The Challenge Factory discussion
♦SS Archives♦
>
R13: SS Team 8 - Reading 8 Days a Week
Week 8Spot 52
Fluke and the Faithless Father by Sam Burns
How Fits: #2 in The Fantastic Fluke
Read: (3/12)
Rating: ★★★★★
Oh I really do enjoy this series. I love seeing Sage starting to find a little space to come into his own. He's realizing he can make decisions for himself that require catering to no one else. Seeing him determined to have his father finally exorcised just made me smile.
This story picks up essentially immediately after the first one ends, but now Sage and Gideon know that there's a group out there that would like nothing better than to see them both dead. Of course they weren't just going to disappear when their first volley failed. Sage has so much to learn and it doesn't seem likely he's going to get much time to figure things out. I loved that Gideon was determined to protect him, but Sage is also learning how to save himself.
This story was fun and had plenty of action to keep things entertaining. I can't wait to see where our whole crew ends up next. Especially as there's a few new people added into their rag tag little band.
Jade are you okay to post the reviews and roll tonight?
Week 8 (Option One) Completion
How it fits: #2
Pages: 341
Date read: 19/3/22
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This one was better than the first one! Had more deceit, more adventure, and more insight into her siren stuffs! I loved this ending, it felt wrapped up nicely, and I can't wait to read the companion novel that's currently in the works :D
Mod
Is it just supposed to be a captain or can anybody on the team do it?
Mod
Okay then I got it. Let me get the review list post up and then I'll roll.
Week 8 ReviewsAriel - The Fifth Horseman Review
Katelyn - Free Pass
Erin - Brazen and the Beast Review
Jade - A Scot in the Dark Review
Shelby - Fluke and the Faithless Father Review
Maddie - Daughter of the Siren Queen Review
This is my first time doing links on here so I apologize if they are not done correctly.
Team 8 - Reading 8 Days a WeekWeek 8 Reviews
Week: 9
Previous Spot: 52
Roll: 5+4 = 9
Spot: 61
Options: #6 in a series, #1 in a series, Standalone, Title 'H'
Bonus Points Earned: 3
✸ 2 in 1
✸A book with >500 pages.
✸ Valentine's Bonus
I hope I did this right - if not, let me know.
Mod
The ones for Shelby's and Maddie's reviews are leading to the start of the thread rather than their review posts, but I've seen both reviews, so don't stress about it. :)
I'm mobile for a bit but when I get home, I'll fix it. I'm just happy it all went through otherwise. lol
Current Tentative Pick: Book of Shadows by Cate Tiernan
thanks jade! i really appreciate you rolling :) i think i’ll be reading h-mart this week!
Ohhh yay good options! I'll be doing #1Week 9 (Option One) Selection
How it fits: #1
Pages: 480
Katelyn wrote: "thanks jade! i really appreciate you rolling :) i think i’ll be reading h-mart this week!"I think it was actually Ariel who rolled, my laptop was broken so had to post via the app which is rubbish! Just got it sorted so I am back online as usual. So thanks Ariel :)
oops sorry didn’t catch my mistake! thank you ariel :)
I'll be getting to my book next few days!
Week 9Spot 61
A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet
How Fits: #1 in The Kingmaker Chronicles
Read: (3/21)
Rating: ★★★★½
4.5 Stars that I'm rounding up as I did really enjoy reading this story. It made me immediately want to get the next book and see what happens next. I wasn't sure I was going to like things right off the bat since we were in first person and that always feels a little off putting to me. But I quickly fell into the flow of the story and Cat's personality. She's gruff and closed off, but she has plenty of reason to be. For most of her life she's only ever seen the worst in people and her powers put her in position to be caged and abused by those who want to use her. I love how feisty she is though and her sarcasm knows no bounds.
This story was interesting from the first. There's a bunch of action in the first half that moves the pace of things right along. I mean really Cat's pretty much kidnapped from page one, though her kidnappers turn out to be more than she expected. I liked Griffin and his group a lot. I enjoyed Cat's persistent struggle to remain apart from them and to try to remain her normal isolated self. She worries about allowing people in and I felt for her being ripped away from those she did care about in the circus. Of course the different way that Griffin and his family chose to live and approach the world throws Cat for a complete loop. She's drawn to their warmth but doesn't know how to deal with it at all. She has secrets and no matter how close she's getting to Griffin she's scared to let him know anything about her for his own protection.
The mixing of the Greek mythology into this fantasy world was interesting for me. I didn't find it as jarring as I thought I might. I liked the interplay of gods and all the Greek heroes and characters names that are interspersed throughout this novel. I'm curious to see what part the gods play in the future novels. Poseidon and Hades have already made their preferences known. It'll be interesting to see where the rest of the pantheon fall.
Already excited to check out the next book in the series. :)
Completion:
Date Read: 3/22
How it fits: Standalone
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Well that was a trip. Sucked me in at the beginning but lost me a little in the middle. I think maybe possession/exorcism aren't totally my things moreso than it being a fault of the author's execution of this one. This definitely fell solidly in the disturbing category of horror as opposed to the scary one. And I really don't know how I felt about that ending!
Oh that's good to hear since I have that one sitting on my shelf waiting to be read haha
I was worried I wouldn't enjoy it, but daaaamn it's got me hooked. Potential 5 star! I plan on reading to at least halfway today
Completion:
Promise Me Forever by Layla Hagen
Date Read: 25th March
How it fits: (The Maxwell Brothers #1)
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review:
I enjoyed the audio version of this book. It not a book that will stay with me forever or make me want to rush to read book 2 in the series but it was enjoyable.
Tate is a hardworking single father who owns and runs a wine business with his family. He hires Lexi to be a Nanny for this daughter Paisley for the summer. Lexi is actually a teacher but needs extra income as her Mum has big medical bills after a recent illness.
The pair instantly hit it off and chemistry ignites immediately. Lexi also falls for Paisley the beautiful little girl she is looking after.
A cute story with a nice happy ending!
Missing Since MondayDate Read: 24 of March - 25th of March
How it Fits: Standalone
Rating: 5 Stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I found this book in the fourth grade and immediately fell in love. I have read it several times since then and it always holds up. I haven't read it in almost 2 years and yet still it definitely holds up.
Ann M. Martin does it again with perfect character storytelling. It's a simple easy read but such a complex compelling story about the mystery of family and what it means to be a family. I am pretty sure this is the first mystery novel that drew me in to the genre.
We have an hour right? I'll have it in on time! I'm so sorry that I'm always so far behind!!
Week 9 Spot 61
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
How it Fits: Standalone
Date Read: 3/23-3/25
Rating: ★★★★★
Review: WOW Brit Bennett never ceases to amaze me. I picked this up because The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett was my favorite read of 2021. I went into this book knowing little about the premise, but I was intrigued. Little did I know that this book takes place a couple cities over from where I live, and I had been to most of the locations discussed in the book. I had never experienced this in a book I read so I thought that was super cool. I love how unlikable all these characters are. Brit Bennett is amazing at writing flawed characters that feel so human. While reading I kept questioning if this was really fiction or if it was based on real-life people.
Week 9 ReviewsAriel - Missing Since Monday Review
Katelyn - The Mothers Review
Erin - A Head Full of Ghosts Review
Jade - Promise Me Forever Review
Shelby - A Promise of Fire Review
Maddie - A River Enchanted Review
just waiting on Maddie's review and then I can roll!
Maddie wrote: "We have an hour right? I'll have it in on time! I'm so sorry that I'm always so far behind!!"No worries, that's always both of us!! You still have 45 more minutes
Week 9 (Option One) Completion
How it fits: #1
Pages: 480
Date read: 26/3/22
Rating: 5 stars
Review: This book was absolutely incredible! I went into it expecting to sell it but boy I was blown out of the water. The writing, the flow of the writing, just wow. This was a slower book, but the imagery and everything about the contents of this book were stunning. The relationships in this book are incredible, so mature, not founded on lust and desire but on working on finding the love, on listening and really working together as a couple.
Team 8 - Reading 8 Days a WeekWeek 9 Reviews
Week: 10
Previous Spot: 61
Roll: 6+3=9
Spot: 70
Options: #7 in a series, Standalone, Published 2016-2019
Bonus Points Earned: 3
✸ 2 in 1
✸A book with >500 pages.
✸ Valentine's Bonus
Week 10 (Option Two) Selection
Pages: 216
How it fits: Published 2016
Selection:Standalone
Week 10 (Option Two) Completion
Pages: 216
How it fits: Published 2016
Date read: 28/3/22
Rating: 3 stars
Status Updates: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Maddie wrote: "How's everyone going?"About a third of the way into mine and I'm really liking it so far!
Nice! I've seen that one around
Completion:Book:
Date Read: 3/30
How it fits: Standalone
Rating: 5 stars
Review: This book was so good! And definitely cementing Ruta Sepetys as an author I will read everything she releases.
This tells the story of Cristian. A teenager living in communist Romania right before the Romanian Revolution of 1989. He ends up being blackmailed into becoming an informant for the Romanian secret police in exchange for help for his ailing grandfather. And thus begins his journey into realizing just how badly the wool has been drawn over the eyes of Romanians. We also see him descend into a certain level of paranoia as he wonders if he could get conned into being an informant, how many of those around him that he trusted could have been as well?
This is a period of time I know essentially nothing about. I ended up spending a lot of time in between reading on Wikipedia just learning more about this era in history. And I think the book did a great job of really conveying how horrid it all was.
Ruta Sepetus also utilized very short chapters which in turn made it quite the page turner for me and I flew threw most of this book in one night!
This is one I would absolutely recommend to fans of historical fiction whether you usually pick up YA or not
SELECTION POSTWeek 10
Spot 70
Book: The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare
Pages: 249
How it Fits: #7 in The Cat Who...
Week 10Spot 70
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.
Week 10 Spot 70
I changed my book at the last minute. I was cleaning out my closet when I found this standalone and literally read it again on my floor in one sitting. LOL
Book: Dead Girls Don't Write Letters by Gail Giles
Rating: 4/5
Fits: Standalone
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read this book back when it was first published so it has been over a decade. When cleaning out some stuff to make room for more books, I found this at the bottom of a box today and well, I reread it one sitting. I remember loving the book as a kid and just loving the suspenseful twists of it all.
Now almost 16 years later, I still found it quite entertaining. It's a fast read and will have you sitting on the edge of your seat wanting to know what happens (even when you've already ready the book and know what the twist is/when it's coming). I definitely recommend this book if you haven't read it (kids and adults alike).
Week 10 Spot 70
The Red Car by Marcy Dermansky
How it Fits: Standalone
Date Read: 3/27-4/1
Rating: ★★★★
Review: WOW I really liked this book!! I loved how unlikable the main character was. The book starts off with her paying a classmate to have sex, and we see her cheat on her husband several times. Really, there are no likeable characters throughout the entire book. They're all flawed and very human and realistic. I loved the tone of this book and the abruptness of the narrator. All in all, I would definitely like to read any other works by Marcy Dermansky.
Week 10 ReviewsAriel - Dead Girls Don't Write Letters Review
Katelyn - The Red Car Review
Erin - I Must Betray You Review
Jade - Review
Shelby - The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare Review
Maddie - Shadow House Review
Guys I don't think we get to roll this week
Mod
Has anyone been able to contact Jade?
The Challenge Factory
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...
Read: 18th March 202
How it fits: #2 in the Scandal & Scoundrels Series
Rating: ****
Review:
Well I definitely preferred this book to the first one, possible because this was a paperback and the other was an audiobook and I found the narrator to be very annoying and her English accent was just too much for me. I was getting more irritated with her and was loosing track of the story.
I love anything historical and if you throw in a highlander and I am so reading it. I really wanted to love this book as usually Sarah writes in a great flow, but the storyline was just too much for me and just didn’t really make a lot of sense. And the characters apart from Seraphine I just can’t take to any of them! This just seemed a bit too far fetched for me, sadly.