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Archive: Past Team Challenges
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R4: Team #1 ~ The Fiery Firsts
@Valerie:the size of the book alone keeps me from starting it!
Midu wrote: "@Jeann:BDB: blech! hehehe" Hehe I have the whole box set which I got for $60 when borders was closing down...a friend was raving about it so I put my trust in her and reviews hehe :)
I have a bad habit of buying box sets of books that I haven't read yet, not knowing if they were good or bad. Most of the time there's been a good hit rate, except for the Dark Swan series uggh ><
yikes! well all my other friends love it. you might end up liking the series too!
Midu wrote: "@Valerie:the size of the book alone keeps me from starting it!"
I want to like it because of all the cool alchemical history stuff, but the hero is just like Edward from Twilight. It's to the point where I seriously wonder if this started off as Twilight fanfiction, because the resemblance is that uncanny -- he breaks into her bedroom and watches her sleep at night, he keeps commenting on how nice she smells, he only drinks blood from animals, he doesn't have fangs or burn in the sunlight, and he keeps going "Oh no, I'm not sure if I can control myself around you!!1" And there's all these random asides to wine and yoga sessions! Arrrgh!
Jeann wrote: "Most of the time there's been a good hit rate, except for the Dark Swan series uggh ><"
Oh, Dark Swan. I feel your pain. If you didn't even like the first book then yeah, you did the right thing by jumping ship because it gets so much worse. D:
match the dates! maybe it was the other way round?
This was just published last year. :(
Valerie wrote: "Oh, Dark Swan. I feel your pain. If you didn't even like the first book then yeah, you did the right thing by jumping ship because it gets so much worse."Ah so glad I made that decision! Now to sell the unread books :(
I'm definately reading
for the paranormal mystery shelf. I'm liking it so far!
Shelf: Magic
Finished: 27/03/2012
Rating: ★★★★★
Definitely the strongest of the series, I really enjoyed the conclusion to the Percy Jackson series. I urge you all to have a read of it, especially if you love Greek Mythology! Kinda sad to see it end though, there's definitely some great characters and excellent moments in this book.
Full Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
ok I am reading
for the PNR-UF shelf. Definitely not one to read if you are out of it!
Shelf: PNR-UF
Finished: March 30th, 2012
Rating: ★★
Thoughts: AUUUUGH THIS WAS SO DISAPPOINTING.
It was probably partly my fault -- my expectations were pretty high. When I saw that this was a book about books, alchemy, and Oxford, I had stars in my eyes and imagined something witty and very British like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Instead, I got Twilight for adults.
Matthew is just like Edward. Just. Like. Edward. He's incredibly posh and wealthy; he's a vampire who doesn't burn in the sunlight or have fangs; he reminds the heroine over and over again how powerful he is and how he could break her without even thinking. But he's fascinated by her, and this eventually grows to a relationship between the two. (view spoiler)
There's also a problem of pacing. This book isn't just slow, it's boring and horribly frustrating. There would be chapters upon chapters of
THINGS I LIKED: Diana suffers some pretty believable anxiety around other people after being tortured by the Finnish witch, and I liked that this book included some GLBT characters. The final third of the book had some interesting time travel stuff, but it wasn't really worth the first two-thirds of slogging.
Overall: meh.
Shelf: Paranormal Mystery
Finished: March 30th, 2012
Rating: *****
I love Sookie Stackhouse! I stopped reading this series because I got a little tired of it, but it's nice to pick it back up again after I've had a rest. There were lots of different plots going on with this book and it all takes place after Hurricane Katrina, so it was good to see that get included into the storyline. The story in the books is going in a different direction than the TV show so I'd like to get caught up with this series before the next season comes out on DVD.
Yay, so we're all set for our paranormal-mystery stamp! \o/Annnd new shelf: *reader's choice. I'm leaning towards
.
Shelf: Magic
Finished: 31/03/2012
Rating: 3 Stars
I'm a big fan of Donna Grant but unfortunately this just didn't do it for me. I'm not a big fan of historical novels but that wasn't what held this book back. I spent the first half of the book confused as things just were not explained clearly enough, and it really seemed to drag in which is why it took me so long to finish it.
I didn't think the characters were that great either as Drogan had a dark soul and didn't think he could be saved and Serena is a witch who is cursed. I just didn't like them very much.
I still love Donna Grant but this book didn't blow me away at all.
Shelf: PNR-UF
Finished: 31/03/2012
Rating: 5 Stars
I feel like I have been waiting for ages for this book to be released and I had very high expectations for it. This book surpassed my expectations by a mile! It was fantastic.
(view spoiler)
I can't recommend this book or series enough, and now the wait is on for the next book :)
Shelf: PNR-UF Carlyn:
Message 367 Finished 31/03/2012 Rating 5 Stars. Valerie:
Message 363 Finished 30/03/2012 Rating 2 Stars. Midu:
Message 344 Finished 28/03/2012 Rating 3 Stars. Jeann:
Message 377 Finished 03/04/2012 Rating 3 Stars. Suzanne:
Message 398 Finished 10/04/2012 Rating 5 Stars.
Shelf: Reader's Choice Carlyn:
Message 379 Finished 04/04/2012 Rating 5 Stars. Midu:
Message 375 Finished 01/04/2012 Rating 2 Stars. Jeann:
Message 418 Finished 14/04/2012 Rating 3 Stars. Valerie:
Message 386 Finished 06/04/2012 Rating 4-41/2 Stars. Suzanne:
Message 426 Finished 15/04/2012 Rating 3 Stars.
All updated ladies and I have requested the Paranormal Mystery stamp :)
For Magic I'm going to read
and I haven't decided yet what I want to read for Reader's Choice. Probably
though, just got it in the mail.
CONGRATULATIONS, Fiery Firsts! You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'paranormal-mystery'.
[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Good Job!! :D
Congrats on the stamp Fieries!
Shelf: Reader's Choice
Finished: April 1st, 2012
Rating: ★★
Thoughts: So, the book was okay. I think after reading Gena Showalter, Christine Feehan etc, the love scenes felt pretty tame. Other than that, the dragons were beautiful and battles between them were described well.
Nearly finished City of Ashes, I'm still not sure what I will use for my readers choice yet.
Shelf: PNR-UF
Finished: April 3rd, 2012
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts: Disappointing. Did not want that incest thing, but it went on and on. I'm not sure if that heavily affected my overall feeling of the series but it probably did. I liked the first book better.
Full review here.
My readers choice will be
I am doing it for a review too.
Shelf: Magic
Finished: April 3rd, 2012
Rating ****
I was pleasantly surprised how good this was was! I thought Good Omens was ok when I read it awhile ago, but I enjoyed this book immensely! Lots of british humor, it was a short funny read! I would recommend it to people who like Douglas Adam's and Neil Gaiman.
Shelf: Reader's Choice
Finished: 04/03/2012
Rating: 5 Stars
This is the fourth book in the Downside Ghosts series and I have to say I have ben areally big fan since I read the first one.
Chess is a Debunker for the Church, this means she investigates hauntings an if necessary gets rid of te ghosts. Chess is not your average herione, she is a drug addict and has so much emotional baggage she should come with her own cargo area! I think this is what makes me love Chess so much! She is not perfect and she knows it, yet she can kick ass and when you realise why she is the way she is you can understand her motivations in certain things.
When Bump, her dealer, tells her to inverstigate a suspicious death she is drawn into a drug war and her relationship with the oddly delectable Terrible is caught in the cross hairs it is all she can do to hold on.
This is a series that just keeps getting better and better and the outcome of this story has given the series an exciting twist! I can't wait for the next installment :)
CONGRATULATIONS, Fiery Firsts! You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'magic'.
[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Good Job!! :D
Congrats on the stamp Fieries!
Okay if we can fill in the PNR-UF we will have 4 in a row :)
Shelf: *reader's choice
Finished: April 6th, 2012
Rating: ★★★★ - ★★★★½
Thoughts: I wasn't sure how I'd like this when I started -- there were times when it felt more like a personal writing project than a polished book -- but by the end, I was completely won over. This is one of those books that seems to be love-it-or-hate it: it's more focused on setting and atmosphere than plot (and the author even says so in interviews), but luckily, that's right up my alley. There's a dreamlike quality that I kind of have to be in the right mood for, but when I was it completely immersed me.
This book has multiple threads, all of characters linked to the circus. I think my favorites were the stories of the characters on the periphery (Herr Thiessen, Bailey) and the people who were the cogs of the machine (Tara, Tsukiko). The circus itself is the main attraction -- the descriptions really put you in there. Without spoiling anything, I quite enjoyed this and the way things eventually came together.
Suzanne, I'm so glad you liked The Color of Magic! That's generally considered to be one of his weakest, too, so chances are you'll like his other books even more. :)
yaaay Valerie, i loved the Night Circus too!
I'm glad I read it -- it was really good!
NEW SHELF:
goodreads-author
. (
direct link
)I just bought Archangel's Blade and was SO BUMMED that nobody had shelved it as such yet... but then I saw that
was, which is PERFECT because I can use it for three challenges (including this one). This book is long and polarizing and I AM EXCITED TO READ IT. If it's too much of a struggle I'll go down to the library and get something by Stiefvater, but as of now, this is my quest. /geeking out
I think i'll go with
for the goodreads author :)
Shelf: goodreads-author
Finished: April 8th, 2012
Rating: ★★★
Thoughts:
so i gave the first one 4 stars and thought the next one could only get better but it was just okay. The book lost a bit of its UF flavor, I'd say and leaned too much towards the PNR genre.
Shelf: Goodreads Author Midu:
Message 393 Finished 08/04/2012 Rating 3 Stars. Carlyn:
Message 405 Finished 11/04/2012 Rating 2 Stars. Valerie:
Message 421 Finished 15/04/1/2012 Rating 5 Stars. Jeann:
Message 430 Finished 20/04/2012 Rating 5 Stars. Suzanne:
Might read
, not sure if
is on that shelf? Is there a search function?
Jeann, I just searched
's shelves and didn't see it listed - somebody shelved it as "goodreads-authors" but not the singular. :(
Aww thanks Valerie, I'll read The Help then. Need a bit of a break from PNR, UF and Fantasy!
Shelf: PNR-UF
Finished: April 10th, 2012
Rating: *****
The story is getting very interesting! I like all the twists and turns the author is throwing in there. You have no idea who is a good guy or bad guy! I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series!
I've requested the PNR-UF stamp so we will have 4 in a row! Woo hoo :)
Woohoo thanks Caryn! That's awesome!About halfway through my Dangerous book, kind of regretting it because it's an amateur author and the writing could be better.
SOS: Serious Overload of Series
Books mentioned in this topic
A Discovery of Witches (other topics)Fantasy Lover (other topics)
Firelight (other topics)
Archangel's Blade (other topics)
Night Play (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Sophie Jordan (other topics)Stephenie Meyer (other topics)
Neil Gaiman (other topics)
Melissa Marr (other topics)
Scott Lynch (other topics)
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well, it isn't LOTR good but it is good! 3.5?