October Month of Reviews #7 ~ Dream Caller by Michelle Sharp

For October, I am bound and determined to get caught up on my NetGalley Reviews, something I've been trying to do for a while. Of course, since I started my "month of reviews" I've requested (and been given) 4 more books. LOL! My ratio is 77% now. Here's to getting reviews out for all the books I've read and getting to the other books that I haven't yet read.


Finished ~ Dream Caller (Dream Seeker 02) by Michelle Sharp
Completed 10/31
3 of 5 stars


I received this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

I loved the first book in this series. I didn't read the 2nd one (which was just a novella, so not sure why on GR, this one is listed at book 3, when it should be book 2) but it seems as not too much time has passed. I was excited to read this one, but didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the first.

Jordan is a cop who "sees" the dead, often during or soon after they have been murdered. The book starts off with her having another vision of a young woman being killed. In the mean time, her boyfriend, Ty, is off investigating a murder. They have just moved in together, so there are a few bumps in the relationship. She's also found out something big about her past and her father, so she's investigating that.

The story of the murder investigation was kind of boring. First off, she has a dream of a murder and he's called off to a murder and she doesn't at all suspect she could be dreaming about that murder? That seems kind of weak. Then, when she does find out (days later) she doesn't tell him right away. Then the murder was very obvious. No, we didn't know the details but I did know a generalization of who it was, no mystery there.

My biggest issue with this book, and it seems to be most people's biggest issue with it, is the insecurity of Jordan about her relationship. Now, I don't completely blame her, but I blame Ty for not telling her all his sexual past. The whole thing wouldn't have been an issue if when they got together, they just told each other all their pasts. Then she would have known about her and when she shows back up, it wouldn't have been a big deal. But I think the whole thing was just WAY overdone, just to create some drama. I hate drama for the sake of drama, which I've said many times, and there was a whole lot of that going on here. That, with the story just being OK, made for a pretty dull book. I liked a few parts of it, like when she finally stood up for herself, but other than that, it was a pretty forgettable book, but not awful.

Setting = A
Plot = B-
Conflict = B
Characters = C
Theme = B

October Month of Reviews #6 ~ Dead in her Tracks by Kendra Elliot

For October, I am bound and determined to get caught up on my NetGalley Reviews, something I've been trying to do for a while. I've been turned down for a few books probably because of my ratio, currently sitting at 76% 74%. Here's to getting reviews out for all the books I've read and getting to the other books that I haven't yet read.


Finished ~ Dead in her Tracks (Rogue Winter 02) by Kendra Elliot
Completed 10/23
4 of 5 stars
Expected Publication ~ 11/17


I received this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

First of all, the covers for these books are AMAZING!! I love these covers, can't wait to see the others, if there's more to this series.

Secondly, this is our second trip back to the Rogue River series and the town of Solitude and their people. This is a novella series done by Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot. You can see my reviews of the first 4 books, plus the first book of this series ~

Rogue River
On Her Father's Grave by Kendra Elliot
Gone to her Grave by Melinda Leigh
Her Grave Secrets by Kendra Elliot
Walking on her Grave by Melinda Leigh

Rogue Winter
Tracks of her Tears by Melinda Leigh


Now, as for this series, I LOVE Kendra Elliot. I've read all of her books to date and I read this series FOR the books by Kendra Elliot. I make myself read the others, by Leigh, because it's stuff going on in each book that carry over to the next. So, without reading the books by Leigh, I would only be getting half of the story.

I was excited to get to Kendra's book, which I did like better than the first, because I like the main characters in this book better. This book is about another killer roaming Solitude just days after the killer from the first book was caught. You definitely can't read this book without reading the first one (Tracks of Her Tears by Melinda Leigh) first, as it starts up the action the next day.

Stevie and Zane are great characters, both cops who work together on the job. They have few suspects and are out over Christmas trying to solve their case. The only negative about this book would be the reasoning of the killer, which has been done in every whodunnit it type show and book out there. It's one of those classic "reasons" the people kill. I was hoping it'd be something good. Other than that, this was a great novella with great characters. I hope there are more, and I look forward to the next, even if it'll be with the characters I don't like as much.

Setting = A
Plot = A
Conflict = A
Characters = A+
Theme = A

October Month of Reviews #5 ~ Tracks of her Tears by Melinda Leigh

For October, I am bound and determined to get caught up on my NetGalley Reviews, something I've been trying to do for a while. I've been turned down for a few books probably because of my ratio, currently sitting at 76% 74%. Here's to getting reviews out for all the books I've read and getting to the other books that I haven't yet read.


Finished ~ Tracks of her Tears (Rogue Winter 01) by Melinda Leigh
Completed 10/20
3 of 5 stars
Expected Publication ~ 11/10


I received this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

First of all, the covers for these books are AMAZING!! See below, you can see the first one (next review for the next one to come soon). I love these covers, can't wait to see the others.

Secondly, this is our second trip back to the Rogue River series and the town of Solitude and their people. This is a novella series done by Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot. You can see my reviews of the first four books ~

On Her Father's Grave by Kendra Elliot
Gone to her Grave by Melinda Leigh
Her Grave Secrets by Kendra Elliot
Walking on her Grave by Melinda Leigh


Now, as for this series, I LOVE Kendra Elliot. I've read all of her books to date and I read this series FOR the books by Kendra Elliot. I make myself read the others, by Leigh, because it's stuff going on in each book that carry over to the next. So, without reading the books by Leigh, I would only be getting half of the story.

You gotta take what I say with a grain of salt, this is MY opinion and my opinion of the Melinda Leigh stories and the characters in those stories should impact you or your enjoyment of these books, because they really are good. That being said, the story of this book was GREAT. It was about a young woman who was found dead and her boyfriend, who happens to be the MC's brother is missing. The town is on a hunt for a killer and for the missing brother. Great story, though the reason why she was killed was pretty lame. But hey, people get killed for less.

That being said, the story is 5 stars, the setting is 5 stars. It's a great story, in a great area with mostly great character. So, why did I only give it 3 stars? Simple. I can't turn off my emotions and I LOATHE the MC, Carly. I hate everything about her. Note on this ~ most people will not. Most people will find her a kind, loving and warm character. I can't help that my own judgements come into play with this series, but it does. So, I hate Carly and I rate down just because I have to read about Carly and ESPECIALLY Carly in this book. If Carly had any other profession, I'd probably like her. But, she doesn't, so as long as I continue to read these, for Kendra's books, I'll continue to rate down, a bit, for a character I don't like. Sorry about that.

Other than that, the book is great. Everyone should be reading them!


Setting = A
Plot = A
Conflict = A
Characters = C
Theme = B

Dewey's 24 Hr Read-a-Thon ~ Wrap-Up

End of Event Meme:

Which hour was most daunting for you?
3am, for a little while. I was listening to an audio and got really sleepy, but I was able to get perked up and as of now, I'm still going strong. Here's to hoping I can sleep after 8 for a while. Wanna fall asleep easily, and wake up refreshed for my game! :D

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Depends on the reader, definitely lots of action, something to keep the plot moving along is what I like best. Cute YA or MG books are good, if you like that sort of thing.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
It's just a personal thing, but I didn't like the posts with the kids. But ignore me about that, not everyone has my issues with that kind of thing. Maybe new start, mid and final questions?

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
Not sure. Didn't really see many people doing much of visiting this time. It was just all about the books for me, so nothing can be done by anyone else. I enjoyed my time to myself reading.

How many books did you read?
8

What were the names of the books you read?
see below

Which book did you enjoy most?
Detached by Jill Cooper

Which did you enjoy least?
Everything else. The rest was all enjoyable, but not fantastic.

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
Wasn't one this time.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I'm honestly not sure. Typically I'd say I'd always be a reader at least and perhaps cheer again, but I was kind of bummed by the lack of activity this time. I had 5 people come by. Would have like to have seen a couple more. But it is about what I do, and I can and do read any time I want. I really do these for the interactions, which haven't been there, for me, since my first one. If I do it again, it'll likely just be all for me, and I'll not post anything.

Updates!!

Audio listening time/pages: 10 hrs / 930 pages
Kindle reading time / pages: 8 hrs / 685 pages
Total number of books I've read: 8.25
Total Pages Read: 1,615 pages
Total Time Read: 18 hours
Challenges Participated: Introduction Survey
Today's Completed Books:

Started prior to RaT

(for Dewey's started @ 68%)

Kindle

Audio

Dewey's ~ Kick-Off
Dewey's ~ Hour 4 Update
Dewey's ~ Hour 8 Update
Dewey's ~ Hour 12 Update
Dewey's ~ Hour 16 Update
Dewey's ~ Hour 20 Update

Dewey's 24 Hr Read-a-Thon ~ Hour 20 Update

4am, still going strong. Got a bit of a second wind. Definitely looking forward to 8am when I can, hopefully, get a little catnap. I'm sure I'll be wide awake by then though. We'll see. :)

Updates!!

Audio listening time/pages: 6 hr 30 min / 602 pages
Kindle reading time / pages: 7 hr 30 min / 685 pages
Total number of books I've read: 7
Current Book:
Total Pages Read: 1,287 pages
Total Time Read: 15 hours
Challenges Participated: Introduction Survey
Today's Completed Books/Comics:




Dewey's ~ Kick-Off
Dewey's ~ Hour 4 Update
Dewey's ~ Hour 8 Update
Dewey's ~ Hour 12 Update
Dewey's ~ Hour 16 Update

Dewey's 24 Hr Read-a-Thon ~ Hour 16 Update

Approaching midnight here, and I'm actually sleepy!

I knew I would be, I didn't sleep well last night. I never sleep well when I have things that I'm going to be doing. No matter, I'll get through it, I always do. No sleeping for me! :) I'm in it until 8am, when I HOPE HOPE HOPE I can fall asleep for 5 hours. I gotta be back up by 1pm for my Steelers game!

I'm likely on my last Kindle book of the night, will probably switch to audios only after this one, my eyes have been hurting for a little while. I have some shorter audiobooks, so I hope to meet (or pass) my last two RaT stats of 8 books for the night. More than half way there with half the time remaining!

Anyone still around?

Updates!!

Audio listening time/pages: 5 hr 30 min / 488 pages
Kindle reading time / pages: 7 hr 45 min / 685 pages
Total number of books I've read: 6
Current Book:
Total Pages Read: 1,173 pages
Total Time Read: 13 hrs 15 min
Challenges Participated: Introduction Survey
Today's Completed Books/Comics:




Dewey's ~ Kick-Off
Dewey's ~ Hour 4 Update
Dewey's ~ Hour 8 Update

Dewey's 24 Hr Read-a-Thon ~ Hour 12 update

Halfway through! How is everyone doing?

I'm on pace for another 8 books this round. I've finished up 4 and I've started another audiobook, though just until dinner. Then I'm going to read another Kindle book (before my eyes start hurting) and get back to the audio later on.

Anyone read anything good?

Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now?
Audiobook ~ Protecting Caroline by Susan Stoker.
Soon on Kindle ~ Fledgling by Mark Cooper

2. How many books have you read so far?
4 (see below)

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
None really, as I don't have a plan on what I'm reading yet. I only had really planned on 2 books and read both of those, so we'll see what I feel up to next.

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
A few. My Hubby asked me a question that made me go down memory lane (see my Hour 4 Update). Other than that, He's been mainly leaving me alone, He's great to me! :) I've only been up a few times for bathroom or drink breaks. Just been reading, posting every 4 hours and haven't been able to visit blogs yet, but I plan to after my next Kindle book, after dinner.

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
Nothing, I guess? Seems more quiet, but perhaps that's just because I haven't been as active on my blog in the last few months as I had been for the other read-a-thons that I have been a part of.

Updates!!

Audio listening time/pages: 2 hr 30 min / 256 pages
Kindle reading time / pages: 6 hr 30 min / 541 pages
Total number of books I've read: 4
Current Book:
Total Pages Read: 797 pages
Total Time Read: 9 hrs
Challenges Participated: Introduction Survey
Today's Completed Books/Comics:



Dewey's ~ Kick-Off
Dewey's ~ Hour 4 Update
Dewey's ~ Hour 8 Update

Dewey's 24 Hr Read-a-thon ~ Hour 8 update

Another 3+ hours and another book finished. Moving right along! :)

How's everyone doing? Having fun?

I haven't visited anyone, but I'm going to turn on an audiobook and get to visiting some. Looking forward to seeing what others are reading today. Hope everyone is having a good time. Thanks for anyone who has stopped by so far.

No challenges for me this go around, so far none have interested me, but I'll keep my eye out on them still. Guess it's just all about the books for me today.

Updates!!

Audio listening time/pages:
Kindle reading time / pages: 6 hrs 30 min / 541 pages
Total number of books I've read: 3
Current Book:
Total Pages Read: 541 pages
Total Time Read: 6 hr 30 min
Challenges Participated: Introduction Survey
Today's Completed Books/Comics:

Dewey's 24 Hr Read-a-Thon - Hour 4 Update

I got a solid 3 hours of reading in, finished 2 books, when my Hubby interrupted me with a STRANGE trip down memory lane. My Hubby is home and doing the horror movie thing today. Apparently he watched Night of the Living Dead of 1968 and was reading some trivia about it. I guess they wanted to film the sequel where they did (the cemetery scene) before but couldn't because of a tornado. So he asked if it was "my" tornado, which is was. Hence the memory trip.

On the day of my 8th birthday a HUGE tornado event happened over PA and some other states. There's a long story to my story from that day, much of which I do remember. It affected me all my life, and still is with me. So, I spent some time remembering. :/

An image from that day. My neighbors back then, who lost their farm and 2 homes, including the one in the photo.



So, I decided to take an hour break and at noon, I'm getting back to the books, though a little subdued. How is everyone else doing so far?

Updates!!

Audio listening time/pages:
Kindle reading time / pages: 3 hrs / 278 pages
Total number of books I've read: 2
Current Book:
Total Pages Read: 278 pages
Total Time Read: 3 hrs
Challenges Participated: Introduction Survey
Today's Completed Books/Comics: