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PtP - Not the Droids You're Looking For (8)
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Courtney
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Oct 16, 2020 10:20PM
I found Hott and Taken. Apparently it's an Aussie author, and it mentions Australia in the precis. The only other Aussie author I know for sure is Anna Hackett, and she has one series that's in post-apocalyptic Australia. Marcus was the first one in the series. It wasn't bad, so I might just do book 2. There's also the Escape to New Zealand series, but Just This Once was so hard for me to read, so I don't know if I could continue that one.
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I totally forgot about Hell Squad! i actually like that series. They are like a guilty pleasure 😁
I always meant to go back to it. Don't know why I didn't. I guess they didn't fit into any other challenges, lol!
I know they are not everyone's cup of tea but I did enjoy them. I'm actually almost done with the series. They are quick reads and mindless fun.
Kylie Scott has at least one, but I think more, books set in Australia, she is from Australia. I want to say Nalini Singh does too, but I'm too tired to confirm that.And of course, the N.R. Walker books on my M&G shelf are set in LA. 🤷🏻♀️
I have a couple of Option 2 books though - just need to decide between them now.
Well dang, I can't use the next one I have (#18) since it doesn't have the location in the precis, main page, or tags :( Back to the drawing board!
Yeah, Anna Hackett is one of those authors I know I can just have a short, enjoyable read every time.
Selection PostWeek 7: #3 Option 2
Instant Gratification by Lauren Blakely
Pages: 338
How the book fits: Read by MK 09-18-20 & rated 4 stars
🤦 I always forget Nalini Singh is a Kiwi! I think because I've only read her Psy-changling series, I always assume she's from California until someone reminds me 🤣. I'll have to check and see if she has anything set in NZ or Aus.
I didn't know that! I've only read her Guild Hunter & Psy-Changeling series which are both set in the US but see that A Madness of Sunshine would work - set in New Zealand.
Looks interesting. Only downside for me is that it's a 2019. 😄I'm doing the Countdown challenge, and the only two years I've finished are 2015 and 2019, so I'm trying to pick ones here that I can double up with that one 🤣. And of course Hell Squad is 2015, so I might be stuck anyway! 🤣
Completion PostWeek 6, Option 1:
* Read a book with a publication date with double numbers within that date.
Book: Lawless by R.G. Alexander
Pages: 350 Pages
How it qualifies: Published: Nov (11), 15, 2017
Date Read: 10/13/20
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Review: What can I say I loved Younger! Hugo was okay but really did he have to become so suddenly insecure and well kind of cruel. Still I wanted Younger happy and the sex was super hot. There is a lot of push and pull in this book which isn't typically my favorite but I enjoyed it. I do think adding in a bunch of Irish cousins was a bit much - there are already SO MANY characters to try to remember. This was a lot of sex without a lot of connection or dialogue between the two MC's. But I'm adding a 1/2 star because of Younger - one of my favorite characters of the series.
Week 7: #3 Option 2
Book: Just a Bit Dirty by Alessandra Hazard
Pages: 226
How it Fits: Eugenia read Just a Bit Twisted (#1 in this series) on 9/27/20 and gave it 4 stars
Danielle Gypsy Soul wrote: "Completion PostWeek 6, Option 1:
* Read a book with a publication date with double numbers within that date.
Lawless (The Finn Factor, #8) by R.G. Alexander
Book: Lawless by R.G. Alexander
Pages..."
Can you add a link to your book in your completion post, that is required. Thanks!
Week 7: 3. A week later, the Disney+ service was expanded to Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico.Selection Post
Secrets by Jordan Castillo Price, 169 p. per GROption2: #4 in series, #11 in series on Shelby's read shelf, read 5.15.2020, rated 5 stars.
Danielle Gypsy Soul wrote: "Week 7: #3 Option 2Book: Just a Bit Dirty by Alessandra Hazard
Pages: 226
How it Fits: Eugenia read [book:Just a Bit Twisted|..."
I'm not sure you can use this since Eugenia had to drop out of the challenge. I'll go ask to make sure though. 😊
MountainKat wrote: "Danielle Gypsy Soul wrote: "Completion PostWeek 6, Option 1:
* Read a book with a publication date with double numbers within that date.
Lawless (The Finn Factor, #8) by R.G. Alexander
Book: Law..."
Weird I swear I posted it with a link but it's fixed now.
Selection PostWeek 7: #3 Option 2
Book: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Pages: 393
How it Fits: Shelby read it Aug 24th and gave it 5 Stars
Danielle Gypsy Soul wrote: "Selection PostWeek 7: #3 Option 2
Book: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Pages: 393
How it Fits: She..."
I can't wait to hear what you think of this! I think I've only seen good reviews - it just hasn't bubbled to the top for me. 😊
Yeah, I've heard nothing but good things about this one!
Week 7: 3. A week later, the Disney+ service was expanded to Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico.Completion Post
Secrets by Jordan Castillo Price, 169 p. per GROption2: #4 in series, #11 in series on Shelby's read shelf, read 5.15.2020, rated 5 stars.
Completed 10.19.2020 *4+ Stars*
I liked this story a lot. Things seemed (slightly) more settled for Vic and Jacob, we did see a darker side of Jacob. Maybe understandable, but I didn't like how he handled everything. And the whole 'secrets' part of the story was creepy, so was the ending. Looking forward to more!
I listened to the audio and thoroughly enjoyed Gomez Pugh's performance!
Completion PostWeek 7: #3 Option 2
Instant Gratification by Lauren Blakely
Rating: 5 Stars
Review:
Let me start by saying that I love Lauren Blakely. Most of the time I don't even read the precis, just see the author's name and automatically add it. Second, I loved the full cast of the audiobook. So many of the romance greats took part and I felt more of the tension and chemistry because of it.
Both Truly and Jason were great main characters, both self-assured (except for that one blip towards the end), sweet and charming. I loved the build up of their relationship, though the hesitation because of Jason being Malone's best friend wasn't as logical. Primarily because they were in their mid-30s, and all of their friends (including her brother) could see their connection so it wasn't like completely off-base. But they did have great chemistry and really played off each other well.
LB always delivers a sexy, funny, and utterly entertaining romcom and this was no exception. I saw that the entire series is available on the Plus Catalog at Audible so as soon as Escape expires at the end of the month, I will be listening to the rest of this series!
MountainKat wrote: "Danielle Gypsy Soul wrote: "Selection PostWeek 7: #3 Option 2
Book: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune..."
Oh my god I'm obsessed with this one! It was my favorite book this summer. I adored it and if I have my dream world some day I will produce the movie for this one.
Week 6 - Nat Geo Double DigitsNever by Tara Lain
Read: (10/18)
Rating: ★★★½
I liked this book, just didn't love it. It was an interesting retelling of the Peter Pan story though. I actually quite liked the idea of the art that Peter creates and the campaign that Wendell put together around it all. I liked the whimsy and colorful world that it created. I liked the cast of characters, as strange as a lot of them are. But I felt like certain elements of the story were forced to create an artificial drama and weren't as realistic as i would have liked. Things like Wen's brothers obsession after one quick meeting with Peter was over the top, especially as it made it seem like he didn't care at all for Wen and was ready to throw over his loving brother for this stranger. Sure it set up the ending drama, but for the timeline it felt forced.
Still I was entertained throughout and I enjoyed Mr. Pennymaker's intervention as always. This was a fun little story if a bit absurd as any good fairytale is.
Shelby wrote: "Oh my god I'm obsessed with this one! It was my favorite book this summer. I adored it and if I have my dream world some day I will produce the movie for this one."I would love to see that! I keep putting this one off and now that the second book is planned, I'm torn whether to wait for it or not... I've heard nothing but good things though!
Tracking updated - yay! We are complete through Week 6 - double yay! But we are still missing Courtney's and Shelby's Selection Posts for Week 7 - lots of time, but make sure to make them before the next theme is announced on Friday. 😊
Selection PostWeek 7, Option 1:
3. A week later, the Disney+ service was expanded to Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico.
* Read a book set in Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico or in the broader Caribbean region.
Hot Mess
Pages: 248 (Kindle Edition)
How it qualifies:Tagged "Australia" by 3 people
https://www.goodreads.com/work/shelve...
Sorry, I thought I had posted already!
Courtney wrote: "Sorry, I thought I had posted already!"Not a problem. 😊
Week 7Option 1
Book: The F Words
Page numbers: 245
How Fits: Location - Wellington, New Zealand (from description: Eric Graham moves to Wellington to start a new job and a new life.)
MountainKat wrote: "Shelby wrote: "Oh my god I'm obsessed with this one! It was my favorite book this summer. I adored it and if I have my dream world some day I will produce the movie for this one."I would love to ..."
Don't wait, read it! It's worth it and ends in a nice place where you're not left wondering about what's going to happen to fix things in Book 2.
Week 7 - Australia/New ZealandThe F Words by Anyta Sunday
Read: (10/21)
Rating: ★★★½
This was good, not great. I liked Rory and Eric, but there were times where it felt like they were wallowing in their pasts and not even attempting to move forward. When both guys finally do start to move on it kinda all wraps up really quickly. There were some moments that were set up in this story that I wished I'd gotten to see the results of more. (Like Rory reconnecting with Heath.)
I felt like this book did give these guys a start, but didn't leave me feeling like they were for sure going to make it. I'll assume they do, cause I like my happy endings, but I feel like these two still have a lot to work through to get to that point.
Shelby wrote: "Don't wait, read it! It's worth it and ends in a nice place where you're not left wondering about what's going to happen to fix things in Book 2. "It sounds like a good one to go into the next M&G. 😊
NEW THEME!!Week 8
Option 1:
4. 10 million users subscribed to Disney+ on its first day of operation.
* Read a book with over 10,000 ratings.
Option 2:
Key date - 22 April 2020
A book on your team mates 'read' list AND rated at least 3 stars and read on or after the key date.
Option 3:
Pass
This can only be used once each 5 weeks. Only one team mate can use this option each week.
Hmmmm, I have several options. I need to decide whether to go with the AE book or not...
Week 8 Selection PostOption 1 - Over 10,000 Ratings
Book: Widow's Web by Jennifer Estep
Page numbers: 405
How Fits: 10,755 Ratings
Week 7 - Completion PostOption 1:Read a book set in Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico or in the broader Caribbean region.
Hot Mess
Pages: 248 (Kindle Edition)
Date completed: 10/24
Rating: ★★★★★
Review:
My goodness. I was not expecting that!
I've never really been interested in stories with amnesia as a plot line. It's always seemed a bit 'Days of Our Lives' ridiculous cheeseball. But this story was so touching and lovely. I was totally sucked in and enjoyed every word of it.
Nine years ago, Bella and Logan fell in love hard and fast, but they experienced a horrible tragedy and were unable to keep their relationship together (Trigger warning: (view spoiler)). The two meet up again when Logan spots Bella sitting outside his firehouse, but he soon learns that she has no recollection of him and their time together because she was in an accident four years ago and lost all of her memories from age 15 to 24.
And I know that sounds over-the-top soap opera ridiculous, but this book is done so well that it doesn't feel that way at all. Bella and Logan are such wonderfully full and complex characters. I just loved reading about both of them so much. The relationship building in this story is really just top-notch. I love how Logan not only deals with his new feelings for Bella, but also has to reconcile his memories of the past that involve her but she doesn't remember. And Bella's guilt over not being able to remember what they went through and dealing with Logan's disappointment that she can't. It's just a wonderful emotional mess. I loved, loved, loved it.
As someone with Aphantasia and SDAM, Bella's experiences spoke to me so much. That scene where she "knows" Logan's dog's name, but can't "remember" so perfectly describes how my own memories are. And her sadness over not feeling an emotional attachment to big things that happened to her because she couldn't relive the memory in her mind. Wow, just wow. So many feels for me. The author just captured what a disconnect with one's past feels like so perfectly.
Man, I'm torn. Go with something newer and super popular, or dust off one of my old Johanna Lindsay's.
Danielle Gypsy Soul wrote: "Selection PostWeek 7: #3 Option 2
Book: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Pages: 393
How it Fits: She..."
I'll post my review for this tonight but I adored this book! It made me laugh, cry and smile. I was a little worried because there was a lot of hype but it definitely lived up to it in my opinion.
COMPLETION POSTWeek 7: #3 Option 2
Book: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Pages: 393
How it Fits: Shelby read it Aug 24th and gave it 5 Stars
Date Read: 10/23
Rating: 5 Stars
Review: I adored this book! It was just so much fun. It made me laugh, cry and smile. There isn't much of a romance in this book and normally that would bother me but in this book it didn't. I was enjoying all the characters and the story so much it didn't matter. The secondary characters in this book are amazing - I just loved Lucy with his over the top death threats and his love for "Golden Oldies". I loved Chauncey the gelatinous boy with dreams of being a bellhop and Theodore and his love of buttons! In fact the magical kids at the orphanage stole the show for me. I did really like Linus and I loved the way he learned to look farther than the rules and regulations and although I don't feel like we got to know Arthur as well what we did see I loved. This book is really a book about acceptance for everyone regardless of who/what they are. Klune did an amazing job of painting a picture - whether it was the gloom of the office environment or the magical island and the inhabitants or even the little town just on the other side of the Ferry. Honestly there was nothing I didn't love about this book.
Selection PostWeek 8, Option 1:
4. 10 million users subscribed to Disney+ on its first day of operation.
* Read a book with over 10,000 ratings.
Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor
Pages: 221 (Kindle Edition)
How it qualifies: Has 17,632 ratings
Danielle Gypsy Soul wrote: "COMPLETION POSTWeek 7: #3 Option 2
Book: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Pages: 393
How it Fits: Sh..."
Great review Danielle!!
Week 8: 4. 10 million users subscribed to Disney+ on its first day of operation.Selection Post
Pucked Over by Helena Hunting, 350 p. per GRBook has over 10,000 ratings with 15,031 ratings currently.
I'm not very far into the book, but I'm not really feeling it right now. I will push through. It is one of my M&G books, so between the two challenges that should motivate me - right? That and reading/listening to it now while I don't have to pay for it...
Selection PostWeek 8: #4 Option 1
Vendetta in Death by J.D. Robb
Pages: 368
How the book fits: 14,649 Ratings
Tracking updated! We are complete through Week 7 and only missing Shelby's Selection Post for Week 8. No completions so far for Week 8. I need to get reading...If we want to be in it to win it, we need to be a little quicker about our completions, selections too to be honest. I know there is no hurry at this point, but we are getting closer. We need to have all completions in before the last theme is called and ideally have some selections ready too. 😊 And as a reminder to those in TART Challenge - it does end before the PtP so we can all focus on this one! 😉😉
MountainKat wrote: "I'm not very far into the book, but I'm not really feeling it right now. I will push through. It is one of my M&G books, so between the two challenges that should motivate me - right? That and read..."Aw, sorry you're not feeling it. I love that series, but it is super over the top, so I have to be in the mood for something a little ridiculous to pick it up. I honestly feel like Hunting started taking Violet a little too far the further you get in the series, and it can detract a bit from the story.
MountainKat wrote: "Tracking updated! We are complete through Week 7 and only missing Shelby's Selection Post for Week 8. No completions so far for Week 8. I need to get reading...If we want to be in it to win it, w..."
Yeah, sorry, I've been trying to double book with TART, so that's why hold up a little. The last week for this one is 11,right?
Week 8 - Completion PostOption 1: Read a book with over 10,000 ratings..
Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor
Pages: 221 (Kindle Edition)
Date completed: 10/27
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
So, I'm not much of a Kleypas fan...(cue shocked gasps). I've tried to start like four of her series, and I can never connect with any of her characters. The heroines are always too "not-like-other-girls" women, and the men are always overly rude alpha-jerks. And, truthfully, the MCs in this one kind of still have the essence of those qualities, but they're subdued down to a life-like, real person level, so that Mark and Maggie actually feel like normal people with quirks and flaws instead of over-the-top exaggerations.
Mark and Maggie are just such an adorable couple. I love how they both had to work to get to each other. Mark by ending a relationship with someone good on paper, but not really good for him and his family, and Maggie by realizing she can risk loving again after the death of her husband.
This story is just so sweet; I totally see how it got turned into a Hallmark movie! (And now I got to see if I can find a copy to watch). It honestly felt a bit Shavis-esque to me. I really enjoyed it. Not big on steam, but huge on awwwww. Total sappy goodness.
Courtney wrote: "MountainKat wrote: "I'm not very far into the book, but I'm not really feeling it right now. I will push through. It is one of my M&G books, so between the two challenges that should motivate me - ..."Yeah, Violet is a little hard to take in this book, I thought she was a hoot in her book though. I've enjoyed this more as I've gotten into it, but the over the top - ness of it isn't going down as easy right now. Probably more real life, I needed something to engage me rather than roll my eyes at. I'm doing the eye rolling thing a lot in real life right now. I'm 2/3 through now, so I will finish soon - hopefully today. 😊
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