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R13: SS Team 4 - 4 the Win
Completion PostSpot: 50
The Fifteenth Minute by Sarina Bowen
Pages: 316
How It Fits: #5 The Ivy Years
Date Read: 3/3
Rating: 4*
Review
This was the final in the Ivy Years series and was as good as the rest of the series. We see the story of actress Lianne Challice and Hockey DJ Daniel Trevi. This was a fast paced plot with lots of twists and turns as they struggle with accepting their growing feelings and desires, whilst also dealing with issues that may keep them permanently apart.
Just to let you know I'm away on vacation from tomorrow for a week. Not sure what internet access I will have but will check in tomorrow for our roll.
Completion postSpot 50
Book:Execution
Author: Alexander Gordon Smith
Pages: 336
How it fits: # 5 in the Escape from Furnace series
Date read: 03/03/22
Rating: 3,5 stars
Review: The last book in the series wraps up the main plot points that were introduced in the other four books in kind of satisfying way. This is the book were we get to meet the main antagonist and we get to learn more about how the world got to this place. The ending is kind of bittersweet as it is very difficult to get back to normal after all this trauma. As a whole I enjoyed this series very much even though I am not the target audience.
Completion Post - Week 6; Spot 50Book: Beneath a Scarlet Sky
Date Read: 3/4
Rating: 5 stars
Pages: 509
How it fits: Standalone
Review: I love reading about WWII and this book was one I had never heard of. Beneath a Scarlet Sky is based on a true story of Pino Lella. The author states in the book that this is a novel of biographical and historical fiction that hews closely to what happened to Pino Lella during WWII. Pino Lella is a teenager that is obsessed with music, food and girls. The book drew me in right from the beginning. What Pino experiences in the first few chapters is life changing. What Pino does to protect his family, country is what makes him a hero.
I hope I am not the last one again....
I think so, Monica. But you got us a bonus point for a book over 500 pages!
Monica wrote: "I hope I am not the last one again...."That’s ok! You get the 500 page bonus, too!
Week 7 rollPrevious spot: 50
Roll: 5, 6
New spot: 61
** 6th in series
** 1st in series
** Standalone
** Alternate: Title 'H'
SandyC wrote: "Monica wrote: "I hope I am not the last one again...."That’s ok! You get the 500 page bonus, too!"
Awesome!
Selection Post - Spot 61
359 pages
1st in series
I'll be posting mine this afternoon or evening
Completion Post - Spot 61
359 pages
1st in series
Read 3/10/2022
★★★★
Review Navajo born and adopted when she was a baby, Maya is a teenager living in a town on an island of just a couple hundred people. The town is owned by a corporation which runs a (supposedly) drug lab. Her best friend dies under mysterious circumstances, and a strange boy named Rafe moves into town with his sister. Maya learns that her pawprint tattoo marks her as a skinwalker who eventually will shift into some sort of big cat. I liked the creepy atmosphere of this book. It was fast paced and has an interesting enough mystery that I want to see what happens next.
Completion PostSpot: 61
The Queen of New Beginnings by Erica James
Pgs: 445
How It Fits: Standalone
Date Read: 3/10
Rating: 4*
Review
This has been on my TBR for a number of years and I’m glad I finally got to read it. The MC’s Alice and Clayton were very likeable and although a little slow at times but the story was well developed and drew you in. I especially loved the eccentric octogenarian George. The HEA ever when it came was hard one
Completion postZami: A New Spelling of My Name
How It Fits: standalone
Read 3/9
5 stars
I loved this book. It was full of so much information about an author I truly enjoyed. I'm glad she wrote it about herself since someone else telling her story just wouldn't be the same. It was a relatively quick read for the length.
Completion postBook: Fated
Author: Benedict Jacka
Pages: 295
How it fits: # 1 inthe Alex Verus Series
Dated read: 10/03/22
Rating: 4 stars
Alex is runnning a magic shop in London. He can forsee the futre wich allows him to pull off operations with slim chance for succces. This is an interesting start to an Urban fantasy series. The main character and his ability to see the future makes for interesting plot points and character development. It is often compered to the Dresden Files and I can see where people are coming from in the sense that fans of the one are very likely to like the other. I would recomend the first book and look forward to read the next one in the series.
Completion PostSpot 61
Book: Kiss of a Demon King
Author: Kresley Cole
Pages: 417
How it fits: #6 in Immortals After Dark
Date Read: 3/10/2022
Rating: 4 stars
Review: I am not reading this series in order since I don't have access to all of the previous books. I don't have the background info on the main characters Sabine and Rydstrom from the previous books. I enjoyed their interaction. I should probably read the previous books to get a better grasp of the story line. I enjoy the fantasy genre and will start/continue this series.
I’ll have mine done later this morning.
Completion Post - Week 7: Spot 61Book: Leather & Lace
Date Read: 3/11
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 451
How it fits: Hell for Leather #1
Review: It took me awhile to get into this one, but I think that was a me problem. My first Adell Ryan book was her slightly dystopian, slightly sci-fi series, and her contemporary books always throw me off a bit. I am glad I finally read it, and am looking forward to more of Lace and the HFL guys in the next book.
Week 8 RollPrevious spot: 61
Roll: 1,3
New spot: 65
**6th in series
**5th in series
**Alternate - Author G
Selection Post - Week 8I'm picking up Tangled Webs from the library tomorrow, so that's what's I'll go with. It is #6 in the Black Jewels series, 368 pages.
Selection post - Spot 65
289 pages
6th in series
Completion PostSpot: 65
Murder in Nice by Susan Kiernan-Lewis
Pgs: 322
How It Fits: #6 Maggie Newberry
Review
This was a bit of an odd read, an old friend of Maggie's is murdered and somehow her brother is involved. I loved Laurent and Zouzou, but Maggie annoyed me. The plot was fairly predictable and dragged at times.
Completion Post - Week 8: Spot 65Book: Tangled Webs
Date Read: 3/14
Rating: 5 stars
Pages: 368
How it fits: The Black Jewels #6
Review: I loved it. I've always wished that all these epic, world-changing trilogies would show us what happens after. Anne Bishop has. I'm really enjoying the stories of their continuing lives.
Completion Post Spot 65
Book: The Adjustment
Author: Suzanne Young
Pages: 417
Date read: 17/03/22
How it fits: #5 in the program series
Rating: 2,5
Review:
This series is more of a collection of 3 duologies that take place in the same universe. In this book we see the after effects of the program after it collapses. We follow Tatum and her boyfriend Wes, as Wes is trying to put his life together and remember what happened to him to land him in the program. This kind of young adult series is not really my cup of tea as it focuses too much on the romance, and I am more interested in world building. It starts off verey slow with a lot of flashbacks. The plot really picks up in the second half as we get a lot of relevations about what really happened. The series as whole brings up alot of interesting points about how panick can make things much worse, and make people agree to things that they deep down know are wrong. and how many times the cure is worse than what you are trying to cure. It also brings some valid points about mentall health. There is one book left in the series, so I will finish, but that was not my favorite of this series.
Completion postMuch Ado About Magic
Read 3/17
298 pages
4 stars
#5 in series
I love this series and have read it a few times. I love how the characters progress through the series and how the silliness makes me laugh. It doesn't seem to get old with multiple reads.
Selection PostSpot 65
Book:
Pages: 310
# 6 in Guys who got away series
Completion Post Spot 65
Book: The Dream Guy Next Door
Author: Lauren Blakely
Pages: 310
Date read: March 17, 2022
How it fits: #6 in Guys who got away series
Rating: 4.5
Review: I really enjoyed tis book. It started out with January, our lead lady walking through her town with her teenage daughter and being asked about the new neighbor that is arriving. When he is introduced in the next chapter, Liam, I knew this was going to be a very fun and entertaining read. He is an English hottie! The fact that January is single and isn't looking for a man and decides to set the neighbor up with the single ladies in the town. I enjoyed all the innuendos in this story.
I will finish my book on the next couple of hours!
Week 8, spot 65
#6 Dark Hunters Series
289 pages
Read: 3/18/2022
★★★★
Review: I read the first Dark Hunter book in 2011 and didn't feel compelled to return to the series. After 11 years and reading friends' reviews of the other books, I thought why not give it another go. I am glad I did! Tabitha is strong, smart, funny and slays Daimons . Valerius is a former Roman general, now a vampire. He has never had any friends, so he's touched when Tabitha is kind to him. The book has gods, goddesses, vampires, daimons and a sometimes confusing cast of characters, but I enjoyed the story very much. I especially enjoyed the New Orleans setting. I would like to read more of this series soon.
Week 9 RollPrevious spot: 65
Roll: 2,3
New spot: 70
** 7th in series
** Standalone
** Alternate Published 2016-2019
Happy reading!
Selection PostSpot: 70
Driven to Date by Susan Hatler
Pages: 244
How It Fits: #7 Better Date Than Never
Spot 70 Selection PostStandalone
236 pages
Completion Post - Spot 70
236 pages
Standalone
Read 3/22/2022
★★★
Review: 17-year-old Hadley is flying to London to witness her father marry. She is still pissed off that he left her mom. She meets Oliver at the airport, and they end up sitting together on the plane. They part at Heathrow, but ending up meeting again later. This is a fast read and something I may have liked when I was a teen. As an adult though, just a bit too sappy. Also, as mom to a 17-year-old girl, I can't imagine sending her on a flight to London on her own!
Completion Post - Week 9: Spot 70Book: Letters to the Midwife
Author: Jennifer Worth
Date Read: 3/22
Rating: 2.5 stars
Pages: 240
How it fits: Standalone
Review: This is a difficult one to review. As a collection of letters to the author, it is exactly that. But then some other memories of the letter writers are thrown in, as well as Worth's record of some time spent in Paris, and some journal entries. It just seemed to be a bit all over the place. Overall, I was a bit bored while reading it, but I did enjoy the letters that said something along the lines of: "Hey, I think this character (she used pseudonyms for the actual people) is actually my aunt!"
I was thinking of reading Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire. The page count is 160 pages. It is allowed isn't it? I think I read somewhere that the minimum page count was 140 pages?
Mod
Team, I wanted to get your input on use of Bonus points.We currently have 5 bonus points. Do we want to save those until the end, or would you like to use to move into an "easier" spot.
For example, if this week's roll takes us to spot 79, would you rather use 1 point to get to 80/standalone (may be easier to find a book) or 2 points to get standalone or first in series?
Or, is everyone able to find a book that is 7th, 8th or 9th in series? I am working toward never picking an alternate so we can get another point once we roll past 90.
I’m also working toward never picking an alternate. I have a few series where I’m in higher numbers, but it is easier to fit in the lower series numbers. I don’t actually read many stand alone, so in that example I would vote to jump to 81, rather than 80.
I think we can’t use bonus points to get to the end, right? So it makes more sense to me to use them earlier.
Mod
Denise wrote: "You can use them at any time, including to push you over 100 if you roll just short of that. :)"Thanks for clarifying that Denise!
I think my answer stays the same. There’s no difference between using 2 points to get to 81 (hypothetically) now and then using 3 points on a later roll, versus using 5 points later. We move up 5 spots either way.I think I was remembering that you can’t use the free pass on the winning roll and mixing points in with that.
Completion PostSpot: 70
Driven to Date by Susan Hatler
Pages: 244
How It Fits: #7 Better Date Than Never
Date Read: 3/24
Rating: 4*
Review
This was a fun lighthearted read, Jill is a pi attorney who has sacrificed her personal life to achieve her goals. When the manager job is given to Ryan, a partner’s nephew , in her stead she is forced to retaliate her life. Coveting a position at a rival practice, one of the partners tells her that they need someone with a healthy work/life balance. As Jill works to get her goals back on track, the mutual attraction between her and Ryan threaten’s to derail her life plan.
The Challenge Factory
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Book: Dreams Made Flesh
Date Read: 3/3
Rating: 5 stars
Pages: 464
How it fits: The Black Jewels #5
Review: I continue to love this series. The world building has been extensive, but it really pays off. The characters are so richly drawn that I always love coming back to this world and reconnecting.