SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion

I'll be reading Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield for the Urban Fantasy shelf.

Lili wrote: "Oh my God!
I have 60 pages left of The Hunger Games and I had to take a break 'cause I'm about to fall off my chair!
4 guys left and I know Katniss'll win, I mean... she has to, right?"

This made me LOL. It is an awesome book, isn't it? And Sandra? Read it. Two years??? Shame on you. ;)

Sandra wrote: "Jen, click on more genres and it will take you to the shelves."

What she said. I about had a heart attack when I saw the genre stuff instead of shelves. But if you click on "more genres", it will take you to the shelves page.

But I still hate it. I used the top shelves info on the book page every single time I shelved a book TBR. It was a nice, quick way to know how to shelve a book. I want it back. Now. ;)

Jen (jlkish) wrote: "I'll be reading Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield for the Urban Fantasy shelf.

"

I bought this one last week, hoping to get it on my TBR for May. :)

Woo hoo! Five stamps! Goooooo ONEders! :)

This post is getting super long, so from now on, I'll just post the individual books on the ones that we're not finished with yet. But if you want to see all of them again, my update post on page 1, post #8 will still have them all listed.

Free Space - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***completed April 7***

Part-Of-A-Series, G1 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 5 - completed March 13***

Shifters, I5 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 12 - completed March 27***

Paranormal, G3 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 19 - completed April 7***

YA-Fantasy, G2 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 26 - completed April 10***

Demons, N5 - 7/8 completed
***announced April 3***
✔Laura Lulu Practical Demonkeeping finished April 6 ★★★
✔Laurie Dream Chaser finished April 10 ★★★★
✔Diane The Good Ghouls' Guide to Getting Even finished April 4 ★★
Lili Dreams of a Dark Warrior
✔Christina Bound by Shadow finished April 11 ★★★★
✔Sarah Pleasure Unbound finished April 4 ★★★★
✔Jen Angelic finished April 6 ★★★★
✔Thenia The Darkest Night finished April 4 ★★

Urban Fantasy, O4 - 2/8 completed
***announced April 9***
✔Laura Lulu Criss Cross finished April 12 ★★★★
Laurie City of Bones
Diane
Lili Archangel's Consort
Christina Hot Mama
✔Sarah Siren Song finished April 10 ★★★
Jen Aftertime
Thenia

I am reading City of Bones for the Urban Fantasy Shelf.

I'll be reading Archangel's Consort by Nalini Singh for the Urban Fantasy shelf.

Please do not make me hurry with Dreams of a Dark Warrior, I've been waiting for this book for about 6 months and I want to stop, smell the roses and thoroughly enjoy it.

I won't get the next one until next year... ooohhh and just thinking about it makes my hands itch!, it's Lothaire's book and we still don't know who's his mate... maybe Nix???

I don't know, I just don't know!

Lili wrote: "I'll be reading Archangel's Consort by Nalini Singh for the Urban Fantasy shelf.

Please do not make me hurry with Dreams of a Dark Warrior, I've been waiting for th..."

Nix is my bet for Lothaire's mate! That is going to be one hot and hilarious read!

Ok, I think I caught up w/everyone's posts. Please let me know if I've missed anyone's choice and/or reads.
{Team Stats Updated}

Be back in a min with your updated Bingo card! :D

CONGRATULATIONS, ONEders!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'ya-fantasy'.

[Your new BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Good Job!! :D

**Three in a row! Yay!**

Congrats on the new stamp!

Bound by Shadow - 11 Apr 11 ★★★★

There is a lot I liked about this book. My rating is really closer to 3 1/2 stars, and I get to why in a moment.

Fist off, what I liked. I liked the idea of the Dark Crescent Sisterhood - triads of women who can manipulate the elements (earth, fire, air). Their Motherhouses are in Russia, Ireland, and Greece respectively. The triad this trilogy focuses on is headed by earth Sybil Rianna Dumain. Cynda Flynn is the fire Sybil and Merilee Alexander is the air. They battle demons. The Sybils operate completely under the radar, thought Rianna's triad has befriended NYPD cop Andrea "Andy" Myles, who doesn't know the truth about them. She and her partner Creed Lowell work for a small, specialized section known as the Occult Crimes Unit. She's approached Rianna, in the past, to help her on cases, though she's never brought Creed along before now.

I really liked Andy's and Creed's partnership. They definitely got each others' backs. More than once during the book each has jumped in to defend the other. Andy's not afraid to threaten a house full of Sybils who want to eliminate Creed for what he is, regardless of the fact he's done everything to help the Sybils in their efforts against the Legion.

Creed's not completely human. And that's a problem for the Sybils. Up until he meets Rianna, all he knows is that he's got this "other" he keeps hidden. He and his twin, Dominic, have always been that way. I liked Creed. He's protective of Andy, but not in a domineering way. He didn't tell her about the "other" for fear of her reaction. He's also honest about his feelings towards Rianna -- whether it was lust or love. He wasn't afraid to tell her he loved her.

Now for what I had problems with -- even though there was a lot of action in this book, at times I felt it was dragging.

But that was minor compared to some of the confusion caused by a few overlooked errors. For instance, a character was being sent to one of the Motherhouses. I think the author originally intended to send the character to Russia, but changed her mind and sent the person to Ireland. Not all the references got switched. The scene in question had a lot going on involving all three houses, so I can see how it could have been overlooked in a rush -- but still. Confusing, and I had to re-read the scene because I thought I was missing something.

Something I wished had been addressed but hadn't --- what caused the "other" to be less of a threat to Rianna, especially during the final confrontation with the bad guys. Did it have something to with Creed being in love with her (him declaring it, her own confession/acknowledgement). That's my take, but it would have been nice have it confirmed.

None of my nitpicks have deterred me from reading the rest of the series. I DO plan to read them.

Hm, still can't decide if I wanna start that one or not. It's patiently waiting somewhere on my TBR Mt in case I decide to go for it. Glad you enjoyed it.

"I think the author originally intended to send the character to Russia, but changed her mind and sent the person to Ireland. Not all the references got switched." LOL! Oops!

Steph wrote: "Hm, still can't decide if I wanna start that one or not. It's patiently waiting somewhere on my TBR Mt in case I decide to go for it. Glad you enjoyed it.

"I think the author originally intend..."

From what I've seen, the other two books in the first trilogy were better received/rated. I think the book has the usual "1st in a series" hiccups - establishing the world, introducing the major players, etc, which would account for why I thought it dragged (a possibly why the change in the "others" behavior -- author ran out of time?). The first three must have done well enough for the publishers to contract for the second trilogy.

Hopefully, the editing improved. :-)

finished April 12 ★★★★

I am so loving this series. It is my first foray into m/m and now I'm wondering why I waited so long. Vic & Jacob are wonderful characters, and the story is a fast-paced mix of suspense, romance and fabulous dry humor. I laughed out loud a couple times. I loves me a smart-ass. :)

How are you fellow ONEders?
I read Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead for our Urban Fantasy shelf and here's my review:

★★★★

A good read, wrapping up Rose's story and giving answers to questions left unanswered from the last book. A couple of things were predictable and although I usually enjoy Rose's bravado and jump-first-look-later attitude, she kind of acted like a brat at times, having to have her way or else. Her thoughtlessness was annoying at times, too, as was her not seeing the best solutions even when they were staring her in the face. I agree with Adrian's last speech...

I found the ending a bit abrupt, but like I said, the book did wrap up the loose ends nicely so I won't complain.
People do grow and they're capable of opening their eyes and stop being idiots. That's nice to know.

All in all a good series with lots of excitement and difficult relationships that (see comment above about people growing and stuff) manage to become functional.

Truly enjoyed it!

Oh! congratulations for our new stamps too! ^^

I just finished for the UF shelf. 4/13/11 and 3 stars.

Review:
I picked this up for the prequel to the Madison Avery series and was pleasantly surprised by the rest.

The Exterminator's Daughter by Meg Cabot - 3 stars
Cute story. I liked the alternating narrators. Might read a book with the characters, just to see what happened to her mother.

The Corsage by Lauren Myracle - 2 stars
If the author hadn't given away the story in her beginning note (view spoiler)[based on The Monkey's Paw (hide spoiler)], it might have gotten a higher rating. Plus, I wondered if her first wish really changed anything.

Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper by Kim Harrison - 3 stars
Nice to read the back story to the series. I enjoyed this more than the first 2/3rds of the first book. I might have liked Madison more in the first book if I'd have read this first as she was much more proactive.

Kiss and Tell by Michele Jaffe - 3 stars
This was my favorite story of the group. I liked it enough that I'll check to see if these characters ever made it to a full novel, as there was certainly more story available.

Hell on Earth by Stephanie Meyer - 3 stars
This was my second favorite story. It started a bit slower than the others, but I really liked the idea of a demon trying to ruin prom. I'm still not really sure what Jez was doing though.

Diane, Always a nice surprise when you find you enjoy (or mostly) all the stories in an anthology. Not something I've come to expect from them.

Steph wrote: "Diane, Always a nice surprise when you find you enjoy (or mostly) all the stories in an anthology. Not something I've come to expect from them."

that is true.

For the Urban Fantasy slot:

Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield ***/5 04.14.11

Unfortunately, I think my enjoyment of this particular book suffered because my hopes had been set so high from advance reviews I had read. The story itself was interesting, and moved at a good pace, but I just didn't "click" with the main characters at all, so wasn't all that interested in seeing how they maneuvered through the obstacles the story presented.

you guys, I'm feeling blue... I'm about to start chapter 44 of Dreams of a Dark Warrior and I'm thinking I'll probably be disappointed by it... unles it has a really really REALLY good ending!

maybe it's because I had such high expectations about this book... I love Regin, she's soooooo funny!, but I just don't care about Aidan/Chase...

Free Space - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***completed April 7***

Part-Of-A-Series, G1 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 5 - completed March 13***

Shifters, I5 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 12 - completed March 27***

Paranormal, G3 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 19 - completed April 7***

YA-Fantasy, G2 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Awarded!
***announced March 26 - completed April 10***

Demons, N5 - 8/8 completed - Stamp Pending
***announced April 3 - completed April 15***
✔Laura Lulu Practical Demonkeeping finished April 6 ★★★
✔Laurie Dream Chaser finished April 10 ★★★★
✔Diane The Good Ghouls' Guide to Getting Even finished April 4 ★★
✔Lili Dreams of a Dark Warrior finished April 15 ★★★★
✔Christina Bound by Shadow finished April 11 ★★★★
✔Sarah Pleasure Unbound finished April 4 ★★★★
✔Jen Angelic finished April 6 ★★★★
✔Thenia The Darkest Night finished April 4 ★★

Urban Fantasy, O4 - 5/8 completed
***announced April 9***
✔Laura Lulu Criss Cross finished April 12 ★★★★
Laurie City of Bones
✔Diane Prom Nights from Hell finished April 13 ★★★
Lili Archangel's Consort
Christina Hot Mama
✔Sarah Siren Song finished April 10 ★★★
✔Jen Aftertime finished April 14 ★★★
✔Thenia Last Sacrifice finished April 12 ★★★★

I made a google doc of all the teams' Bingo cards if anyone is interested. Then we can see how many stamps each team has, as well as how close everyone is to getting BINGO.

The coral squares are stamps received, and the green squares are shelves that have been called, but are not complete yet.

**Thanks Judithe for the awesome idea!**

All BINGO Cards

Great job Laura! That's really helpful!

Very pretty, Laura!

Beautious! :D

Crazy how many 3-in-rows are already out there! This game is moving much faster towards BINGO than R1.

Will there be a round 3 if we finish quick??

Just finished Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole 04/15****


This isn't the best in the series, I had high expectations for this book since Regin is one of my favorites characters but I just couldn't get to like Aidan.
It was a little too complicated and... I don't know, it was funny and sexy but it didn't quite do it for me.

Now I wait for Lothaire's book... and maybe Phenix's too?
who knows???

That looks so good Laura :)

Thanks guys, but I totally copied the idea from Judithe. I can't take any credit. :)

And Woo hoo! Steph, we are ready for our Demons stamp!

Yay! :D

Sarah wrote: "Will there be a round 3 if we finish quick??"

I actually have another team game/challenge I'd like to give a go next. But, we will definitely be having another round of Bingo as well. :)

Congrats on your 'demons' stamp! I'll be back soon to post the next shelf announcement.

CONGRATULATIONS, The ONEders!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'demons'.

[Your new BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Good Job!! :D

Our next shelf is here! Happy Reading, Everyone!


Our Next Shelf is: 'paranormal-fiction'
DIRECT LINK: 'paranormal-fiction'

Congrats on the Demon stamp, ONEders!

For paranormal-fiction shelf I'll be reading Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

My pick for the paranormal-fiction shelf is

I'll look forward to your review, Christina. That's one I'm interested in checkin' out too.

LOL. I was thinking the same thing.

Great minds, baby! :D

I am going to continue with the Immortal Instruments Series (I love it!). So, I will be reading City of Ashes for the Paranormal Fiction shelf.

5 out of 5 stars for City of Bones
Urban Fantasy Shelf

I am going to keep this review short and sweet...

This book starts out with teen-aged Clary Fray witnessing a murder in the Pandemonium Club. From there the action is non-stop. Clary and her best friend, Simon, are thrown into the world of Shadowhunters, Vampires, Werewolves, and Demons. This tale supplies mystery, a budding romance, excellent character building, and heart-stopping revelations. Cassandra Clare is a phenomenal writer! Her imagination is amazing. This YA novel can stand against any Adult Paranormal Fiction offered on any bookshelves.

For paranormal fiction, I'll be reading Pale Demon by Kim Harrison.

I think I'm going to read for the Paranormal Fiction shelf. I don't have any April challenge books left to read that are on the shelf, so I'm going to start this one tonight because I have it here in hand, but if I don't like it right off, I'm going to read because I have the ebook.

The goal here is a quick read, so I can get back to my challenge reads. :)

{Team Stats Updated}

I finished Hot Mama on 15 April and I just finished reading Darkness Dawns this evening (17 April). I'll post my thoughts on both books later this week.

Looking forward to your Darkness Dawns review. :)

I'm reading Ill Wind by Rachel Caine for the Paranormal-Fiction shelf and I'll probably finish it today or tomorrow...

Archangel's Consort by Nalini Singh 04/18****

I looove Nalini Singh's books, both the Guild Hunter and the Psy-Changeling series are very very good.

This was a good book but it's tiresome to keep reading about Elena’s murdered sisters again and again and again… drip drip drip… yes, we remember, we’ve read about it before.
We are finally! seeing how Raphael is becoming a more likable character instead of the arrogant ass he used to be. Illinum is, as always, a very nice touch to the story.
The main mistery in this book wasn't hard at all to guess but I really liked the way Singh developed it.

I'll be reading Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward for the paranormal fiction shelf.