The Challenge Factory discussion
♦SS Archives♦
>
R11: Team 7 Deadly Readers (7)

Week 4: Spot 28

Under Attack by Hannah Jayne
How it Fits: Underworld Detection Agency #2
Pages: 322

Week 4: Spot 28
Book: Tangled Up

How it Fits: Bachelors of Buttermilk Falls #2
Pages: 195

Week 4: Spot 28
Book:

The Lies We Tell
How it fits: The Undertaker's Daughter #2
Pages 384

Week 4: spot 28

Book: Man Card
Author: Sarina Bowen
How it fits: #2 in Man Hands series
Pages: 246
Week 4
Spot: 28

Book: Ship of Ruin by Lindsay Buroker
Qualification: Star Kingdom #2
Pages: 302
Finished: 21 Sep 2019
Rating: ★★★
Review:
I usually adore everything Lindsay Buroker writes, but I'm having some trouble really getting into this series... enjoyed this part less than the first one. Maybe this just wasn't the right time to pick this one up, or maybe it's the fact that there's too much going on all at once and too many characters were introduced right off the bat, not allowing enough time to flesh them out all that much. Either way, I'm less invested in the characters and overall plot than I'd like to be (and the fact that Casmir is a bit too much of a meek little goody two shoes isn't helping). But as third time's supposedly the charm, maybe the next book will do the trick?
Spot: 28

Book: Ship of Ruin by Lindsay Buroker
Qualification: Star Kingdom #2
Pages: 302
Finished: 21 Sep 2019
Rating: ★★★
Review:
I usually adore everything Lindsay Buroker writes, but I'm having some trouble really getting into this series... enjoyed this part less than the first one. Maybe this just wasn't the right time to pick this one up, or maybe it's the fact that there's too much going on all at once and too many characters were introduced right off the bat, not allowing enough time to flesh them out all that much. Either way, I'm less invested in the characters and overall plot than I'd like to be (and the fact that Casmir is a bit too much of a meek little goody two shoes isn't helping). But as third time's supposedly the charm, maybe the next book will do the trick?


Under Attack by Hannah Jayne
how it fits: #2 in Underworld Detective Agency
pgs: 322
finished: 9/21/19
rating: 3 stars
review: This book seems more like a paranormal Stephanie Plum story. Sophie is magically null so magic of any sort can't affect her and she works at basically the DMV for creatures. But now she has new mgmt. and her old boyfriend/fallen angel, Alex has shown up asking for her help finding The Vessel.
Sophie's roommate, Nina is a vampire and she and her nephew provide lots of comic relief. Sophie learns a lot about her past/family, most not good and barely manages to prevail.

Spot: 28

Book: Man Card by Sarina Bowen
Qualification: Man Hands #2
Pages: 246
Finished: Sep 21 2019
Rating: ★★★
Review: The humor in these can be over the top but this one wasn’t as bad as the first one. I did actually laugh out loud at times.
Per usual, the sex scenes were good. I loved the hate to love relationship in this one and hope that they show up in the next book which I will be picking up soon.

Week 4: Spot 28

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
How it Fits: Sookie Stackhouse #8
Pages: 303
Finished: 9/25/19
Rating: 4 stars
Review: I enjoyed this one quite a bit. More than I really have the previous installments in this series. It was easy to fall right back in with the characters and the storyline even though it had been over a year since I had read the previous book. There were lots of changes and happenings and I'm interested in seeing where things go from here in the series. And I really liked how the book ended. It definitely makes way for a very interesting development going forward.

Week 4 Spot 28
Book: The Lies We Tell
Pages 384
Date Read: 9/25/2019
Qualification: #2 The Undertakers Daughter
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: This was a good page-turner and I enjoyed it. However, it has a lot of continuing story from book 1 in the series, and I felt like although we learn things, absolutely nothing resolved this book. If any mystery had been solved, I would have given a higher rating, but it left me with more questions than answers. I'll probably round up with my Goodreads review though, as the book was engrossing.

Week 4: Spot 28
Book: Tangled Up

Pages: 195
Date Read: 9/26/19
Qualification: #2 in Bachelors of Buttermilk Falls
Rating: 2/5
Review: I honestly didn't plan on continuing with this series, but I needed to read something quick to meet the challenge for the week. It was short and I knew I could speed for it.
Surprisingly, I liked this one better. I hated the first book, and while I still didn't care for this one, I didn't hate it as much so I took it for a win. The writing did seem a little better, but maybe because I had such low expectations going in? I'm hoping it's because the author actually improved.
Oh! I had said I'm glad I didn't pay for the first one, I'm saying for the same for this one. Thank you Kindle Unlimited.
The cover game is still going strong for this series. I love them so much.

Week 4: Spot 28

Fatal Frost
Pages: 282
Rating: 3 stars
Review: I guess I wasn’t in the mood for this one this time around. The characters kept getting confused and I was distracted while reading. The tension with the love interest’s ex coming to town didn’t work, especially since we haven’t had much time to even root for Tobias anyway. I liked her parents coming to town and seeing those relationships in action, and Quinn is a lot of fun. But the mystery sounded more interesting than it played out. The book overall was all exposition. Every conversation revealed a new nugget of information, with no real action to drive the story forward. This one was mostly a miss for me.

Bonus points earned: 1 (3+ in a series)
Reviews posted: 7
Spot: 36
Beth: Review
Denise: Review
Diane: Review
Logan: Review
Runnell: Review
Suzanne: Review
Tara: Review
Beth wrote: "Spot: 36

Book: Boy Toy by Sarina Bowen
Qualification: Man Hands #1
Pages: 216"
Shouldn't that be "Man Hands #3"? :D I was mighty confused there for a second!

Book: Boy Toy by Sarina Bowen
Qualification: Man Hands #1
Pages: 216"
Shouldn't that be "Man Hands #3"? :D I was mighty confused there for a second!

Book:

Caressed by Ice
Author: Nalini Singh
Qualification: Psy-Changelings #3
Pages: 352


Restaurant Weeks Are Murder by Libby Klein
How it fits: Poppy McAlister Mystery #3
pgs: 304


Restaurant Weeks Are Murder by Libby Klein
how it fits: #3 in Poppy McAlister Mystery
pgs: 304
finished: 9/28/19
rating: 4 stars
review: Poppy is helping Tim in a cooking competition and boy do these chefs and judges have secrets. It is great to see Poppy get recognition for her talent since Gigi spends the whole time trying to put her down. I don't understand the love triangle as one guy is great and the other is married to his restaurant, but still seems to be interested in other women. The murder method is unique and there are plenty of suspects.
Week 5
Spot: 36
Book: The Game by Tom Wood
Qualification: Victor the Assassin #3
Pages: 432
Finished: 29 Sep 2019
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
Soon after taking out another assassin in Algiers, Victor is tracked down by a CIA operative with a new job for him: She needs him to impersonate his latest target to figure out who he's meant to kill next and on whose behalf. Neither of them fully anticipates just how dangerous a situation Victor is about to walk into - and just how difficult it'll be to walk out again in one piece.
These are just getting better with every book. Twists and action galore, and I just really, really like this guy - next installment please, thx.
Spot: 36

Book: The Game by Tom Wood
Qualification: Victor the Assassin #3
Pages: 432
Finished: 29 Sep 2019
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
Soon after taking out another assassin in Algiers, Victor is tracked down by a CIA operative with a new job for him: She needs him to impersonate his latest target to figure out who he's meant to kill next and on whose behalf. Neither of them fully anticipates just how dangerous a situation Victor is about to walk into - and just how difficult it'll be to walk out again in one piece.
These are just getting better with every book. Twists and action galore, and I just really, really like this guy - next installment please, thx.

Spot: 36

Book: Boy Toy by Sarina Bowen
Qualification: Man Hands #3
Pages: 216
Finished: Sep 29 2019
Rating: ★★★★
Review: Okay this series got better every book and I’m honestly sad that it’s over.
I absolutely loved these two. I don’t have kids so I’m not the expert but this book did seem realistic when it came to trying to have sex when you have two twin toddlers. Naturally this book was less about the sex and more about the building of the love and relationship. This was adorable and maybe I’m asking for too much but I’d love a novella about them a couple years in the future

Week 5 Spot 36

Red Velvet, Dead Velvet
Pages: 192
How it fits: #3 in Sky High Pies series

Spot: 36
Book:

Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh
How it Qualifies: Psy-Chhangelings #3
Date Read: 10/1/2019
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: I like the Psy-changeling series and this was a good entry. We briefly saw Brenna in a previous book, and I liked seeing strength as she is recovering from her trauma. The world in this books is probably my favorite part - I like the whole idea of the Psy, and I really like the various changelings and how they interact. And I really liked Judd - his powers are so interesting. I did listen to this book (since I could get it as part of the romance package on audible) and I might have enjoyed it more if I'd read it, but the price was right this way :). The reader was good though - I just generally don't like listening to sexy times in books :)

Week 5 Spot 36

Qualification: Sky High Pies #3
Pages: 192
Finished: 10/2/19
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Unfortunately I’m losing interest with each successive entry in this series. The plot here had no real twists or turns, and the side plot around the book fair wasn’t well developed or interesting. Kate seemed extra obstinate and Trent was on edge and just rude for a lot of the book. The saving grace is it’s quick and easy to digest. Nice filler but don’t plan on continuing.
BONUS: Works for read 3 or more in a series.
I'm not seeing a selection post from Runell for this week. Beth, have you heard anything from her?

Denise I had to add the Assassin series to my TBR. It looks so good!

Week 5: Spot 36

Cherry Bomb by J.A. Konrath
How it Fits: Jack Daniels #6
Pages: 351
Finished: 10/3/19
Rating: 3 stars
Review: It has been a long time since I read the previous book in this series - like 2 years I think - so I will say that I had a little bit of trouble jumping back in since this one starts off pretty well right where the previous book left off. I can't say that I loved it or hated it, it was truly just okay for me. I didn't really like Jack's character very much, she wasn't very likable at times. I did like the ending and am curious to see where Jack goes next.


Spot: 36
Title: Kiss and Make Up

Author: Robyn Neeley
Pages: 190
How It Fits: Bachelor of Buttermilk Falls #3

Spot: 36
Title: Kiss and Make Up

Author: Robyn Neeley
Pages: 190
Date Finished: 10/2/19
Rating: 3.5
Review:
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. I can't believe I'm saying it about this series, but I actually LIKED this book. A lot.
This book follows Emma's cousin (character from the first book), Josh and the "mean girl" from the first two books, Caitlin. This book was full of tropes that I enjoy such as enemies-to-lovers and accidental pregnancy (which I know isn't everyone's cup of tea). There was also classic movie references (which I'm a huge fan of and got such a big kick out of).
Now, I will say that Josh and Caitlin were pretty big jerks in the beginning (to each other and others), but it was really nice to see their character development and them end up . . . nice?
Also, I finally see a great improvement in the author's writing. There were still some misses (obviously since it wasn't a 5 star rating), but I think I'll actually end up reading this whole series.
Logan wrote: "Denise I had to add the Assassin series to my TBR. It looks so good!"
I have an unhealthy fascination with anything of the sort. :D Really enjoying the series so far - I'm glad I decided to hold off on reading it until I could use it for this challenge, now I have an excellent excuse to read one every week!
I have an unhealthy fascination with anything of the sort. :D Really enjoying the series so far - I'm glad I decided to hold off on reading it until I could use it for this challenge, now I have an excellent excuse to read one every week!

Bonus points earned:
Reviews posted:
Spot: 44
Beth:
Denise:
Diane:
Logan:
Runnell:
Suzanne:
Tara:

The Last Suppers
Author: Diane Mott Davidson
Qualification: A Goldy Bear Mystery #4
Pages: 272

Spot: 44
Title: Romancing Mister Bridgerton

Author: Julia Quinn
Qualification: Bridgertons #4
Pages: 384

Week 6: Spot 44

Killer Insight by Victoria Laurie
How it Fits: Psychic Eye Mystery #4
Pages: 288
Runell wrote: "So happy to see a 4 rolled!"
I went all out and got you not just one, but two 4s! :P
I went all out and got you not just one, but two 4s! :P

I went all out and got you not just one, but two 4s! :P"
The oh so generous Denise ;)
Books mentioned in this topic
Gone With The Ghost (other topics)Save the Date (other topics)
How to Survive a Horror Movie (other topics)
96 Hours (other topics)
Save the Date (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Erin McCarthy (other topics)Georgia Beers (other topics)
Ian Fleming (other topics)
L.L. Meyer (other topics)
Georgia Beers (other topics)
More...
Bonus points earned: 0
Reviews posted: 7
Spot: 28
Beth: Review
Denise: Review
Diane: Review
Logan: Review
Runnell: Review
Suzanne: Review
Tara: Review