop his skills. Meanwhile in Delphi, Jenna is also hiding behind a new identity after her impulsive attack on a cruel king makes her a fugitive. Fate leads these two to meet up in a dungeon and fall in love (well, at least in "like") but King Gerard has plans for Jenna that will tear them apart.
I enjoyed the world-building of this novel right away but although the characters were interesting I didn't like the switching back and forth from Adrian's storyline to Jenna's storyline. I just prefer to follow one main character through the whole book so I don't have to keep reorienting myself to remember what's going on with this character. So I was happy when their storylines converged but I did have to wait until halfway through the book for this to happen. So the latter half of the book was much better to me and that's where the excitement started. The slow build up to it was worth it. Now I want to read the series that preceded this one to learn more about the history of this world and the older characters.
Spot: 16
Book:

Qualification: Shattered Realms #1 AND Bonus: 535 pages
Finished: 9/12/19
Rating: ★★★★
Review: After seeing his father murdered, Ash flees to the south changing his identity and attending a school for wizards to develop his skills. Meanwhile in Delphi, Jenna is also hiding behind a new identity after her impulsive attack on a cruel king makes her a fugitive. Fate leads these two to meet up in a dungeon and fall in love (well, at least in "like") but King Gerard has plans for Jenna that will tear them apart.
I enjoyed the world-building of this novel right away but although the characters were interesting I didn't like the switching back and forth from Adrian's storyline to Jenna's storyline. I just prefer to follow one main character through the whole book so I don't have to keep reorienting myself to remember what's going on with this character. So I was happy when their storylines converged but I did have to wait until halfway through the book for this to happen. So the latter half of the book was much better to me and that's where the excitement started. The slow build up to it was worth it. Now I want to read the series that preceded this one to learn more about the history of this world and the older characters.

Spot: 16

The Awakening by L.J. Smith
How It Fits: #1 The Vampire Diaries
Date Read: 9/9
Rating: 3*
Review
This was the first in the Vampire Diaries series. Although not the best Vampire tale I have come across it was rather enjoyable. The basic love triangle takes some time to develop, but the flashbacks to when Stefan and Damon new Katherine gives some depth to the story. I did find Elena quite annoying at times, I’m hoping that this will be less so in future books

Spot 16
Book: Splintered
Author: A.G. Howard
Qualification: #1 in Splintered series
Finished: 9/7/19
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This is the first book in the Splintered series which is based on Alice in Wonderland. The MC, Alyssa, is a descendant of Alice Liddell, the original Alice that Lewis Carroll wrote about. Alyssa learns that all the women in her family are cursed and are doomed to go insane. In fact, her mother has been in an asylum since Alyssa was a young girl. As she pieces together clues left for her by her mother, Alyssa realizes that she must venture into Wonderland to try to break the curse and save her mother as well as herself. This is a very imaginative book with great characters and adventures. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Spot 16
Book: Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman
Stand Alone
Completion:
Full Tilt
Neal Shusterman
9/12/2019
208 pages
2 starts
Review:
Overall I was underwhelmed by this. Mostly the issue I had with it was the dialogue felt so weird coming from the age group this was supposedly comprised of. They spoke like thirty year olds, not teenagers. The build up took a while to get going and I struggled to hold out until that point. So...meh. Not great. Unwind was my first Shusterman book and I'm grateful for that. If it had been this, I don't know that I would have tried any more.

Spot: 16

Book: Midnight Curse
Qualification: #1 in the Disrupted Curse Series
Finished: 9/10/19
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Review: 3.5 Stars. I have not read the first three books that were about Scarlett as I did not realize this was a "spin off/continuation" of a previous trilogy. I was able to figure out most of the background from information that was dropped throughout this book. I am actually glad I didn't read the previous three books as I think if I had I would have been invested in her relationship with Eli. I liked Eli (what little we saw of him in this book) but even though Scarlett said she was in love with him NONE of her actions backed that up. In fact, if she wasn't upset with him she was either ignoring him or treating him like a annoyance. Since I wasn't invested in them as a couple I just assumed from the beginning that they weren't going to work out. I believe the author is going to take the route of Scarlett/Jesse. It seems he was in the previous books as well and not treated all that well by the hints dropped in this book.
So other than the relationships which I neither liked nor disliked there was a big mystery in this book about who set up Scarlett's old friend. Now I had to completely ignore some "big issues" with the crime that was committed as there seemed to be a lot of holes that didn't make sense to me. Once I put that aside I enjoyed the mystery. I enjoyed Scarlett's friendship with Jesse and the two of them working together to solve the crime. I liked the secondary characters and wish we got to spend more time with the other members of the council.
Overall I liked this book but I didn't love it. It did hold my interest enough that I will read the next one.

Roll: 3 +2 =5
Previous spot: 11
New Spot: 16
Bonus Points Earned: 2 (2 in 1 Bonus Point- Danielle Gypsy Soul, 500+ pages- Talia wk 2)
Bonus Points Used: 0
To Read: 16th in series, 1st in series, 6th in series, Stand alone
Alternative: Pink Cover
Reviews
Book Concierge- 1st in series Not Quite Nice Review
Kayla- 1st in series The Inn at Eagle Point Review
Talia- 1st in series - Flamecaster Bonus 500+ pages Review
Louise- 1st in series- The Awakening Review
Jackie- 1st in series- Splintered Review
Cait S- Stand alone Full Tilt Review
Danielle Gypsy Soul- 1st in series- Midnight Curse Review
Week 2 Finished Thursday, September 12, 2019 @ 10:09 pm.

See yu nextweek1


Book: The Inn at Eagle Point by Sherryl Woods
How it Fits: #1 in A Chesapeake Shores Series
Pages: 394
Date Read: 9-12-19
Rating: 5 Stars
Review: So this was my first Sherryl Woods book. I've had many of her books on my list for years and this was the perfect time to get started on her series. This book was wonderful. It kept me captivated the entire time and always on the edge of my seat. I see why it has a 4+ star rating. This book had love, family challenges, and suspense all tied into on awesome book. I would definitely recommend this to anyone enjoy a quick wonderful read.

Week 2 / Spot 16
Book:

Qualification: Series "Nice # 1"
Finished: 09Sep19
Rating - 3***
Review -
Theresa has lost her job and on impulse decides to "retire" to Southern France. She finds a lovely flat with a view of the harbor in a small village near Nice, where she meets a groups of ex-pats, mostly British, who befriend her. But not all is perfect in paradise. A series of burglaries and a couple of vicious muggings have people on edge. Not to mention the family difficulties each of them has - cheating spoueses, ungrateful children, alcoholism, etc. I thought it was an enjoyable fast novel. Perfect for a vacation read.

We'll be on the road (literarly) this Friday, so I'm glad Kayla is around to post our spot and roll for week 3.
See y'all next week!
Just checking in. I should be done with my book by tomorrow morning.




Previous spot- 16
Roll 5+6
New Spot: 27
What you can read: 2nd in series, 7th in series, 27th in series alternative is Two or More people
The BONUS point tasks are:
✸ One point can be earned for reading three or more books in a series.
✔ ✸ One point can be earned for reading a book with >500 pages.
✸ One point can be earned for starting and finishing a series. There must be at least 4 books in that series. Series + spin-off totalling ≥4 books also counts. For series with >9 books, point will be awarded for reading books 1-9. For still ongoing series, all books published to date (OR up to #9 in longer series) must be read.~ No re-reads on this one.
✔ ✸ 2 in 1: One point can be earned for reading a book that fits both the series number and the alternate for the spot you are on.
✸ One point can be earned for never picking a book from the alternate lists. This point is awarded when your team rolls past 90.
✸ Halloween Bonus: One point can be earned for reading a Horror/Paranormal/Urban Fantasy book for the roll on 10/25.
Bonus Points Earned: 2
Bonus Points Used: 0
Reviews:
✔ Gypsy Soul: A Local Habitation **2nd in series Week 3 Review
✔ Talia- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe ** 2nd in series Week 3 Review
✔Cait S- Pop Goes the Weasel ** 2nd in series Week 3 Review
✔ Jackie- Princess in the Spotlight **2nd in series Week 3 Review
✔ Louise- The Struggle ** 2nd in series Week 3 Review
✔ Book Concierge- Uncommon Criminals ** 2nd in series Week 3 Review
✔ Kayla- Full Tilt **2nd in series Week 3 Review

not historical! sorry. I'll edit my post when I wake up my computer in the am.

Spot: 27

Book: A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire
Qualification: #2 in October Daye
Finished:
Rating:
Review:
Week 3
Spot: 27
Book:
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
Qualification: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy #2
Finished: 09/19/19
Rating: ★★★
Review: I remember coming away from the first book in this series feeling like it was a bunch of silliness, too silly for me, but so many people love this series that I wanted to try out book #2. Now I remember the silliness factor. It’s like the book is a whole bunch of funny anecdotes with a little plot sprinkled in. It’s hard to even say what the book is about other than some life forms in space get transported to several different spaces and times and at one point stop at a restaurant and view the end of the universe. I love the cleverness of the author’s wit but I just wish there was more sensible plot and less digressions to tell a funny story.
Spot: 27
Book:

Qualification: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy #2
Finished: 09/19/19
Rating: ★★★
Review: I remember coming away from the first book in this series feeling like it was a bunch of silliness, too silly for me, but so many people love this series that I wanted to try out book #2. Now I remember the silliness factor. It’s like the book is a whole bunch of funny anecdotes with a little plot sprinkled in. It’s hard to even say what the book is about other than some life forms in space get transported to several different spaces and times and at one point stop at a restaurant and view the end of the universe. I love the cleverness of the author’s wit but I just wish there was more sensible plot and less digressions to tell a funny story.

Spot: 27
Book:

Qualification: #2 in a series
Finished: 9/19/19
Rating: 3 stars
Review:
I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the first. It just didn't grip me the same, that urge to turn pages to find out what was really going on wasn't there. I didn't really care who the killer was and didn't find what they did to be all that unique.
All that said, it was a solid enough detective story. I wish I had read it sooner after I finished the first book of the series though because there are a lot of references to what happened in that book...and frankly, I can't remember any of it. Maybe I'd have enjoyed this one more if I did.

Spot: 27
Book: Princess in the Spotlight

Author: Meg Cabot
Qualification: #2 in The Princess Diaries
Finished: 9/14/19
Rating: 3 stars
Review: I'm not quite sure how to review this book. I think it's great the way it's written and is certainly cute. It would probably appeal to early-teen girls but to me it's just merely cute. But I knew that going in because I read the first one in the series. I do like the characters and the story has some interesting turns. I may read more in the series just to see how Mia develops as a princess. But I probably won't read them too close together. I can stand only so much cute at a time.


I've got this one at home:

Qualifies: 2+ people on cover .... I'm assuming that the silhouettes in the window count
I've also got this one waiting for me at the library
Uncommon Criminals
Qualification: Series "Heist Society # 2"
I'll post the selection when I catch up ...
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Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (other topics)
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I've let Denise know and asked for a pre-arranged absence, as our cabin will have "iffy" Wi-Fi connection at best.
Kayla knows already and will handle the roll / posting our spot on Friday Sep 6 and Friday Sep 13.