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R2 TEAM THREAD: Team #4 May the 4ce Be with You [THIRD PLACE]
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CyberAlmu
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Apr 22, 2011 12:33AM
back home, back cheering. congratulations on the stamp!
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done, 22/4 - Once Bitten, Twice Shy - four stars.Review
Such a great story. Really different than the usual urban fantasy stuff.
Wouldn’t expect something that gave me Alias flashbacks to be about vamps, but I do love me a unique story.
If not for the frequent pop culture references every five seconds, I would have given it five stars. I still really liked it.
Finished my book for paranormal ficiton:You Slay Me - 4 stars
You Slay Me had me giggling right from the first page. The book had some hilarious situations that could only happen to a young, English speaking American in Paris. Our heroine Aisling Grey arrives in Paris and learns some extremely useful expressions from her cabbie Rene:
”J’ai une grenouille dans mon bidet.”
(I have a frog in my bidet).
I chuckled at all the uses of franglais – when French words are interchanged literally with English words, effectively changing their meanings: “The elevator does not march.” and “I did not wish to derange you.” Living in my part of the world, we hear this kind of thing regularly and it always amuses me.
I loved the scenes between Aisling and Drake. Their attraction was so primal and they were very sexy together. The love scenes were hot and steamy. Dragons do have interesting mating rituals. I enjoyed the banter between Aisling and Drake. At times, Aisling seemed absolutely clueless so it made their interactions much more entertaining. I loved how smug and self-assured Drake behaved around Aisling, even when she denied that she was attracted to him.
My favorite character was Jim. Jim was a demon in the body of a Newfoundland dog. It was refreshing to see the world from a dog demon’s perspective. Jim added many moments of comic relief as well.
I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Glad you both enjoyed your reads! I finished my paranormal-fiction book, and the next shelf hasn't been announced yet, it's amazing, lol.
I ended up reading
4.23.11 ***1/2
If you haven't read the series, there may be light spoilers in there, so be warned.
The story totally sucked me in. It took a little time to get going, but when it did, I just couldn't put it down until I finished. Again, there are some seemingly random murders and disappearances, which of course end up related, and Vincent does a great job of tying all the elements together.
If I didn't find myself so annoyed at the situations that Faythe gets into, I would rate this book higher. And it's not even Faythe herself, I like her a lot, despite making some stupid decisions. I feel a little bad for her because unlike everyone else, she's not there by choice, which kinda sucks and I'm frustrated on her behalf.
My random comment for the book: I don't know if I'm on board with the caging up business. Seems inhumane (yes, they're not humans but still). And when you're spending long periods of time in a cage, do you get showers? Cuz with super-sensitive sense of smell, that isn't going to be pretty...
Still don't like her and Marc as a couple. They're an explosive pair, as in hot sex and angry fights, but I haven't seen anything beyond it. Marc is loving and protective and all that, but Faythe is totally not in the same place. I need more substance to believe in it.
paranormal-fiction | fin 4/23 | 4 stars
Are you kidding me? What kind of ending is that? /seeths silently in a corner/
This series just keeps getting more and more addicting, if that's even possible. Amazing characters and over-arching plot-line. Addictive in a stay-up-late-and-read-until-you-can-barely-keep-your-eyes-open sort of way. I'm very glad that the entire series had already finished publication before I started book 1. Waiting for the next book of anything is quite possibly the most agonizing feeling ever (I learned that the hard way through The Hunger Games trilogy). Going to have to read Dreamfever really soon.
Cinnamon, I hate to break it to you, but Dreamfever's end is more of a cliffhanger. Have Shadowfever ready to read. You'll want it nearby. At least you wont have to wait like the rest of us did.
Lover EternalApril 20, 2011 / 4.5 Stars
I really enjoyed this book. After being introduced to “The Brotherhood” in the first novel, it was great to follow yet another member on their quest for their “leelan” or soulmate. The main characters were bold, interesting and extremely easy to connect with. The twists and turns throughout the book were surprising and engaging. Reading this, I was full of emotion and cheering these two on and on. This book was full of chemistry and heat, so much I found myself giggling like a schoolgirl! The supporting characters were built upon further in this book and I found myself liking all of them more and more. The lessers continue to challenge the future of the vampires and the brotherhood must defend and protect their race no matter what the cost. I would recommend this to anyone.
Happy holidays to everyone! Thanks for the great reviews:
Cinnamon - Hope you had a great vacation. Thanks for the great review and the advice AH, making sure I have them on my PC to add to my to read list.
Vivian - Glad to read your review, I may put this series on the back burner for now.
AH - Adding yours to my to read list and SOON!
Jo - Your review was helpful, that ones on my to read.
Great reviews, team! @Cinnamon, you'll definitely want the others handy before moving on with the rest of the series.
@Vivian, ya know, I never really thought about that side of the caging.
@AH, I felt the same about book 1. Lots of LOL moments. But, I find I have to space those out.
@Jo, glad you're enjoying Jaz.
New shelf coming later today/nite. :D
Happy Easter!
This shelf will give several teams 4 in-a-row! Game's movin' along quickly!
OUR NEXT SHELF IS ..... 'favorite-series'
DIRECT LINK: 'favorite-series'
Happy Reading, Everyone!!
Updated:
Team Spreadsheet
//
Game Spreadsheet
Stamp Update
✔ (Anytime) Free Space: Received
✔ (#1) N12 part-of-a-series: Received
✔ (#2) O21 shifters: Received
✔ (#3) B3 paranormal: Received
✔ (#4) O20 ya-fantasy: Received
✔ (#5) G15 demons: Received
✔ (#6) I6 urban-fantasy: Received
✔ (#7) N13 paranormal-fiction: Received
(#8) B1 favorite-series: pending (5/8)
Shelf #7: paranormal-fiction ~ 4/17/11 (8/8)
N13 Stamp Received ~ WTG, Team!!
✔ Steph Tempest Rising 4/20/11 4★ (Review)
✔ Jo Once Bitten, Twice Shy 4/22/11 4★ (Review)
✔ Vivian Rogue 4/23/11 3.5★ (Review)
✔ Tania Lover Eternal 4/20/11 4.5★ (Review)
✔AH You Slay Me 4/23/11 4★ (Review)
✔ Daffodil The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker 4/20/11 3★ (Review)
✔ Cinnamon Faefever 4/23/11 4★ (Review)
✔ Zina Urban Shaman 4/26/11 2★ (Review)
Shelf #8: favorite-series ~ 4/24/11 (5/8)
B1 Stamp Pending
✔ Steph My Blood Approves 4/25/11 3★ (Review)
✔ Jo Mind Games 4/26/11 4★ (Review)
Vivian Angels' Blood
Tania Lover Revealed
✔ AH River Marked 4/26/11 3★ (Review)
✔ Daffodil Pale Demon 4/27/11 5★ (Review)
✔ Cinnamon Dreamfever 4/25/11 4.5★ (Review)
Zina Pleasure Unbound
I have to return
to the library in the next couple days. Since I haven't already started it, I'll read it for this shelf.
Looking forward to your thoughts on it, Daffodil. Enjoy!
I'm considering:
Both are already tagged for challenges. We'll see which I feel like reading as soon as I'm done with Accidentally Catty, which should be today/nite.
AH wrote: "Cinnamon, I hate to break it to you, but Dreamfever's end is more of a cliffhanger. Have Shadowfever ready to read. You'll want it nearby. At least you wont have to wait like the rest of us did."That's exactly what I was thinking! I was SO angry that book 4 left me hanging the way it did, lol.
Steph - I liked Nightshade a lot and would recommend it, but I'm very curious about Hocking. Have heard great things about her books.
Tania - there are a ton of people in this group that love the Shifters books. I'm finding lots of things annoying, but I can't put the books down. They're like the Twilight books to me. There are so many things to criticize but totally addicting :)
It's always so hard to choose a book from the shelves, there are so many good ones! I'm going to go with
for my favorite-series book.
Vivian wrote: "Tania - there are a ton of people in this group that love the Shifters books. I'm finding lots of things annoying, but I can't put the books down. They're like the Twilight books to me. There are so many things to criticize but totally addicting :)"My thoughts, exactly. I felt that way through the very end. But I still gave most of them 4 stars. So yes, addicting, despite Faythe's annoying traits. :)
Laura Lulu wrote: "Vivian wrote: "Tania - there are a ton of people in this group that love the Shifters books. I'm finding lots of things annoying, but I can't put the books down. They're like the Twilight books to ..."Oh, I so agree. The last 3 were very intense and great reads. Could not put them down.
For favorite series shelf, I'll be reading:
I'll definitely be reading Nightshade at some point soon, but I went with
for favorite-series. It's a quick read, I'm already a little over 50% through it. The Twilight similarities are hard to ignore, but some reason I'm still interested. LOL! Great picks, team! Hope everyone enjoys their read. :D
Hi all. It's raining here....again. Going to review the shelf and pick in the next hour or so. Steph is there any way to copy a members shelf? It would save me so much time;)
Hope everyone that is off today is having a good one!
I'll be reading
by JR Ward for my favorite series read. (Book 4 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series)
Done with
favourite-series, 26 April. 4 Stars.
Review:
Ok, straight off, I’m thinking: comic book in the form of a novel. So cool! Just put the disillusionists in capes and spandex, with a big ‘D’ on the chest and you got yourself a whole new variation of the justice league.
These guys have a very unique way of fighting crime, using their unusual mental disorders to make the world a better place.
Hypochondria as a superpower. That is just brilliant. The whole concept is like nothing I’ve ever read before. All these completely ‘powerless’ people with random mental disorders can just dump their problems on someone else.
Plus, it’s all completely okay, since they’re dumping their disorders on the villainous bad guys. But, that’s where the problem is: Justine has this huge moral dilemma with giving a small dose of hypochondria to someone, even if that someone is a murderer or rapist. She has to make such a big deal out of how she’s doing the wrong thing all the time. Like she’s the most morally sound person in the world. Not too realistic, especially since she would jump right into bed with someone who she thought (at the time) was a murdering psycho.
I really like how you’re always guessing who the bad guy could be. Adds a little mystery to the mix, since Justine is crushing on both potential bad guys. Really keeps things interesting.
So, she definitely ends up with the wrong guy, but, hey, it’s a trilogy. Plenty of time to right that wrong.
The cover of the book made no sense, and judging books by covers is just what we do. It’s misleading. A cartoon drawn in comic-book style would have been perfect & completely hilarious.
It was an inventive story, a completely unique world. That why it gets 4 stars, it may have gotten 5 if the main character wasn’t a complete ditz.
favorite-series | fin 4/25 | 4.5 stars
It's a good thing I’d already downloaded Shadowfever before I started Dreamfever, since I’m pretty sure I would have chucked my precious Kindle across the room and then proceeded to repeatedly bang my head against a hard surface otherwise. I was totally expecting the “big revelation” since book 3, though. BOOYA.
Admission: I’m addicted to Barrons. If the guy doesn’t show up every once in a while, I use the “search” option to try to find the next page he appears in... That is the extent of my addiction.
I am a sucker for HEA, and I have to admit, Ms Moning is going to have to do a lot of plot twisting to get Shadowfever to end like that. The reviews for book 5 I’ve glanced over all seem pretty optimistic, though. So. Here. I. Go… :D
Jo - comic in a novel is a perfect way to describe it! Can totally picture them in the capes, lol. I agree, tt's a totally unique world, which is so hard to come by in the genre. Cinnamon - can you imagine getting to the end of Dreamfever and having to WAIT for Shadowfever?? Enjoy Shadowfever, it's quite a ride :)
I agree - great way to describe it. Glad you enjoyed it.LOL! Oh how we suffered, yah?! Glad there won't be more of those.
I finished
and will be back very soon with my review. I'm still thinkin' on what to rate the thing. LOL! Probably 3★, but need to take a step back from it.Hope everyone is enjoying their reads! :D
Finally finished my paranormal fiction book
Urban Shaman 4/26/11.rating 2 stars.
This is the first book I couldnt wait for it to be over. I have already put the book in my bag to be traded at the bookstore.
I was intrigued by the combination of Native American and Celtic magic. I was quite disappointed with how there wasnt more substance in the story. I kept turning pages and was wanting more. I would have liked more background on the magic of shamanism and on Celtic lore.
I would find myself zoning out as I was reading. Just couldnt get into the story. There were parts I really did like. I loved Gary the cab driver. I liked Morrison and can see that part of the story developing. I felt that the character of Joanne had so much more to be developed. Perhaps in the rest of the series that will occur.
I think what was bugging me was the whole idea of people/gods appearing out of the sky on horse back. I kept thinking if she is a shaman why can even the ordinary people see the dude on horseback come out of the sky.
I just couldnt wait for it to be finished. I do have the second in the series but I am not sure if I will continue with it.
Finished my Favorite series read -
3 stars
I was very excited getting my hands on this book. I love all of the Mercy books; I love the world and all of the characters. This book was a little flat for me when compared to the other books in the series.
Don't get me wrong. Mercy and Adam are wonderful together. I love how Mercy can tame the wild side of Adam's wolf. I love their connection. I just didn't feel the story, even though when I think of it, the story is fine.
I was so happy for Mercy and Adam. Finally married in a beautiful ceremony engineered by Jesse and Mercy's mom, the happy couple leaves for their honeymoon. I found that their honeymoon location was a strange choice - camping at a Columbia River campsite, but it was a good set up for the story.
The other wonderful characters of Mercy's world were missing for me. Yes, there were cameo appearances by Stefan, Warren, Kyle, and Jesse, just not enough of them and the rest of the pack.
I did like the Native American lore and I enjoyed learning more about Mercy's background. The walking stick makes an interesting and most useful appearance.
I am still looking forward to more Mercy books. I just wish we didn’t have to wait so long!
I love the Mercy books :) More Stefan would be great, I kinda think he's awesome.Bummer about your Urban Shaman Zina. Hope you enjoy Pleasure Unbound. Lots of steamy goodness, from what I hear!
I might change my book again. Depending on my mood, might continue with
for favorite series.
What ^she^ said. LOL! :) Definitely lots of steamy goodness to be had in Pleasure Unbound. (PU just didn't fit LOL!) Sorry it missed the mark at bit for ya, AH. LOL @ Vivian's "I kinda think he's awesome" ;) Me too.
No worries, change away. Hope you enjoy whichever you choose to read.
And, YAY for our paranormal-fiction stamp!! Off to update our lists and bingo card now.
My Blood Approves by Amanda HockingMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
My Blood Approves is the first in Amanda Hocking's series by the same name. One thing it does well, proves that if you want to write a book, do it! You don't need to fret over publishers and the like, at least not initially. Get your book(s) out there, gather some momentum, as this series (and others of Amanda's) has and then go for the gold. Since it's a self-published book, there are some errors that a good editor would've been able to catch pre-release, but not so many that it's unreadable. In fact, I was surprised my OCDemon didn't fret more over the ones I spotted.
Another negative, already addressed I've no doubt, is the fact that this story has a multitude of Twilight similarities.
Some biggies:
~ Names are very similar. You have Alice, who's the main vs. sister; Mae, the mom vs. Esme; one of the love interests Jack vs. Jacob
~ Ezra, the long lived dad with medical skills
~ YA staple, a love triangle. But, this time the tri is Human Girl + Baby Vamp Bro + Vampier Bro.
~ Basic gist of human girl who is average in appearance is unusually different from what the vamp fam has come to expect and therefore makes her infinitely more desirable to them. "Yeah," Jack said sheepishly. "Everyone kind of ... reacts to me a certain way. And you don't. It's refreshing. So that's what I'm doing here. With you."
There were, however, differences that helped create enough "what's going to happen next" to keep me reading. I very much liked the addition of Alice's younger brother by two years, Milo. And, I say addition because to me, this reads like well done fan fiction, which isn't a bad thing, just not what Amanda was shooting for, I'd imagine.
In addition to Milo, Amanda has a nice take on why her vamps are not stark white (thankfully they do not sparkle). "We don't change from when we were turned, and I skateboarded a lot so I was out in the sun. When I turned, my was full of melanin, and now it always will be."
There were enough differences to keep me entertained. The book was a quick read, so it's like many hours/days wasted, if you'd like to give it a go. I will be reading #2, mainly because of Amanda's inclusion of a snippet at the end of this book.
View all my reviews
CONGRATULATIONS, Team!!! We now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'paranormal-fiction'.
[Our new BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Good Job!! :D
Congrats on the stamp 4ce!
Finished my Favorite series read in the wee hours of this morning.
Pale Demon, Kim Harrison, 4-27-11Rating: 5 stars
Review: Rachel has done a lot of growing up and it really shows in this book. She's thinking about how her actions will affect others, taking consequences into consideration before making really tough decisions. Most of all she's finally beginning to see the value of using demon magic instead of letting it use her. Things outside of her control still happen, but instead of complaining or reacting in anger, Rachel handles the situation to the best of her abilities. Once events started happening, the action moved along quickly and kept me up because I had to finish the book and find out how things would be resolved. Rachel's relationships with her friends and enemies went through a lot of changes too. Enough of the threads carried over from previous books are finally dealt with to satisfy me, while leaving others for future possibilities. Overall a fantastic read and I really can't wait to see where things go next.
I've been wanting to read Pale Demon. Must look it up at the library.
Sandra wrote: "Congrats on the stamp 4ce!"Thanks! YAY Team! :D
@Daffodil, Glad you enjoyed it. It was a fun read.
OK - my pal Cutie on Bewitched Bookworms had a post today that featured book challenges. Since I told her all about the Bingo challenge, she talked about it on her post. We may have more participants next game.
Cool! Thanks for that, AH. I have a new game/challenge that I want to start before another round of Bingo. But, assuming we have people interested, there will be a R3 in the future. :)
I'm in! gotta get that in fast, LOL! It'd be so much fun if more people join in after that, too!
Love the book games, and my fam thinks I'm insane! Loving Bingo, but so excited to see the new game rolled out, too!
YAY! :)ETA: luckily for me, since hubby helped come up with Bingo, he doesn't think I'm coo coo for coco puffs.
Completed for “favourite series” read on April 28
Rating: 4 Stars
Review: This book focuses mainly on Butch. His past is explored and his vulnerabilities are revealed. His quest for Marissa builds throughout the novel and his relationship with “V” is displayed in surprising ways. I must say that the bond between Butch and V is really amazing, especially now that we know the turmoil of Butch’s past. The other characters continue to show themselves throughout the book; however, I am really feeling for John and hoping that his adoptive father (Tohr) returns. For some reason, he breaks my heart the most. Maybe it’s his innocence and the fact that he deserves so much more than life has given him so far. The action, steamy affection and character building continues throughout the book, right until the very end. Ward continues to please with this series; I recommend this book to anyone.
***I’ve tried so much not to spoil the book for anyone, I hope I’ve succeeded.
I watched a video chat last night with Verna DePaul and Larissa Ione. It was my first one. Totally cool and thank goodness I didn`t have to be on video, I wasn`t sure if everyone participating had to be on video as it was a video chat. Boy I feel like such a newbie!
Very cool, Tania. I would'a worried about that too. LOL! Glad you enjoyed it (and the book).
Early Shelf Announcement: Happy Early May Day! Happy Reading, Everyone!
Our Next Shelf is: 'vampires'
DIRECT LINK: 'vampires'
Updated:
Team Spreadsheet
//
Game Spreadsheet
Stamp Update
✔ (Anytime) Free Space: Received
✔ (#1) N12 part-of-a-series: Received
✔ (#2) O21 shifters: Received
✔ (#3) B3 paranormal: Received
✔ (#4) O20 ya-fantasy: Received
✔ (#5) G15 demons: Received
✔ (#6) I6 urban-fantasy: Received
✔ (#7) N13 paranormal-fiction: Received
✔ (#8) B1 favorite-series: Received
(#9) I9 vampires: pending
Shelf #8: favorite-series ~ 4/24/11 (6/8)
B1 Stamp Rec'd
Shelf #9: vampires ~ 5/1/11 (3/8)
I9 Stamp Pending
✔ Steph Demon Song 5/5/11 5★ (Review)
Jo Paranormalcy
Vivian Hard Bitten
✔ Tania Lover Unbound 5/2/11 5★ (Review)
AH In the Blood
✔ Daffodil The Rest Falls Away 5/3/11 4★ (Review)
Cinnamon Origins
Zina Desire Unchained
SOS: Serious Overload of Series
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