R11: Team #6 ~Hex Nuts~

[Nichole]

Don't you hate that! That happened to me last month with that one and Dead Heat. I start to get cranky after so many interruptions :) I'm glad you're enjoying it, Daffodil. Hopefully you can get some free reading time over the weekend.

I should have my book finished by tomorrow, maybe even tonight.

[Rachel-RN]

My mom's visiting from IN and we are driving to Seattle area to see my sister tomorrow. Hopefully on the car ride I can get it finished.
I picked: To Dance With the Devil

[Nichole]

Shelf: Reader's Choice
Book: Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Date Finished: 4/10/15
Rating: 2.5 stars

*rant-fest that contains some spoilers*
(view spoiler)[

Sorry for the length!! I couldn't stop myself.

I realize that I'm in the minority here with my feelings for this series. But you see, if you take out one part of the equation in the last three or so books and I would have really enjoyed them. The problem with that is, it's Katy. She's kind of a big part of this particular series, so yeah...

Daemon and his family are with the Luxen that have invaded. The Luxen that are the bad guys, the body snatchers and the ones trying to take over our planet. Not good, not good at all.

On a simple trip to the pharmacy, Katy and Archer get to see exactly what's going on with said Luxen. And guess what? Katy tries to be a hero again, even though Archer tries to stop her over and over. She's not so special that she can be a hero without putting lives at risk. Hers, Archer's and anyone that is around her. Gah! Instead of being heroic, she gets captured. Again!

At least now she's back with Daemon, Dawson and Dee again. Ya know, putting their lives on the line with her stupidity. But they somehow manage to escape, barely, where they're reunited with the others from their group.

Daemon and Katy get some alone time and I swear I have a headache from all the eye-rolling. The constant back and forth "I love you, you're so amazing, I love him, you're so beautiful, I love her, let's do it" was just too much. Maybe spread it out some? We know they love each other. They say exactly that every 3 pages.



Long story short, they enlist the Arum to help them get rid of the bad Luxen. They go home and Katy gets to see her mom. But guess what!!! It's a trap and stupid Katy runs right into it even though everyone tries to stop her. Again!

Luckily, they were saved by the military this time. Not that they all didn't do their part but the timing was just right. But Katy was so very upset so she takes off running to get away from it all. Daemon, of course, tries to stop her but guess what!!!!! That's right, she runs into the Luxen colony that has just set up on Earth there. This time though, it's the Arum that save their asses. Yes, that's 3 times in the same book that stupid Katy runs in without thinking and puts all their lives at risk. Who needs enemies with her around?

And the final battle with Nancy where Daemon saves her life Again!!!!! by taking the bullet for her. Just stop already. Let them kill her so the rest of the group survives, geez! I know, you can't do that. Like I said, she's a big part of this YA love story. Blah, blah, blah, they live happily ever after.

The sad thing is, take Katy out and I enjoyed the rest of the story. I'm still beyond irritated with her or I could point out the good parts. It wasn't so bad and some of it was really good. I really liked the first couple of books but I'm so glad to have finished this series up. I just don't think I could go on with it. (hide spoiler)]

[Rachel-RN]

Shelf: Reader's Choice
To Dance With the Devil
April 11th 3*

Much better than the last book. Last published book in the series, I am really not sure if I would read more if/when additional books come out. My big issue is Celia. While she is strong, kick-ass, and smart, she allows some of the people in her life (whether blood relatives or not) to treat her like a doormat. She is, mostly, the same person she was in book 1. I would like the know what the "end" game is.
That being said, these are easy books to read (even if she is still with Bruno).

[Daffodil]

Reader's Choice
Vision in Silver, Anne Bishop, 4-11-15
Rating: 5 stars
Review: I love the uniqueness of the world Anne Bishop has created. There are shifters and vampires, but the difference lies in their origins. They are not converted humans. They never were human. They are Others, terra indigene, earth natives who have chosen to take on human guise and aspects in order to interact with humans. Others, therefore, do not think like humans and do not understand human motivations. While Others are definitely the dominant species, making all the laws and barely tolerating human existence as anything other than meat, there are human factions who believe they have an inherent right to rule. Throw greed and intolerance into the mix and you have one mighty conflict on the horizon.

Previous Human Liaisons never made a permanent impact on the residents, but Meg's arrival at the Lakeside Courtyard in the first book marked the beginning of a new relationship between Others and a human. Three books in, and the human "pack" is slowly growing. Simon's conflicted feelings over this and how it will impact the future of the terra indigene make him question the correct path to follow. Meg's also growing, learning to manage her ability and coping with the freedom she fought so hard for. I'm enjoying the slow build of Meg and Simon's relationship. They're still at the friendship phase and may never go beyond that, though I kind of doubt it, but it's still nice to watch as they work on understanding the feelings they have for each other.

I'm a fan of Anne Bishop's and should have known better, but I had some preconceived notions based on the cover blurb of the first book. It's hard for me to detail the nuances that make this a totally different series than I expected, but I've been pleasantly surprised throughout all three books at how wrong I was. In the end, this isn't a series about "poor little humans" surviving in a world ruled by shifters and vampires. Because sadly, while the Others and their propensity for eating humans may appear monstrous to us, it is the human coalitions, motivated by greed and prejudice, that are the real monsters.

[Daffodil]

Mid-week update:

Shelf 8: O5 - Reader's Choice 3/4
Stamp Received: still reading
Daffodil Vision in Silver, Anne Bishop, 4-11-15, 5 stars, Review
Dragana Black Dog, Caitlin Kittredge
Nichole Opposition, Jennifer L. Armentrout, 4-10-15, 2.5 stars, Review
Rachel To Dance with the Devil, Cat Adams,4-11-15, 3 stars, Review


Shelf call is this afternoon. There are 8 teams that already have 4 in a row once they are caught up on current shelves, which means there are 7 potentially winning shelf calls for this week.

There are still a lot of possibilities left though. I'm personally rooting for black/grey, vampires, New2You author or New2You series. These are the shelves that would give us 4 in a row without giving another team too much of an advantage, since Sci-Fi genre is a winning shelf for Team 9.

[Nichole]

Great review, Daffodil! Really, it's perfect.

Thanks for the update. I'm kind of hoping for New 2 You series because I want to start Born of Night. *crosses fingers*

[Daffodil]

Today's shelf is creature feature: Read a book that features more than one type of paranormal within the story

So many possibilities. I'll decide when I get home later tonight.

[Nichole]

decisions, decisions, decisions....



I have about 3 hours left on my audio. I'll decide after that.

[Nichole]

Well this shelf doesn't help us at all :(

[Rachel-RN]

be back later with choice

[Nichole]

I'm going with . Notice it wasn't on my list, lol.

[Dragana]

I think I am going to read for Creature feature shelf.

I finished my reader's choice book. I'll post my review hopefully later today.

[Daffodil]

I'm considering:

[Rachel-RN]

I think Something Secret This Way Comes will work (werewolves and vampires)

[Dragana]

Shelf: Reader's Choice
Date read: 12. Apr. 2015.
Rating: 2.5 stars

I was on a vacation and decided to use that as an excuse to make a dent in my kindle freebies pile… I picked a romance novel because I wanted to relax.

LIKES:
* Optimism. Even though some bad things happen In the second part of the book, positive stuff from the first half of the book is what will remain in your memory. Kaylee Ray, our heroine, is like a Disney princess. She is a happy-go-lucky girl dreaming about the one-true-love. Romance happens. Everything goes perfectly. It was relaxing read. I think I would have loved Ever After Drake more if there was no drama at all.
"It’s easy to view the world as an evil place when you watch the news. There’s shootings, and violence and death and people just generally doing evil things. It’s easy to forget that there are still good people out there."
* Personal growth. Kaylee Ray starts thinking about something else besides getting married and asks: “Who am I outside of the girl that just wants to find her true love?” Her fumbling small steps on the road to self-discovery are forgotten as soon as Kaylee Ray’s love problems are solved. But she did pose this important question.

DISLIKES:
* Clumsiness. It used to be cute, now it’s only a boring cliche. I’m sick and tired of heroines who can’t make it out of their front door without tripping or stumbling down the stairs.
* Heroine talks how she is plain all the time. This cliche is boring in real life too, because usually people who complain most about ‘being plain’ are not plain at all. And I had the same impression about Kaylee Ray.
* Complete lack of ambition. Kaylee Ray’s goal in life is to work until she finds a husband and then quit, stay home and take care of the kids. I just can’t understand this.
* Teachers making out in closets. Ok this maybe really happens in schools, but imagining something like that really creeped me out. Kinda like thinking about your parents ‘doing it’ lol
* Make way for a drama queen. As soon as something goes wrong – it’s drama time. Kaylee Ray does not eat or even gets out of bed – sometimes for days.
* Insta-love. Romance between main hero and heroine happens so fast that they should get a speeding ticket. Or in my case – a lowered rating.
"Life is depressing and boring if you can’t open up your heart and fall fast and hard. If you can’t love furiously, what’s the point of living? You might as well slowly freeze to death."

IN THE END…
Ever After Drake managed to relax me with glowing and positive view on romance, especially in the first part. If there were less cliches and drama and more personal growth I would have recommended this book to some of my contemporary romance lovin’ friends. But… Read my likes and dislikes and decide for yourself if you are going to give it a try.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Dragana, the answer is ... not a chance in hell! LOL

[Dragana]

Sandra wrote: "Dragana, the answer is ... not a chance in hell! LOL"
I know. :/ I could not even think up to whom to recommend it to.

The sad thing is this one was the best from five books I picked from my kindle freebies pile. The other four ended up as DNFs...

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Oh that is sad :(

[Daffodil]

Shelf 8: O5 - Reader's Choice 4/4
Stamp Received: requested 4-17-15
Daffodil Vision in Silver, Anne Bishop, 4-11-15, 5 stars, Review
Dragana Ever After Drake, Keary Taylor, 4-12-15, 2.5 stars, Review
Nichole Opposition, Jennifer L. Armentrout, 4-10-15, 2.5 stars, Review
Rachel To Dance with the Devil, Cat Adams,4-11-15, 3 stars, Review

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Daffodil, you've got the wrong cover for Dragana :)

[Daffodil]

Thanks Sandra. Changed the book, didn't change the cover.

It's about par for my day though. I just spent the last 20 minutes cleaning up after a bottle of pop exploded all over me, my chair, my desk, the floor and worst of all -- my keyboard. Sometimes sticky never comes out!

I'll fix it and cross my fingers nothing else goes wrong before I can get out of here for the weekend.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

CONGRATULATIONS, Hex Nuts!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'reader's choice'. 

[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Good Job!! :D

[Rachel-RN]

Changing my book to The Kingmakers since I just realized this one should work (vampires and some type of earth magic)

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Congrats on the stamp Nutties!

Oh no Daffodil, hope you have a fabulous weekend to make up for that!

[Dragana]

I feel your pain Daffodil, I spilled pop over my mouse over a year ago and even now sometimes my finger gets sticky when scrolling. I think I should get a new one, but I am too lazy lol
As Sandra said, I hope your weekend turns out great to make up for it.

[Daffodil]

Thanks everyone. The afternoon ended on a high note, my coworker returned from the bank with DQ Blizzards that the boss treated us to. Yummm. Then stopped at the library after work, because was in for me. I have to wait to start it, but I have it on hand.

I started Friday for the creature feature shelf.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Glad it all turned around for you Daffodil! DQ Blizzards, looked em up, that's exactly the sorta thing I love!!!! What flavour did you get?

[Daffodil]

The April flavor of the month: Salted Caramel Truffle. It was very good.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

I love caramel, in any form ... yummm!

[Dragana]

I didn't hear about the DQ Blizzards before but, as Sandra said, it definitely looks yummy and like something I would adore.
I'm not sure if I can get it in Europe, but I added it to my list of things to try when I one day (hopefully) visit USA. :)

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

We don't have Dairy Queen here in Aus, but we do have great flavoured ice cream. I love the english toffee or the choc mint :)

[Nichole]

Mmmm, DQ blizzards are the best! I haven't had one in years. We don't have a DQ here anymore :( There is a Braum's or Sonic on just about every corner though. It's not the same.

Ice cream fixes everything!

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

It sure does Nichole!

[Nichole]

Shelf: Creature Feature
Book: Nice Girls Don't Live Forever by Molly Harper

Finished: 4/17/15
Rating:★★★★☆

Another fun romp in Half-Moon Hollow with Jane and the gang! Molly Harper never fails to make me laugh. She does redneck just right, lol.

This starts out with Gabriel and Jane in Europe. With each stop, there is an envelope waiting for Gabriel and he starts acting more and more cagey. He's definitely hiding something. After confronting him about his behavior, Jane comes back home thinking they broke-up.

So many things going on back home. There was a break-in at the store but nothing was taken. Jane joins the Chamber of Commerce that is run by the Courtney's. This so reminded me of the movie Heather's! Anyways, Zeb and Jolene have babies and Jane has to run some interference between the families. Luckily, not as much in this book. And of course, her family which is screwed up but there seems to be a little progress there. The villains who shall not be named but were pretty obvious.

In the end, things were wrapped up nicely. It makes me wonder what the next book will bring. At least I know I can count on some crazy antics that will make me laugh. I'm really looking forward to starting the Half-Moon Hollow series next.

[Daffodil]

Great review Nichole. It's been almost 4 years since I read the first book in this series, I'm going to have to add it to my list of things to catch up on. It's a long list.

Most of the ice cream stores in our area have their own version of the blizzard (Culver's Concrete Mixer, Custard Cup's Snowstorm, ...), but DQ remains the best. I love the Chocolate Covered Cherry and the local store will make your favorite even if it's not on the menu anymore, assuming they have the ingredients on hand that is.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Now that's what I call service Daffodil!

[Rachel-RN]

Shelf: Creature Feature
4* April 21st


So much going on in this one! Adele and Greyfriar were often apart in this installment. I had doubts as to how this would end, but I am happy to say, the resolution is satisfying. The supporting characters bring it- both good/evil.
Looks like this series was originally a trilogy, it does stand okay at/with 3 books. However, there are some loose ends, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a fourth book coming out later this year. Contemplating pre-ordering it.

[Daffodil]

Glad you enjoyed your read, Rachel.

Status Update:
Shelf 9: G3 - Creature Feature 2/4
Stamp Received: still reading
Daffodil Death Magic, Eileen Wilks,
Dragana World After, Susan Ee
Nichole Nice Girls Don't Live Forever, Molly Harper, 4-17-15, 4 stars, Review
Rachel The Kingmakers, Clay Griffith, 4-21-15, 4 stars, Review



I'm nearing the end of Death Magic and may finish it tonight. I'll get my review up as soon as possible.

There's still a good chance the game will continue through another call after tomorrow's. 7 out of the 15 shelves left are non-winners.

[Daffodil]

Creature Feature
Death Magic, Eileen Wilks, 4-22-15
Rating: 4.5 stars
Review: This was very close to a 5 star read. If the pacing in the first half of the book had moved along just a bit faster, it would have been perfect.

Lily and Rule have come a long way since first meeting. Despite being forced together in the beginning, they've built a solid relationship built on respect, trust and love. Lily has truly accepted the mate bond and I loved seeing how it's become a natural part of their lives, being used to locate each other and reassure themselves about each others health/well-being.

The Great Enemy is still working through certain humans, attempting to destroy the Lupi and their allies. I enjoyed having a chance to learn more about Ruben and his wife Deborah in this book as he and the Magical Crimes Unit are the main target this time around. Other favorite characters made appearances, but I still missed Lily's Grandmother. Hopefully, she'll be in the next book.

Overall, a great read and I will definitely be buying the next book in this series.

[Dragana]

I have finished reading my book for creature feature too, I'll post a review tomorrow.

Keeping fingers crossed for game to continue. :)

[Daffodil]

New shelf called and it's a non-winner. It also will finally give us 4 in a row.

Man's World Read a book written by a man or a man is the main character

[Nichole]

Hmph! 4 in a row is good but I'm going to have to think about this one. I have some ideas but that doesn't mean I want to read them, lol.

[Daffodil]

I know exactly what you mean!

[Daffodil]

I think I have to stop by the bookstore tonight. Just to find a book for the current shelf, you understand. It's a necessity. ... At least that's what I'll keep telling myself.

[Rachel-RN]

One of these (maybe, you never know what else I might find that catches my attention):
(male author and characters), (male author) or or - both book synopses are told from the guy's POV, anyone read these? Not sure if either of these will fit. (assuming it's a least 50/50, but who knows?)
Leaning towards Grimm.

[Nichole]

Daffodil wrote: "I think I have to stop by the bookstore tonight. Just to find a book for the current shelf, you understand. It's a necessity. ... At least that's what I'll keep telling myself."

Totally!

[Nichole]

I've read but it was years ago. I honestly don't remember how much was in his POV vs. Eliza's. Sorry!

[Nichole]

Too bad I just finished !

I'm leaning towards but I dunno if that'll stick.

[Rachel-RN]

A few more possibilities I found lurking on my shelves that appeal:
, ,