SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion
Archive: Past Team Challenges
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R3 TEAM THREAD: Team #5 ~ Gypsies, Vamps and Thieves
October has started so I'm not going to be around (or reading) as much as I have been but I'll still be here as much as I can and I'm still going to be reading.Shelf Urban Fantasy
6/6 Read
Mary -
Sherri -
Cristina -
Amanda -
Carlyn -
KarenF -
Shelf: First In Series
5/6 Read
Mary -
Sherri -
Cristina -
Amanda - Marked
Carlyn -
KarenF -
Shelf:Fantasy Paranormal
6/6 Read
Sherri -
Cristina -
Amanda -
Mary -
Carlyn -
KarenF -
I changed my first-in-series book to Murder 101 and posted a review on page 10 post 495.
I will be reading
for the UF shelf. Its due back to the library on the 10th so I need to get cracking on it. :-)
Mary wrote: "I changed my first-in-series book to Murder 101 and posted a review on page 10 post 495."Thanks, I missed that. :) I think I have everything updated (and fixed) now.
Amanda wrote: "Almost done with Iron Kissed, ladies! I promise!Urban fantasy shelf: Hounded by Kevin Hearne"
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Here is my review for the urban fantasy shelf! 
City of Ghosts by Stacia KaneMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the third book in the Downside Ghosts series and it is the best so far! Chess is asked to work with the black squad, which is the magical equivilent of special ops, to solve a series of murders. She is magically bound so that she can't discuss the case with anyone who isn't authorised. This poses a problem when she needs the help of Terrible and Lex. Terrible still hasn't forgiven her but she needs his help more than ever.
This book was absolutely fantastic! The emotion in it especially took my breath away and I was in tears at one point. The mystery of the murder was really good and kept me guessing at what was going to happen till the very end. Chess's drug addiction stil plays a large part in the book but she is feeling her emotions more in this story instead of trying to wipe them all out.
This is a fantastic tale for anyone who loves urban fantasy and magic. The alternate world is beautifully describes and has left me dying in anticipation for the nxt book in this series!
View all my reviews
I'm changing my UF book to:
. I haven't even started Phantom Evil. By my daughter and I started Linger in the car this week and we're already through a good chunk of it. We're taking a day trip to NY tomorrow and that'll probably finish it up for us.
I can always use Phantom for the ghost shelf if it's called.
Book: Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
Completed: 10/8
Shelf: Fantasy Paranormal
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review: O. M. G. For me, this book in the series was a little less action packed than the previous ones, but it was nice to have a bit more focus on the relationships that Mercy has with the people in her life. Decisions were made (FINALLY!) and the subject matter becomes a bit more adult and personal. I went into the book expecting the same formula from the previous three so I found myself lagging at times, but my interest definitely picked up towards the middle. I certainly want to know where things go from here with Mercy.
Our Next Shelf is: 'dragons'DIRECT LINK: 'dragons'
Busy day tomorrow, so I'm making this week's announcement early.
Still no winner! Happy Reading!
I just came on to say that I'd be gone all day and might not see the new shelf until tomorrow. Now I know what to plan into my reading this week. cool.
Doesn't look like Dragons gives anyone Bingo. This round is lasting a long time. If we catch up get all our stamps this week we'll have good positioning. I should finish my UF book today or tomorrow.
I'll post my dragon book tomorrow.
I love this shelf! My dragons shelf will be Serpent's Kiss! This was actually next on my reading list anyway so I'm a happy bunny :)
I switched and finished my "Urban-Fantasy" book:Hexed ****
More urban fantasy fun from the Iron Druid Chronicles. Like Hounded, Hexed is full of action and humor. Oberon continues to be a great doggie character and I wish there had been more of him in this book (although I was happy he was out of harms way for most of it - I always worry about the dog). The role of the witches in this world gets more fleshed out as Atticus works with a local coven against an influx of "evil" witches. Gods and Goddesses from various pantheons make appearances and one thing I like is that they act like the Gods and Goddesses in the stories of old. They can be vain and petty and spiteful and still be remarkably powerful. Overall, it was another quick, fun read from this series and I'll certainly be sticking around to see what happens in the third book.
Gah! I read two books on the Dragons shelf this past week.In any event, I still have more dragon books to read. I'll be reading
We're ready for our Fantasy Paranormal stamp now. :)Also, I'm done with my UF book and I'll do all the updates and my review soon.
I'll be reading Kiss of Fire or Dragon Down Under for the Dragon shelf.
Shelf: Dragons6/6 Read
Mary -
Sherri -
Cristina -
Amanda -
Carlyn -
KarenF -
Shelf Urban Fantasy
6/6 Read
Mary -
Sherri -
Cristina -
Amanda -
Carlyn -
KarenF -
Shelf: First In Series
5/6 Read
Mary -
Sherri -
Cristina -
Amanda - Marked
Carlyn -
KarenF -
Finished: 10-08-11
Working for the Devil: This is the first book in the Dante Valentine series. I like this world, Dante isn't quite as likable. On the other hand, I loved Jaf. I believe I was smitten with the demon before I hit the halfway point of the book. Anyway, I liked it but I don't know if I will read the next or not. Time will tell.
My plan right now is to read:
for the dragon shelf. I will try to finish my UF book today.I might switch that to one of the Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. But probably it'll stay Kiss of Fury.
CONGRATULATIONS, Gypsies, Vamps & Thieves! You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'fantasy paranormal'.
[Your new BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Good Job!! :D
Congrats GVTs!
I so want to read Serpent's Kiss but I will be a good girl and read a book that is already on one of my reading challenges list that I need to complete.
Also, here is the most updated BINGO CARD.
Looks like the dragon shelf is good for us. Gives us another 4 way to win.
OK, here is my First in a Series Review. I'm really trying to catch up this week.Book Chosen:
Isle of Night by Veronica WolffBook Completed: October 2, 2011
Shelf: First in Series
Rating: ★★★
Let me start off by saying that I was a bit confused by this book at who this book was being marketed to. I initially thought that this was a YA book and I still think it is directed to that market since Isle of Night is about a 17 year old taken to an island to be trained to be a “watcher.” But as I read through this book, I thought the dark theme and subject matter would be a bit too much for younger readers. The vampires are creepy, the subject matter violent and the environment cruel. So I can honestly say I was a bit thrown off by what I thought I was goint to get and what I actually got with this book.
Annelise Drew has had a hard life, but she is trying to haul herself out of it. A mysterious, handsome male, named Ronan, intercepts her while she is enrolling at university. Ronan convinces her to leave this life and whisks her away to a remote island to start a new life as a watcher. Annelise, or Drew as she prefers, is supposed to be intelligent, but one of the first things she does is to let a stranger get her in a car and then an airplane. This incident annoyed me. Also, we are continually “told” though the book that Drew is highly intelligent, but her actions just didn’t support that for me.
The premise of this book is that only the strong survive the initiation process and get to be a “Watcher.” The initiation training is often violent, malicious, underhanded and torturous. When you fail, you are not merely voted off the island; you mysteriously disappear or are killed/murdered. The Isle of Night is not a happy place; it is regimented, dark, foreboding, and dangerous. Yea, I know it’s a bit like “The Hunger Games,” but that is where the similarity ends. So those are a couple of things that I didn’t like about “Isle of Night.”
So what did I like. I liked Drew’s spirit. Although she has been abused, she still has the strength to change her life to the positive. She’s a bit sarcastic, which is her preferred defense mechanism, but it does lessen as she becomes more comfortable with her surroundings. I also enjoyed her friendships with Emma and Yasou. They are both interesting secondary characters and their support of Drew is a testament to their character. I also adored the cover, which was what initially attracted me to the book.
It was interesting to see Drew get harder, yet softer with her personality through the book. She became cold, clinical and detached when killing, but opened her heart to her friends Emma and Yasou. There is some romance in the book; an odd triangle with Ronan, the tracer that found Drew and brought her to the island and the ancient vampire Alcantara. It looks like Ms. Wolff is going to explore the relationship between Alcantra and Drew in the next book, Vampire’s Kiss, since the ending appears to have been set up that up.
Overall, Isle of Night is an OK read, with some unique plot directions. For that reason, I am going to stretch my rating and give it three stars. I’m curious to see what Ms. Wolff does with the direction of the story, now that the world building is out of the way and Drew has established herself as a potential Watcher candidate.
Woohoo. We just need 1 more to get our UF shelf.
I was bad today and kept reading while I was working so I could finish this book. 
Shelf: Dragons
Dragon Down Under I'll be honest, this book is quite smutty. There is quite a bit of story going on as well though. I liked our main characters quite a bit, even most of the secondary characters. The only complaints I have is that there wasn't too much 'story' before they jumped into the "we're madly in love and we'll spend the rest of eternity together" portion of the book and there were some odd typos. The "madly in love" part was explained and I wasn't bothered enough that I couldn't enjoy the book.
I don't see any indication of it on its goodreads page but, it reads as if we might get a sequel out of it. If so, I will happily read it as well.
Done with my "dragons" book: Holy Smokes ***
I usually really like this series but this I found just OK. Aisling can be a ditz but they're fun in a Paranormal Stephanie Plum sort of way. But the first half of this book was kind of a mess. There were continuity errors about Aisling's parents/step-parents where her (I think) Dad kept changing from dad to step-dad. I don't really care either way but it kept taking me out of the story every time it switched and I had to try to figure it out. Also, like Stephanie Plum Aisling's inability to learn from her experiences starts to grow tired. So the first half was really a slog for me. Things did pick up in the second half. Aisling started to become, if not competent, then at least thoughtful before rushing off to do something rash. I know others find Jim annoying but I love that demon Newfie, maybe just because I love dogs. So the end definitely picked up and I already have the first Silver Dragon book so I'll read it to see if the silly entertainment value is recaptured.
Book: Queen of Dragons by Shana Abé
Completed: 10/11
Shelf: Dragons
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Review: The general opinion about this series is that each book kind of gets worse and worse. Sadly, I have to agree. For me, the author involves herself too much in the description of places and settings that it really drags the chapters down in terms of reading enjoyment. I also didn't find the romance to be particularly steamy or even that great. Both the hero and heroine lack any admirable or even decent qualities when compared with their faults and, in my opinion, they don't even bother too much with redeeming themselves to the audience. I found the strange journal entries to be unnecessary and distracting as well. Zane from the previous books does make an appearance, but it winds up being confusing and rather disappointing. I honestly don't even know if I'll read the fourth book. I like Rhys, the hero of the next book, but I'm not terribly invested in him or his supposed heroine.
Here's my UF review.
****So YA is growing on me. I really like this series. We listened to this on CD. The readers are really good. Although I could have done w/o the Sam reader singing. We're looking forward to reading more of this series.
I won't be able to make any progress on my Dragon book until Friday when I have a day off from work. But I'll have it done by Saturday when the new shelf is announced.Does anyone else feel the game is going to reach critcal mass this weekend?
Also, here is the most updated BINGO CARD.
I've been expecting a bingo shelf to be called for a few wks now. Every week that I look and the new shelf doesn't give anyone a BINGO is a big surprise. We're getting to the point where it's got to happen though.
I can't see the chart fully on this computer-I don't know why but it displays it differently than on my home computer. But from what I can tell-I don't think there's a single shelf left to call that won't give at least 1 team bingo. Someone who can see the whole thing at once-feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I'm a little surprised to see that the only one that gives us a Bingo is Ghosts.
Because I am the geek that I am, I updated the cards to show potential bingos.Can you believe 2 more shelfs could still be called with no bingos - angels and magic doesn't win it for anyone. Teams 2 has 4 potential bingos and Teams 3 and 4 both have 3.
Mary wrote: "I'm a little surprised to see that the only one that gives us a Bingo is Ghosts. "Once we finish Dragons, we could also have a bingo with Male Author.
What about for Urban Fantasy? I'll probably be finishing that shelf today or tomorrow.
Okay I've finished my dragon read. Here is the review.
Serpent's Kiss by Thea HarrisonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was another great installment in the Elder Races seriesand has made me an even bigger fan of Thea Harrison.
Rune is Griffin and a member of the Wyr, he owes Carling, an Elder councillor and one of the oldest Vampires around, a favour but what he doesn't know is that she is dying like so many old vampires before. She is fading and when Rune sees her again he knows he will do anything to help save her.
I loved the characters in this story! While Rune was easygoing, funny and loveable, Carling started out as cold, unfeeling and distant she begins to show her emotions and personality when she is with Rune and you end up loving her as well.
The story was so good I was practically turning the pages too fast to read them! The action kept me riveted and the romance was beautiful to read. I can't wait for the next installment of this series!
View all my reviews
I haven't even started my dragon book yet but I'll get to it as soon as I can. I missed the other potential bingo for us. I can't see any of the cards in full no matter what I do on this computer. I'll look again when I get home.
We still need our First In a Series stamp.
Unfortunately, the same squares that give us bingo also give another team bingo.
If we're all caught up by the time the next shelf if called then it'll be much easier. We can use rereads right? I think I need to reread Kiss of Fire before I can read Kiss of Fury. I read it over a year ago and I don't really remember it other than that I liked it.
Yep, re-reads are fine Mary :)
Book: Hounded by Kevin Hearne
Completed: 10/13
Shelf: Urban Fantasy
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review: Everyone had such great things to say about the start of this series, though I honestly don't feel as blown away as everyone else seems to be. The character of Atticus was intriguing and I wanted to know more and more about his history. However, the humor was a bit corny for my tastes. There are times when I had to roll my eyes at the horrible puns. The mythology involved with the storyline was great since I'm a huge nerd when it comes to those kinds of things; although with the large cast of characters, I found it a little overwhelming. Since we have the basic cast introduced already, I hope the next book in the series won't be so bogged down with intros and the initial world building.
Mary wrote: "If we're all caught up by the time the next shelf if called then it'll be much easier. We can use rereads right? I think I need to reread Kiss of Fire before I can read Kiss of Fury. I read it..."
Mary, do you want me to change your book for the shelf to Kiss of Fire?
Yes, I am changing to Kiss of Fire. I started Kiss of Fury and decided I needed to reread Kiss of Fire first. I'm making an effort to only read 1 series at a time with similar themes. I'm starting to get my Vampire, Shifter, Mercenary teams etc.., confused. So here's my review:
****Ok so a reread for me. I picked this book up new a year or so ago. I read it in like one sitting that time. I decided I need to reread it before I could move on with the rest of the series. I really liked this book. I don't normally reread and I again I read this one in pretty much one sitting. Normally when I reread, I feel compelled to skim. But I didn't do that. This time I'm going to read the rest much quicker so I don't forget a lot of the Pyr/Slayer/Wyvern, firestorm stuff.
I was hoping there'd be a new shelf early again. I want to start a new audiobook but I have several that work for the shelves we have left. Oh well I'll start a short romantic comedy one.
Wah!Wow I didn't think there were any shelves left that don't give anyone a Bingo.
I'm going to read
for the angel shelf.
SOS: Serious Overload of Series
Books mentioned in this topic
Games of Command (other topics)Iron Crowned (other topics)
Second Grave on the Left (other topics)
The Devil in the White City (other topics)
How to Seduce a Scoundrel (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jasper Fforde (other topics)Jasper Fforde (other topics)
Anyway-I need it for a couple of names on the name challenge that ends this month.