So Dec came and went without my log, which was my own fault. I wrote it down, had it ready to go and signed on the day after it would end to get my partners, and my dumb ass hadn't signed up! OOOOOPS!! I did do it, and I'm gonna tag the log at the end of my Jan one, but I doubt anyone will make it that far.
Just to warn you, I read a LOT of books in Jan. I explained below in the log, but it was for a team challenge. It was a little bit crazy, then I did the log in one day and that sucked. Thanks to anyone who actually reads through all of that! I know y'all must have to be tired of my insanely long logs. :( This month should be slower, I'm mainly gaming and haven't finished a book since 1/24. (Yes, all these books, just to warn you it's 52, were read in 24 days.)
Swap-Bot 1st Quarter Reading Log 2016
From ~ ImzadiRose
1 ★ 1.5 ★ 2 ★ 2.5 ★ <---Bad 3 ★ Great---> 3.5 ★ 4 ★ 4.5 ★ 5 ★
Good
***Note ~ I was part of a team challenge from Nov 5- Jan 24. The goal was to get the most points to “win” the challenge. My team did end up winning the challenge, and during Jan I read a CRAP TON of books to help us win. I know it’s a lot of books, just for Jan. The rest of my year shouldn’t be so crazy. (No promises!) :)
January
01 – The Masked City (Invisible Library 02) by Genevieve Cogman
Completed 1/4
3.5 of 5 stars
This is the 2nd in the series, and I liked it a lot better than the first one. I felt like the first one dragged a lot, this one got right into the action with one of the MCs getting kidnapped. It was a pretty good storyline with ok characters. Not my favorite series about books, but enjoyable.
02 – Bravo (Jad Bell 02) by Greg Rucka
Completed 1/5
3.5 of 5 stars
In the first Jad Bell, he takes on a job at a theme park to help prevent a possible terrorist attack there. I read it for the theme park aspect and really liked it. I decided to read this one because it’s the only other one in the series. It was ok. In the book, he and his team are on the hunt for the man behind the attacks in the first book.
03 – Taking Fire (One Eyed Jacks 04) by Cindy Gerard
Completed 1/5
4 of 5 stars
I wanted to rate lower for a few things (namely that she had his kid, didn’t tell him for years and wouldn’t have if she hadn’t needed him) but I liked Bobby a lot and the story was pretty good. Bobby is in Kabul when he meets and has an affair with Talia. She’s there for ulterior motives and ends up leaving him behind. They run into each other years later and she now needs his help. The series is a good one.
04 – Forbidden (Bartlett Brothers 01) by Suzanne Brockmann
Completed 1/6
3.5 of 5 stars
Kayla travels to Montana to find the brother of her dead friend to tell him that she thinks he actually isn’t dead. The two go in search of answers and see if they can find out the truth of what happens and they end up falling in love along the way. Good story and characters.
05 - Divide & Conquer (Cut & Run 04) by Abigail Roux
Completed 1/7
4.5 of 5 stars
I started the Cut & Run series in Dec and loved Ty & Zane. The series is my first full foray into MM and I definitely started with a great series. In this one, Baltimore is up in flames with bombings and there are robberies going on as well. Ty and Zane are trying to figure out what is happening, plus all the normal stuff with their relationship. In this one they FINALLY shared their true feelings with each other.
06 – Warrior’s Cross by Abigail Roux
Completed 1/8
4 of 5 stars
This is a standalone book about 2 characters that appear in Cut & Run #5, so I wanted to read it. The characters, Julian and Cameron were quite different and enjoyable. I really liked Cameron and felt bad for all he had to go through.
07 – HP and the Deathly Hallows by JKR (re-read)
Completed 1/10
5 of 5 stars
This is finally the end of my full re-read by listening to the audios done by Stephen Frey. First I listened to Jim Dale, then my full listen of Frey. I’m still a Jim Dale fan, but Frey did do a great job. Best series ever.
08 – A Darker Shade of Magic (A Darker Shade of Magic 01) by V.E. Schwab
Completed 1/11
3 of 5 stars
I ended up not liking this one as much as I expected to. It sounded good but it didn’t deliver. It’s about Kel who is a traveler between alternate worlds of London. Magic is a part of the worlds and there’s conflict about it. I would have liked the Kel part of the story, but there was a character named Lila who was a main part of the book and I felt like she was an afterthought, she just didn’t fit. Would have been so much better without her.
09 – Armed & Dangerous (Cut & Run 05) by Abigail Roux
Completed 1/11
4.5 of 5 stars
In this one, Ty and Zane go to retrieve Julian and bring him back to D.C. The 4 of them were definitely an interesting pairing and there was tons of crazy stuff going on. It was an enjoyable story and had some surprising moments in it as well.
** For the challenge, I decided I wanted to read a bunch of shorter books that would give me the most points. If I read anything 161 pages to 350 pages, it was 20 points, so I wanted to read a bunch of books that were under 200 pages for quick points. I decided my Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden would be good books for this. Most of the ND are re-reads, though not all. All the TB are re-reads. I won’t go into a huge thing about each, just a bit about what that book was about.
10 – The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew 01) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/11
3 of 5 stars
In her first mystery, Nancy in on the hunt for a will. I don’t like Nancy as much as Trixie, I feel like Nancy is quite stuck up, where Trixie is more down to earth. Nancy is just entitled and thinks she is the best thing ever. I don’t agree.
11 – The Hidden Staircase (Nancy Drew 02) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/11
3 of 5 stars
This is one of the very few ND that I actually do enjoy. In this one, ND and her friend Helen go to a house where there is some “haunting” going on and ND tries to figure out what is going on as well as keep the place from being sold.
12 – The Bungalow Mystery (Nancy Drew 03) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/11
3 of 5 stars
ND and Helen meet a new girl when she helps them out. They find out there’s a lot that is going on with the girl and she’s very sad. ND tries to prove that her new guardians are out to get the girls inheritance.
13 – The Mystery at Lilac Inn (Nancy Drew 04) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/11
3 of 5 stars
ND heads to an inn owned by Helen. There’s a bunch going on in this one with someone impersonating ND, and another stealing diamonds. ND tries to figure out who is out to hurt Helen.
14 – The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Nancy Drew 05) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/11
2 of 5 stars
One of my least favorites (of the ones I have read). The only good thing about it is that it’s the book in which we meet Bess and George, who replace Helen in most of the books, though Helen does show up a few more times.
15 – The Secret of Red Gate Farm (Nancy Drew 06) by Carolyn Keene
Completed 1/12
2 of 5 stars
I don’t remember this one from my childhood, so I don’t think that I read it, could have and just forgot of course, but it didn’t seem familiar. In it, Nancy finds out there’s a counterfeit ring going on and she’s out to stop it.
16 – The Clue in the Diary (Nancy Drew 07) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/12
3 of 5 stars
And it’s the first appearance of Ned in this one. The story I remember, but it was just ok. Not great, not bad. She finds a diary and uses it to prove the innocence of a man in trouble.
17 – Nancy’s Mysterious Letter (Nancy Drew 08) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/12
3 of 5 stars
In this one, ND is trying to find another ND who is set to get an inheritance in England if she can be found. This one was especially dated, first Ned was a kicker for the team, then he was a quarterback.
18 - The Mystery of the Ivory Charm (Nancy Drew 13) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/13
1.5 of 5 stars
Another of my least favorite. Nancy just takes a boy from the circus and takes him home to live with her. If that happened now, she’d be thrown in jail. It’s crazy the shit she got away with and was supposedly the good person. I don’t like her!
19 – The Keeper (DI Sean Corrigan 02) by Luke Delaney
Completed 1/13
3 of 5 stars
Corrigan is investigating the disappearances of young women who are being taken and held before being dumped. Creepy, but a typical “reason” as to why the psycho is psycho. The killer was very deranged and Corrigan isn’t all there either.
20 – Dine & Dash (Cut & Run 05.5) by Abigail Roux
Completed 1/13
3 of 5 stars
This was a VERY short (10 pages) online story. It was a quickie, both in story & storyline. ;)
21 – Stars & Stripes (Cut & Run 06) by Abigail Roux
Completed 1/13
4.5 of 5 stars
A great Ty & Zane where they head to their respective families to help out with different things. A moment with Ty’s grandfather was soooooo funny and worth 4 stars on its own. The time in Texas was enjoyable, especially with some tigers.
22 – Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run 07) by Abigail Roux
Completed 1/14
4 of 5 stars
There was a lot of craziness going on in this one. What starts out as a remembrance celebration turns into a fight for their lives and a lot of running around trying to figure out what is going on. A lot of sad stuff happened, but it was really good as well.
23 – Shock & Awe (Sidewinder 01) by Abigail Roux
Completed 1/14
3.5 of 5 stars
This is Nick and Kelly’s first book and I don’t like them nearly as much as Ty and Zane. There was a lot of drug use, for no reason, in this one. I felt like it didn’t fit at all. It was good overall, just a few things I didn’t like. Them getting together was fun and interesting.
24 – Ball & Chain (Cut & Run 08) by Abigail Roux
Completed 1/15
4 of 5 stars
In this one, Ty and Zane head to Scotland for a wedding, but they are also there to help figure out who is trying to rip off the bride’s father. Then dead bodies start turning up. It’s an insane amount of stuff going on and a lot of craziness. I didn’t see one thing coming, yet I thought there was something there. I wasn’t fully shocked by it.
25 – Zom-B (Zom-B 01) by Darren Shan
Completed 1/16
1 of 5 stars
One of the worse zombie stories I’ve ever read. If it weren’t for the challenge I wouldn’t have read past the first few pages. I HATED the main character, he was such as ass. The worse book of the year so far, hopefully I won’t read anything else as awful this year!
26 – Cross & Crown (Sidewinder 02) by Abigail Roux
Completed 1/16
3 of 5 stars
Back to Nick and Kelly and Julian shows up in this one as well. There’s a John Doe how is found at the scene of a crime but who is alive and can’t remember anything. The story was pretty dull in general, but it had a few good moments.
27 – The Clue of the Tapping Heels (Nancy Drew 16) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/16
2 of 5 stars
Back to the short ND’s. This one was a least favorite of mine, a bunch of cats in it and too much tap dancing. ND tapped to, and received a message from the supposed bad guy? Ugh!
28 – Gambit (Prodigy Chronicles 01) by C.L. Denault
Completed 1/17
4 of 5 stars
Willow is living her life quietly hiding her bizarre power, when she gets a new power and finds out that she’s the long lost daughter of a royal type. She’s forced to leave the only life she’s ever known to take her true place, being forced to behave in certain ways and heading towards a forced marriage. I liked it for the most part, but really had an issue with another part of it.
29 – The Marvelous Land of Oz (Oz 02) by L Frank Baum
Completed 1/17
1 of 5 stars
Meh. I tried the first book a while ago and decided to give this a try. I hated both. I prefer the movie in every way, the books are annoying and boring.
30 – The Secret of the Mansion (Trixie Belden 01) by Julie Campbell (every TB is a re-read)
Completed 1/17
4 of 5 stars
My FAVORITE childhood series and I still enjoy it. It’s dated though not as bad as ND. Trixie is more down to earth and relatable. I always wanted to be Trixie. In the first one, she meets Honey and they find Jim hiding out in the Mansion and they help him out while he’s there.
31 - The Red Trailer Mystery (Trixie Belden 02) by Julie Campbell
Completed 1/18
3.5 of 5 stars
Jim has taken off so he can’t be found by a horrible stepfather. Trixie & Honey (T&H from here on) find out he doesn’t have to go back and they set out to find him, searching in camps where he said he’d try to get a job. There were some lame parts in this one, but overall it was good.
32 - The Gatehouse Mystery (Trixie Belden 03) by Julie Campbell
Completed 1/18
4.5 of 5 stars
Trixie’s older brothers Mart & Brian are back from camp for this one and the Bob-Whites are formed. This is one of my favorite books, if not my absolute favorite. T&H find a diamond and try to figure out who could have dropped it. Lots of great moments in this one.
33 - The Mysterious Visitor (Trixie Belden 04) by Julie Campbell
Completed 1/18
3 of 5 stars
We meet pretty Di in this one, who is an ok character. I don’t like her as much as they others. She starts off crappy in this one, but with reason and once she settles down she’s better. Di’s uncle is in town making her miserable, and Trixie doesn’t believe he’s really her uncle and sets out to prove it.
34 – The Mystery off Glen Road (Trixie Belden 05) by Julie Campbell
Completed 1/18
3 of 5 stars
In this one the gang thinks there is a poacher in the woods and they set out to find him and keep the property safe. What she does for Brian and how she does it is pretty awful but what she does is awesome and the moment he finds out is great.
35 - The Mystery in Arizona (Trixie Belden 06) by Julie Campbell
Completed 1/19
2.5 of 5 stars
Not a fan of this one. If I didn’t know better, I would assume this one was the first by the Kathryn Kenny persona. It read like a history report on Arizona and the mystery was boring. Just not enjoyable.
36 – Cruel Crown (Red Queen 0.1-0.2) by Victoria Aveyard
Completed 1/19
3 of 5 stars
I read the first Red Queen in Dec. This is two stories set before the main book. I liked the first book about the former queen. I didn’t care for the second book, it was more boring. Overall, it was good background into the story.
37 – Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics (Lemoncello’s Library 02) by Chris Grabenstein
Completed 1/19
4 of 5 stars
This series is SOOOO cute and fun. For any fan of books about books, even though it’s written for middle grade. In the first book we meet Lemoncello and his fantastic futuristic library during a scavenger hunt. In this one, Kyle and his teammates are defending their title against players who have been chosen to come and play another game in the library.
38 - The Mysterious Code (Trixie Belden 07) by Kathryn Kenny
Completed 1/20
4.5 of 5 stars
My 3rd or 4th favorite of the series just for the ending. It’s so cute, I adore the scene with Trixie, Jim and Spider. In it, the Bob-Whites are threatened to be disbanded, though I’ve never understood how a principal can disband a group of friend who just happen to call themselves a “club”. Makes NO sense. So they BWGs set out to prove their worth by having an antiques sale. Stuff is being stolen and there are people up to no good.
39 – Shipbuilder (Time Travel Journals 01) by Marlene Dotterer
Completed 1/20
4 of 5 stars
This was different and pleasantly enjoyable. It was about a scientist and a young lady who accidently get sent back in time to 1910 (ish). While she’s trying to find work and passing herself off as a boy, she meets Thomas Andrews. She, who has lived in Ireland and studied there, has no clue who he is so the scientist has to fill her in. She wants to tell him about Titanic and they end up doing so to try to change history. Very different, very enjoyable!
40 – Crash & Burn (Cut & Run 09) by Abigail Roux
Completed 1/21
5 of 5 stars
The last Ty & Zane and I don’t want it to end! In this one, everyone shows up as they try to figure out who the traitor is. It wrapped everything up really well, I just don’t want it to end. I want more. Very enjoyable series and characters.
41 – Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk (Nancy Drew 17) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/21
2 of 5 stars
Another boring one. It was annoying that ND could think that she was the only one on the ship with the initials ND. She’s so arrogant. Crappy side characters, boring story.
42 – Project Alpha (Voyagers 01) by D.J. MacHale
Completed 1/22
4 of 5 stars
Really really cute story about 4 kids who compete to go into space to get a substance that will help save the planet. Good challenges to choose the ones who would go, then good stuff that happened once they got going. Really enjoyable for a middle grade book, can’t wait to read more!
43 – The Clue in the Crumbling Wall (Nancy Drew 22) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/22
3 of 5 stars
This one wasn’t quite as dated as the others, just didn’t deal with crazy stuff that supposedly they could have gotten away with back then. ND is trying to find a dance for yet another inheritance.
44 – The Invisible Intruder (Nancy Drew 46) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/22
3 of 5 stars
This one is different because it’s a bunch of shorter things going on as they are on a “ghost hunt” that takes them 4 or 5 different places to find out who is behind the hauntings and why.
45 – The Mysterious Mannequin (Nancy Drew 47) by Carolyn Keene (re-read)
Completed 1/22
3 of 5 stars
ND’s father receives a rug and ND happens to find a message woven into it and she’s on the hunt for a mannequin. I think even back as a kid I figured out what was happening right away, I’d like to think that everyone would, even kids.
46 – The Greek Symbol Mystery (Nancy Drew 60) by Carolyn Keene
Completed 1/23
1.5 of 5 stars
Don’t remember this one at all, and I definitely didn’t like it at all. I think I don’t like ones set outside the normal place, for the most part, because it’s written so differently. This one was supposedly about yet another inheritance but I can’t recall any of it. It sucked.
47 – The Second Super (The First Superhero 01) by Logan Rutherford
Completed 1/23
3.5 of 5 stars
Really enjoyable. This was a story about the 2nd Super Hero and how he came into his powers. Definitely took a lot of ideas from Superman/Smallville (kid learning to use his powers on a farm) but it was enjoyable over all with a good story. Was surprised by the ending and can’t ait to see where it’s going.
48 – The Black Jacket Mystery (Trixie Belden 08) by Kathryn Kenny
Completed 1/23
3 of 5 stars
Meet Dan in this one and even as an adult I think that the adults were the idiots in this one, hiding Dan’s identity from the BWG’s and not telling them what was going on. If they had, they would have tried to make Dan feel welcome, but then there wouldn’t have been a “mystery”. Stupid adults though!
49 – Wonderment in Death (In Death 41.5) by J.D. Robb
Completed 1/23
4 of 5 stars
The latest novella in the In Death series, it had an Alice in Wonderland theme and was quite funny and enjoyable. Typically I only give novellas 3 stars, but I liked this one. Short and sweet. Awesome Dallas covering a crazy murder situation.
50 – No One to Trust (Red Stone Security 01) by Katie Reus
Completed 1/23
3 of 5 stars
Read this one for a short story to get a few last books in to win out the challenge. The MC’s brother gets in trouble and she tries to bail him out, falling under the interest of a drug lord who is out to take her for his own. The other MC tries to protect her. Boring-ish story.
51 – Danger Next Door (Red Stone Security 02) by Katie Reus
Completed 1/23
3.5 of 5 stars
The next in the series, I liked this one more than the first. In this one, a MC moves in next door to the dude MC and she’s being harassed by an ex and someone else as well. Typical romantic suspense, but enjoyable characters.
52 – Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
Completed 1/24
3 of 5 stars
I needed a “J” title for a goal for the challenge (though I never ended up using the goal cuz this book ended up winning the game) so I listened to this on audio featuring Tim Curry. I’ve never read it before and thought it was OK, not great. I did watch the more recent movie, and thought it was pretty boring too. Just too slow moving for me.
My Dec Log ~ only if you are interested
December ~
45 ~ Protecting Summer (SEAL of Protection 04) by Susan Stoker
Completed 12/1
3.5 of 5 stars
Mozart’s story. It was an enjoyable one. Mozart is hunting his sister’s murderer and it leads him to a remote town where he meets Summer working at the place he’s staying. I liked both characters and the storyline as well. The shorter audiobook was what I needed after the mammoth Winter.
46 ~ The Shrunken Head (Curiosity House 01) by Lauren Oliver
Completed 12/2
1.5 of 5 stars
I don’t think this was a BAD story, it just wasn’t for me. I like a lot of MG stuff, but not this one. It was very weird. It read like it was for very very young readers, yet there were deaths and murder in it. It was about a circus type thing set in a store. It just was slow moving and dull and I couldn’t find any interest in it at all.
47 ~ Ten Thousand Skies About You (Firebird 02) by Claudia Gray
Completed 12/3
4.5 of 5 stars
Took me a little while to get into this one. Didn’t like it quite as much as the first, but it was still really enjoyable. I definitely like the series and can’t wait for more. In this one, she has to go to new worlds to find something to help out both Paul and Theo. Good books, if you like parallel worlds stories.
48 ~ Future Shock by Elizabeth Briggs
Completed 12/3
5 of 5 stars
It’s not often I read a time travel book about going to the future, which this one was all about. I definitely really enjoyed it. A lot of stuff going on that I wasn’t sure what was happening, and that’s rare for me. They were sent to go 10 years into the future to see what tech they could bring back, but nothing was what it seemed. A really great book.
49 ~ Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier
Completed 12/4
4 of 5 stars
I’ll read pretty much anything set in an amusement park, and this one was a good one. A new police chief comes to town to a murder and a lot more. She had the task of finding out what happened, where the other missing boys are and doing it all with little to no help from everyone around her. Set in a small park, the story and the characters were really good. I definitely enjoyed it a ton.
50 ~ Contributor by Nicole Ciacchella
Completed 12/5
3 of 5 stars
This one was about this strict world where everyone had a job to do and they did it without thought or question. The MC was in a mini competition for an apprentice job when her mother gets hurt and her perfect image of the life they live is shattered when she finds out that if you can’t work then you are useless and they will kick you out. Lot of weird stuff with it, and it was ok, but not great. Too much crying going on. MC “burst into tears” at least 10 times.
51 ~ Heist by Laura Pauling
Completed 12/7
1 of 5 stars
Worst time travel book I’ve ever read. If I hadn’t needed it for a challenge, I wouldn’t have gotten past 3%. Was about this kid who’s father was in jail and somehow the kid ends up time traveling to what his father was in jail for. Each time he went back in time, he tried to do something different to save his dad, but it would change things, for the worst, in present time. Then the big finale of the book ~ to accept what happened and move on. It was BAAAAAAD. Dunno even how he was able to time travel. It was awful!
52 ~ Marking Time (Immortal Descendants 01) by April White
Completed 12/8
4 of 5 stars
Now here was a GOOD time travelling one, though it did take quite a while for me to get into. I didn’t really like the first half, just because she wasn’t getting any answers and I was feeling frustrated along with her. But then, once it got going, I really did like it a lot. It had a good story, and good characters. In it, Saira finds out that she is part of a time traveling family when she accidently goes back in time to the 19th Century.
53 ~ Alpha (Jad Bell 01) by Greg Rucka
Completed 12/11
4 of 5 stars
Another amusement park book and enjoyable after it got started. It tried to be another book, called Utopia (by Lincoln Child, about to be re-released under a new name) but it definitely was NOT Utopia ~ a great book. This one was ok, but really didn’t get going for me until about 40% in, after that I really liked it. It was about some threats against some parks and the people who knew about it and were there to save everyone.
54 ~ Dark Rising (Alex Hunter 02) by Greig Beck
Completed 12/12
2 of 5 stars
Since I’m up to date on a series by Jeremey Robinson that I love, I have been trying to find similar books. This series sounded so promising but just isn’t good. Gonna give it one more book before I give up completely on it. I do like Alex and the Hawks team but the stories are soooooo dull. It’s supposed to be able this badass special ops team, but they spend too much time elsewhere talking about things and it just doesn’t let the book flow right. Not enjoyable.
55 ~ No Coming Back by Keith Houghton
Completed 12/12
3.5 of 5 stars
Good, but not great, story. Felt no connection to the story or characters, it was just a bit flat, which stinks because I like this author. I was surprised by some things that happened though, and that’s rare for me, so that was a positive. In this on, MC comes back to his hometown after his father falls ill. He hadn’t been back because his girlfriend in high school had disappeared and he was a suspect. It could have been a really good book and some twists were really good. Just didn’t have that extra something to make it great.
56 ~ Protecting Cheyenne (SEAL of Protection 05) by Susan Stoker
Completed 12/13
3 of 5 stars
My favorite of the series so far, but also I got ticked off for an erotica type thing, so I won’t give details to that. I loved the characters, they were the best of the bunch so far, and I also liked the story a ton. Didn’t like the one aspect, but overall, really enjoyable. In this one, Dude is called in for a bomb threat and Cheyenne has had a bomb strapped to her.
57 ~ Marrying Caroline (SEAL of Protection 03.5) by Susan Stoker
Completed 12/14
3 of 5 stars
Spoiler alert ~ Wolf and Caroline get married. LOL! So yeah, this was a short story about their wedding. It was good for what it was. Of course with all them, there has to be some kind of drama, nothing ever goes the way it should.
58 ~ Rewinder (Rewinder 01) by Brett Battles
Completed 12/14
5 of 5 stars
Really enjoyable time travel book. In it, Denny finds out that time travel exists and is trained to go back in time and verify things for those who pay for the service. He finds out that one accident in the past can cause tons of changes for the future and he accidently erases the future he knows and he’s thrown into a different place/time to him. But after time, he realizes that time is better than his former one and he wants to keep it. Really good and enjoyable book.
59 ~ Destroyer (Rewinder 02) by Brett Battles
Completed 12/14
4 of 5 stars
Not quite as good as the first one. Still really enjoyable. In this one, people from his former life have caught up to him and they are trying to figure out who changed the timeline, not knowing it’s him. His friend is taken captive and he’s forced to watch as another person ruins the history of the world he’s in. Very good time traveling series, can’t wait for more.
60 ~ Cut & Run (Cut & Run 01) by Madeline Urban / Abigail Roux
Completed 12/17
4.5 of 5 stars
I believe this was my first M/M book. I’ve read plenty of erotica 3somes (or more) but this was the first just focused on the guys. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the series and decided to give it a try. I had never looked at them before or may have tried it sooner as it was also a romantic suspense with the guys being FBI agents. I ended up really liking it and I’ll definitely continue with the series.
61 ~ Flashpoint (Troubleshooters 07) by Suzanne Brockmann
Completed 12/19
2 of 5 stars
I read books from this series years ago, and read this one for a challenge. I found it sooooo dull and boring. I didn’t like the characters, at all, I didn’t like the storyline at all. The characters and the story were flat and I didn’t have anything invested in them. A shame because I remember liking the other books I’ve read from this series, perhaps my tastes have just evolved too much to enjoy it.
62 ~ A Bad Beginning (Series of Unfortunate Events 01) by Lemony Snicket (re-read)
Completed 12/23
3 of 5 stars
This is a rare re-read for me. I didn’t even want to read it. But for one of the challenges we needed a book read off the “Worst books of all time” list and I was the only one around at the time to do it. Since I already had this on audio, I just decided to go through it again since it’s so short.
63 ~ Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass 02) by Sarah J Maas
Completed 12/23
4 of 5 stars
Liked it better than the first one. It grabbed my attention from the start and it kept my attention. Definitely an enjoyable series and I will read more. In this one, Celaena is trying to find out who is up against the King while trying to figure out what she is supposed to do to stop the King.
64 ~ The Martian by Andy Weir (re-read)
Completed 12/24
5 of 5 stars
I re-read this one because we watched the movie on Christmas and I wanted to listen to it again before we watched it. It was just as wonderful the 2nd time around. I LOVE this book! I only read it this year (back in April I think it was) and it’s still my favorite book of the year, and probably going to creep into my top 5 favorite all time. If you haven’t read it ~ do so! If you only watch the movie ~ read the book! The movie was good, but left out so much and it changed one thing to making it kind of stupid. The book is much better, though the movie is really really good.
65 ~ Sticks & Stones (Cut & Run 02) by Madeline Urban / Abigail Roux
Completed 12/25
3 of 5 stars
2nd in the series, I didn’t like this one NEARLY as much as the first. In this one, they are on vacation in WV but some stuff happens and they are stranded on a mountain with some bad guys. I thought the story as slow moving and dull. I still like the MCs, just the story didn’t interest me at all.
66 ~ Protecting Jessyka (SEAL of Protection 06) by Susan Stoker
Completed 12/27
3.5 of 5 stars
My least favorite so far, sorta. I did really like Jessyka and I liked Benny as well, but the story was emotional and had some triggers so I didn’t like it because of that. All the other books had their moments and a lot of things that could be triggers for others, this one just had mine so I didn’t like it quite as much, but it was still really really good.
67 ~ Red Queen (Red Queen 01) by Victoria Aveyard
Completed 12/27
4 of 5 stars
I chose to read this for a challenge and I was pleasantly surprised by it. People seem to either love it or hate it and I was worried about not liking it, but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. In it, Mare is a Red. Red’s are the ones who are the workers or in the front line of the war while the Silver’s enjoy an easy life and have superhuman powers. Mare finds herself at the castle and things start to get weird. It was quite enjoyable and I do look forward to reading more.
68 ~ Fish & Chips (Cut and Run 03) by Madeline Urban / Abigail Roux
Completed 12/29
4 of 5 stars
MUCH better than the 2nd book. This one they are on a cruise ship, having taken the identities of some bad guys to find out some deals that are happening. Chaos happens. It was a good story from start to finish though I wish they would just start being honest with each other instead of hiding their feelings. It’s starting to come out some, but still not enough.
69 ~ The Final Seven (Lightkeepers 01) by Erica Spindler
Completed 12/29
3.5 of 5 stars
This one is a new series by an author I’ve read a lot by. In this one, they have “Sixers”, which is a group of people with some kind of six sense. They pair one Sixer guy up with a New Orleans cop and they are on the hunt for a killer who is striking on the victim’s birthdays. I marked it as a 3.5 but now that I’m writing this, it was actually pretty unforgettable, so I might need to amend that to a 3.
70 ~ Protecting Melody (SEAL of Protection 07) by Susan Stoker
Completed 12/30
3 of 5 stars
The next to last of this series. I really wanted to like it more as I loved both of the main characters. There were two things I didn’t like about it. One being that they mentioned that they met “6 months ago” probably about 50 times. The other is that the MC and her best friend would “hashtag” to talk, and as I HATE Twitter, I HATED it. It really ruined my enjoyment of what otherwise was a great book.
