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Sorry I haven't checked in for the week yet. I am alive and reading though! I am reading , which is tagged humor!

Completion Post -- Week 6, Spot 47

by Jill Shalvis
Completed: 8/23/16
How It Fits: #4 in Lucky Harbor Series
Pages: 341p.
Rating: 2 stars
Review: This was a very NICE book. It had all the usual good romance things--nice girl, bad(ish) boy, reasons they can't be together, etc--but somehow all the parts didn't really mesh well for me into one good story. I think I got a lot of attraction (everyone was hot), a lot of sexy times, and little drama and not much else. But somehow at the end these two know they are meant to be together forever and I just wasn't feeling it. I didn't feel like I had actually seen the feelings develop, so felt a little like it was a bit of a false HEA.

Completion Post -- Week 6, Spot 47

Mystic Mayhem by Sally J. Smith
Completed 8/24/16
Pages: 201 [Kindle edition]
Rating: 4 stars
How it fits: Tagged Humor
Review: I'll be generous and go up to 4 stars on this one. Some nice things and some meh things. I like some good southern charm and sweet characters, but there are a few....ehhhh, doubtful things as well. I'm not big on dead grandfathers rescuing MC's from life-and-death situations. I do, however, have major appreciations for MC's who aren't TOO super-sleuthy. Mel had just the right amount of do-good in her to be a good cozy mystery sleuth for me. And her romance with Cap'n Jack was sweet. She does an awful lot of speculating how beautiful everyone else is and how she herself is just "frumpy" but yet the superfine Jack is head over heels for her. Meh, I'm not big on that. Oh well. It was a good read!

Week 5 Completion



Silent Prey by John Sandford
Series #4
Pages - 388
Finished - 8/25/16
Rating - 5 stars

Review: This is the 4th book in the Lucas Davenport series. I had read #3 more than a year ago and absolutely loved it. I don't know why I waited so darned long to pick this one up! In this one, Bekker (a psycho killer) has escaped from jail and this book is all about Davenport having to hunt him down all over again. Well, there's also a secondary storyline about a vengeance killer in NYC that he's trying to solve as well. This was just a really fun book that I couldn't get enough of! I definitely won't wait so long to read book #5!! Highly recommended!!

Another great week of reading, ladies! We're all in and I'll post after our roll tonight!

Week 7 Reviews
Roll: 5
Spot: 52
Options: Series #5 OR Series #2 OR Series #52 OR Favorite Author

Tara| Invisible | Favorite Author | Review

Stacey| Line of Fire |Favorite Author | Review

Lindsay IL| Her Dark Curiosity | Series #2 | Review

Trea | Only Today | Series # 2 | Review

Sandy | A Hunger Like No Other | Series #2 | Review

Well team, I rolled a 5 which places us on spot 52.

This week you may read series #5 OR series #2 OR series #52 OR Favorite Author.

Happy reading!

Week 7 Selection



Favorite Author

Aw, jeez! The same exact spot my team in Triple S got!

Team 5 Week 7 = Space 52
Task: series #5 OR series #2 OR series #52 OR Favorite Author
Task Chosen: 2nd in series
Book Read: Only Today by Jeri Odell
Page Count: 176 pages Kindle Edition
Dates Read: 8/26/16
Rating: 4 stars

Review:
I thought this was a very interesting and inspiring story! I didn't like the emphasis that was placed on the uncertainty of Kendall's situation when it came to forming a relationship in the face of her amnesia. I felt it was a dark cloud over the relationship. When Kendall's past came to light, I didn't like what she had done in her past to appease her parents. I did admire her for correcting the mistake and trying to forge her own path. I also didn't like that the ending never clarified whether or not she regained her memory. However, I did really enjoy the inspiring message it left you with, so this one wasn't a bust for me!

Trea wrote: "Aw, jeez! The same exact spot my team in Triple S got! .."

Well that's good for you, because you can use the same book, right?

Tara wrote: "Trea wrote: "Aw, jeez! The same exact spot my team in Triple S got! .."

Well that's good for you, because you can use the same book, right?"

Nope. Started and finished the SSS book yesterday. Luckily, I have another second in series to read that I had planned for the month!

Trea wrote: "Nope. Started and finished the SSS book yesterday."

Oh I hate when that happens!

Review is up!

Selection - Week 7, space #52


Vanishing Dreams by Nicole Edwards
Devils Bend #2 (#2 in series)

Week 7, Space 52 -- Selection

by Jo Davis
Favorite Author

Completion Post - Week 7, Space #52

**I changed my book**


A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole
Immortals After Dark #2
completed: 8/28/16
Pages: 356
Rating: 5 stars
Review: Loved it!!! Lachlain MacRieve has been imprisoned by the Vampire Horde for the last 150 years, sentenced to burn ever day forever. He's been kept beneath the catacombs in Paris and one day he scents his mate - this gives him the strength and power to break his unbreakable bonds. Unfortunately, Lachlain's mate is a vampire herself - his most hated enemy! Emmaline Troy is half vampire and half Valkyrie and the only of one her kind. She has lived with her mother's family and has led a very sheltered life, but has set out on her own to see if she can find out more about her parents (her mother is dead, she doesn't know who her father is.) She is terrified when she is captured by a Lykae - she's heard terrible things about them!!! Lachlain takes her to his castle in Scotland and starts to learn to romance Emma. This was a sexy tale of opposites attracting, with a lot of interesting - some quirky, some evil, some sad - characters. I couldn't put this book down - it kept me entertained and interested and I loved, loved, loved Lachlain and I also loved how Emma found her strength.

Week 7 Completion



Invisible by James Patterson
Favorite Author
Pages - 387
Finished - 8/30/16
Rating - 4 stars

Review: There's 7 words on the front cover of this book: "This book will make your jaw drop." And oh how accurate those words are! This book drew me in immediately and didn't spit me back out until I was finished, completely in shock and practically breathless! The ending was not at all what I was expecting! This was just a great read by Mr. Patterson. I can always count on him, one of my very favorite authors, to not let me down! Highly recommended!!

Completion Post -- Week 7, Spot 52

by Jo Davis
Completed: 8/30/16
How It Fits: Favorite Author
Pages: 356
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Jo Davis just writes nice easy romances, that just let me relax and enjoy the book and this one was mostly that, although there was a fair bit of angst thrown in with this one as a few serious story lines of the series came to an end. The relationship between the two MCs had started in the last book, so moved more quickly than I would have liked in this book as if felt like some of the story took place off page, but they both had significant issues to overcome to be together. Maybe I'll get to read book 5, depending upon our roll. :)

Good evening, ladies. It's Thursday and we are still lacking one review. I'm under the weather this evening (thanks to my son sharing his yuckiness he had on Tuesday) so I'm not going to stay up waiting, I'll check back in first thing in the morning and we can discuss the direction we need to take if our teammate hasn't checked in. Thanks ladies!

Tara wrote: "Good evening, ladies. It's Thursday and we are still lacking one review. I'm under the weather this evening (thanks to my son sharing his yuckiness he had on Tuesday) so I'm not going to stay up wa..."

She's not even checked in with a book, so I'm going to hazard a guess that we might need to use the Free Pass to roll. Have you sent her a PM yet? For us to ask Ezi to replace her, we'll need to have done that.

And I have the yuckiness too...went to bed at 7:30 pm EST last night, I felt so awful!

I won't be starting my book before tomorrow anyway, so I'm fine to wait the day.

Hope all the yuckiness goes away quickly for you all!

I have sent a PM to her. Hopefully she responds. I'm on central time, I'll check back in around noon to see if she has checked in with me or us. I'm not very hopeful since she never checked in with a book - the Free Pass may need to be used. Or a replacement
:(

I should have paid more attention this week with her not even checking in with a book selection, but I was distracted with my son being sick. So sorry for that ladies.

Tara wrote: "I have sent a PM to her. Hopefully she responds. I'm on central time, I'll check back in around noon to see if she has checked in with me or us. I'm not very hopeful since she never checked in with a book - the Free Pass may need to be used. Or a replacement
:(

I should have paid more attention this week with her not even checking in with a book selection, but I was distracted with my son being sick. So sorry for that ladies."

Oh, Tara! Don't feel bad about it! Stuff gets lost/forgotten/abandoned when you and a kiddo is sick! My little boy got me sick so I am in the same boat with you. Hubby says a lot of people have come down with this crud lately. I hope you feel better soon!

Heard from our teammate, she indicated she'll get her review posted this afternoon - life intervened for her. I'll keep popping in and out this afternoon keeping an eye out so we can roll.

Completion Post -- Week 7, Spot 52

Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd
Completed 9/2/16
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 369 [Kindle edition]
How it fits: 2nd in series
My Review: >warning:: will contain spoilers< OK, I had I hard time deciding where to rate this one...2, 3, or 4 stars. On the 2 scale, Juliet drove me CRAZY. She bossed Edward around like CRAZY!!! You think you can just tell the guy to stay locked up in your attic and wait for you to sneak out of your ward's house?! You think you can just tell him to control his UNCONTROLLABLE murderous other half because he's infatuated with you and you can't even admit to yourself that you love him?! Give me a break. On the 3 scale, the love triangle thing has been done and done again. This one was pretty juicy and I liked it but man did Juliet deny it to the nth degree and it drove me batty. And there was even sex involved! Which is relatively rare in YA!! On the 4 scale, I love the darkness of this series and all of the twists and turns that I don't see coming. This series does really have its unpredictability. I can't wait to jump into the third book.

Week 8 Reviews
Roll: 6
Spot: 58
Options: Series #5 OR Series #8 OR Series #58 OR White (cover color)

Tara| Worst Fears Realized | Series #5 | Review

Stacey| Ride the Fire | Series #5 | Review

Lindsay IL| Oxygen | White Cover | Review

Trea | This Side of the Grave | Series # 5 | Review

Sandy | Wishful Drinking | White Cover | Review

Alright ladies, I got us all checked in .... I rolled us a 6 which places us on spot #58. Your choices this week are Series #5 OR Series #8 OR Series #58 or the alternate, white.

Someone else has already asked today what "White" means - Ezi responded that it's cover color; 50% of cover needs to be white.

Happy reading!!

Team 5 Week 8 = Space 58
Task: Series #5 OR Series #8 OR Series #58 or white
Task Chosen: Series #5
Book Read: This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Page Count: 388 pages Kindle Edition
Dates Read: 9/3/16 to 9/4/16
Rating: 2.5 stars rounded down to 2 stars (Cross posting review to blog on Booklikes.com, will use 2.5 star rating there)

Review:
I have a odd relationship with this series. I purchased them all on sale and sat down to buddy read them with a friend, but over the course of the series it started to go downhill. The buddy read wound up drifting away, but we still talked about the series. If they hadn't said something along the lines of "I don't think this series is for you and you shouldn't finish it", I probably would have abandoned it long ago. Instead, those words acted like a red flag in front of a bull, making it a vendetta to finish the series now!

Sadly, while this installment is somewhat emotional, it is also rather boring. Big bad guy after Cat, she spends most of the book acting clueless and whiny, spinning her wheels to solve the problem when she's got most of the puzzle given to her, then she gets a flash of insight at the end of the book and PRESTO! problem solved. What saved this from a one star rating was the string of zany one liners and a reference to the movie A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song. I especially liked the role Marie Laveau took in this story. I think she is a formidable force to reckon with and look forward to seeing where she takes things now. That alone will keep me reading the series to the end!

Week 8 Selection



Series #5

Week 8 -- Spot 58 Selection


Series #5

(I think--I may change....)

Week 8 - Spot 58 - Completion


Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
Completed: 9/3/16
Rating: 3 stars
How it fits: White Cover
Review: An interesting but disjointed peek into Carrie Fisher's mind. She tells stories of her mom, dad, step-dad, hubbies and daughter with lots of tongue-in-cheek sarcasm and zings. It was sometimes hard to follow what she was trying to say, but it was entertaining.

Tara, my review is up HERE.

Week 9 ~ Series #5 OR Series #8 OR Series #58 or white

Ok checking in....I will be reading

Completion Post -- Week 8, Spot 58

by Jo Davis
Completed: 9/4/16
Pages: 337
How It Fits: Book #5 in Firefighters of Station Five series
Rating: 3 stars
Review: Yay! I got to finish the series--I almost never say that these days. The last book was a little rough for me. It seemed like some serious topics were kind of brushed over, and there was a bit of quick resolution to some conflicts. I also felt like the relationship went from "see how it goes" to "lets get married" waaaay to fast--especially with what else was going on at the time. But it was a fast and pretty entertaining read.

Week 8 Completion



Worst Fears Realized by Stuart Woods
Series #5
Pages - 402
Finished - 9/8/16
Rating - 4 stars

Review: This is the 5th book in the Stone Barrington series (of which there are a gazillion more...) and I really enjoyed it. I can always rely on these books to be fast, easy reads. I really dislike how Stone finds himself in bed with a different woman every single book - and some of those books it's with multiple different women... - but that's just a personal pet peeve. This particular installment had Stone and Dino looking for a madman that they had put away years ago for murdering his wife. A madman who was now out of prison and intent on murdering those close to Stone and Dino. It was a really a roller coaster book that I thoroughly enjoyed. Definitely recommended.

Anyone hear from Lindsay as to when she'll have her review up? I kinda need to know what the roll is, because I am holding off on reading my SSS chosen book because I think it will fit for our roll as well. However, I need to have that book finished by tomorrow night at midnight and it's getting pretty late in the day.

Be patient with me please! I have until midnight to finish my book and post my review and I'm still at work so I definitely won't be finishing my book until I get off work and get back home. I'll be done with my book as soon as I can!

Lindsay IL wrote: "Be patient with me please! I have until midnight to finish my book and post my review and I'm still at work so I definitely won't be finishing my book until I get off work and get back home. I'll b..."

Are things getting too hectic for you? Are you still able to participate? If they are, there might be backup players to step in for you for a week or two until things slow down a bit. I just remember that we hadn't heard from you at all last week, and granted, we have this week, but not being able to roll until so late in the day on Friday is really difficult for me personally, since I'm participating in both games. I only have one book left that I can use for a roll in the 60s, and I need to have it read by tomorrow night, so my other team isn't waiting on ME.

I have an event tonight from 6-10pm(ish) central time.

I will be unable to check in and/or roll during those times.

I can still participate, I just didn't find a book until late in the week last week and then forgot to check it in. Then this week I'm just not finishing the book until Friday. I'm sorry you signed up for two challenges. I can't help that. :\

Lindsay IL wrote: "I can still participate, I just didn't find a book until late in the week last week and then forgot to check it in. Then this week I'm just not finishing the book until Friday. I'm sorry you signed..."

No, you can't, but the thing is? I'm stepping in as a favor to both this team and the SSS team I'm on. I was called up as a back up player.

You are correct that you have until midnight, but this is the second time that I know of that we've had to ask where you are. You could always be considerate of others and let us know you're running late with reading/reviewing so we don't have to chase you down all the time.

It's very brave of you to step in as a back up player and we all--on both teams--appreciate it. I'm not running late, I'm on time. I've got til midnight. You only asked where I was because you wanted me to be done sooner. I'm sorry I can't rush and read at my desk any day of the week. I did my duty and checked in and that's been fine every other week in the past. Besides, its all just fun and games here, right?

Completion Post -- Week 8, Spot 58

Oxygen by Carol Cassella
Finished 9/9/16
321 pages
2 stars
How it fits: White cover
My review:2.5 stars that I was tempted to give 3 but compared to other books that I give 3 or 4 stars, I just couldn't do it. I really like medical fiction but this one just got too lawyer-ey for me. Too much stress and emphasis on trials and court issues and I just did not dig it, which was a shame because the medical side of the book was really great! Try again, Ms. Cassella!

Hi team 5.
I feel bad that the game is getting contentious and not enjoyable to some. This is a team sport so let's be respectful of everyone and the team in general.
I want to clarify a few things.

1. Lindsay, you must post a selection post so that your captain can ensure your selection is within the Spot and Page requirements. That's part of the rules.

2. It's not Tara the captain's responsibility to remind anyone of their deadlines. It's a courtesy but not her job. Captain, you can if you wish to check on people that's your prerogative, I do just because I'm too competitive...

3. No one HAS to finish early. The roll day is Friday after all reviews are in. If people finish early, that's great and you can roll after Thursday midnight. But it's not a requirement. It is not late until Friday 11:59p.

4. SSS and SS are two different games, if your spot and books coincide, that's great. But I would urge everyone to approach it as such instead of waiting to use the same book for both games.

I would like this game to be fun. Next round, I will create a separate competitive group from a "leisurely fun" group. That might help. Well, don't hold me to that because that would create more work close to the holidays. Maybe next round after that, lol!

If anyone needs to drop, I understand and there is no hard feelings. But I don't want us to continue exchanging these terse posts. They make me uncomfortable and I'm sure you all are feeling awkward as well.

We have to treat each other with respect and courtesy. I hope we can start anew and continue to attack our series.

If you have any suggestions on something that can improve the game, please pm me or add to the discussion thread. I'd appreciate it.

Ezi

On more thing, if you know you can't roll, you can always ask your team to roll.

ThatEzi wrote: "Hi team 5.
I feel bad that the game is getting contentious and not enjoyable to some. This is a team sport so let's be respectful of everyone and the team in general.
I want to clarify a few things..."

Thank you so much, Ezi.

Now let's get to reading, gang! THat's what we're all here for. I'm off to roll now...

That's the spirit. I hope you get a good roll! We have 69. Lol!

Week 9 Reviews
Roll: 5
Spot: 63
Options: Series #3 OR Series #6 OR Series #63 OR Best Books Ever List

Tara| The Ocean at the End of the Lane | #963 on Best Books Ever List | Review

Stacey| A Man Called Ove | #4136 on Best Books Ever List | Review

Lindsay IL| The Killing Dance | Series #6 | Review

Trea Return of the Jedi | Series #6 | Review

Sandy | Off the Record | Series #3 | Review

Alrighty gals ... I have checked us in and rolled a 5. That places us on spot 63.

For this week you can read a series #3 OR series #6 OR series #63 OR Best Books Ever list

Happy reading!

Ugh! I don't have any 3s or 6s to read! So...

Selection Post-- Week 9, Spot 63

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Bachman
#4136 on Best Books Ever