R13: SS Team 10 - Just 10 More Minutes

[Sha]

Review Post

Week 04
Spot: 29 (Alternate: MC over 60)

Cover:
Book and Author: Grim Shadows by Jenn Bennett
Date Read: 18 Feb 2022
Pages (Min 140 pages): 352
Qualification: Book #2 in Roaring Twenties
Rating: 3/5

Review:

18 Feb 2022

1. Egyptian Archeologist (which, for a Western person in the 1920s is synonymous with grave robber) trying to sell an ancient malevolent artifact is being chased by people he ripped off in the past. He meets the daughter (Hadley) of a potential buyer of the artifact and strikes up a flirtation with her. Together, they try to decode the locations of four missing pieces of the artifact (scattered throughout San Francisco) and deal with Hadley's rather turbulent family history.

2. This is... a strange book. I loathed reading it till about the 30% mark, mostly because Lowe is just so deeply horny it's tiring. His descriptions of Hadley went from "romance-typical horny" to "reading this makes my skin want to crawl off" pretty fast. But. There's also this very clear progression over time where he goes from lusting over Hadley to waxing poetic about everything Hadley that's actually pretty cute? I can't help but conclude the ridiculous horniness was plot and narrative relevant. And that pisses me off even more in some ways because god I hated reading that. "An ass like a basketball." UGH. GAG.

3. If that bit (and a few other things) could have been handled differently this might be a 4-star book because there are a lot of interesting ideas in here. The plot was good! There are so many fun elements. Powerful families, forgeries, grave robbing, ancient curses, immortality, family drama and invisible spirits who take orders. I do feel like some of the more relationship-based parts of the story should have gotten more time to shine; Mr Bacall and Adam Goldberg and Winter could all have provided so many more emotional stakes than they did, and it was a missed opportunity.

4. Hell, once I got over the basketball-ass (i lie; i don't think i'll ever be over it but assume i got a little less irritated) and Lowe learned to be a little less wince-worthy, I could even see the ship being a good ship. Hadley is closed off for a variety of very valid reasons, and Lowe has the sort of unrelenting charm (when he's not going on about basketball-like asses) that can get through years of self-enforced isolationism. They ended up being a pretty cute ship, which was not at all what I was expecting at 30%.

5. I did like Noel(view spoiler)[/Oliver (hide spoiler)] as a villain- he's like the embodiment of a ton of creepy shit and that is always fun. In fact, I think he was underutilized- Noel should not have been a third act villain, he should have had at least a book to loom menacingly over everyone he's stalking. On a related note, I was kindof unimpressed by (view spoiler)[Adam Goldberg's offscreen death (hide spoiler)] because that too is another potentially emotionally intense scene made less effective by writing (plotting?) choices. Ah well.

6. tldr; Some very good ideas paired with uneven writing. try if you like ideas more than their execution, and if you don't mind it when things get unbearably horny.

[Sha]

Denise wrote: "No need in this case, reading along. :) That's fine, Sha, good luck with your exam!"

^_^ Thank You!

[Laila Jane]

Week 5

Previous Spot: 29
Roll: 3 + 5
New Spot: 37

Bonus Points
Earned: 3 + 1 Free Pass
Used: 0

Books That Qualify:
#3 in series
#7 in series
#37 in series
Alternate: Title 'M'

Completion Posts
Laila Jane - Inner Harbor (Chesapeake Bay #3) - Completion Post
Joyce - Sins of the Night (Dark-Hunter #7) - Completion Post
Cindy - Investing in Love (Billionaire Banker #3) - Completion Post
Sha - Exemption
Suman - A Wild Sheep Chase (The Rat #3) - Completion Post
Rosina - Beneath These Chains (Beneath #3) - Completion Post

[Rosina]

Selection Post
Week 5 - Spot 37

Beneath These Chains by Meghan March
Pages 358
Qualification: #3 Beneath series

[Cindy]

Selection Post
Week 5
Spot: 37
Book: Investing in Love by Lexy Timms
Pages: 204
Qualification: #3 of series

[Joyce]

Selection Post
Week 5 spot 37
Book: Sins of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Pages: 331
Qualification: #7 Dark-Hunter Series

[Laila Jane]

Selection Post - Week 5

Inner Harbor by Nora Roberts
Pages: 328
Qualification: Book #3 of Chesapeake Bay series

[Rosina]

Completion Post
Selection Post
Week 5 - Spot 37
Book: Beneath These Chains by Meghan March
How it Fits: #3 Beneath series
Read: 2/21/22
Pages: 358
Rating: 3 stars
Review: I selected this book because of the location. i like stories where NOLA is the main setting. This was a NTMA and I did enjoy the writing. The story was about Elle and Lord. She is a rich girl who is rebelling against her stepfather. Lord owns a pawn shop. It was an insta love and a hop in the bed with a hot tatted bad boy. There was a mystery surrounding 3 murders.

[Joyce]

Completion Post
Week 5 spot 37
Book: Sins of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Pages: 331
Qualification: #7 Dark-Hunter Series
Finished: 2/21/22
Rating: 5 stars
Review: Danger is the first female dark-hunter that I know about. This is her story with Alexion who is Acheron's go to guy to fix things when dark hunters go bad. There is a war brewing within the dark hunters spurred on by Stryker and Alexion is sent to try to quell it. He meets Danger who doesn't quite know who to believe. Some of Acheron's past is revealed in this one. Loved it and need to read the next one soon

[Cindy]

Completion Post:

Week 5
Spot: 37

Book: Investing in Love by Lexy Timms
Read: 2/22/22
Pages: 204
Qualification: 3rd book of series
Rating: 3 Stars
Review: Bethany and Kirks relationship is so hot and cold I just want them to figure out everything already so they can have their happily ever after. They are starting to find out about all the sketchyness involving both their families and it’s making things super dangerous for them both. I wonder what all happened and who’s all behind it. The book ended on a big cliffhanger so I can’t wait to see what happens next and what other dangers are to come

[Laila Jane]

Completion Post
Week #5

Spot: 37

Inner Harbor by Nora Roberts
Date Read: 02/24/22
Pages: 328
Qualification: Book #3 in Chesapeake Bay series
Rating: 4 stars

Review: I've rated all the books I've read so far of the Chesapeak Bay series 4 stars, but this is my favorite of the bunch so far. I would've given it 5 stars, but I'm not a fan of all the quick proposals that seems to be the norm for this series. I got sucked right into this book, finishing it within 24 hours because it resolved everything regarding Seth and the mystery of his parentage, as well as the whole issue of whether the three older Quinn brothers would be able to keep guardianship. I also really enjoyed the growing relationship between Phillip and Sybill. I liked both characters individually and together, and connected with them more than I did the previous couples.

[Laila Jane]

Suman how are you doing with your book? Do you think you’ll have it done by tomorrow?

[Suman]

@Laila, I am done with my book, just unable to find time to write a rev. Will do it today.

[Suman]

Selection Post:
Week:5
Spot: 37(Alt:  Title 'M')

A Wild Sheep Chaseby Haruki Murakami
How it fits:The Rat Series#3
Pages: 353

[Suman]

Review Post:
Week:5
Spot: 37(Alt:  Title 'M')
A Wild Sheep Chaseby Haruki Murakami
How it fits:The Rat Series#3
Pages: 353 Finished: 23/02/2022
Rating: ★★★1/2

Review:
The third novel in the Rat series sees the unnamed narrator go on his most ambitious and interesting journey yet. The key part of the story commences when a strange man approaches the protagonist and asks him to find a certain sheep (with a mark on its fleece)  and thus begins the "wild sheep chase" as the title suggests. The simplicity of the book is overwhelming yet it's a complex one. I mostly enjoyed this one and this is the good book of the series. Eager to finish the next one.

[Laila Jane]

Week 6

Previous Spot: 37
Roll: 6 + 4
New Spot: 47

Bonus Points
Earned: 3 + 1 Free Pass
Used: 0

Books That Qualify:
#4 in series
#7 in series
#47 in series
Alternate: Science Fiction

Completion Posts
Laila Jane - Chesapeake Blue (Chesapeake Bay #4) - Completion Post
Joyce - Accidentally Demonic (Accidentals #4) - Completion Post
Cindy - Knowing Your Worth (Billionaire Banker #4) - Completion Post
Sha - Where the Drowned Girls Go (Wayward Children #7) - Completion Post
Suman - Dance Dance Dance (The Rat #4) - Completion Post
Rosina - Clean Sweep (Alternate: Science Fiction) - Completion Post

Bonus
✸ Starting and finishing a series - Completed by Suman
✸ Reading three or more books in a series - Completed by Laila

[Rosina]

Selection Post
Week 6
New Spot 47


Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews
Alternate: Science Fiction - 461 tags
Pages: 235

[Joyce]

Selection Post
Week 6 spot 47
Book: Accidentally Demonic by Dakota Cassidy
Qualification: #4 Accidentals
Pages: 341

[Cindy]

Selection Post
Week 6
Spot 47

Book: Knowing Your Worth by Lexy Timms
Pages: 183 pages
Qualifications: 4th book in series

[Sha]

A 7.5 counts for 7, right? ( so long as it's more than 140 pages)

[Sha]

NVM I checked and it does count.

[Laila Jane]

Selection Post - Week 6

Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts
Pages: 374
Qualification: Book #4 of Chesapeake Bay series

[Joyce]

I changed my selection post as I had trouble with that book

[Sha]

Review Post

Week 06
Spot: 47 (Alternate: Science Fiction)

Cover:
Book and Author: Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
Date Read: 02 Mar 2022
Pages (Min 140 pages): 160
Qualification: Book #7 in Wayward Children
Rating: 4/5

Review:

02 Mar 2022

1. Traumatized mermaid sends herself to abusive boarding school in a desperate attempt to keep herself from being an unknowable monster of the depths, uncovers a plot, and plans a jailbreak.

2. As always, Seanan McGuire's prose jumps all over the scale between portentous and lighthearted. The Wayward Children books are definitely more on the portentous side and that makes me like them less, but the concept is so good that it tends to overshadow the prose. Also, this my be my favourite non-backstory WC book, so yay.

3. I loved Regan from the last book and I was glad to see more of her here, but my poor child has been through a lot of trauma and I'm glad she's getting closure. I like Julia the best out of all the new characters, because she's something both very different and fascinating.

4. The Whitethorn Institute was not exactly what I was expecting. Like, I was expecting some degree of "oh good lord that's messed up" and I was definitely expecting extended brainwashing, but not a whole ass (view spoiler)[identity theft plot (hide spoiler)] which seems a bit much. I admit part of me was looking forward to people who loathed their worlds getting together to discard them, and I'm kinda sad there doesn't seem to be a safe space for that.

5. I really liked how Cora kinda falls into battle mode the moment she realizes there is clear and present danger and falls apart once she has nothing else to focus on. Hero material, right there. (I was, I repeat, corrupted by too much Animorphs at a young age.)

6. Getting personal here, so only click the spoiler tag if you're interested. This book did have many mentions of fatphobia, and as a fat person myself they hit kinda close to home. (view spoiler)[There's nothing quite as insidious as well meaning people who love you constantly pointing out (for your own good of course) how disgusting you are and how you would be so much better if you put in a little more effort. I'm sure I had a bitter smile while I was reading that shit, like I'm not constantly reminded of my fatness, and like I'm somehow unaware that not being fat would make my whole life much easier. (hide spoiler)]

7. tldr; one of the better Wayward Children books. Come here for all your needs re: poetic prose describing the further adventures of ex-heroes in a world not very kind to them.

[Cindy]

Completion Post

Week 6
Spot: 47

Book: Knowing Your Worth by Lexy Timms
Read: 3/2/22
Pages: 183
Qualification: 4th book of series
Rating: 3 Stars
Review: It seems like the drama never ends with these too families. There’s so much back stabbing and hate king around it’s hard to keep track of who’s doing what and who’s done what sometimes. I just want Kirk and Bethany to have their happily ever after but it just seems like they are never gonna get there! I want to how they’re gonna handle Bethany’s brother after finding out his deceiving ways and what her father will do when he finds out he’s the one stabbing him in the back not Bethany

[Suman]

Selection Post:
Week:6
Spot: 47(Alt:  Science Fiction)

Dance Dance Danceby Haruki Murakami
How it fits:The Rat Series#4
Pages: 393

[Suman]

Review Post:Week:6
Spot: 47(Alt:  Science Fiction)


Dance Dance Danceby Haruki Murakami
How it fits:The Rat Series#4
Pages: 393 
Finished: 02/03/2022
Rating: ★★★1/2

Bonus Claim:  For starting and finishing The Rat Series.

Review:
Dance dance dance is the final novel in the rat series. However what I feel like after reading novels from this series is that, it leads you nowhere. The key missing part at least for this novel is a strong plot. It has a great character building but they are shallow. All though the writing is fluid and it can be read very fast without any issues. Still, you know, at the end of this book ok you don't feel like you have reached somewhere. I like this series and this book too. 

[Rosina]

Completion Post
Week 6
New Spot 47


Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews
Alternate: Science Fiction - 461 tags
Pages: 235
Read: March 3 2022
Rating: 5 stars

Review: I really enjoyed this story. The writing is so well done. i liked the idea of vampires and werewolfs from space. A different take on their powers and how they were formed. Dina is a great character. i think the best character of all was the inn. The incident in Costco had me lol. A short quick read but so worth it.

[Joyce]

Completion Post
Week 6 spot 47

Book: Accidentally Demonic by Dakota Cassidy
Qualification: #4 Accidentals
Pages: 341
Finished: 3/3/22
Rating: 5 stars
Review: Casey wakes up in a jail cell not remembering how she got there or why. Her sister Wanda who is a werevamp, tries to figure out what happened. It turns out demon blood got on her and now Casey is a demon. Now she needs to find a way not to go Hell. This a fun series. I look forward to the next one and what someone accidentally becomes.

[Laila Jane]

Completion Post
Week #6

Spot: 47

Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts
Date Read: 03/03/22
Pages: 364
Qualification: Book #4 in Chesapeake Bay series
Rating: 4 stars

Bonus: Reading three or more books in a series - Read the 4 books in the Chesapeake Bay series

Review: I enjoyed this last book in the series, but my favorite is still Inner Harbor. When we last saw Seth, he was 10 years old, so it threw me off a little bit to have him be the romantic lead. I liked his romance with Dru, but it seemed very rushed. My favorite thing about this series though has always been the relationship between the brothers. I loved getting a look into where they all landed in the future.

[Laila Jane]

Week 7

Previous Spot: 47
Roll: 6 + 3
New Spot: 56

Bonus Points
Earned: 5 + 1 Free Pass
Used: 0

Books That Qualify:
#5 in series
#6 in series
#56 in series
Alternate: Author uses a pseudonym

Completion Posts
Laila Jane - The Legacy (Off-Campus #5) - Completion Post
Joyce - The Outlaw Demon Wails (The Hollows #6) - Completion Post
Cindy - Treasured Forever (Billionaire Banker #5) - Completion Post
Sha - Using Free Pass
Suman - The Big Four (Hercule Poirot #5) - Completion Post
Rosina - Sweep in Peace (Alternate: Author uses a pseudonym) - Completion Post

[Rosina]

Selection Post
Week 7
New Spot 56


Sweep in Peace by Ilona Andrews
Alternate: Author uses a pseudonym
Pages: 315

[Cindy]

Selection Post
Week: 7
Spot: 56

Pages: 184
Qualification: 5th book of series

[Suman]

Selection Post:
Week:7
Spot: 56(Alt:  Author uses a pseudonym)

The Big Four by Agatha Christie
How it fits:Hercule Poirot#5
Pages: 272

[Suman]

Review Post:
Week:7
Spot: 56(Alt:  Author uses a pseudonym)

The Big Four by Agatha Christie
How it fits:Hercule Poirot#5
Pages: 272
Finished: 06/03/2022
Rating: ★★★

Review:
This was different. Different not in a good way. It seemed to be a novel itself but a summary of novels. Story was pretty fast. There were numerous characters. None of them had any death and character building was completely missing. You can definitely enjoy the book if you are not acquainted with Agatha Christie's work. I Enjoyed the book but it is not what I expected it to be.

[Joyce]

Selection Post
Week 7
Spot 56
Book: The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison
Pages: 455
How it fits: #6 in The Hollows

[Rosina]

Completion Post - Week 7
New Spot 56

Sweep in Peace (Innkeeper Chronicles, #2) by Ilona Andrews
Sweep in Peace by Ilona Andrews
Alternate: Author uses a pseudonym
Pages: 315
Read: March 9 2022
Rating: 5 stars

Review: Oh my gosh what a good book. One thing that stood out to me was the description of items and the colors when decorating the rooms in the Inn. Dina decides to host a peace summit between Space Vampires, the Hope-Crushing Horde, and the devious Merchants of Baha-char. She is holding the summit so that she can save and revive the Inn. I really enjoyed reading about these 3 different species. Another character I really liked was the Chef, Orro and I was glad to see Sean again. Looking forward to #3.

[Joyce]

Selection Post
Week 7 Spot 56
Book: The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison
Pages: 455
How it fits: #6 in The Hollows
Finished: 3/9/22
Rating: 4 stars
Review: Rachel Morgan is a witch but seems to be able to call demons. The demon Algaliarept is trying to kill her for sending him to prison. She has a vampire friend who wants to sleep with her. Pixies in her garden who guard her house. But she still gets in trouble with trying to save people. Especially her mom. She just wants to figure out how to keep everyone alive including herself.

[Laila Jane]

It looks like we’re waiting on Sha and me for completion posts. I’ll have my book finished by tomorrow morning

[Cindy]

Completion Post

Week 7
Spot: 56

Book: Treasured Forever by Lexy Timms
Read: 3/10/22
Pages: 184
Qualification: 5th book of series
Rating: 3 Stars
Review:So happy Kirk and Bethany are finally getting their happily ever after. Kinda crazy all the stuff they had to go through to get there. Lots of drama and unexpected turns. Glad Bethany was finally able to cut her family out of her life, I know that was hard but they were just so toxic and cared more about money then they did each other. Good thing she has Kirk to get her through it all.

[Joyce]

Laila Jane wrote: "It looks like we’re waiting on Sha and me for completion posts. I’ll have my book finished by tomorrow morning"

We do have the free pass if we need it.

[Laila Jane]

Sorry everyone, I just woke up. I finished my book this morning but I worked overnight so instead of posting my completion post I ended up knocking out afterwards. About to post it shortly.

Sha, how are you doing on your book? We do have until 11:59 central time for you to post your review. Any general idea when you think you might have it in?

[Laila Jane]

Completion Post
Week #7

Spot: 56

The Legacy by Elle Kennedy
Date Read: 03/11/22
Pages: 348
Qualification: Book #5 in the Off-Campus series
Rating: 5 stars

Review: I loved every book in this series when they all came out years ago, so I was so excited to hear that an epilogue book would be coming out to show us what all the original characters were up to 5-ish years later. I can understand what all the bad reviews are saying, but I honestly loved this and could not bring myself to rate it less than 5 stars. Sure, all the couples had miscommunications and big fights, but that's real life. Each couple managed to resolve their issues and come out stronger by the end of their sections in the book. I literally laughed out loud so many times while reading this and just really enjoyed it.

[Laila Jane]

I will wait until 10 or 11pm. If we don’t hear from Sha by then I’ll use the free pass

[Joyce]

Laila Jane wrote: "I will wait until 10 or 11pm. If we don’t hear from Sha by then I’ll use the free pass"

Sounds good

[Laila Jane]

Ok, I'm going to go ahead and check us in

[Laila Jane]

Week 8

Previous Spot: 56
Roll: 2 + 3
New Spot: 61

Bonus Points
Earned: 5 + 1 Free Pass
Used: Free Pass

Books That Qualify:
Standalone
#1 in series
#6 in series
#61 in series
Alternate: Title 'H'

Completion Posts
Laila Jane - The Wit and Wisdom of Bridgerton (Standalone) - Completion Post
Joyce - Sixth Grave on the Edge (Charley Davidson #6) - Completion Post
Cindy - Banking on Christmas (Billionaire Banker #6) - Completion Post
Suman - Pines (Wayward Pines #1) - Completion Post
Rosina - The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) - Completion Post

[Cindy]

Selection Post
Week 8
Spot: 61
Book: Banking on Christmas by Lexy Timms
Pages: 144
Qualifications: 6th book of series

[Sha]

I'm sorry about all of this. I am going through some stuff IRL and I couldn't complete the book I started. I'm going to go ask to be withdrawn because I've been a mess and I don't want to cost you guys any more free passes.

Again, I'm really sorry. Things have been a mess for me since Roll #3. Lots of unexpected events, none of them good. And I'm really sorry about making you all use a free pass.

[Denise, Manufacturing Director]

Sorry to hear life's been kicking you, Sha. :(

I'm out of back-up players at the moment, so you'll be continuing with five players.