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R13: SSS Team 3 - Serial Slayers
Truitt_T wrote: "And I had to laugh - not only did we end up at 66, my SS team ended up on 77."
LOL
Theonly advantage I can find to holding on to our bonus rolls would be if there's a particular number - 8, 9, etc. - that we all feel will be more difficult to read for. Of course, we have to balance that with the possibility of others using bonus rolls and the whole thing being over before we realize!
I've got fewer options for the higher numbers, but I think you may be right that we should go ahead and use at least one bonus roll.
Does anyone else have an opinion?
Truitt_T wrote: "Theonly advantage I can find to holding on to our bonus rolls would be if there's a particular number - 8, 9, etc. - that we all feel will be more difficult to read for. Of course, we have to bal..."
That's true about higher numbers. So maybe we'll hold onto the bonus points a bit longer. For at least a few more rolls.
What does everyone else think? :)
I'd hoped to have my book finished and my review posted before I had to head for the theatre, but I'm not quite done. I'll have it done before it's time to roll, but I may be cutting it close.
Completion PostWeek 9, Roll 17, Spot 66
Book: A Fair of the Heart by Donna Marie Rogers
Date Read: 3/19/22
How It Fits: Author "R"
Rating: 1.5 stars
Review: I am feeling mighty generous by giving this book 1.5 stars. Not only was the couple rather chemistry-less, I found their relationship borderline creepy. More specifically, I found the hero creepy. At several points he was physically aggressive with the heroine's pre-teen son. He grabbed him by the arm and the shirt collar. He also threatened to spank him within an inch of his life. Like WTF? I mean seriously WTF?! The guy just screams "future child abuser". Those would be red flags to me but the heroine thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread because he's hot as spit on the sidewalk. The only redeeming quality was the kids and that was literally all. So yes, I must be feeling mighty generous today...
Truitt_T wrote: "I'd hoped to have my book finished and my review posted before I had to head for the theatre, but I'm not quite done. I'll have it done before it's time to roll, but I may be cutting it close."No rush. We have all thru Sunday :)
Week 9, Thursday Reviews Tracking ThreadD.L. - msg. 256
Olawuyi - msg. 264
Shelby - msg. 248
Truitt_T - msg. 262
We can roll tonight at midnight Central Time, right? Or we can roll anytime Sunday, whenever we all finish. Or do I have the days confused?
Mod
Truitt_T wrote: "We can roll tonight at midnight Central Time, right? Or we can roll anytime Sunday, whenever we all finish. Or do I have the days confused?"You're correct. We can roll anytime Sunday. I just ask for the reviews to be in no later than 11:00 P.M. Central Time Sunday evening so I can finish the tracking thread and organize everything :)
Completion Post Week 9 - Roll 17
Spot 66
Book: The Phoenix Illusion by Lisa Shearin
Pages: 280 per GR
How It Fits: This is the 6th book in the SPI Files series.
Completed: 3/20/2022
Rating: 3.5
Review: I'll start by saying that I love Lisa Shearin's Raine Benares books. In contrast, I only like her SPI Files series. In large part, I think it comes down to the fact that Raine is fabulous - and SPI Files heroine Makenna is just ok. It's fun urban fantasy and I love the crossover to the Raine world, but this particular entry didn't wow me. I'll keep reading the series, though.
SELECTION POSTWeek 9;Roll 17;Spot 66
Book: Blood Rites by Jim Butcher
Pages: 435
How it Fits: The Dresden Files #6
SELECTION POSTWeek 9;Roll 17;Spot 66
Book: Blood Rites by Jim Butcher
Pages: 435
How it Fits: The Dresden Files #6
Completed: 20/03/2022
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Bonus: none
Review:
Yet again another Dresden files book. In this one a vampire,Thomas, asks Harry to help his friend, an adult film maker solve his issue as there were a series of magically freakish accidents that had been targeting the women surrounding the production of a film. There's so much going on as there was also a Black Court Vampire with scores to settle Harry. I think book was enjoyable. Liked the plot twists and all.
Happy Sunday, Serial Slayers. We rolled a four which puts us on Spot 70. This means you can read:- A standalone
- A series #7
- A series #70
- ALT: 70. Author uses their middle name/initial (e.g. Robert J. Sawyer, Rita Mae Brown)
Have a great week ahead.
Selection Post Week 9 - Roll 18
Spot 70
Book: The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch
Pages: 192 per GR
How It Fits: It's book #7.5 (which counts as #7) in the Rivers of London series.
SELECTION POSTWeek 9;Roll 18;Spot 70
Book: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Pages: 378
How it Fits: Standalone
Completion Post Week 9 - Roll 18
Spot 70
Book: The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch
Pages: 192 per GR
How It Fits: It's book #7.5 (which counts as #7) in the Rivers of London series.
Completed: 3/24/2022
Rating: 4 stars
Review: The October Man is a novella in the Peter Grant world, but Peter does not appear - he's only mentioned. Tobias Winter is in many ways Peter's counterpart in Germany. It's fun to see how Tobias percieves Peter - it's good to know Peter's reputation is an excellent one! I missed Peter, Nightingale, and the who London / Folly crew, but it was still an entertaing trip into magic.
Completion PostWeek 9, Roll 18, Spot 70
Book: The Christmas Contract by Jan Romes
Date Read: 3/24/22
How It Fits: Standalone
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Overall, I enjoyed this book although admittedly I found the writing juvenile and trite at times. The triplet sisters could be very annoying too, especially Joy and Noelle. And lord, did they ever do a lot of crying! The best love story was Christi's and Michael's. It was also the most realistic of the three. I would possibly consider reading another book by this author if I needed a quick, easy read because that's just what it was.
Week 9, Sunday Reviews Tracking ThreadD.L. - msg. 269
Olawuyi - msg. 272
Shelby - msg. 274
Truitt_T - msg. 268
SELECTION POSTWeek 9;Roll 18;Spot 70
Book: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Pages: 378
How it Fits: Standalone
Completed: 24/02/2022
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Bonus: none
Review:
This is one I have looked forward to reading for a long time. Reading Circe by the same author was an absolute delight making this book a delicacy to look forward to. It is an adaptation of Homer's Illiad told from the perspective of Patroclus and his relationship with Achilles. Someone he even falls in love with. It is beautiful story of friendship and love. One I thoroughly enjoyed.
COMPLETION POSTWeek 9;Roll 18;Spot 70
Book: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Pages: 378
How it Fits: Standalone
Completed: 24/02/2022
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Bonus: none
Review:
This is one I have looked forward to reading for a long time. Reading Circe by the same author was an absolute delight making this book a delicacy to look forward to. It is an adaptation of Homer's Illiad told from the perspective of Patroclus and his relationship with Achilles. Someone he even falls in love with. It is beautiful story of friendship and love. One I thoroughly enjoyed.
Week 9 - Roll 18Spot 70
Full Throttle by Erin McCarthy
How Fits: #7 in Fast Track
Read: (3/24)
Rating: ★★★½
I struggled a little bit with this one. So many of the choices for the "plot" of the story really had me shaking my head. The BDSM in this is definitely BDSM light and really wasn't necessary for the story. Add in the completely ridiculous "I'm being forced into an instantaneous marriage by a will" thing and I admit to finding this story more than a little absurd.
That being said I did like Rhett and Shawn as a couple. I liked the by play between them. They actually work really well as a couple. I wanted to see them succeed I just wanted less of the absurd reasons why there should be tension in their marriage.
This wasn't my favorite in the series. In fact I'm happy that I'm coming towards the end of this series. I want to finish it, but it's not going to end up as one of my favorite series' overall.
Good afternoon, Team! We rolled a four, putting us on Spot 74. You can read:- A series #4
- A series #7
- A series #74
- ALT: Cover: Green
Have an awesome rest of the week! :)
Completion Post Week 10? - Roll 19
Spot 74
✅Mahu Vice by Neil S. Plakcy
Number of Pages: 320 per GR
Completed: 3/25/2022
How It Fits: It's the 4th book in the Mahu series.
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This remains an excellent mystery series. Kima and his friends and family well developed and interesting and the mysteries are intricate enough to keep the pages turning. Kimo's position as an out gay man on the police force remains a front and center issue for both his personal and professional lives, and it's truly well done. I'm not sure how I feel about MIke, the closeted Fire Investigator, still being in the picture, though. As always, Hawaii itself is practically an MC.
SELECTION POSTWeek 10;Roll 19;Spot 74
Book: Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
Pages: 517 pages
How it Fits: The Dresden Files #7
COMPLETION POSTWeek 10;Roll 19;Spot 74
Book: Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
Pages: 517 pages
How it Fits: The Dresden Files #7
Completed: 26/03/2022
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Bonus: (I'm not sure if we've gotten the 'a book above 500 pages' bonus.)
Review:
I have to admit the series has gotten at least a little better over the last 2 or 3 books. But the thing about reading a long series back-to-back is that you find the pattern in the books, then it gets boring. That might also be a problem for me as regards this series.
However, in this book, Harry into thrown into a situation that seems simple at first, but only becomes a bigger problem. He is faced with a threat against his friend Karrin and Harry Dresden agrees to recover something called the Word of Kemmler. Dresden however learns that this enigmatic Kemmler was once the most fearsome necromancer that ever worked black magic. At the end of it all, Harry is left fighting necromancers and questioning his own morality.
Overall I found the book enjoyable. Looking forward to the next book.
SELECTION POSTWeek 10 - Roll 19
Spot 74
Book: Rebel Obsession
Pages: 342
How it Fits: #4 in All the King's Men
I am not quite done with my book yet. I should have it done in a bit though. It's been a strange week lol
Week 10 - Roll 19Spot 74
Rebel Obsession by Donya Lynne
How Fits: #7 in Fast Track
Read: (3/26)
Rating: ★★★½
I'm a bit torn on this story. There was a lot I liked about it. But I really struggled feeling like the Io's characterization did a complete 180. He was such a dick in the earlier novels, with his homophobia and his out and out bro-ness. He was pretty horrible to women and just was the sort of frat boy obnoxious you really didn't like. I understand the idea of finding your mate will change a vampire, but this was such an abrupt about face it felt like a whole different person rather than one changing.
That being said I did like Io (this version of him) and Miriam as a couple. I appreciated her willingness to defy her father and fight for what she wanted in life. Speaking of, her father's attitude was another obnoxious point for me. Like Io his about face was incredibly sudden and felt out of character. It felt like his obstinacy and obliviousness towards Miriam's wants and needs was going to be taken to the ridiculous extreme just to be an extreme. Things got pretty over the top in the land of punishments for all our favorite characters as the fact that he was the king took precedence over being a good and smart ruler. And like Io his about face was pretty abrupt and didn't seem to come from any sort of realization.
Still this story was entertaining and I am curious to see where things go from here. There was a lot of expanding of the world in this story with what the drecks are up to and I can't wait to find out more about Trace's father. Not to mention Trace and a certain female causing him fits. ;) I look forward to seeing where this series develops.
Completion PostWeek 10, Roll 19, Spot 74
Book: Home to Safe Harbor by Kate Welsh
Date Read: 3/27/22
How It Fits: #4 in the Safe Harbor series
Rating: 4 stars
Review: I don't think I've ever read a book about a female clergy member before, so I didn't know quite what to expect. However, I enjoyed this book a lot. Justine was a fully fleshed out character who I found myself rooting for. I really liked her love interest too, and I found their struggles surprisingly relatable. I like there wasn't a lot contrived angst in the book. I'd definitely consider reading another book by this author.
Week 10, Thursday Reviews Tracking ThreadD.L. - msg. 282
Olawuyi - msg. 278
Shelby - msg. 281
Truitt_T - msg. 276
Alright, Team, we rolled another four. This puts us on Spot 78. You can read:- A series #7
- A series #8
- A series #78
- ALT: Book with a wedding in it
Completion PostWeek 10, Roll 20, Spot 78
Book: Cave-In by Franklin W. Dixon
Date Read: 3/30/22
How It Fits: #78 in the Hardy Boys series
Rating: 2.5 stars
Review: This was one of the Hardy Boys books from the Wanderers paperback line and I can't say I enjoyed it very much. It doesn't hold up to the original Grossett and Dunlap ones in terms of cleverness and originality and it isn't as exciting as the later Casefiles series' either. Also, I found the casual fat-shaming of Joe and Frank's friend Chet so disturbing. Like, how is that acceptable, especially in the 1980's? The mystery itself was fairly disjointed and weak too. In hindsight, maybe a 2.5 rating is a little too generous.
Completion PostWeek 10, Roll 20
Spot 78
Book: Conspiracy in Death by J.D. Robb
Pages: 372 per GR
How It Fits: It's the 8th book in theIn Death series.
Completed: 3/30/2022
Rating: 3 stars
Review: This in not my favorite book in the In Death series. The mystery never really resonated with me, and I hated that (view spoiler). There's a lot of wallowing in Eve's past, which I never particularly enjoy. I'll continue with my reread of the series, but I'm in no particular hurry. Book 9 may come quickly, though, if I need it for this Challenge.
Week 10, Sunday Reviews Tracking ThreadD.L. - msg. 285
Olawuyi - msg. 288
Shelby - msg. 290
Truitt_T - msg. 286
COMPLETION POSTWeek 10;Roll 20;Spot 78
Book: Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
Pages: 287
How it Fits: #7 of The Hercule Poirot Series
Completed: 31/03/2022
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Bonus: none
Review:
Another amazing Agatha Christie story. In this book, Poirot and Hastings are on holiday in the Cornish Riviera when Poirot hears the tales of a certain damsel in distress. This said damsel, Nick Buckley, mentioned having several near death experiences and Hercule Poirot decides to protect her.
I really enjoyed the book and it's pretty short length and captivating storyline helped me finish it in no time.
Moving on, I hope to read an amazing fantasy book next. Thrillers are starting to tire me.
SELECTION POSTWeek 10 - Roll 20
Spot 78
Book: The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare
Pages: 249
How it Fits: #7 in The Cat Who...
Week 10 - Roll 20Spot 78
The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare by Lilian Jackson Braun
How Fits: #7 in The Cat Who...
Read: (3/31)
Rating: ★★★
I struggle a little with how to rate these books. Mostly because while I'm reading them I do enjoy the read, but then when I start to think about it I'm not as impressed. I think I continue because dammitall I love Koko. The world would just be a better place if everyone would listen to the darn cat. ;)
A lot of the plot elements in this one just didn't fit well together for me. The were pretty arbitrary and seemed to turn on a dime. No one was on any set path and things only really loosely fit together. Most of the "mystery" seemed rather pointless as there wasn't really a lot to investigate even though there were shady things going on. But really my biggest GRRRRRRR moment of the whole thing is the ending. (view spoiler)
Still I'll keep reading the series in part because I own most of them, and also because they're a great light read when I want something quick and a little entertaining without dragging me in to deep.
We rolled a six, friends! We're now on Spot 84. You can read:- A series #4
- A series #8
- A series #84
- ALT: Cover Item: Two or more people
Have an awesome weekend :)
D.L. wrote: "We rolled a six, friends! We're now on Spot 84. You can read:- A series #4
- A series #8
- A series #84
- ALT: Cover Item: Two or more people
Have an awesome weekend :)"
Excellent roll! Now if I could just decide what to read.....
Truitt_T wrote: "D.L. wrote: "We rolled a six, friends! We're now on Spot 84. You can read:- A series #4
- A series #8
- A series #84
- ALT: Cover Item: Two or more people
Have an awesome weekend :)"
Excellent ..."
I was struggling a little too this week with my choice. I have numerous series #4 books that are all screaming READ ME right now. ;)
I finally picked a book. Now I need to read it lol #timecrunch
D.L. wrote: "I finally picked a book. Now I need to read it lol #timecrunch"I picked a short book - it wasn't great, but I'm done with it!
Completion PostWeek 11, Roll 21
Spot 84
Book: Alpha's Secret Baby by Beau Brown
Pages: 143 per GR
How It Fits: It's the 4th book in the Poppy Field series.
Completed: 4/2/2022
Rating: 2.5 stars
Review: Well, it was short and worked for the roll - that's about the best I can say for this one. Alpha / Omega books are iffy for me - mpreg, too - so I suppose it isn't much of a surprise that I wasn't a huge fan of this short novel. Part of the problem was the length - there wasn't much character development. Frankly, I didn't particularly want the two MCs to get together. It served its purpose.
Completion PostWeek 11, Roll 21, Spot 84
Book: The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich
Date Read: 4/2/22
How It Fits: #4 in the Elsie Hawkins series
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: Parting is such sweet sorrow and alas, we must now bid farewell to the livewire of a septuagenarian, Elsie Hawkins, as this series comes to an end. Elsie was truly the only thing that gave these 4 books the kick to make them halfway readable. I will miss her bawdy humor and trigger-happy personality. She was just so fun to read about. The other characters in the books always paled in comparison to her (basically they faded into the wallpaper, I don't remember most of their names) so I won't really miss them but if I had my way, Janet would have written a series where Elsie was actually the lead character and not just the supporting one. She was awesome and I'll miss reading about her adventures wherever they take her. That said, it's always so exciting to be able to say you finished a series, isn't it?! It makes one feel rather accomplished.
Week 11 - Roll 21Spot 81
#Royal by Devon McCormack
How Fits: #4 in Fever Falls
Read: (4/2)
Rating: ★★★½
Look was I entertained with this book, sure. Did the emotional climactic moment get to me a little bit, yeah it did. But so much of the dialogue in this story lives in the land of cheesy, the plot is just ridiculous, and the age gap here really doesn't work for me; it made it hard to really love this story.
Now Keegan, Keegan I liked. He's a lovely character and for being only nineteen he really does know who he is and what he wants. He's very sweet and truly cares for those around him. (Though personally I think he's just in denial about what's truly going on with his two best friends. ;) - Yes I need that book!) The story does make his feelings for Owen feel real, but the absurdity of the fake boyfriend/no we're not plot took away from what the guys were feeling for each other.
Owen on the other hand didn't feel like a thirty two year old man. He was more childish in many ways than Keegan is. If his stated age had been ten years younger I wouldn't have been surprised. Really he should have just been in his mid twenties and then the age gap wouldn't have been such a problem. I mean really there was no real reason for him to have to be in his thirties. Nothing in the story really pushed that narrative. He's only admitting he's interested in guys for the first time with Keegan, but really he's too much of a hedonist as it is to make there be much of a hesitation on his part.
The tension in this story was as expected. There was no question in my mind what the struggle was going to be that was going to maybe put a wedge in this couples HEA. But I give big props to Keegan again for being the adult in the relationship.
I'm enjoying this series as a mid tier, nothing objectionable, but nothing extremely gripping series. I always walk away having enjoyed the read, but when months lapse between readings with the next book in the series I do find it difficult to remember details about each of the previous couples. The whole thing tends to kind of just blend. Still there's a couple of couples hinted at so far that I'm definitely curious to see how they develop and I will keep reading.
COMPLETION POSTWeek 11;Roll 21;Spot 84
Book: Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher
Pages: 547
How it Fits: #8 of The Dresden Files Series
Completed: 03/04/2022
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Bonus: none
Review:
This is going to be short. I think the series is starting to pick up. In retrospect, I think the reason why Jim Butcher repeats certain details is for people that want to pick up any book from the series so they don't get so lost. But for someone like me who has read them sequentially, they can get very repetitive. Overall, I think this was an amazing read and I'm looking forward to the next book.
The Challenge Factory
Books mentioned in this topic
Power Play (other topics)Empty Net (other topics)
Empty Net (other topics)
Proven Guilty (other topics)
#Royal (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Avon Gale (other topics)Avon Gale (other topics)
Jim Butcher (other topics)
Devon McCormack (other topics)
Janet Evanovich (other topics)
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And I had to laugh - not only did we end up at 66, my SS team ended up on 77."
Good question. I don't think we should wait until the very last minute to use them really since one of the teams in SSS is well into the mid-70's already.
Maybe if we (AKA I lol) roll low tonight and don't hit 70 for example, we should consider using just a point or 2 until we do hit 70 and at least we advance a bit and then have more reading options too. That is to say, if I roll 2 and we get to 68, I could use 2 of our bonus points to advance us to 70.
Thoughts?