SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion

I read fast, always have, plus it seems like YA books are all in large type, as though YAs are like older people who need large type, which means they aren't as long as they seem. This was 326 pages, which would probably be 200 in real type.

Deidre wrote: "I read fast, always have, plus it seems like YA books are all in large type, as though YAs are like older people who need large type, which means they aren't as long as they seem. This was 326 page..."

I noticed that myself. :D Grave Mercy has nearly 550 pages and it didn't feel like it at all.

LOL, I am such a slow reader, I read about 2 books a week, but i will be doing my very best to make sure I don't hold every one else up. I only get to read for acouple of hours a night after the kids have gone to bed. Toddlers take up so much time, especially the youngest who seems to want my constant attention or is always needing something. Going through potty training at the moment, going well so far.

Deidre wrote: "I read fast, always have, plus it seems like YA books are all in large type, as though YAs are like older people who need large type, which means they aren't as long as they seem. This was 326 page..."

Maybe I should be reading more YA books then LOL

Ana~Willow wrote: "LOL, I am such a slow reader, I read about 2 books a week, but i will be doing my very best to make sure I don't hold every one else up. I only get to read for acouple of hours a night after the ki..."

Two books isn't so bad! :) Sometimes it takes me all week to read a book and I have no children or spouse to interrupt my reading time. ;-)

Great job on your first read Deidre! I'm working on the master list. So that it's on the first page of our group I'm editing my first post and probably my second post as well

The Master List can be found Here

I realized that my shelves of to be read series were not on here. which makes it harder to find books on the shelves. duh. if I could remember the books, I wouldn't have to mark them inside as read.

So now I need to take a few to add some, since I don't want to read a book on a shelf (that I will need later) as my free read. meh ;-}

Deidre, I did forget one teeny thing. It was easy to overlook -- sorry about that. Your review does have to include the date you finished the book.

so I'm not great at editing yet, put the date smack in the middle of my review. But since I might just delete the whole thing next time, I'll leave it. I'm really shocked that you would forget to tell me that. :-}

Deidre wrote: "so I'm not great at editing yet, put the date smack in the middle of my review. But since I might just delete the whole thing next time, I'll leave it. I'm really shocked that you would forget to t..."

I overlooked it because, well, I was more concerned with making sure you rated and reviewed it. :D Even the bingo veterans sometimes forget to add the date. Or rate it.

Since you made it easy to spot, it's fine. ;-)

For my free space, I am going to read Undone deeds, by Mark del Franco. It was on one of the new release threads, and I've had it since February. Just found it again, so I figure that will do.

Finished my first read. I was hit with a serious case of Insomnia last night, so just sat up and read for most of the night.


FALLEN by Lauren Kate
Finished: 18-06-2012
Rating: 3 Stars
I have mixed feelings on whether I enjoyed this book or not. Firstly I found the actual storyline good, but I found it slow to start, and the main character Luce was alittle irritating. I was surprised by the greeting she got from Daniel when he first realised that she had been enrolled in the Sword & Cross reform School, and the twist concerning one of Luces teachers was pretty good. The storyline was easy to follow and work out in most parts, although it left some unanswered questions for me, especially the ‘why’ concerning the death of her boyfriend. This incident is why she ended up in the reform school. And it never really explains what the shadows are that have been following Luce most of her life, Daniel just tells her that she shouldn’t be able to see them and it has never happened before. I was disappointed with the ending, but I guess it paved the way for the second book, which would probably answer a lot of my unanswered question. I would read the other books to follow the story if I had nothing more interesting to read.

Ana~Willow wrote: "Wow Deidre, that was quick :0)

YAY Suzanne, we are both reading the same book :0) I'm half way through, thought it was slow going to start, but it's pick up. How are you finding it so far??"

Wow, you are a lot faster than me! I just downloaded it onto my ipod so as soon as I finish the book I'm reading, it is next on my list ;) I'm a challenge addict so I'm trying to finish all these challenges I signed up for!

Ana~Willow wrote: "LOL, I am such a slow reader, I read about 2 books a week, but i will be doing my very best to make sure I don't hold every one else up. I only get to read for acouple of hours a night after the ki..."

OMG you and I are in the same boat. I've got a 5 year old and 3 month old and I have to listen to audio books at work inorder to get anything read!

I'm going to do as my free space book!

Great job Ana Willow. I updated the Master List with your review. And Suzanne I updated it with your free space read (which is one of my favorite series).

I am hoping to have my YA book done today. Yesterday was a horrible allergy day so I didn't get as much done as I hoped, but I'm home sick from work today which means nothing but reading all day.

Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep
Finished 6/18/12
Rating: ★★★★★

The Mythos Academy series is one of my favorite on going YA series and my favorite of Jennifer Estep's work. I think Gwen is a great character and her growth over the first three books in the series is exactly what I like to see. She's learned a lot about herself and this world that she was suddenly thrust into even though her family has been a part of it for generations. Most people in her situation would have run screaming for the hills, instead Gwen has immersed herself into it and has become a very important piece of it.

So many big things happened in this book. We learn a lot about Loki, his champion (including who she is), Gwen and her purpose, Logan and his demons, and Nikademes and why he is always so mean to Gwen. I hate that I have to wait so long for Crimson Frost because I cannot wait for the fallout from Dark Frost. I know that things can't stay as happy as Dark Frost ended, that's just not the world that Gwen lives in.

Great review Paris, I enjoyed it as well :)

Our little group is pretty quiet at the moment!! So how is everyone getting on with their challenges? Busy reading?? How are those FREE Reads coming on? I'm half way through and should be finished in a day or two. Really enjoying it and think I will have to carry on with this series at some point.

I just finished my YA read and now I'm starting my Free Space. Hopefully I'll be done with that by Thursday or Friday. I can't wait until we get a new shelf picked. I'm trying to figure out what to read and when because most of the books I have on hand are books that fall into categories on our card.

I'm glad you are enjoying your book Ana Willow. That's on my list for potential dragon books.

I'm really enjoying it. Most of the books I own will fit almost all of the shelves, so looking foward to seeing what is next.

I'm sorry I've been so slow, my 3 month old has croup so my evenings have been pretty much shot as far as reading goes. Hopefully she'll get better in the next couple of days and I can get my groove on!

Suzanne wrote: "I'm sorry I've been so slow, my 3 month old has croup so my evenings have been pretty much shot as far as reading goes. Hopefully she'll get better in the next couple of days and I can get my groo..."

Oh my gosh Suzanne, don't be sorry. Real life is so much more important than this. I hope your little one gets better soon. From what I've heard croup is no fun for the parents or the kids.

Suzanne wrote: "I'm sorry I've been so slow, my 3 month old has croup so my evenings have been pretty much shot as far as reading goes. Hopefully she'll get better in the next couple of days and I can get my groo..."

Oh no, poor lamb :( my 2 yr old Daughter is just getting over the chicken pox, she is covered. Hope your little lady is feeling better soon xx

Suzanne wrote: "I'm going to do as my free space book!"

I really liked this book! I hope you enjoy it!! I love Chess and Terrible!

Ana~Willow wrote: "Our little group is pretty quiet at the moment!! So how is everyone getting on with their challenges? Busy reading?? How are those FREE Reads coming on? I'm half way through [bookcover:Kiss of Fire..."

I'm glad you're enjoying Kiss of Fire. I didn't enjoy it that much haha but I liked the second one better but I'm not sure if I'll be continuing the series. I'm hoping most of the books I own already I can use towards shelves.

I just started Hourglass today so I hope to finish it tonight or tomorrow morning. Then I'll be starting Full Moon Rising.

working on free space, but it is really sunny out and I should mow the lawns. But I'd rather enjoy the warmth and read....

Okay, I finished my free space book - by on June 19, 2012.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I went to his blog to see if it was the last book, and he said it was. His Laura Blackstone series has ended too, because Ace doesn't want anymore.

When I started reading Undone Deeds, I wished I could find book 5, because I was confused. But the first 1/3rd of the book was a rehash of everything that had previously happened, albeit horribly condensed. Then the plot seemed to start wandering, slowly. The last 3rd was exciting, but I was shocked by the ending and who died and who didn't and who our hero was and who he wasn't.

I hoped this wasn't the last book in the series (the reason I went to his blog) but it is. I was not happy with this book. I have to give it ***. What a sad end to a fun series.

Deidre, I hate when series don't end they way they should. But it's out of the hands of the reader. I'm glad you enjoyed the series as a whole though.

Deidre that sucks about the series ending. I hate when that happens. Publishing is such a harsh business. Sometimes authors have to scramble to end a series...sometimes they have to find a new publisher for the 3rd and final book in a trilogy (this has happened to me twice). Sadly we readers get the lame end of it most of the time.

So I just finished my shelf read Hourglass by Myra McEntire.



I gave it 5/5. I have to say that I had no idea this book was about time-travel, for some reason I was under the impression it was about ghosts. Secondly, I'm so mad at myself for not reading this sooner! There are always those books that have a lot of hype, and sometimes they don't live up to the expectations of the reader. But this surpassed anything I could have imagined. I enjoyed Emerson's sarcasm, and wit. I liked her as a main character, and she is definitely one I am interested in finding out more about. The love interest and possible triangle was interesting but not completely unbelievable and contrived. Overall, it was a great book.

Finished 6.20.12

Excellent review Sarah, just add the date and you're done.

Sarah wrote: "So I just finished my shelf read Hourglass by Myra McEntire.



I gave it 5/5. I have to say that I had no idea this book was about time-travel, for some reason I was under the..."

I loved Hourglass. I was surprised by how much I loved it and how different it was compared to most of the other YA books out there. I'm glad you liked it.

I think I'm going to change my Free Space book. As much as I love the Shadow World series, Shadowflame had moments that lagged so bad I had to put the book down, in the first five chapters of Shadow's Fall there were a bunch of moments like that. I'll eventually finish the book, but I need something a little more engaging. Now I just need to decide what to change it to.

I'm either going with or

I really want the Elder Races ebook series and the rest of the Deborah Cooke ebooks (only have Kiss of Fire), but the Hubby has just put me on a Book Ban,SOB SOB :0( The car has packed up, so we have to save money to repair it which is gong to take FOREVER!!!! And our local library is tiny and doesn't stock any of the Genre's I would read. Better start my Christmas list.....

Ana~Willow wrote: "I really want the Elder Races ebook series and the rest of the Deborah Cooke ebooks (only have Kiss of Fire), but the Hubby has just put me on a Book Ban,SOB SOB :0( The car has packed up, so we ha..."

I totally feel your pain. I've been on a self imposed book ban and it sucks. I got a gift card for Amazon.com a few months ago and I am being so cheap with it cause I need it to last until my birthday in August. There are so many books I want and not enough money to buy them. I hate that.

You should definitely check Amazon on occasion. Not sure about where you are, but Amazon.com constantly has free books that are actually pretty good.

I'm in the UK, and do check, but it is never a series I want LOL. I usually have better luck on my Kobo app on my phone, they have pretty good reads.

Ana~Willow wrote: "I'm in the UK, and do check, but it is never a series I want LOL. I usually have better luck on my Kobo app on my phone, they have pretty good reads."

Lame. Well at least Kobo is working for you. I wonder why Amazon.com and Amazon UK are so different as far as free books.

I don't know, release dates are very different also, we are months behind!!

Paris wrote: "Sarah wrote: "So I just finished my shelf read Hourglass by Myra McEntire.



I gave it 5/5. I have to say that I had no idea this book was about time-travel, for some reason I..."

If you like the whole time-travel thing, and want something different you should try Tempest by Julie Cross!

Sandra wrote: "Excellent review Sarah, just add the date and you're done."

Thank you Sandra, all fixed :)

Thanks for the recommendation Sarah. Tempest looks good. I have added it to my TBR mountain. I have a feeling that I'll be doing that a lot between now and the end of this thing. lol

I've updated the Master List with your review as well.

Yeah, I have a feeling my TBR will never be finished! I would have to stop adding books for a few years but that will never happen lol

Finished my FREE read, I don't usually read so quick, but was home ill yesterday, so got a huge chunk read.

Kiss of Fire by Deborah Cooke
Finished 20.06.2012
Rating: 4 stars.
I enjoyed this book that introduces us to the Pyr, Men who shape shift into Dragons. The story follows Quinn, the Blacksmith shape shifting Dragon, and his destined Mate Sara, who used to be an accountant, but gave up her high flying life to take over her aunts New Age Book store after the deaths of her parents and her beloved psychic Aunt Magda. Quinn first meets Sara, (who is a Seer, she just doesn’t know it yet) when she is attacked by a Slayer. She thinks it is a mugging, and thinks she is losing her mind when she sees a blue dragon, but Quinn knows there is more to it than that and he starts to fear for her life. Sara doesn’t believe in anything she can’t write down or figure out with a calculator, even when Quinn shifts right before her eyes. I was hoping for more romance and heat between the 2 main characters, but I enjoyed the Dragon world and the fight scenes. I will continue with this series and see where it takes me.

Good review Ana, I must read #2 soon :)

Free Space Read
Finished 6/20/2012
★★★

Most of the fans of this series started getting irritated with Charlaine Harris a few books back. They said it was mostly filler and that the books were forgettable. While the books have never been mind blowingly memorable, I still found them to be enjoyable and filled with all the things that I love about the series. Then I read Deadlocked and finally what everyone was saying about the series became so crystal clear to me.

Deadlocked was filled with a ton of mundane, unnecessary filler that would have been fine for early books when we were getting to know Sookie and her world, but this is the penultimate book in the series. We know Sookie, so trips through her everyday boring ass life are not needed. We know that she works at Merlotte’s and what she typically does on her down time when not wrapped up in supernatural politics. We did not need nearly an entire chapter dedicated to her visit to Claude’s strip club with her girlfriends. A short scene and a few laughs would have sufficed, but this was a long, drawn out description of nearly ever fae in the club.

I will overlook all the locker talk and change at Merlotte’s talk because I saw it as Sookie growing as a character; becoming more responsible and accountable outside of the supernatural world. But there were still many other parts of the book where I wanted to take a nap. If added together, I bet they would have accounted for at least half of the book.

On to the things I did like…there was a distinct tone of working towards wrapping things up, especially where the men in Sookie’s life is concerned. Harris has always said that she’s known from the beginning who Sookie will end up with so it’s nice that she hasn’t forgotten that there has been more than two men in her life. Some storylines are wrapped up and others are moved along nicely enough that when we get the final book next May everything won’t feel rushed. Hopefully that final book will be filled with action and things that we care about and less about Sookie running errands and taking a shower. I don’t care about her hygiene habits unless she’s washing blood off or showering with a hottie.

Sarah wrote: "Yeah, I have a feeling my TBR will never be finished! I would have to stop adding books for a few years but that will never happen lol"

I've been telling myself that for years. I didn't realize how many books I had that I hadn't read until I joined Paperback Swap six years ago. It is horrifying, but I can't stop getting them. Now, at least, if I have had a book for several years and still haven't read it, I often just post it on PBS to make it go away.

The zombie apocalypse better come soon, before my house collapses :-)

Ana~Willow wrote: "Finished my FREE read, I don't usually read so quick, but was home ill yesterday, so got a huge chunk read.

Kiss of Fire by Deborah Cooke
Finished 20.06.2012
Rating: 4 star..."

Sorry your sick Ana. I hope you feel better soon. I liked your review. I look forward to reading the book for our dragons shelf.

Deidre wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Yeah, I have a feeling my TBR will never be finished! I would have to stop adding books for a few years but that will never happen lol"

I've been telling myself that for years. I did..."

I thought I was bad with actual physical books and hoarding those, but then I got a Kindle and it's been worse since then. I don't think I'll ever be able to read all of the books I own because for every 12 books I add to my colletion, there are 12 books I can't afford at the moment that I just have to get from the library. lol

Paris wrote: "
Free Space Read
Finished 6/20/2012
★★★

Most of the fans of this series started getting irritated with Charlaine Harris a few books back. They said it was mostly filler and ..."

Great review, Paris!

When I got this one, I realized I hadn't read the last few books because I was getting bored. I had to read them because I had no idea what was happening. Since I read 3 in a row, and then this one, this was much better. She seemed to be growing, as you said, and I am assuming she is bringing the series to a close soon. I would have given it a bad rating if I had read the others when they came out, with a big gap in time.

Sometimes I think authors forget where their readers are, or that the readers have read 200 other books since that last came out!