Gockel, C. -- Wolves - Informal Buddy Read starts 11th September 2019

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

This topic is to discuss Wolves by C. Gockel.




Synopsis:
In the middle of America, on Route 44, Amy Lewis has a plan — to get to her grandma’s house in time for dinner. Galaxies away Loki is waking up in a prison cell, strangely without a hangover, and with no idea what he’s done wrong — this time anyway. But he does know Thor is hiding something, Odin is up to something wicked, and there seems to be something he’s forgotten...

In this tale that is equal parts “Another Fine Myth,” “American Gods,” and “Once Upon a Time,” a very nice midwestern girl and a jaded, still very mischievous Loki must join forces to outwit gods, elves, magic sniffing cats, and nosy neighbors. If Loki can remember exactly what he’s forgotten and Amy can convince him not to be too distracted by Earthly gadgets, her boobs, or three day benders, they just might pull it off...

This first volume of "I Bring the Fire" is for anyone who suspects chaos and mischief makers might have their own redeeming qualities, and anyone who just wants a good fantasy romp through modern Earth, ancient Asgard, and beyond!

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Reserved

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Reserved

[Devann]

@cathy and claudia when are you guys planning on starting this? i'm thinking i won't get to it til tomorrow probably

[Claudia]

I actually already started. I was listening to it at my internship. I’m about halfway through chapter 6.

[Cathy M.]

I planned on starting tonight!

[Devann]

i'll start it tomorrow morning then. the lava challenge is messing up my planning because there are different 'zones' every week and you have to complete one before moving onto another otherwise i would have started it today lol

[Cathy M.]

Got thru Chpt 7 last night & I'm feeling a little conflicted. On one hand, I love that what I was expecting of the Thor & Loki characters are so different! (It was hilarious that Loki used Thor's name!) And I like the flashbacks of young Loki to know more about his past and why things have turned out the way they have for him - ie his relationships with Thor and Odin and Hoenir.

What I'm having trouble with is the writing itself. I feel like it doesn't flow very well, and it's a little stilted. The 1st couple chpts I noticed how short the sentences so I felt like it was almost elementary. I don't need flowery prose or overly descriptive narratives but I feel like it's missing something.

The story itself is interesting though I'm still on the fence whether I like Amy or not. I do love Beatrice - is her family from another world? Maybe that's why Loki can hear some of her thoughts and why Beatrice knows so much more than she's letting on?

[Cathy M.]

Devann wrote: "i'll start it tomorrow morning then. the lava challenge is messing up my planning because there are different 'zones' every week and you have to complete one before moving onto another otherwise i ..."

It's probably better that we started 1st since you're a speedy reader :D

[Devann]

haha i should probably just start waiting till you guys are almost done because as of now i've only got about 90 minutes left on the audio. #oops

i definitely like her unique takes on the mythology and also how she blends the modern day part of the story with flashbacks from the myths. in later books she adds in some other world mythologies as well which is really interesting.

i agree that the writing is pretty simplistic. it doesn't really bother me though so i can't remember if it gets 'better' in the future, but she is self-published and i think this might have been her first 'real' series so that probably explains why it reads like that.

i was also very on the fence about amy at first. she is kind of like georgina to me because she is so like ~pure and innocent~ which i don't generally like but she can be very resourceful when she needs to be and there's like ...a reason for it later in the series although it would be super spoilerly of me to explain. she's definitely a bit naive but she grew on me over time.

[Claudia]

I finished today.

I don’t know how I feel about Amy. I didn’t really like her. I’m kind of hoping she grows on me as the book series goes.

@Cathy Like you I found the writing kind of simple but it was okay for me I’m not that nitpicky unless it’s like really bad and I’m unable to ignore it.

I also did really like Beatrice too. She was my favorite (view spoiler)[ and I really hope she doesn’t die. Like at the end she’s in the hospital but they don’t say how serious it is. (hide spoiler)]

Also I was really unhappy with (view spoiler)[how the book ended. Like I seriously hate books that try and do cliff hanger endings like that. It just bugs me I like having a conclusion that doesn’t leave you wondering. Like even in series where it’s not completely resolved don’t have random characters popping up and then just end the story leaving you hanging. Sorry rant over. (hide spoiler)]

[Devann]

i also finished earlier. i forgot how short it was and also that it does end on a cliffhanger like you said. i guess in this case at least it's a finished series and you're not reading it as it's being written.

[Claudia]

Yeah I think that would have really annoyed me. Instead what happened was my fingers twitching and wanting to start the next audiobook to see what happens next. I forced myself to stop.

[Devann]

haha yeah i think the first four or so were out when i first read it so i'm sure i went directly onto the next one. i do hate when authors do that generally though and i think a lot more self published authors do it than ones with publishing companies because they think it will make people buy the next book, although often i think it has the opposite effect

[Cathy M.]

Finished!

Ok so the writing didn't bother me as much as the book went along but I'm willing to forgive her a bit for this 1st one. Hoping it gets better as it goes along. Or maybe I'll be so involved in the story that it won't be as noticeable but I do believe (hope?) that the more the author writes, the better it will get. Practice usually makes perfect.

I was dying when they were escaping from the castle and Loki kept referring to the Car as a sentient being. I don't know why but I found that hilarious and could not stop laughing.

On the other hand Amy was so annoying during that scene. I almost wished that Loki would throw her ass out of the car and leave without her. And at the end with her stating that he stole from her? Well she DID tell him he could take whatever he needed. Not like she was specific about the money in her apron and with him, you DO need to be very specific. Like stealing. That pig hahaha!

The cliffhanger didn't actually bother me as much, probably because I knew going in that there would be one. And the next ones are already out so it's okay :) Nothing like getting to the end of story with the cliffhanger and then having to wait a year for the next one!

Beatrice will hopefully be ok - I'm with you Claudia, think she's my fave character. Though Loki is starting to grow on me.

And I'm calling it now - his sons and Hoenir and Sig are still going to be alive. It was probably a diversion to make Odin believe they are dead.

[Devann]

this book was definitely less of a 'complete story' than i remembered and i think i will probably lower my rating to 4 stars once i do my review, but i do still love a lot about it.

everyone thinking the car was sentient was hilarious and i love how amy was just like 'yeah he will totally bite you watch out!' quick thinking lol

and yeah i feel like ...i mean on the one hand i guess she should have thought about who loki is and how he might twist her words into 'i can take whatever i want' but also to me he was being intentionally dense in interpreting it like that. like i think she confronts him later and he's like 'BUT YOU SAID!' and i'm like ok but did you REALLY think she meant ALL her money or were you like ...intentionally taking advantage? i can't remember how exactly it plays out though. him stealing the pig and the apple tv box or whatever though definitely made me laugh.

so i'm guessing you guys want to continue then? do you want to do next wed for the next one or should i just ask for it as soon as possible?

[Cathy M.]

When Loki asks Amy if Car will be ok and she tells him Car's just a machine, can you imagine the look of horror on Loki's face? Hahahaha he was like He can you say that about Car?!?! Oh geez, that part was just too funny. I'm still laughing just thinking about it.

And ok yea, Loki is the God of Mischief after all so I'm not sure whether he did it on purpose or just wasn't thinking he was deceiving her. I'm thinking it's the latter though because he has a different way of thinking...

Sure, I'll read the next one. I'm open so whenever it works for Lava for you!

[Devann]

i like how he kept asking car to do things like 'car, open the top window!' and amy is just sitting over there like 'you know what, it's not worth it *hits button*'

the next round for lava doesn't start until the 23rd so really i could probably fit in two in the upcoming week if we wanted to. i think the next two are fairly short although i remember them getting longer later.

[Cathy M.]

Looks like the next one is around the same page count. Then #3 is a little longer (300 pages). I'm just reading whatever until TT7 starts so it's more Claudia who has a tighter schedule with school and working.

[Claudia]

I’m okay with two since I will be listening to them during my internship. It won’t be too hard.

[Claudia]

@ Cathy & Devann I thought Loki was hilarious with how he seemed to think Car was alive. IT kept cracking me up. I also thought it was hilarious when Amy was like ?I should correct you but whatever. I’m pretty sure she thought it was funny too

[Cathy M.]

That was probably one of the best parts of the book!

[Devann]

ok i will request the 2nd one ASAP and then the third one for friday, as i'm sure ASAP will end up being mon or tues with all the mods have going on right now lol

[Devann]

just wanted to say that if the thread for next book isn't up in the morning i will probably put another comment on the request thread and hopefully we can get it going sometime tomorrow. or i guess if you guys are at a place to start another book we could just use this thread?

[Claudia]

Yeah we can use this thread till the others are up.

[Devann]

ok, maybe they will put up the other thread while i sleep but if not i'll probably still start this tomorrow, i've only got like an hour left on the audio book i'm listening to right now

[Cathy M.]

Sounds good!

[Devann]

sooooo ...i might have done that thing where i listen to the whole thing in one sitting again? #oops lol in my defense these are already very short and even more so listening at 1.5x speed. i think i will just wait for you guys to make progress before i share thoughts though

[Claudia]

I just listened through chapter 5. I only got to listen for like 3 hours then had to go to a meeting soI have live four hours left to listen. I should finish it tomorrow though.

SO far I’m enjoying it though.

(view spoiler)[ It’s interesting so far and I’m kind of curious on how it’s going to go. Like the whole Cera talking to Loki and trying to get him to free her. Like part of me wonders if it’s like a trap and Cera is not a good person to free? Like she is super pushy and I don’t know it just feels off.

The name Steve Rogers had me laughing. Like there are so many Avenger’s references in this book. He seems super straight laced though.

I kind of felt like I underestimated Thor though as we see through the flashbacks that yes he knows his wife’s a hoe but he stays with her and pretends to be oblivious for his son. Totally had to give him some props for that but he’s still a douche.

I’m going to be honest though. I don’t like Amy. She comes off at too naïve and oblivious. I don’t know why but this annoys me. Like I think I got used to morally ambiguous characters or something but her whole goodness and giving others the benefit of the doubt kind of grates on me. She’s like really naïve. I wonder if something will happen to change how she sees things. Like even Loki thinks about how easy it would be for him to manipulate her. (hide spoiler)]

[Cathy M.]

I'm thru Chpt 5 now too, though I'll probably be able to read another chpt or 2 before I go to bed.

(view spoiler)[1st, am super bummed Beatrice is not in this. Was it also partly to get Amy on her own, down on her luck, everything going wrong in her life? Though working for ADUO doesn't seem all that bad. A job where you don't actually do any work and can read all day while getting paid? That sounds like a good deal to me :)

I totally agree with you Claudia on Amy. She is super annoying. And the other thing is that like one minute, she's all "Ummm..." "Ummm..." and seems totally clueless and incredibly naive and then the next she does a 180 (or at least attempts to).

Loki is growing on me - more so when he's being more playful and mischievous (though sometimes he is a little immature). And I love the flashback scenes with Helen - too sweet!

So far don't care all that much for Steve Rogers but I get the feeling he's going to be around for a while (that's Cpt America's name right?).

So the whole Cera/World Seed/thing that's growing under Chicago is losing/confusing me. So Cera is "power" but is able to talk to Loki? And Cera is also the World Seed? And this Cera is what is growing under Chicago? (hide spoiler)]

[Devann]

the steve rogers thing makes me laugh too. i've seen people complain about it and say 'she's basically writing fanfiction' and i'm like ??? i mean he's nothing like the marvel steve rogers it's just a funny little nod to the comics. he's definitely kind of uptight but i do like him as the series goes on and i think it's good to have someone who is like ...trying to contain things lol. he does actually do a lot of stuff that makes me mad later but i think he is trying to do the right thing, it's just hard to do that when you work for the government.

and i do also like that she didn't just make thor like 'big dumb guy' as a lot of loki books do. i mean he's still definitely a jerk sometimes but there's also more to him, like you said with his step-son and everything.

i agree that amy is ...she's just such a 'good' person and like you said i mostly read stuff that is more morally gray so it's A Lot but i do feel like she gets a BIT better as time goes on. mostly i think she just needs to chill out about loki stealing and stuff. i mean ...it's just what he does? and like if he pulled up to give me a ride in a stolen car i'd be like 'fine but if the cops show up then you totally kidnapped me against my will and it's not my fault at all' lol like do whatever you want but you'd best be sure it doesn't come back on me. although she's very naive in that respect too what with basically telling him he can take her money [in a roundabout way but still]. but yeah there IS reason she's so ~good and pure~ i just don't think it comes into play until much later.

and i don't remember exactly what is up with Cera but i think it's kind of like ...a ghost that melded with this magical power source and i forget what her end game is but i think that's why it's like the physical thing getting bigger and also the sentient part that talks to loki. like she remembers being a person when she was alive but is also this other new thing? it's definitely going to get explained more with ADUO being a larger part of the series now though.

[Devann]

also i just had them make the thread for book 3 for friday so we can just stay here for book 2

[Cathy M.]

It makes more sense since we're already so far along. Thanks Devann!

[Cathy M.]

Got thru Chpt 10 last night and it makes a tad more sense about Cera/World Seed. I'm getting the sense that Cera's not going to be good since it seems like we're seeing a darker side of it. Although Geror was a bit crazy, especially with the name calling and the mind control over the men, though it's a little harder to tell since we don't have her POV? In the end power corrupts so whoever gets control of Cera will probably be the ultimate villain. It can't be Loki - he's all about revenge on Odin and in the long run, I don't see him getting his revenge. But then again, I think his family is still alive.

I don't know what it is about these stories but although we have some issues, they are pretty entertaining and somehow suck you in...

Next one I'm getting the audio to go a little faster like you 2 :)

[Devann]

yeah the audio is actually surprisingly good. sometimes it seems like audio books from self published authors are not as good - i assume because they have to get cheaper narrators - but i like the woman who reads this series so far

[Claudia]

I’ve finished.
(view spoiler)[SO far I think one of my favorite things about the series have been the flashbacks that Loki has of the past.

I am now super curious about how Helen dies? Like she gets sent to Helheim and Loki isn’t able to stop them and she dies there before he can get her back? I’m pretty sure that Helen’s death is why he kills Baldur. And I’m sure Helen being able to break his glamor and reveal him as he really is why Baldur arranges her death.

The whole Cera being influenced by Stalin makes so much sense with how it’s been acting. We’ve already seen it turn against Loki.

Did they honey trap Loki? Like how is that even going to go? I can’t imagine that will end well for them or work out how they want it to.

Also was anyone else rolling their eyes during the taxi scene when Loki was a girl instigating the mitten fight that completely went over Amy’s head.

Is the rain and weird weather Thor coming to collect Loki? (hide spoiler)]

[Devann]

haha Amy is literally ~too good for this world, too pure~, everything goes over her head. oh well, i do literally know people like that in real life so i guess it's not necessarily unbelievable, just mildly ridiculous.

[Cathy M.]

Finished!

(view spoiler)[oh my god yes, that taxi scene was so dumb!!!!!

Ugh that Jameson man. How the hell did he catch Loki? Loki being drunk, and Jameson's team probably having something that made Loki not be able to use magic but it's Loki!!! This turn of events does not make me happy. What is the point? Luckily we're starting the next one tomorrow...

Baldur killed Helen? How did I forget/miss that? I do remember Sigyn saying that Baldur & Tyr were around Helen when the plague hit so I guess they gave Helen the plague as revenge for the breaking his illusion? Maybe Baldur didn't "kill" her per se but she died from this plague?

I thought the weird rain/weather was the opening of another gate & other beings coming thru? Though it makes sense since Thor does control storms.

You know, Cera wants a revolution but what does that mean exactly? Revolution against what/who? (hide spoiler)]

[Devann]

are you guys both doing tower teams this year? i'm team jealousy lol

[Cathy M.]

Yep, I'm playing! I'm on Team Avarice.

[Devann]

i'm interested to see how it goes this year. last year was my first one and already i think this one looks a lot different in how it is set up since it's based on seven deadly sins instead of a book series like HP

[Cathy M.]

I’ve played a couple rounds but last years is probably my fave because of the Potter theme. And that maze was pretty fun!

Also liked the round before with the tasks for points. They are trying to make it fresh every time so yea it will be different this time around.

I have a list of long books I want to get thru this round but the sin bingo might throw me off. We’ll see!

[Devann]

the maze was such a thing. i can't believe we won it because we were getting all turned around lol

and i am also kind of putting off longer books until then. i read so few books that are over 400 pages that if i see one now i'm like mmm better save it for tower teams. the last book in this series is almost 700 pages so if you guys keep enjoying it we can get a lot of points for it

[Cathy M.]

I do the same thing!! Like nope, gotta wait to read this one. 700 pages? Dang, she really goes all out in that last one.

You were Slytherin too? Haha we were on the same team house then! I was on Severus Snape.

[Devann]

yeah i kind of think she should have split up the last one as it's twice as long as the others but i guess it's good for challenge points ;)

and yeah i was on team draco! i'm glad we got the maze since we were so awful at quidditch lol

[Claudia]

Honestly I have yet to participate in any of the events like Tower. I usually will sign up to do a self-paced challenges that takes all year or a couple of months cause I can plan it around my school stuff that way. Like the most ambitious thing I did this year was sign up for the Decades challenge. And even as I signed up for it I knew it was doomed to fail

[Devann]

you could always sign up for a challenge but commit to a low number of books and then they will put you on a team with people who read more to balance everything out. although usually you'll end up reading more anyway lol. but this time with tower teams they are introducing penalties if you read a lot more than what you said you were [as a team] so i think that will be helpful.

for the decades challenge i am definitely gonna get the level where you do 2010-2019 but i apparently hardly read any books from 2001-2009 so i'm really struggling with that lol

[Claudia]

Yeah I know I can sign up for low numbers but I’m leery of doing team stuff cause I don’t want to let others down if I suddenly just don’t feel like reading or have no time to do it.

For the decades challenge I’m having the same problem. So I’m re-reading books I read in high school for the early 2000’s books. It’s interesting to see the things I read years ago.

[Cathy M.]

Quidditch was insane! I didn't even think about volunteering for it because they took speed reading to a whole other level!

Claudia you should totally play once. Then you'll get hooked like the rest of us! But as Devann said, if you commit to a small number, even only 1 book, that would be fine and probably doable even with your hectic schedule. Maybe during school break if there is one, or after you're done with school. But I'm really happy that they've made it more strict with book totals this time.

[Devann]

@Claudia i feel like most things i read in high school were either classics [ugh] or stuff more from the 90s but that's an interesting idea.

and yeah i think there are plenty of people who just commit to one book per week or something and the page limit is usually at 100 so you could definitely knock one out i'm sure lol