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R13: SS Team 8 - Reading 8 Days a Week

Edit: I just realised there was a new page of replies haha thanks for the tip! I'll pick it up tomorrow or the next day!


Spot #32

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson
Pages: 318
How It Fits: Letter 'L'

Week 5
Spot 32
Book: Sapphire Blue
Pages: 358
How it Fits: #2 in The Precious Stone Trilogy


Spot 32
Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

How Fits: #2 in The Precious Stone Trilogy
Read: (2/24)
Rating: ★★★½
The benefit to this series is it really does read easily. I like a lot of the concept, the time travel and the mystery of just what all is going on. In most cases I even like Gwen despite her naivety that seems to get her in more trouble than not. I like her spunk. She may know next to nothing about what's really going on, but she is struggling to figure it out. She doesn't give up and isn't just going to blindly do what anyone says without questioning it all.
All that being said, man the romance in this is pretty terrible. There really isn't any development of it at all. It's just all teenage angst and hormones. Neither of these two know each other at all and most of the time Gideon is being a dick to Gwen and she just passes it off and forgives him. He's written to seem like gods gift to women as apparently ever woman is in love with him, and the only one he's horrid to is the one he loves.
Still I am curious about how the storyline will all play out. The last third of this book finally moved things along there and had things getting interesting right before the cliff hanger of an ending. I definitely be back to see how everything concludes. Oh and Xemerius is wonderful and I love the edition of our spying little gargoyle. ;)


Date Read: 2/20
Rating: 4 stars
Review: Another fun entry into this series! This series is zany and kind of ridiculous but in such a fun and compulsively readable way. It gives me everything I have wanted in cozy mysteries. I believe there are more books planned in this series and I definitely eagerly await the next one to continue the adventures of Finlay and Vero.



I love Jane Ayre too, although Pride and Prejudice is my favourite. :)

Week 5
Spot 32

The Lion's Lady by Julie Garwood
Date Read: 25th Feb
Rating: 4 stars
Review:
I love a historical romance and Julie Garwood delivers every time. Not only does she write the perfect romance in my opinion, but she also adds lots humour and fun into the characters, so her books are never boring and flow beautifully.
The mixing of cultures in this book was also very refreshing. Our heroine Christina Bennett is of native American descent and causing a stir in London Society. I am looking forwards to reading other books in the series.


How it fits: Title L
Pages: 288
Date read: 26/2/22
Rating: 3 stars
Review: I flew through this adorable important middle grade. This is a book I could see myself reading to my future children just to educate them a bit about global warming. This was such a heart-felt tale about a young girl believing in herself and knowing the right thing to do and following her heart. And while I did yell and scream at her for some of the things she did towards the end, I also yelled and screamed at her father for being so unfit. How could he raise a daughter like that, just let her go wandering around this island by herself with no questions and no care. That could have (and probably would have) ended up much different to the ending we got here. I really hope April gets to work with the polar bears one day <3


Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson
How it fits: Title L
Pages: 318 pages
Date Read: 2/22/22 - 2/25/22
Rating: 2 1/2 stars
Review: This book was totally not my thing :/ Read it for a goodreads challenge where I needed to read a book that started with the letter L. Jenny Lawson and I don't have the same sense of humor and a lot of this book felt painful to get through. I know her most recent book won a goodreads award but I do not think I will be picking it up. I think the audiobook was probably the most enjoyable way to digest this book because of the added sound effects, but this just wasn't my thing.

Erin - Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead Review
Shelby - Sapphire Blue Review
Maddie - The Last Bear Review
Ariel - 2nd Chance Review
Jade - The Lion's Lady Review
Katelyn - Let's Pretend This Never Happened Review


Title: 2nd Chance by James Patterson
How it Fits: 2nd in a series (Women's Murder Club)
Dates Read: 2/23-2/25
Rating: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is one of those books that I pick up thinking I haven't read before but as I keep reading, I realize I did a long time ago. Did I put it down after that? Heck no because the Women's Murder Club is my guilty pleasure (except I feel no guilt. lol).
It's a fairly quick read that is full of cliches and tropes but ultimately is one that can be read in one sitting. It is full of suspense and emotion. Instead of just focusing on one aspect of the murders and crime, I love that it goes through each of the women's perspectives and what they all contribute to the case.

Week 5 Reviews
Week: 6
Previous Spot: 32
Roll: 5 + 4 = 9
Spot: 41
Options: #4 in a series, #1 in a series, #41 in a series, standalone, Author 'V'
Free Pass Earned
Bonus Points Earned: 3
✸ 2 in 1
✸A book with >500 pages.
✸ Valentine's Bonus

I don't know what earns bonus points haha


Date Read: 2/28
How it fits: #4 in the Bromance Book Club series
Rating: 4 stars
Review: Another fun installment in this series! In this one we get the story of the Russian and his marriage of convience to his childhood friend as he has decided he wants to give a "real marriage" a shot just as Elena has decided she wants a divorce so she can return to Russia.
This book delivers the kind of self aware cheesiness I've come to expect from this series. It's silly and definitely won't be for everyone but I think it's fun! I also liked the addition of "The Loners" girl gang that Vlad had fallen in with as they help the couple figure themselves out.
I thought Elena and Vlad were cute together really liked the look we got at Vlad as this secret teddy bear personality.
I thought this was going to be the last entry into the series so I'm excited to see there's actually another one coming later this year


How it fits: #1
Pages: 462
Date read: 2/3/22
Rating: 4 stars
Status Updates:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


How it Fits: #4
Pages: 532
Date read: 2/28-3/2
Rating: 4 stars
Review: For me, the thing about the Women's Murder Club is that they are fun, fast, and not too deep of novels to get into. I know some might have an issue with the fact they don't go too in depth but when I need a escape and just a good book to read, I pull out a trusty Women's Murder Club book.
The book wasn't perfect - definitely some character flaws and story telling weirdness. It seemed to tie up too fast near the end but in the end, the murders did make sense in a way. I do love Lindsay Boxer though - she is strong, compassionate, and yet flawed in many ways. I definitely recommend the series if you're into mysteries that are fast reads and want to be hooked through the characters.

Spot 41
Good Bones by Kim Fielding

How Fits: #1 in Bones
Read: (3/2)
Rating: ★★★★
I liked this story. Dylan and Chris were an interesting couple. Dylan is dealing with his werewolf nature in the best way he knows how, by getting away from people and telecommuting for his work. His one neighbor though makes that a bit of a problem, especially when he's falling for him too.
There's a lot of two guys not talking to each other about things in this one. As the story is from Dylan's perspective we really don't get to know Chris as well as I would have liked. He has a lot of feelings about things, but we only see them through Dylan's perspective and he doesn't always interpret Chris well.
Still this was a sweet story with just enough drama to keep it interesting with Dylan's ex and the trouble he was bound to cause. I'm curious to see where things develop with these two in the rest of the series.


The Lighthouse by Fran Dorricott
How it Fits: #1
Pages: 400
Date read: 1st March 2022
Rating: ***
Review:
I really wanted to love this book. I have a bit of a weird obsession with lighthouses and the various legends and paranormal occurrences that seem to happen around them. The synopsis sounded amazing, but for me this book was just, meh!
A group of 6 college friends go for a long weekend to catch up. after a meal and drinks, they decide to go for a walk in the local area and one friend goes missing. They find him hours later back at the lighthouse with no recollection of where he has been or what has happened to him. But he is certainly changed and the party start to wonder if there is someone else on the island with them.
They are meant to be in their 30's but they behave like children. I just couldn't gel with any of them, to say a couple of them used to be together and they are all supposedly close they have nothing in common at all, and really don't like each other. So why holiday together or catch up? really disappointed with this one. Waste of a good cover!


It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
How it fits: Author 'V'
Pages: 444 pages
Read: 3/1 - 3/3
Rating: ★★
Review: I’m going to be taking a long break from YA. This book had so many transphobic and homophobic lines and the romance was so unnecessary?? Like this book did not need any romance. This guy was literally just horny and I felt like this story totally glorifies and simplifies depression.

Erin - Isn't it Bromantic? Review
Shelby - Good Bones Review
Maddie - The Unspoken Name Review
Ariel - 4th of July Review
Jade - The Lighthouse Review
Katelyn - It's Kind of a Funny Story Review

Week 6 Reviews
Week: 7
Previous Spot: 41
Roll: 3 + 2 = 5
Spot: 46
Options: #4 in a series, #6 in a series, #46 in a series, Cover: Yellow/Gold
Free Pass Earned
Bonus Points Earned: 3
✸ 2 in 1
✸A book with >500 pages.
✸ Valentine's Bonus

Books mentioned in this topic
The Memory of Souls (other topics)No Way Out (other topics)
The Memory of Souls (other topics)
The Red Car (other topics)
The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Marcy Dermansky (other topics)Lilian Jackson Braun (other topics)
Brit Bennett (other topics)
Layla Hagen (other topics)
Amanda Bouchet (other topics)
More...
Yep, it's noted at the top of the alternate list: "**titles exclude leading articles (a, an, the)". :)