ŷ������

Team #1
Captain: Eldarwen

Members:
Steph
Eldarwen
Laura

Just a Hop, Skip & Click Away
Happy Reading!

Shelf Announcements ~ Check for the latest shelf announcement & review the requirements for each shelf
Captain's Log ~ Share team shelf stats prior to requesting a stamp
Stamp Me! ~ Request a stamp for your bingo card
Discussions ~ Throughout the game, head here to chat with other players & shelf chant til your heart's content
Bingo Rules ~ Rules of the game
Free Space Rules ~ Where to look when pickin' your free space book
Bingo FAQ ~ Don't hesitate! If you have a question, let us know.

Hiya, Team Caps! Thanks for volunteering to guide your team through a round of BookShelf Bingo!

Your job, should you choose to accept it, will require a few things:
1 ~ Be our go-to person should we have any questions about your team
2 ~ Organize your teammate's weekly reads for each shelf/category so that the BSB Ninjas can quickly and easily verify and approve your stamp request(s)
2a ~ Create a master list in a post (preferably on the first page of your team's thread) and update it weekly or as often as necessary
2b ~ Post your team's stats on the Captain's Log prior to requesting a stamp
3 ~ Encourage and motivate your team (you may also ask to borrow Judithe's whip whenever necessary)
4 ~ Post regularly to ensure your team is communicating and on track each week
4a ~ Send them a PM and friendly poke if they haven't posted at least once a week, noted their book choice, and/or appear to have dropped out of webspace
5 ~ Send us a PM (Steph or Sandra) should you need us for any reason throughout the game

Link to print a copy of your bingo card:

...

Hi y'all! Looking forward to reading with ya this round 😊 If one of you are able, I'd prefer not to be captain.

I finally got smart and started keeping a running list of my team name ideas not used in past rounds. I added some Halloween-ish names, too. It doesn’t have to be one of these, I’m open to whatever.

Halloween-ish
The Joy of Hex
Bibbity Bobbity Boo
Spooktacular Reads
The Skeleton Crew

Team One
One Helluva Read
Just One More Chapter

Book-ish
Page Turners
Feeling Shelf-ish
Prose Before Bros
Series Obsessed

Helloo!

So cool that I finally get to play with you, Steph! :-)
Laura and I have done lots of team challenges together hehe.

I can captain if Laura doesn't want to do it. I'm just asleep usually when the shelf is announced so I would only post about it in the thread once I'm at work in the mornings - not enough time at home that early to take care of GR as well :-p

As for team names, I like "Spooktacular Reads" and "Prose Before Bros" is hilarious haha. Well, they're all good so I'm open for whichever one you ladies prefer :-)

==========

TRACKING

#7 - Nat'l Mad Hatter Day
Steph - Flipping the Bird by Carrie Pulkinen | 30 Nov | Review | 3��
Eldarwen -
Laura - Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter | 5 Dec | Review | 4��



#6 - Kindness to Animals Day
Steph - Cold Curses by Chloe Neill | 24 Nov | Review | 4½��
Eldarwen - Forever by Maggie Stiefvater |
Laura - Wolf's Bane by Auryn Hadley | 29 Nov | Review | 3½��



#3 - Nat'l Boyfriend Day
Steph - The Viper’s Nest Roadhouse & Cafe by Seana Kelly | 3 Nov | Reiew | 5��
Eldarwen - Archangel's Resurrection by Nalini Singh |
Laura - Payback in Death by J.D. Robb | 9 Nov | Review | 4��



==========

DONE #2 - Nat'l Book Month
Steph - Killer's Kiss by Keri Arthur | 27 Oct | Review | 4��
Eldarwen - The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard | 6 Dec | Review |
Laura - Cat o' Nine Tales by Faith Hunter | 31 Oct | Review | 4��



DONE #5 - Nat'l Cat Day
Steph - Fat Cat by Rachel Vincent | 16 Nov | Review | 4��
Eldarwen - Wild Invitation by Nalini Singh | 26 Nov | Review | 4��
Laura - The Lion Mistress: Book 2 by R.A. Steffan | 21 Nov | Review | 4��



DONE #4 - Nat'l Savings Day
Steph - Coven of the Witch by Heather G. Harris | 10 Nov | Review | 4½��
Eldarwen - Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs | 18 Nov | Review | 4½��
Laura - Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros | 14 Nov | Review | 5��



DONE #1 - Nat'l Food Day
Steph - Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates | 19 Oct | Review | 3��
Eldarwen - The Werewolf Meets His Match by Kristen Painter | 23 Oct | Review | 3��
Laura - Lotus by Nikki Jacks | 23 Oct | Review | 2��



DONE #0 - Free Space
Steph - Blood & Ash by Deborah Wilde | 21 Oct | Review | 4��
Eldarwen - Unraveled by Jennifer Estep | 6 Nov | Review | 4��
Laura - Mercy Blade by Faith Hunter | 21 Oct | Review | 4��

I'm here! And happy to let you captain, E! I'm not asleep when the shelf is called, so I'll probably post it here.

I love Prose Before Bros! I also like Bibbity Bobbity Boo.

Looks like Free Space book requirements haven't changed with the restructuring of the game (thanks for messing up our good thing, ŷ������!), so I'm going to see how I can make Mercy Blade fit in for my Free Space book. I'm so glad I didn't start it this morning like I was going to!

Yep, Mercy Blade is on the SOS read shelf, so I'll plan that one for my Free Space book.

Hiya teammies! I'm excited to play along with you finally, too, Eldarwen. 😊 Have we played together before now, Laura? I have a hard time keeping all my teammates straight since I make up the team threads. Everyone's familiar to me 🙃

My two favorite names are: Prose Before Bros & Bibbity Bobbity Boo. Not sure which I like best though, so whichever y'all like best is good with me.

I'll definitely share our shelf announcement here after posting it to the shelf announcement thread, so no worries about that. 😉 But, Eldarwen, if you're good being captain and taking care of the book list for us, that'd be great and much appreciated!

"thanks for messing up our good thing, ŷ������!" It's so upsetting how they've screwed things up re: shelves. Groups seem to be so low on the "give a shit about" list for TPTB. 🤬 Oh well, we're making changes as we can to provide workarounds.

Y'all need to let me know how you like the changes in this round - positive or negative - I'd love your feedback.

I've picked for my Free Space read. It's #136 on the BEST of UF list.

I LOVE Jane! Is this your first time reading the series? I'm following along with the SOS yearly re-read and really enjoying re-reading it as I read 'um day they're released. I 💕 Bruiser!

K, back in a bit with our first shelf announcement 😊

Let’s get this party started 🥳 Happy reading!
Category #1 ~ 18 Oct: Nat'l Food Day
Requirement ~ Read a book featuring any type of food on the cover

My book choice // sweets on cover; @ GR paranormal-mystery - 39 people; paranormal-romance - 11 people

Steph wrote: "Hiya teammies! I'm excited to play along with you finally, too, Eldarwen. 😊 Have we played together before now, Laura? I have a hard time keeping all my teammates straight since I make up the team ..."

I don't think we've been on a team before. But E and I have been on lots of teams, ever since that first Uno!

It is my first time through. Although I read the first book 3 years ago, and then just re-read it in Uno this Spring so I could continue. Then I read the second one in April. Last week, while I was searching for a book with Cross in the title, I realized that I didn't remember what happened. So I re-read it yesterday, and now I'm ready to continue. And not just because they are almost all included in my Audible membership now.

Selection Post - Category 1

Nat'l Food Day
Requirement ~ Read a book featuring any type of food on the cover

Book:
Ice Cream on cover
MPG Paranormal Romance (2 people)
Pages: 217

Amazon actually shows 228 pages, which is advantageous in another challenge, so I'll be asking a librarian to update it. So don't think I'm crazy if you look and it doesn't show 217. :)

Laura wrote: "Selection Post - Category 1

Nat'l Food Day
Requirement ~ Read a book featuring any type of food on the cover

Book:
Ice Cream on cover
MPG Paranormal Romance (2 people)
..."

Changed to 228 pages Laura.

It will take a little while to show correctly, due to caching, but that doesn't matter for Bingo as its already over 200.

Thanks!

I’m glad you’re enjoying Jane 😊

I used to do a lot of challenges, too. Finding books that worked for multiple challenges was always a big win.

Jane is fab!
I need to pick up the next book in the series, maybe for Bingo :-)
I'll have to have a rummage around to see what I'm going to read for the Free Space.

Also, I had a spontaneous very late night yesterday so only checking back in now. I'll set up a tracking post in my first message on the thread or I'll keep losing it :-p

I'm of course still in the middle of a book I'm really enjoying, so I'll try to finish that by the end of the week and then dive straight into Bingo books. The book is The New Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko, book #5 in a supernatural/paranormal series. So much fun! Lots of action, snark, a cool world and the writing is enjoyable.

Oh, as for the team name... since we all like "Prose before Bros", should we go with that?

For Free Space, I'll either read or .

I'll make a proper selection post once I've decided which one it'll be :-)

Hmm.. food on cover isn't exactly something that seems to find itself onto my covers easily. I'll have to check at home if there is something on my secondhand pile that never made it onto GR where there is food on the cover.

I have but the food isn't exactly very visible in that bowl and and on the plate.
*eta: And it isn't UF/PNR etc haha. Quite the contrary.

Yep, that book doesn't work Eldarwen.

I know :-(
That's the trouble with not reading kindle unlimited and/or cozy mysteries for the most part. No food haha!

Would it be a stretch to say that a human on the cover of a vampire book would constitute food, since they're food for vampires?? :-))

Eldarwen wrote: "Would it be a stretch to say that a human on the cover of a vampire book would constitute food, since they're food for vampires?? :-))"

And that would be a nope as well. Someone else already asked. Hahaha

Lis posted a link on the discussion thread, it might be helpful.

Hehehe, was only joking anyway. :-)

Eldarwen wrote: "Hehehe, was only joking anyway. :-)"

Yep, I figured as much :D

Eldarwen wrote: "Jane is fab!
I need to pick up the next book in the series, maybe for Bingo :-)
I'll have to have a rummage around to see what I'm going to read for the Free Space.

Also, I had a spontaneous very ..."

Hope your spontaneous late night was fun and not work.

I've watched The Night Watch movie, but haven't read any of his books.

Eldarwen wrote: "Oh, as for the team name... since we all like "Prose before Bros", should we go with that?"

👍🏼 Updated thread w/our name

Eldarwen wrote: "For Free Space, I'll either read or .

I'll make a proper selection post once I've decided which one it'll be :-)"

Love both and jealous you still have them TBR. Enjoy!

Eldarwen wrote: "Would it be a stretch to say that a human on the cover of a vampire book would constitute food, since they're food for vampires?? :-))"

That. Is. Hilarious!! 😆

I've finished my shelf read and I'm almost 1/2 through my FS book. I'll review both at the same time before our next shelf announcement. I am really enjoying Blood & Ash and liked Brownies and Broomsticks okay. It was cute; I wasn't really in the mood for a cute cozy mystery, but it fit the bill and wasn't awful, bonus.

I feel like I know y'all a bit from around SOS, but here's me in a lil nutshell.

I'm the wife of a retired Marine (32 yrs in Apr). We lived the RV life for 6 years before having to end it abruptly in 2021, parking the RV & renting back in VA (our home state) b/c of my health (long story) and to care for my mom (dementia). We have two aging, but adorably needy kitties; no other children. 😊

Haha, yes, I'm glad I can still look forward to both books but at the same time, it's going to be difficult to choose :-p

Well for me, there's not much to tell. I'm from Luxembourg and I share my flat with a rather shy but recently very cuddly kitten - took me a year to get him to trust me enough that I could pet him. Now I can't get rid of him haha :-p But it's very rewarding :-)

Lucky Duck! Enjoy!

Adorable. Was he a rescue? Life is better with a purring cat in your lap.

Yes, he was a rescue :-)
Gizmo was 10 months old when I rescued him from a private shelter where conditions were rather horrible...

He was born a stray, caught at 3-4 months old and has never known a truly friendly hand. He was only caught and caught again to go to the vet and that was basically his human interaction it seems.

It took him several months to begin to purr when he was kneading his blanket, and it took him over a year to allow touch. We're working on the lap thing hehe. For now, he likes to be cozied up :-) And oh my word, he is SO incredibly vocal now. Worse than the half-Siamese I had before haha.

Are yours rescues as well?

Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates
Series: Magical Bakery Mystery #1
Shelf: GR/PN-Mystery (shelved by 39 people)
Category #1: Nat'l Food Day - food item on the cover
Read: 19 October
Rating: ✮✮✮☆��

My Review:
Brownies and Broomsticks was a nice intro into a cozy mystery series set in beautiful Savannah, a bakery full of tasty treats (with a splash and a dash of just what ya need) plus an eclectic coven of witches. Sadly, I wasn't really in the mood for this type of book so that might be the reason for my average rating. Well, that and I really don't like love triangles - or the possibility of them - for what feels like no good reason.

Katie's recently moved to Savannah and opened Huckabee Bakery with her Aunt Lucy. The mystery kicks off quickly when the neighborhood I-can-make-your-life-difficult-and-I-love-it woman dies out front of the bakery and Katie's uncle is the prime suspect.

I didn't care for the journalist, Steve Dawes. I really can't see someone living a sane, even sane-ish, life on such little sleep as Katie claims has been her norm. I did like Katie's magic. And, of course, Declan, the firefighter.

Honestly, I don't know that I'll continue with the series unless another cozy PN-mystery is needed for a challenge or something about the characters and their story niggles me enough to see how things play out. Never say never and all that. But, I would probably recommend it to those who enjoy cozy PN mysteries.

Blood & Ash by Deborah Wilde
Series: The Jezebel Files #1
Shelf: SOS' BEST OF: Urban Fantasy Series list (#136)
Category: FREE SPACE
Read: 21 Oct
Rating: ✮✮✮✮��

My Review:
Blood & Ash introduces us to Ash, a Mundane (someone with no magic) PI; her BFF, roommate and PT co-worker (a computer wiz) Priya; and Levi a Nefesh (someone with magic) and the Head of House Pacifica. The series is set in Vancouver, Canada. The different magic types are very interesting. The characters were all very well written. The snark is strong in this one and the one-liners are bang on point; many of them had me snickering out loud. The banter between Ash and Levi (who met while children at summer camp) is top notch.

The story opens with Ash on a case involving two girls. When one goes missing and the other asks Ash for her help, she takes the case. An accident causes Ash to learn she isn't Mundane, but how's that possible? Nefesh are born with magic. While searching for the missing girl, she also searches for answers to her personal mystery.

Fun, fun read! I will most definitely be continuing with this series.
There was so much to like:
1: Magic cake balls - "Wish balls [...] They’ll be whatever flavor you want.�� Um, yes, please and thank you!
2: The hilarious witty banter and chemistry between Ash and Levi

“I am Levi Montefiore. I do not require lines. Women fall at my feet.��

“More like your ego sucks up so much oxygen that they pass out.��

3: The unconditional love and friendship Priya offers Ash and visa versa

“Kill me,�� Priya moaned. Her face was puffy, her hair a tangled mess.

I cracked my eyes open and ice picks burrowed into my brain. “I’ll pay you five bucks to make coffee.��

“I’ll see your five and raise you twenty,�� she said. Not enough. We lay there in mutual hangover misery.

4. The remaining mystery of Jezebels, Ash's MIA Dad and the increasing chemistry between Ash and Levi.

Eldarwen wrote: "Yes, he was a rescue :-)
Gizmo was 10 months old when I rescued him from a private shelter where conditions were rather horrible...

He was born a stray, caught at 3-4 months old and has never kno..."

SO sweet! I'm glad he found a home with you and Gizmo is the BEST name!

No, ours weren't really rescues; we adopted them from a no-kill shelter when we were living in Australia. They are the same age or there abouts, but from different litters/different breeds. They fight and snuggle like siblings having been raised together. They're (hate to speak the #) going on 16 years old, but healthy (knock wood).

A house we owned many yrs ago had a wild stray living under the stairs when we moved in. She was a poor battered and scarred, truly wild cat. She accepted food we'd put out for her, but we could never catch her to get her help. She did have kittens, many kittens, who had kittens, many kittens while we lived there. We found homes for some and cared for those we couldn't until we moved.

Sorry, diarrhea of the mouth, that was a very long answer to your question 😆

Selection Post
Nat'l Food Day



Book: The Werewolf Meets His Match by Kristen Painter
Pages: 358
How it fits: pumpkin on cover

Oh wow, Steph, that's a fabulous age! And I'm sure they have many more years to come :-)

A shame you could never catch the wild one to get her neutered to spare her some of the litters, but she got food and that's a lot already for a wild cat. And all those kittens! :-D That must have been a lovely sight :-)
My mum feeds a stray and he started requesting head rubs after a few months, but the dog doesn't care for him too much unfortunately, otherwise he'd already be a house cat hehe.

Eldarwen wrote: "Hmm.. food on cover isn't exactly something that seems to find itself onto my covers easily. I'll have to check at home if there is something on my secondhand pile that never made it onto GR where ..."

I know it isn't the exact shelf we need, but I did get a chuckle finding that it is tagged Fantasy and Sci-fi read!

We've got 5 kitties, all about 8 years old. We found a kitten in our driveway one day. Before we could her fixed, she was pregnant. 4 boys. And then before she was done nursing, pregnant again. 1 girl. We got her fixed, and then she took off. So we have the 5 babies and they've moved across the country with us!

Completion Post - Free Space

Book: Mercy Blade
Date Read: 10/21
Rating: 4 stars
Shelf: SOS Read Shelf
Review: I'm struggling a bit with the guys in these books. I don't think Jane can ever go back to Rick. If he had talked to her before going undercover, they maybe could have negotiated something. But unless I hear something in the next book that sufficiently explains his behavior in this book, I have to label him as a cheater. Do the cops have a saying, "What happens undercover stays undercover"? Because I don't buy that!

And then there's Bruiser. Who has shown that his first loyalty will always be to Leo. And Jane deserves better than that.

I'm anxious to get to the next one in order to learn more about Jane's past. But first, all the short stories in Cat o' Nine Tales!

Laura wrote: "We've got 5 kitties, all about 8 years old. We found a kitten in our driveway one day. Before we could her fixed, she was pregnant. 4 boys. And then before she was done nursing, pregnant again. 1 g..."

Wow, that's harsh. Pregnant again before she was finished nursing the first litter. But cool that they all stayed with you :-) Apart from the mum hehe.

Laura wrote: "I know it isn't the exact shelf we need, but I did get a chuckle finding that it is tagged Fantasy and Sci-fi read!"

People and their tags..... hehehe

Laura wrote: "Review: I'm struggling a bit with the guys in these books. "

Understatement!
I can't remember (the horror!) what happens in the next one but I'm not sure I'm entirely satisfied. But then, I'm not sure Jane is either.
Bruiser has a knack for trying to take what he wants even when it isn't completely freely given and I do not like that.

Completion Post
Nat'l Food Day


Book: The Werewolf Meets His Match by Kristen Painter
Pages: 358
Date Read: 23rd October 2023
Rating: 3 stars
How it fits: pumpkin on cover
Shelf: Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy (both are MPG)

Review:
I'm not a fan of insta-love and insta-weddings but this book made me forget that for a while. It was a fun and quick read. Ivy and Hank were a cute couple, and even though it was clear from the beginning what was going to happen throughout the story and that there would be a happy end for all the various family issues, some of those resolutions were rather more satisfying than I would have expected from a lighthearted book such as this one.

Eldarwen wrote: "Oh wow, Steph, that's a fabulous age! And I'm sure they have many more years to come :-)

A shame you could never catch the wild one to get her neutered to spare her some of the litters, but she go..."

Thanks 😊🤞🏼
I know. Broke my heart, but we kept her as safe and healthy as possible.

Laura wrote: "We've got 5 kitties, all about 8 years old. We found a kitten in our driveway one day. Before we could her fixed, she was pregnant. 4 boys. And then before she was done nursing, pregnant again. 1 g..."

Damn! That's harsh, miss kitty. One of our cats (years ago) got pregnant before she was old enough to get fixed, too. Thankfully, she only had 1 kitten (boy), which we kept. I can't imagine the chain of events you had. Just crazy.

Laura wrote: "And then there's Bruiser. Who has shown that his first loyalty will always be to Leo. And Jane deserves better than that."

I won't discuss Rick 'cuz he makes me so angry in JY, but oddly enough I've accepted him in the spin-off/same world series. Maybe when I read the next book in that series, after having re-read JY, I'll feel differently since his JY actions will be closer in mind?

Bruiser on the other hand --- love him! His character goes though much change and ... I'll leave ya to find out for yourself. But, when I first read that book, I agreed w/ya 100%. I hope you enjoy the series enough to keep reading. IMO, it really does get better with each book. I'm re-reading JY #10 right now and it's sooooo good.

It took me awhile to continue, but a bunch of them were recently free on Audible, so I’ll continue. My Wheel team needs books set in musical cities, and New Orleans is one of the options.

👍🏼 Oh yeah, I remember you saying that earlier. Always nice when you can crossmatch in several different challenges 😁

My next Jane book will be #5, so Laura will overtake me soon hehe. I always let a lot of time elapse between books in certain series. Not sure why, but it works for me, and then it's always nice to go back to the world and characters.

Selection Post
Free Space


Book: Archangel's Resurrection by Nalini Singh
Pages: 386
How it fits: on SOS shelf


Eta: changed to Nat'l Boyfriend Day