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Hey Megan...any chance you can roll for us tonight? There's no way I'm going to make it to 1am since I'm already falling asleep.

It's rolling time! I'll be back in about 30 minutes to see if Megan has rolled.

Thanks Megan. Appreciate the help. And we ended up on the same spot that my SSS team is on. =D

Yes it's 2 a week. We roll on Thurs. and Sun. I'm actually glad that I can read one book and cover both this time. It will also get my review done here early, rather than at the last minute like I am prone to doing. lol!

Week 6 | Spot: 43 | Alternate: Road Trip

Aunt Dimity's Good Deed by Nancy Atherton

Date Read: 8/24/16
Rating: 3 stars
How it Fits: (An Aunt Dimity Mystery #3)
Review: After two years of marriage Lori Shepherd finds she has a workaholic husband who seems to have lost interest. When she plans a second honeymoon to her inherited cottage in England he backs out for work and her father-in-law accompanies her instead. So Lori is feeling a little down where suddenly her father-in-law goes missing and leaves a cryptic note saying he's connecting with his English cousins to trace the history of an old feud. Aunt Dimity's ghost urges Lori to stop him because what he finds could change everyone's life. Nice cozy.

megan ••book slayer•�� wrote: "And I wasn't sure if I should have posted in the "Post Your Spot" thread, but I did anyway just to be on the safe side."

You did everything just fine. :-)

I'm not entirely sure what Ezi was intending. I'll ask her and get back to you.

Ezi says it doesn't have to be on a list, but you have to be able to tell her exactly why it qualifies as a road trip book.

And I get to use the Harry Potter book I'm listening to for it!! I was kind of worries about trying to squeeze another book in before the SSS team roll tonight!

Week 6 ~ Spot 43 ~ Alternate: Road Trip


His Lover to Protect
Qualification: Out of Uniform #3
Pages: 197
Read: 6/21/16
Rating and Review: 2 stars
I usually love Katee Robert, but this book was a miss for me. I didn't like either of the MC's at any point. There was way too much going on in their heads and not enough conversation and interaction between them for the first half the book. Made it hard to buy the love that developed in the second half. Although the last half was better, it still wasn't great. :(

Week 6 | Spot: 43 | Alternate: Road Trip

Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville
Pages: 308
Rating ****
How it fits: The book is on best road trip gay romance list. It was basically 1 big road trip with a 2nd road trip at the end.

Jack Francisco was a surgeon who witnessed a murder. It turned out that the killers were high level mobsters so he quickly became a protected witness. D was a hit man for hire. He received a contract offer to kill Jack. He turned the contract down, but was then blackmailed into taking the contract. He decided that instead of killing Jack, he'd protect him outside of the system.

Overall, I liked the book. It was one of those "just go with it and don't analyze" books. They were a good couple and I'd like to see them in another book.

Week 6 - Spot 43


Book: The Escape by David Baldacci
How it fits: Book 3 in John Puller series
Date read: 08/23/16
Rating: 3 stars
Review:
John Puller's brother Robert has escaped from prison and left a mysterious dead body behind. Puller is surprised when he is actually invited to investigate the escape. Of course we had shoot outs and car chases in this book and a final race against time to stop a biological weapon. The ending was so exciting and fast-paced! I was glad we finally found out why Puller's brother was in prison, and we even found out about his mom. I'm still enjoying this character and learning more about him. Interested to see where the next book takes us!

That sounds like it works to me Megan. :)

megan ••book slayer•�� wrote: "In the book I'm about to finish, the main characters are on the run from people trying to kill them, so they go on a road trip in an RV, from Washington DC to Nevada.

Here's an excerpt:
“Son,�� she..."

I'd certainly think so. That's similar to the plot of the book I read for that category

Updated msg 240 with my review.

I was just looking for my weekly post so I could update with all the reviews and couldn't find it. I totally forgot to make one so I guess I am linking to yours Megan. lol! Thanks for updating it for me. =D

And we get to roll tonight!!! I'm going to avoid the wine this time so maybe I can stay awake to do it. lol! Love white wine, but it makes me sleepy. =D

Hoping I stay awake this time! Last time I checked the thread and then was knocked out right after midnight! Off to look for a #4 book in case we stay in the 40s.

And I'm off to roll...

ETA: Can I reroll? Please? Ugh!!!

Week 7

Rolled: 2
New Spot: 45
Can read #45, #4, #5, or our alternate, Freebies.

We used our free pass this week
Amy - Review
Megan -
Linda - Review
Talia - Review
BarbaraAnn - Review

2!? I was not expecting that! Lol

Week 7 ~ Spot 45 ~ Alternate Freebies


Absinthe of Malice by Rhys Ford
Qualification: Sinner's #5
Pages: 200
Read: 8/26/16
Rating and Review: 4.5 stars
I really enjoyed this one. Not my favorite of the series, but not my least favorite either. It was great getting to revisit each of the couples and see how they are doing, see how the band has progressed and if any healing has taken place for some of these very damaged men.
The focus of this book very much seemed to be Miki to me. He has a lot of demons to face down and deal with, something he's avoided doing, and he's not handling the tour very well. On top of that, crazy shit happens (it's a Sinners book so what else would you expect!!) and they have to deal with stabbings, riots, and accidents. The music is great, the rest...not so much. While they don't have their wonderful men with them through the whole journey, they most definitely come when they are needed.
From the epilogue and the many loose ends still flying around it's clear that this isn't the end of the series and I am so relieved! I need more, but I really hope the next book focuses on a single couple and not the band a s whole. I much prefer that format since too many POV changes give me a headache (the reason for the loss of half a star).

Talia wrote: "2!? I was not expecting that! Lol"

Me either! Sometimes I wish I was one of those people who could roll until they got just what they want and not feel guilty after. Lol! I'm sooo not though. O_O

Well, this will be a great week for me to read one of the books I picked up because they were free and looked interesting. I have a number of books on that list. Amy, I'll be interested in your review of Absinthe of Malice. I loved the series, but this was my least favorite so far.

Week 7 | Spot: 45 | Alternate: Freebies


Murder Well-Done - Claudia Bishop

Date Read: 8/29/16
Rating: 2 stars
How it Fits: Hemlock Falls mysteries, #4
Review: Hemlock Falls Inn is preparing for the wedding of an ex-Senator and a plumbing heiress while the town of Hemlock Falls is suffering under a major political feud between the genders. Sisters Meg and Sarah are trying to run the Inn amongst the hoopla. When a TV newscaster looking for dirt is murdered and Sarah is framed the town becomes more divided. This story was part slap-stick, part 'Godfather', and part pathetic romance. The first half of the book the heroine is mopey, whinny, and indecisive. When she is arrested she stands around like a dunce while first one then another tells her what to do. Then her boyfriend (ex-sheriff) who she dumped comes back to town to her rescue and suddenly she can think and tries to solve the mysteries. I almost quit the book, but some of the side characters were interesting. So far this series has been about 50/50 for me. Not sure if I'll read any more.

Week 7 | Spot: 45 | Alternate: Freebies

A Touch of Greek by Tina Folsom
Date read: 8/28
Rating: ***
How it fits - on page 19 of "freebies"
Review - this was a cute, but silly, romance. MC is Triton, son of Poseidon. He was seducing all the women in Olympus (married, single, attached, etc) and Zeus punished him by taking away his powers and sending him to Earth until a woman fell in love with him for his kindness and good nature alone (Triton of course was gorgeous). On his first night, he meets Sophia, a woman who calls him a "himbo" and walks away. He decides she's the woman he needs to seduce and, with the help of a few friends, enters her life. She didn't realize it was him because she fell down a flight of stairs and injured her eyes.

Overall, it was a solid "OK". I liked the characters and the story was well-written. I think it crossed the line from funny to overly silly a few times too many.

posted my review in message #270

megan ••book slayer•�� wrote: "Are we ever wanting to use our Free Pass?

The last round I played, my team ended up never using the Free Pass, so it was wasted :(
When we reach a spot higher up, maybe, that we don't wanna read f..."

Using the free pass once we get to a higher number sounds good.

Were you able to find a book Megan?

I'm almost done with my book. Wow, down to the wire!

Week 7 - Spot 45 - Alternate: Freebies


Book read: A Hidden Fire by Elizabeth Hunter
How it fits: #1 on the Freebies list
Date read: 09/01/16
Rating: 3 stars
Review Beatrice is a library assistant in the Special Collections section of a university library, and she meets Gio, a charming Italian scholar who comes in night after night to copy a Tibetian manuscript. Soon B is working as Gio's assistant, and we learn that he is a vampire who had some ancient books stolen from him, and it is somehow connected to B's father who was killed years ago. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I hadn't heard about it before and just read it because it was #1 on the Freebies list. But the characters were very likable and the mystery was interesting. I don't usually read romance, and this didn't have terribly explicit scenes, so the romance in it was okay as well. I would definitely consider continuing on with this series.

How funny that so far, all of us read from the Freebies list!

Talia wrote: "How funny that so far, all of us read from the Freebies list!"

I tend to download freebies if they look interesting, but then never get around to reading them. This category was a good prompt. I'll have to take a look at Hidden Fire.

Mine wasn't a freebie. I tend to read from my kindle on vacation and print books at home, so right now I'm not on vacation and I read from my huge TBR pile.

Megan, hope you found something and are just about done :-)

You'll have to use your free pass and I'll let you roll
*you can't win as you are technically supposed to wait a week.
But it sucks to wait so go ahead and use your pass to roll :>)

Thanks Ezi.
Alright team, we are using our free pass since it doesn't make any sense not to. Be back in a bit with our roll for the week. :)

Week 8

Rolled - 11
New Spot: 56
Can read #56, #5, #6, or our alternate, Second Chance Love (must state how book qualifies i.e.. Listopia or precis)

Amy - Review
Megan - Review
Linda - Review
Talia - Review
BarbaraAnn - Review

Week 8 - Spot: 56 - #56, #5, #6, or our alternate, Second Chance Love

- Claudia Bishop

How it fits: #5 in Hemlock Falls mystery series
Date read: 9/4/16
Rating: 2 stars
Review: Another unbelievable cozy plot involving the Quilliam sisters. They are asked to participate in a charity event in West Palm Beach and accept strictly to get away from the cold winter weather without checking into anything first. Meg signs on to giving cooking classes in order to create a specialty dish at the end of the event where a gourmet judge could award her her third star. Sarah is to teach one class in Innkeeping Management (a stretch to get her involved). All expenses are paid! Of course, when they get there they find that the charity is a cover for a divorced wife to embarrass her wealthy ex-husband. The bombastic ex and the drama queen wife have many public fights. All the people associated with both get threatened in some way including the sisters, who then try to straighten everything out. Just too over the top!

Week 8 - Spot 56


Book read: Beach Blanket Barbie by Kathi Daley
How it fits: #6 in the Zoe Donovan series
Date read: 09/08/16
Rating: 2 stars
Review: Once again, Zoe stumbles onto a dead body in her hometown. This time it's Barbie, her friend Levi's recent ex. Zoe sees her body floating in the lake, and she is on the case to see whodunit and to help assuage Levi's guilt over not seeing Barbie when she asked to meet up with him. I haven't read the book before this one yet which I think features Barbie more, but she seemed like kind of a jerk for the brief time that she was alive in this novel. So I was kind of glad to see her go. And I was confused on why a seemingly nice guy like Levi would have ever dated a person like her. Odd. But anyway, this entry in the series didn't really hold my interest very well, but I did like seeing the developments in the lives of the regular characters, mainly Zoe's mother and new baby sister, and Ellie and her love life.

I'm sorry Megan I did get your message but things got crazy at work and I forgot to reply. :(
I should have used our free pass earlier, and I had planned to, but with the mess at work I missed the window. Sorry team!

megan ••book slayer•�� wrote: "I don't need to post a review and stuff on it then, right? Since we've already moved along?"

I'm pretty sure that's right. If someone else knows for certain, that'd be great.

❶Ĵʴ������❶� wrote: "I'm sorry Megan I did get your message but things got crazy at work and I forgot to reply. :(
I should have used our free pass earlier, and I had planned to, but with the mess at work I missed the..."

I'm still enjoying getting through some series books no matter if we win or not. Glad everything's okay, megan!

megan ••book slayer•�� wrote: "Think I'm gonna read from Best Second Chance Romance list for this week."

I enjoyed this series. Hope you like it!

Talia wrote: "❶Ĵʴ������❶� wrote: "I'm sorry Megan I did get your message but things got crazy at work and I forgot to reply. :(
I should have used our free pass earlier, and I had planned to, but with the mess at w..."

Me too! Winning is never really the aim for me. I just like the fun and trying to find books that fit. :)

I'm going with Downtime which is in the list "Gay Romance featuring second chances". Overall - I love this game and am not worried about not winning.

BarbaraAnn wrote: "I'm going with Downtime which is in the list "Gay Romance featuring second chances". Overall - I love this game and am not worried about not winning."

I loved that book. I'm really curious to see what you think of it. :)

finished my book. Review in message 285

Week 8 ~ Spot 56 ~ Alternate: Second Chance Romance


City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Qualification: #363 on the Best Second Chance Romance list
Pages: 485
Read: 9/5/16
Rating and Review: 5 stars
I wouldn't personally put this book on this list, but since it is there and I just finished it....I shall use it! Now on to the review itself:
I really enjoyed re-listening to this one again. It had been a few years since the last time and I need to get to the last book of the series so...re-read time!
I loved this story. It was well written and I enjoyed the pacing. I never felt bored at all. The characters are snarky and very much teenagers. I will admit that Clary and Jace kind of got on my nerves a bit this time around, but I loved the Simon, Alec and Magnus enough to make up for it.
Really looking forward to diving in to the rest of the series so I can finally read the conclusion of the story. :)

❶Ĵʴ������❶� wrote: "Week 8 ~ Spot 56 ~ Alternate: Second Chance Romance


City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Qualification: #363 on the Best Second Chance Ro..."


I only have the last book left in this series to read too! I'm hoping I remember enough to enjoy it. I've started and stopped it a couple times. I thought about reading it this week but thought it might be too chunky.

I only made it through City of Bones this week because it was an audiobook that I listened to on x3. ;-)
I started City of Heavenly Fire 2 or 3 times back when it first came out, but was too fuzzy on the details to really get most of what was going on, a sad consequence of the amount of time the publisher put between book releases. I've only recently gotten back into reading the YA stuff, so I put re-reads of the first 5 books high on my list.
I have a whole bookshelf of YA hardbacks that I bought but haven't read yet...most of them being the last book of a series. It's going to take me a lot of time to get back up to speed on those series and then finish them. lol!

megan ••book slayer•�� wrote: "I only made it through City of Bones, too. And I loved it! So I'm really not sure why I didn't continue reading the series... I may have to reread City of Bones before I decide to read the next book."


Did either of you ever watch the tv show? I have the first episode on my DVR but still haven't watched it yet.