SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion
Archive: Past Team Challenges
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R5: Team #10 ~ X-treme Readers
Yeah, we're all done and ready for our first stamp. Since I'm online, I'll let Steph know this time.O21 - Young Adult Paranormal: 5/5
Stamp Received: requested
Kerstin Radiant Shadows, 4 stars, Review
Steph Ann Bloodlines, 3.5 stars, Review
Daffodil Generation Dead, 3.5 stars, Review
Cristina Beautiful Creatures, 3.5 stars ,Review
Lisa City of Bones, 3 stars, Review
CONGRATULATIONS, X-treme Readers! You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'young-adult-paranormal'.
[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]
Good Job!! :D
Congrats Xtreme!
Yeah, our first bingo stamp...way to go team! I'm also happy that my library book is on the list for the next shelf...Favorite Series. So I will be reading The Darkest Night
.
Yay, our first stamp!One of my library books that I picked up last week also fits this shelf, so I will most likely go for that:
I'm posting from my phone, so hopefully it works. I'll be reading City of Ghosts by Stacia Kane. Yay for our first stamp!!!
I absolutely love the 'Downside Ghosts' series, Steph Ann! Enjoy!
I loved the first two books in the series, Kerstin! I can't wait to see what happens next! :)
I'm going to read
for the favorite series shelf, so I can return it to the library.I think I'll read
for my Free Space selection.
I'm not sure which is scarier: How many books from the favorite series shelf I actually own or how many books from that shelf just got added to my TBR.Now I just have to decide which one to read. I'll decide later tonight, but my top picks are:
or
Status Update on shelves still in progress:Free Space: 3/5
Stamp Received: not yet
Kerstin Marked or Jacob
Steph Ann Queen of Shadows, 4.5 stars, Review
Daffodil Deadly Descendant, 4 stars, Review
Cristina Succubus Blues
Lisa(68) Firelight, 5 stars, Review
or
I8 - Favorite Series: 0/5
Stamp Received: still reading
Kerstin King of Sword and Sky
Steph Ann City of Ghosts
Daffodil By a Thread
Cristina Four to Score
Lisa The Darkest Night
I love the October Daye series, Daffodil! The others are all on my TBR list! :)Haven't gotten as much reading done today as I would have liked, thanks to an awful headache. Hopefully I'll get a little read tonight. Hope everyone's had a great weekend!
I just finished book #4 Out of Control in the Troubleshooter Series (not for bingo, just for fun). Anyone read these? I'm really enjoying them!
Lisa wrote: "I just finished book #4 Out of Control in the Troubleshooter Series (not for bingo, just for fun). Anyone read these? I'm really enjoying them!"I've not heard of these before. They sound pretty good though. I'll check them out. :)
I've not read them either, Lisa, but the first one is now on my TBR list! It looks good! :)Started
last night. It's great so far!
Lisa: I've read books 1-9 of the Troubleshooter Series. It's been a few years, but I remember really enjoying them. I think I burned myself out by reading the last few right in a row. I wanted to take a break and go back to them later. Just never managed to get around to it.Steph Ann: Hope you enjoy your read. I'm eagerly awaiting the release of book 5
tomorrow.
Cristina wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I just finished book #4 Out of Control in the Troubleshooter Series (not for bingo, just for fun). Anyone read these? I'm really enjoying them!"I've not heard of these before. The..."
Cristina and Steph Ann: They are pretty good if you like special ops/romance type books (a little action/a little romance). Each book in the series focuses on a different SEAL member. Each book also has a parallel storyline taking place during WWII which I really enjoy.
Daffodil wrote: "Lisa: I've read books 1-9 of the Troubleshooter Series. It's been a few years, but I remember really enjoying them. I think I burned myself out by reading the last few right in a row. I wanted ..."Daffodil: I know what you mean. I'm not sure I could read them all back to back, but they are a nice change of pace every once in awhile. They're really easy to jump back into without missing anything.
Well it might take me a little while to finish
. I'm not really enjoying it too much yet. Hopefully it will pick up as I go along.
Sorry to hear you're not enjoying The Darkest Night yet, Lisa. If I remember correctly, I thought that one was a little slow as well when I read it. The series gets much better (in my opinion) as it goes on. Hopefully it starts getting better!I finished
over my lunch hour and will post my review when I get home tonight! :)
Shelf: Free SpaceRead: 06/26/12
****
So much win. I was reluctant to start this book for so long. I think it was mostly because of the premise. Huge misconception that it would be all sex, no plot but I was so horribly wrong. I think that partially because I had such low expectations was one of the reasons this book totally blew me away.
Sure it started out with a "job" for our infernal heroine but then it quickly escalated to more. Murders and stalking, romantic entanglements, witty banter, and yes... sex. Georgina is a succubus after all.
The only negative in this story for me was that I figured out what and then who the big bad was before it was told to us. However, there was a little twist that I never saw coming so well done there.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the next in the series, which I put a hold on at the library already. :)
I'm nearly done with my 'favorite series' book as well so the review will be up later today or tomorrow.
Okay, as so often happens, I went a totally different route. LOL. I decided to read
for the Favorite Series shelf since it would also fit into a sixth book in a series slot on another challenge. I'm on page 105 and it's great so far.
Shelf: Favorite SeriesRead: 06/26/12
****
This series is one of my guilty pleasure reads. As much as I love Stephanie and her madcap menagerie, there isn't any real substance to these books. Still, they are like donuts to me. Quite tasty and satisfying but no real nutritional value and this one is no different.
Can I just say that I love the new character, Sally? He fits right in with Lula, Stephanie and Grandma Mazur. I think the main reason I like these books are Evanovich's characters. I honestly cackled when the string of Morelli's female relations got into it. All of the characters seem wacky and larger than life. However, I don't think that the mysteries are all that difficult to figure out, which is one of my least favorite things in any mystery.
I'll certainly read the next one, I've got it checked out of the library and waiting at home for me already.
Cristina, I love the Georgina Kincaid series! You're lucky to be starting it now that the series is complete, so there's no waiting for the next installment! And Stephanie Plum and the gang never fail to make me laugh at least once in the course of each book. I love Grandma Mazur!Daffodil, I look forward to reading your review of
. I haven't gotten around to reading that one yet, and I'm interested to see where the series goes from here.
Shelf: Favorite Series
Read: 6/26/12
Rating: *****
Review:
This series just gets better with every book! I was sucked in from the first page and never got bored once. Really, the most negative thing I can think to say is that I read it too quickly because I was so anxious to find out what was going to happen. My favorite scenes were pretty much any scene involving Terrible, which has become a regular occurence for me in this series. Kane does an excellent job in this book creating tension between Chess and Terrible. You really feel for both of them as you watch them try to deal with events that happened in the previous book. The case Chess works on in this installment is great as well. There's really nothing I can find wrong with the book.
I will definitely be continuing the series!
Quote (from a blurb at the beginning of a chapter):
"Be proud of the wrinkles and lines that life has given you! They're a symbol of the promises you've made to your family and of your achievements. All important events leave scars."
Steph Ann wrote: "
"My favorite scenes were pretty much any scene involving Terrible, which has become a regular occurence for me in this series."
I totally fell in love with Terrible in the Downside Ghosts series (and I know I'm not the only one who has).
Terrible would definitely make it to my top 5 list of favorite male characters!
Another series added to my TBR pile...thanks Steph Ann!!!
I finished my Free Space book and decided to swap my Favorite Series book to
. I realized it's due back at the library later this week.Steph Ann, I'm so glad you enjoyed 'City of Ghosts'. I picked up
today *does happy dance*! I'm wondering if I should wait and see if the Ghosts shelf is called before reading it, as that'll probably be a hard shelf for me to find something...but I'm not sure if I can hold off for long.
Shelf: Free Space (from group-bookshelf)
Read: 26/06/12
Rating: ★★★
This is the first book in the "Eternal Guardians" series. The world the story is set in, is filled with gods (of the greek variety) and demons, warriors and magic and a bunch of hunky heroes. Heroes in the literal sense, as they are called Argonauts and are descendants of the seven great heroes of old Greece (Hercules, Achilles, Jason, Odysseus, Perseus...). They are the guardians of Argolea which is the realm that Zeus once gave to the heroes descendants to live in. Their main enemy is Atalanta and her army of demons, who currently resides in Purgatory.
The story deals with Theron, an Argonaut, who is sent to our world in order to find Casey, a young woman, who seems to be the only one able to safe his future queens life. The two of them stumble through a few days of fighting demons, finding out about Caseys roots and of course falling in love with each other.
The world building was really interesting and well done and probably my favourite bit of the book. The characters weren't all that great though and after Theron did something early on in the story, I didn't quite agree with, I don't think I ever warmed up to him. He also was a rather moody one. Casey was nice enough, but acted a little unbelievably at times. As is rather normal for a PNR the romance developed very quickly and I usually prefer a bit of a slower lead up to the couple getting together. But that's just me. All up, I quite enjoyed this book and will probably read #2 eventually.
Looks like we got all our Free Space reads done! Yay! Cristina, I think you just need to add in to your review the date you completed the book, and we'll be good to go for requesting the stamp! :)
Kerstin, I felt the same way about Marked. It was interesting enough premise where I'll most likely read the 2nd in the series as well.It looks like we're ready for our Free Space stamp now. Go team!
Kerstin, I'm really hoping to use
for a shelf soon. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to wait before starting it! I'm also looking forward to seeing what you think of Explosive Eighteen. I haven't read that one yet, although I believe I do have it loaded up on my Kindle. I just haven't gotten around to it yet!
Steph Ann wrote: "Looks like we got all our Free Space reads done! Yay! Cristina, I think you just need to add in to your review the date you completed the book, and we'll be good to go for requesting the stamp! :)"Oops :) Fixed both reviews. Should be good now.
Great job, everyone!Give me a few minutes to update links to the reviews and then I'll go take care of the request.
Here's the final list of Free Space reads.Free Space: 5/5
Stamp Received: requested
Kerstin Marked, 3 stars, Review
Steph Ann Queen of Shadows, 4.5 stars, Review
Daffodil Deadly Descendant, 4 stars, Review
Cristina Succubus Blues, 4 stars, Review
Lisa(68) Firelight, 5 stars, Review
And here's a progress report on our Favorite Series ShelfI8 - Favorite Series: 3/5
Stamp Received: still reading
Kerstin Explosive Eighteen, 3 stars, Review
Steph Ann City of Ghosts, 5 stars, Review
Daffodil By a Thread
Cristina Four to Score, 4 stars, Review
Lisa The Darkest Night, 3 stars, Review
Finished my Favorite Series book.
Read: 6/27/12
Rate: 3 stars
Review: I think I enjoyed the idea of this story much more than the actual story itself. I don’t think the book quite lived up to its full potential. First of all, the author assumes that the readers know all about Greek Mythology, the gods, and Pandora’s Box. It would have been nice to have had a little background on this, since it is what the entire story is based upon. Another thing that bothered me was a lack of action. Here you have all of these big-muscled, tough guys and nothing for them to do. A few small scuffles amongst each other and that was it. They came home bloodied on a few occasions, but no descriptive details of what actually took place. These guys are warriors for goodness sakes…show at least a few true warrior moments! I felt like I was just hanging out with some guys in a frat house the whole time. I think what it just boils down to is this…the book had a good storyline but needed more details, details, details!!! Even with these negatives, I did like the relationship between Maddox and Ashlyn (although I did think it developed a little too quickly for my taste), as well as the different personalities of the other warriors. I can definitely see a lot more story and relationships developing with each one of them in future books. Sometimes I have found that the first book in a series in not necessarily the best. I am hoping that this is true for this series and that the books just get better and better. My interest has at least been peaked, and I will definitely read at least the next book to found out.
Lisa, this is a definitely a series where the first book is probably the weakest of the bunch. I remember liking the second one much more than I did the first!
Steph Ann wrote: "I'm also looking forward to seeing what you think of Explosive Eighteen. I haven't read that one yet, although I believe..."I'm nearly finished but I have to say I'm not that excited by it. It's a bit better than the last one though, which I utterly disliked. I've lost my love for Stephanie Plum a few books ago when they started to just repeat themselves over and over again. I'm ready for a bit of character development and love triangle resolution and there is still nothing happening in that regard! Anyway, I will have my review up soon.
Have you read all of them so far?
Shelf: Favorite Series
Read: 28/06/12
Rating: ★★★
I honestly don't quite know why I keep on picking up these novels. As much as I loved them in the beginning, my enjoyment of the series has declined rapidly over the last handful of books. "Smoking Seventeen" was the most disappointing so far, but I have to admit after the way it ended, I had some hopes for the follow-up. I mean, a holiday for two in Hawaii - there must be some kind of development in the never-ending-love-triangle and maybe even a change of scenery, am I right? Unfortunately, I'm not.
The story starts with Steph returning home alone from a disastrous holiday in Hawaii and we only find out in a few sparse sentences throughout the book what actually went on. She's still caught between Ranger and Morelli and sleeps with both of them throughout the book. Why can't she just make up her mind? It's really, really getting boring. And I'm starting to wonder just why those two guys keep up with her.
On the job front, she hasn't improved much either. I suppose that after eighteen books Steph should have learned to charge her stun-gun before going after a felon, but no. She should probably also take the gun out of her cookie jar, especially when a handful of people are after her, but no. And another thing, that is most likely just my very personal issue: get yourself some proper groceries, Steph! I mean how can someone survive on pop-tarts, olives and peanut butter sandwiches, doughnuts and the occasional frozen pizza? Anyway, moving on.
The rest of the characters haven't changed much either and are still good for a little chuckle now and then. Lula for example, still has food issues and loves to make a big drama out of pretty much everything and Grandma Mazur still loves going to viewings and comes up with some hilarious one liners.
All up, I have to say the book was a bit of a disappointment again, but I enjoyed it slightly more than the last one and actually smiled a few times.
Kerstin wrote: "Have you read all of them so far?"I've read through #17, and while they do still make me laugh, it's becoming harder and harder for me to get motivated to pick up the next one. I wish there would be a resolution to the love triangle already. This constant back and forth drives me crazy!
I finished By a Thread last night. I'll write up my review and then we'll be ready to request our third BINGO stamp!
Daffodil wrote: "I finished By a Thread last night. I'll write up my review and then we'll be ready to request our third BINGO stamp!"Whoo Hoo!
Daffodil wrote: "I finished By a Thread last night. I'll write up my review and then we'll be ready to request our third BINGO stamp!"Yay! :)
Favorite Series Shelf
By a Thread, Jennifer Estep, 6-27-12Rating: 5 stars
Review: I'll admit I was a little worried when I read the back-cover blurb and realized Detective Donovan Caine was making another appearance. Instead of the fiasco I feared, this book was a gem to read.
Gin’s moral compass may not be standard, but her loyalty to her friends and family is strong and steadfast. It’s impossible for her to stand by and allow an innocent to be harmed by someone’s ruthless search for power and wealth, especially when that innocent is her sister’s childhood friend. So, instead of a relaxing vacation, she ends up fighting for her life again. One of the things I like about this series is that no matter how deep the danger/trouble Gin is in, Estep doesn’t resort to a power-of-the-month move. Does Gin use her Ice and Stone Elemental powers in new and unexpected ways? Does the direness of the situation force Gin to overcome mental blocks to her powers? Yes to both questions. But, she doesn’t suddenly develop a new talent out of the blue just to salvage the situation.
By the end of the book, we see just how much Gin has grown over the course of the series and I love that she’s given a chance at closure over past hurtful memories.
I8 - Favorite Series: 5/5Stamp Received: requested
Kerstin Explosive Eighteen, 3 stars, Review
Steph Ann City of Ghosts, 5 stars, Review
Daffodil By a Thread, 5 stars, Review
Cristina Four to Score, 4 stars, Review
Lisa The Darkest Night, 3 stars, Review
So what is everyone reading while waiting for the next shelf to be called? I am reading
.I am a huge James Rollins fan and this book is the latest in his Sigma Force series. I need to get my action fix and this should do the trick!
SOS: Serious Overload of Series
Books mentioned in this topic
Shadow Game (other topics)Deadlocked (other topics)
Crux (other topics)
Living Nightmare (other topics)
Shadow Game (other topics)
More...
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: Generation Dead was a surprise. The cover and blurb lead me to expect an amusing piece of fluff. Fun to read, but with no real substance. Wrong. In the end, this wasn't really even a book about zombies; it was a book about racism and our intolerance toward people who are "different". Some teenagers who come back from the dead are feared and abandoned by their own parents. Even the ones who still stay at home with loving parents have to face the world with no laws in place to protect them from hate and violence in others.
Waters used some stereotypical cast members (Goth/outsider, cute boy-next-door, bullying athlete, intelligent representative of the "others"), but they worked in the story and the characterizations grew as the book moved along. The alternating viewpoint really helped with this. Phoebe's acceptance of the "differently biotic" did not come easy. Adam's seemingly easygoing attitude hides a real struggle to control his temper. And hearing the story from Pete's side made him more than a mean-boy. I still didn't like him, but I gained insight into his mental state. The only viewpoint missing was Tommy's, a smart decision on Waters' part. You're never quite sure if he's doing something because he feels it or to make a statement on behalf of the zombies.
By the end of the book, I was emotionally involved and really cared about what would happen next. I intend to track down the second book sometime soon.