This is my September Reading log for Swap-Bot. August and September were once again filled with challenges from GoodReads. At one point I was in 3 separate challenges (Camp Massacre, Amazing Race & Capture the Flag), PLUS was doing the "Pick One for Me" challenges for both GR and SB which was a total of 4 books each month in Aug & Sept. Whew!! I'm glad to be done with the challenges and take a little break from books, that is until Dewey's!! :) Again, please excuse the numbering, I didn't feel like changing it from my quarterly log.
September Reading Log 2015
From ~ ImzadiRose
1 ★ 1.5 ★ 2 ★ 2.5 ★ <---Bad 3 ★ Great---> 3.5 ★ 4 ★ 4.5 ★ 5 ★
Good
64 ~ Griefed (Lexy Cooper 03) by Christa Charter
Completed 9/1
3 of 5 stars
This one has been my least favorite so far, mainly because I thought the guy was gone, and he showed up again and Lexy was soooooo annoying. It’s like she wants to punish herself for something, she’s only happy when she’s miserable. Other than that aspect of her personality, I like her. In this one, someone is causing issues for her.
65 ~ Blood Moon (Huntress/FBI 02) by Alexandra Sokoloff
Completed 9/2
4 of 5 stars
In this 2nd of 3 books, Roake is still hunting Cara, though not very happily. He’s definitely starting to question everything he thinks and feels because of how he feels about her. New murders are pooping up, ones that are similar to what happened to Cara’s family, and Roarke has to convince many people that it’s the same killer.
66 ~ Timecaster Supersymmerty (Timecaster 02) by Joe Kimball (aka J.A. Konrath)
Completed 9/3
2 of 5 stars
This one was MUCH more insane than the first. The first was fun and different and definitely crazy but very unique. This one was crazy just for the sake of crazy. Too many different versions of too many different characters. There was some things that were way over the top. The story was ok, but just toooo much.
67 ~ Valley of Kings (Tombquest 03) by Michael Northrop
Completed 9/3
3 of 5 stars
This series is like The Mummy for kids. In this one, the kids went to Egypt in search of Alex’s mother. It was the typical story of this series, fighting the Death Walkers. Definitely didn’t like it that they had someone turn against them. It seems to be a theme of this type of books, someone they trust ends up to have another agenda. It’s old, but the series is a quick read and enjoyable fo rwhat it is.
68 ~ Con Academy by Joe Schreiber
Completed 9/4
4 of 5 stars
I read this for a “Pick for me” challenge on GoodReads, and it was different. Will goes to an elite academy where he cons his way in. He’s not the only con artist there though and the two have a bet on who can get the most money the fastest out of one of their classmates. It was a good enjoyable book, good characters and story.
69 ~ Cold Moon (Huntress/FBI 03) by Alexandra Sokoloff
Completed 9/7
4 of 5 stars
The conclusion of the trilogy. In this one, Cara is caught and in jail but killings like her continue to happen. So Roarke is still on the trail of a new suspect, one that seems to want to get Cara out of jail. The public is on Cara’s side, as she only kills the scum of the earth. Enjoyable series, good conclusion. Ended about how I expected.
70 ~ Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst
Completed 9/8
5 of 5 stars
Eve is part of a witness protection service, remembering nothing of her past or why she is there. She also blacks out and loses time which she can’t remember. This book was GREAT! Very different, very engaging and enjoyable. It definitely caught my attention from the start and I really enjoyed it a ton.
71 ~ Herculean (Cerberus Group 01) by Jeremy Robinson
Completed 9/8
2.5 of 5 stars
I LOVE Jeremy Robinson and most all the books I have read of his. I especially love his Chess Team series, which is what this spins off from. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t as enjoyable as those. This has a LOT less action (which I love) and a lot more history lessons (which I don’t care for). I did like one part of it, and will probably keep with the series just because of that.
72 ~ Crocodile Tears (Alex Rider 08) by Anthony Horowitz
Completed 9/10
3 of 5 stars
Almost done with this series. It was ok. More of the same. Crazy action that Alex has to get out of and does. Still tired of Alex saying he doesn’t want to do it, that he wants to live a quiet life, when he clearly would be bored to tears. At least he admitted to himself that he likes being “used” as a spy, which was a weird way to put it. Story ok.
73 ~ AlterWorld (Play to Live 01) by D. Rus
Completed 9/11
5 of 5 stars
I LOVED this book. It was fantastic!! It’s a virtual reality book set in a World of Warcraft type world. In the book, some VR players have been going “perma” where they get “stuck” in the VR world and no longer live in the real world. But they are still “alive” in this VR world. IT was tons of fun and a really really enjoyable book. I’ll be reading more, I can’t wait to get into the next one!
74 ~ The Winner’s Curse (Winners 01) by Marie Rutkoski
Completed 9/12
2 of 5 stars
This one has been recommended to me a few times. I was not impressed. It may just be that I really don’t like just romance on it’s on too much anymore. I thought it would be a bit more but it was all about this stupid romance. I only liked one part, around 60% in, otherwise I was pretty bored with it. Won’t be reading more.
75 ~ Wrong Place (Sally Parker 01) by M.A. Comley
Completed 9/12
1 of 5 stars
I really disliked this book. The mystery itself was intersting on it’s own, that part I didn’t mind, even if it was twisted (sometimes that’s the best) but the MC was horrible. She didn’t care about herself at all and she was very weak and spineless. She stood up for her animal but not herself. I just didn’t like her, at all, she ruined what could have been an ok story for me.
76 ~ Time’s Divide (Chronos 03) by Rysa Walker
Completed 9/12
5 of 5 stars
I’m soooooo sad this series is over. L If you like any kind of time travelling books, I highly recommend this series. It’s so much fun. They can’t be read on their own, they have to be read as the series. This one wrapped up everything perfectly. Sad about osme things, glad about some others. Fantasic series, really wonderful. So sad it’s over!
77 ~ Andromeda (Andromeda 01) Amy Bartelloni
Completed 9/14
2 of 5 stars
This was a boring dystopia, that really didn’t go much of anywhere. The characters were flat, the story was slow moving. There was some ok stuff near the end, but overall it was just dull. And the narrator was pretty bad. She pronounced one of the characters name in a weird (wrong) way. Grated on me!
78 ~ Devoted in Death (In Death 41) by J.D. Robb
Completed 9/15
4.5 of 5 stars
Another great In Death book. Still enjoying this series. In this one, Eve is investigating a random and weird killing. Using her typical skills and the people around her, she solves the crime, as usual. Good story, good killers (if that can be a thing). Great ending.
79 ~ Glitched (Lexy Cooper 04) by Christa Charter
Completed 9/16
3.5 of 5 stars
The last of the Lexy Cooper books (right now, and except for short stories). This was was good, but not great. Lexy is still hung up on the married guy, even though she has no reasons to be now. It is the main annoying thing about the book. The murder of a gaming bigwig and the mystery there was interesting enough. End wasn’t great. Overall a fun series.
80 ~ Scorpia Rising (Alex Rider 09) by Anthony Horowitz
Completed 9/17
3 of 5 stars
The last book in the Alex Rider series, well sorta. There’s a 10th one, but it is set before the books, so I don’t know why it is listed as book 10. In this one, Scorpia is back and has an elaborate plan in motion to take down Alex and MI6. I was suprised by one thing and didn’t think it was true until the end. That sucked. Overall the series was enjoyable.
81 ~ Black is Back (Black 02) by Russell Blake
Completed 9/19
3 of 5 stars
Stuck in the past investigator, this series is good for a quick book. This one was a little better than the first, just in that the main things I don’t like about the book (his therapist and mother) were only in it once, rather than multiple times. I hate both of those characters, they take away from the book which could be beter without them. In this one, Black is investigating threats on a rap stars life.
82 ~ The Clan (Play to Live 02) by D. Rus
Completed 9/20
4.5 of 5 stars
More of Max in AlterWorld. Really fun and enjoyable. Didn’t like quite as much as the first, just because I enjoyed the initial world building. There was still a lot of that in this one, as he’d go to more places. It was quite fun and enjoyable.
83 ~ Court of Fives (Court of Fives 01) by Kate Elliott
Completed 9/21
3 of 5 stars
I had been looking forward to this book about a competition held, but it wasn’t as enjoyable as I hoped it would be. The competition itself, though called the Court of Fives, was only two brief times in the book, one in the beginning and one at the end. The story was OK, but not great, and there was a major part that I didn’t like at all. It was just overall ok, I don’t know if I will continue with the series or not.
84 ~ The Challenge (Steel Trapp 01) by Ridley Pearson
Completed 9/21
3 of 5 stars
**This is the last week of a GoodReads challenge, so I’m really going to push hard and read a ton.** So that starts with reading shorter books. I’ve read Pearson before, so I decided to try this one. It’s about a boy going to a science competition but on the way he sees something he shouldn’t have and he gets caught up in some criminal activity. It was ok, nothing great, but a good quick read which is what I’m looking for right now.
85 ~ Wildfire Run by Dee Garretson
Completed 9/21
2.5 of 5 stars
This was about a president’s son and his two friends being at Camp David when a wildfire comes near and all kind of stuff start happening. The kids have to take care of themselves and get out of danger. It was OK, definitely for a very young audience. I like middle grade books, but this one was a little TOO young. The narrator was not enjoyable to listen to, he had a weird voice for one of the kids that grated me.
86 ~ Nebulous (Jet Black 01) by T.S. Littlefield
Completed 9/22
3 of 5 stars
There’s really no way to explain this book. It was VERY upbeat and very weird. It had to do with aliens and kids trusting in a voice, and it was just all very weird. It wasn’t awful though, it was just kind of strange, but in a mostly enjoyable way. If another book is written, I’d read it just to see what happens.
87 ~ Z. Rex (The Hunting 01) by Steve Cole
Completed 9/23
2 of 5 stars
This was very childish. I like some middle grade, but not when it’s super childish, as this one was. It was supposed to have something to do with a video game, which there was all of 1 scene (the opening of the book) and very brief about it. Then there was a dinosaur, and that was pretty funny, but again, very childish. Not bad, but not great book.
88 ~ As The Crow Flies (Nick Dixon 01) by Damien Boyd
Completed 9/23
2.5 of 5 stars
This was a really short murder mystery. It was ok, but had some weird stuff. Like they were investigating the theft and illegal (apparently) sale of bird eggs?! Yeah, it was weird. So, the characters were flat and the one storyline was good, but overall it was just Meh. I’ll try out the next one, see if it got any better.
89 ~ Soft Targets (Jonathan Grave 00.5) by John Gilstrap
Completed 9/23
3.5 of 5 stars
I’ve had this series fora while and started the first book of the series ages ago but never finished it for some reason. This book is listed on GoodReads as 5.5, but it’s actually a prequel. Though it was a shorter story, I did end up liking it. I liked the Grave character and I do wanna get back into reading the series.
90 ~ I Funny (I Funny 01) by Chris Grabenstein
Completed 9/23
4 of 5 stars
Yup, this series is co-authored with James Patterson, but I think with as many books as he puts out a year with his co-authors, his participation in them is probably small. I’m a Grabenstein fan, I’ve read a lot of his books. I put this one off for a while, but finally decided to give it a try. It was definitely cute. It’s about a boy trying to be the funniest boy in his area. He was a great character and the book is really really cute.
91 ~ I Even Funnier (I Funny 02) by Chris Grabenstein
Completed 9/24
Completed 9/24
4 of 5 stars
The 2nd in the series as Jamie continues his quest to be the funniest boy in America. Not quite as fun as the first one, but still really enjoyable. Good characters and a good story. Looking forward to the next one. The narrator is actually a kid and does a really good job.
92 ~ Head in the Sand (Nick Dixon 02) by Damien Boyd
Completed 9/24
3 of 5 stars
Just as dull and boring as the first book. It was short and quick, so I gave it a try anyways. In this one they were investigating the gruesome murders of some people. The story was ok, the characters are just REALLY flat and uninteresting. The fact that they did a minor crime, (hit a parked car, left the scene) and didn’t report it was about the most interesting thing that happened for their otherwise boring personalities. The dog has more personality than the people do!
93 ~ Alistair Grim’s Odditorium (Odditiorium 01) by Gregory Funaro
Completed 9/24
3 of 5 stars
Read this for the “Pick one for me” swap. It was OK. It’s about a boy who ends up in a strange and magical place. There wasn’t enough about the magic, I wanted him to explore more and see more. It was all about the conflict. It was ok, just not GREAT as I hoped it would be.
94 ~ Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (Theodore Boone 01) by John Grisham
Completed 9/25
4 of 5 stars
I was actually surprised by this book and I really liked it. I've actually not read Grisham before as court/lawyer type stuff really isn't my kind of thing. But listening to a kid "lawyer" was interesting. Theodore was a good kid, interesting for the most part. It was cute how the people in school would come to him for legal advice. It was definitely a cute book and I'd read more.
95 ~ The Recruit (Cherub 01) by Richard Rushamore
Completed 9/25
3 of 5 stars
Meh. This book was almost 4 stars, then the first mission happened and it was dull and boring and soooooooooo dull. I didn't like James at all at first, that was the point I guess. But he grew on me. I loved the training, especially the 3 month training. Some good stuff there. Then, he got sent on the mission and the action and good parts of the book came to a grinding halt. It was sooooo boring. I'll give the next book a try. If it's like the first half of the book, it might be good, if it's like the 2nd half instead, I won't read any more.
96 ~ Kill Shot (The Collective 01) by Liliana Hart
Completed 9/25
3.5 of 5 stars
Ok, but I knew I would have issues with parts of this. Not meant for people who have lost a child. It's not a HUGE part of the story, bit it's there. Overall ok, I couldn't get past that, or might have rated up rather than down. The characters were ok, I wasn’t blown away by them or the story which was a typical going after the bad guys thing. Will try the next one.
97 ~ The Compound (Compound 01) by S.A. Bodeen
Completed 9/26
3 of 5 stars
I had a really hard time deciding what to rate this. It was different! It started out ok and then it was good briefly but then it got really really really freaking creepy. If I pushed the creepy stuff aside, then it was good again and definitely insane. If the one part had been left out (even though they never did what they were saying they may do) then I would have really liked the book. But that part was disturbing and it bothered me. Then it was pretty good, just still insane. Will probably see what the next one is about.
98 ~ The Abduction (Theodore Boone 02) by John Grisham
Completed 9/27
2.5 of 5 stars
There was some funny stuff, especially the parrot. Enjoyed most of it, HATED the ending. Hated it hated it hated it. But, that's just a personal issue. I enjoyed the first book but since then it’s just gone downhill. It’s repetitive and getting old.
99 ~ The Accused (Theodore Boone 03) by John Grisham
Completed 9/29
3 of 5 stars
This series has a horrible habit of repeating every basic thing about the book over and over. So in each book we have to endure the author telling us who his parents are, what they do, what is expected of him, him going to animal court..... the list goes on. The story of this one was ok, Theo was accused of some stuff that he, of course, didn't do. I'll be taking a break from the last two of these. Lost interest.
100 ~ The Activist (Theodore Boone 04) by John Grisham
Completed 9/30
3.5 of 5 stars
I know, I know, I said I was taking a break from these. I decided to go ahead and read it because it was the shortest audiobook I had and I wanted to finish out the month with an even 100 books read (for the 3rd Quarter). Actually, the book ended up being the best one since the first one. The repetitive stuff was a little less so, it was still there but not to the degree of the other books. The story was something it seemed like kids really could get behind, the debate of opening a new road destroying homes and near a school. It was good.
So many books! Great job! Happy October!
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