Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II - Finished

Wheel-A-Thon Team Challenge hosted by Novel Books & Reading Challenges on Goodreads.

This was fun as usual. It is not always easy to remember each character in a book in order to spell out a colour. We, as a group, had to spell out different colours using title, author and characters. I read 39 books for this challenge, unfortunately we were nowhere near the winning teams.

About this Challenge
◈ Starts on March 22, 2015 and runs for 8 weeks
◈ The team with the highest points at the end of the 8 weeks wins!
◈ Each week the mods will “spin the wheel" and assign each team a colour name
◈ The team's task is to read books to spell out the colour name for 10 points per letter for books of less than 500 pages and 20 points per letter for books of 500 pages or more
◈ The team will get an extra 15 completion points if all the letters in the colour name are part of their spell-it-out
◈ The team will get an additional 30 bonus points if at least one person in the group reads a book of that colour (the book cover must be about 50% of that colour)
◈ Once teams have read their colour name for the week they can "re-read" the colour name to gain more points (10 points per letter for books of less than 500 pages and 20 points per letter for books of 500 pages or more , but no additional completion points).
◈ BOM bonus: Have a team member write discussion questions for a day of a Book of the Month (BOM) and receive 20 points (limit one BOM bonus per book per team ; that is, if two of your teamies write DQs for the same BOM, you still only get 20 points). NOTE: You can volunteer on the BOM thread to write DQs. If we have more volunteers than days available 3 days prior to the BOM start, then the volunteers will be chosen using a randomizer. If you volunteer and do not write your allocated DQs without notice then you will not be eligible to nominate yourself again for the duration of this challenge
◈ Books must be more than 160 pages in length. Children's books, Graphic Novels, Cookbooks and Poetry books cannot be used unless by word count they can be verified as more than 160 pages
◈Only books read during the specified week can be used (“read date” is what counts, not the day you start.) Books cannot be “banked” from previous weeks to use later in the challenge

How a "spell it out" works
Spell out the word(s) using the first letter in the book's title, the first letter in the author's first or last name, or the first letter of a character's first, last, or nick-name, or the first letter of the series name. As always, if the first letter of a title starts with an indefinite or definite article ('A', 'An', 'The', etc.), you may use the first letter of the second word in the title to spell out your chosen word. If you are listening to an audiobook, the first letter in the narrator's first or last name also can be used

Colours
We are using crayola colours for the wheel, and the “base” colour this responds to are listed under the spoiler
(view spoiler)

Challenge requirements

IMPORTANT: To be a part of this challenge you need to be able to:
◈ Read at least one book per week
◈ Create a special shelf for the challenge for the books you are reading
◈ Check-in on your team's discussion thread at least once per week
◈ Have fun!

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

About Team Captains
There will be no "special twists" for this challenge so your role is pretty easy for this challenge and you just need to:
* help motivate your team to complete the spell-it-out each week
* check that the books are posted within the right time frame and submit each week by posting to the captains group (Posts will be due each week by Sunday at noon, Australian Eastern Standard Time - convert this to your timezone here)

List of books:

1. Opal Fire by Barbra Annino
2. Something to Witch About by Amanda M. Lee
3. Three Girls and a Baby by Rachel Schurig
4. Got A Hold On You by Pat White 
5. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
6. Getting Lucky by Katie Graykowski
7. Wait for the Rain by Maria Murnane
8. Bloodstone by Barbra Annino
9. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
10. Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
11. Sing for Me by Penelope Reece
12. Louisiana Longshot by Jana Deleon 
13. Tastes Like Chicken by Johnny B. Truant
14. The Martian by Andy Weir
15. Girl's Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky
16. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
17. Maids of Misfortune by M. Louisa Locke
18. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
19. THE CHRISTMAS KNITTING BEE by De-ann Black
20. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
21. A Little Love by Amanda Prowse
22. The One Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
23. The Woman In Black by Susan Hill
24. Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs
25. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
26. Hollywood Assassin by M.Z. Kelly
27. Witch Hunt by S.M. Reine
28. Ovenpå er der Stille by Gerbrand Bakker  
29. Malicious Mischief by Lora Young
30. Raw Deal by Mark Henwick 
31. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
32. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
33. Take Three Birds by Jilli Lime-Holt 
34. Weingarten by J. Davis Bly 
35. Penelope by Anya Wylde
36. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
37. Avram Thief of Catland by James Bjorkman
38. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot 
39. The Synchronicity War Part 1 by Dietmar Wehr

The Synchronicity War Part 1 by Dietmar Wehr

After almost a century of peaceful exploration and colonization of space, the United Earth Space Force stumbles across a shockingly xenophobic alien race that has more and better armed ships and refuses all attempts at contact. As the outgunned Space Force is driven back in battle after battle in what appears to be a war of extermination, one officer experiences precognitive visions that help him blunt the enemy onslaught but he can't control or predict when they occur.
With the Senior Brass convinced that he's a tactical genius, he's given more and more responsibility and is terrified by the belief that Humanity's Fate rests on his shoulders. Can he solve the mystery of his precognitive visions before the Human Race plunges into the abyss of total extermination? This is Volume 1 of a military SF series about desperate space battles and the men, women and Artificial Intelligences, who fight and die in them. From Goodreads.




This was good but a bit too technical. I like the main guy Shiloh who gets these visions that help him in battle and also his relationship with the Artificial Intelligences. It kind of ends on a cliffhanger which I wasn't quite ready for and that was a pity.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory - R6: Team Challenge SSS
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Holding out a Hero
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Student Club Roster
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Finding Ginny
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: MASH with a Hufflepuff
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Pensieve
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: the 50 States Amazing Book Hunt
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

'You're not Mia Thermopolis any more, honey,' Dad said. I raised my head. 'I'm not?' I said, blinking. 'Then who am I?' He went, kind of sadly, 'You're Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo, Princess of Genovia.'
A PRINCESS??
ME???
Yeah, right.
One minute Mia's totally normal. Next minute she's heir to the throne of Genovia.
Well, her dad can lecture her until he's royal-blue in the face, but no way is Mia going to behave like some posh princess. And they think she's moving to Genovia? Er, hello? From Goodreads.






I read a lot of YA. This is more a children's book than YA in my opinion. It is sweet enough, quite cute and has some funny parts in it. It is too sweet for me and her daydreaming about being a superstar at the same time as she doesn't want to be a princess is a bit too stupid. I don't think I will read more in this series.

Avram Thief of Catland by James Bjorkman

A Catland Tale. Avram is a thief in an ancient city. He's a good thief. Very good.
One night, though, he finds out that he isn't quite as good as he thinks he is.
Oh, he manages to steal what he was after. But then he realizes there is much more to his prize than he ever imagined.
Much more.
Now, he's on the run from a crazed maniac... forever. From Goodreads.

This was okay. A thief drinks a potion and turns into a cat. A speaking cat who now has to escape.  While he is on the run he meets another like him and he also rescues a Pharaoh on the way. This must be the first in a series as it doesn't really end. Not a cliffhanger, just has to run away from his pursuer again.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Holding out a Hero
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: I Solemnly Swear
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Student Club Roster
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Guess Who?
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Hunger Games
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Amazing Book Race

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I have two weeks. You'll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.
11th October 1943: A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a shot at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.
Devastating, shocking, compelling and inspiring - once read, never forgotten. From Goodreads.

This was very good. Maddie and Julie are very different but they are brought together by the war and become best friends. This book does not end well and I was crying my way through the end of it. I am pleased it didn't end well as that was the way things was in the war. The whole way through you are not in doubt about who is going to die but when it happens it is still shocking. I will at some point read the next book but I am not ready for that just now.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
I love Library books 2015
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Pass The Parcel
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: I Solemnly Swear
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Game of Life
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Pensieve
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: School's Out, Well...Almost
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: MARCHing Through Time
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: I Like Big Books Bonus Club
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Pick One For Me
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Amazing Book Race
Novel Books & Reading Challenges - Baby Got Book

Penelope by Anya Wylde

Penelope Fairweather from rural Finnshire arrives in London with a hopeful heart. The dowager invites her for a season to catch a husband. Unfortunately Penelope's rustic finesse is as delicate as a fat bear ripping apart a honeycomb infested with buzzing bees. Fake mustaches, highwaymen, pickpockets, and a devilishly handsome duke follow. From Goodreads.

A fun romance. There is no surprise in the romance of Penelope but there is a bit of a twist in Anne's love life. A quick read and I would read more of this series.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Pass The Parcel
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Hugh Jackman
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Barreling Through
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Game of Life
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: School's Out, Well...Almost
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Meet a Million Members
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Pick One For Me
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly

Weingarten by J. Davis Bly

At thirty-five years old, Jimmy Russo never believed in ghosts, until the moment he awoke next to his old dead body. Forced to explore this in-between world, he watches as elderly people die natural deaths and receive their arcs of light immediately. He encounters others like himself, ghosts who painfully struggle to find any escape from this realm. Along his journey, Jimmy forms an improbable friendship with one such ghost, a man named Giovanni, whose unexpected death over fifty years ago interrupted a once-in-a-lifetime love affair. With every passing moment, Jimmy believes the key to escaping this in-between world will rest in solving his own murder and the mysterious deaths of others like him. From Goodreads.






I enjoyed this. The main character in this book is a ghost. He needs to figure out why he was killed and hope that he will be able to go into the light after this. But it just doesn't happen. He meets other ghosts and finds out he can communicate with the living.
This was an interesting new take on being a ghost and I will keep an eye out for the continuation.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory - R6: Team Challenge SSS
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Arrival
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Student Club Roster
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: MASH with a Hufflepuff
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Pensieve
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List

Take Three Birds by Jilli Lime-Holt

On a mountaintop in Italy, English writer Jill comes up with an idea – to meet up in the flesh with two other writers she encountered on the internet and has shared many online laughs with. One slight problem is that Janet lives in England and has never flown. Another is that Tottie lives in France and, like a good wine, doesn't travel.
So intrepid Janet boards her first ever flight to meet Jill in Italy and together they embark on a crazy road trip in a twenty-year-old Fiat Punto, to disturb the peace of Tottie's little 'grottage' in France's Auvergne.
When two sixty-somethings and a forty-something meet up, there's lots of laughter and plenty of chatter. But will it turn out to be a lasting friendship or will the Three Birds part company vowing never to meet again? From Goodreads.





This is a memoir about three women meeting up in real life after having gotten to know each other on social media, on an author site. It is a quite funny book about the planning and execution of how and where to meet. Even though they are all British, only one lives in the UK, the others in Italy and France. They plan to meet in France.
My main problem with this book is that they kept hinting at events that have happened in their lives prior to this meeting. Events that have been described in the books they each have published. I think it should say in the blurb to read those books first if you want the full value of this book.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory - R6: Team Challenge SSS
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Arrival
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Barreling Through
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Guess Who?
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Game of Life
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: School's Out, Well...Almost
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: MARCHing Through Time 
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: 2015 Reading Challenge!
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: the 50 States Amazing Book Hunt
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Pick Your Fate Adventure Challenge
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

In the turbulent and mysterious Barcelona of the 1920s, David Martín, a young novelist obsessed with a forbidden love, receives an offer from an enigmatic publisher to write a book like no other before—a book for which "people will live and die." In return, he is promised a fortune and, perhaps, much more.
Once again, the author of The Shadow of the Wind takes us into the gothic universe of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and creates a breathtaking adventure of intrigue, romance, and tragedy, and a dizzingly constructed labyrinth of secrets where the magic of books, passion, and friendship blend into a masterful story. From Goodreads.

This was quite different to what I usually read. There are still immortal characters in it but it is dark and Gothic. There is a love triangle, there is mystery and murder but at a very different level to the light stuff I like. I couldn't read a lot of this but it doesn't mean I didn't like it and I think I will read the first book in The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
I love Library books 2015
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Pass The Parcel
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Arrival
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Quidditch
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: I Solemnly Swear
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Student Club Roster
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Guess Who?
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Harry Potter: The Ultimate Series Tour
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Game of Life
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: School's Out, Well...Almost
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: MARCHing Through Time
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: 2015 Reading Challenge!
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: I Like Big Books Bonus Club
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Meet a Million Members
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: the 50 States Amazing Book Hunt 
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Pick Your Fate Adventure Challenge
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter is due to start his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is desperate to find out why his friends, Ron and Hermione, have been secretive all summer. But before he even gets to school, Harry survives a terrifying encounter with two Dementors, attends a court hearing at the Ministry of Magic and is escorted on a night-time broomstick ride to the secret headquarters of a mysterious group called the Order of the Phoenix. From Goodreads

The books are getting more sinister. Harry is feeling left out as he doesn't know what is happening and even when he gets together with Ron and Hermione it doesn't get better. The really brilliant but very nasty new character in this book is Umbridge who will do anything to keep Fudge as Minister of Magic. She slowly but surely takes over the school.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
2015 Witches & Witchcraft Challenge
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Quidditch
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: I Solemnly Swear
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Student Club Roster
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: MASH with a Hufflepuff
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Game of Life
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: 2015 Reading Challenge!
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: I Like Big Books Bonus Club
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Novel Books & Reading Challenges - Baby Got Book

Raw Deal by Mark Henwick

Prequel to the best-selling Bite Back series.
“I’d lost my entire team, and nearly lost my life. In a way, I had lost my life, and was left with this—a tightrope walk between hunting down creatures people didn’t believe existed, and being locked up as one.”
After a career-ending incident on a covert military operation, Amber Farrell is surprised to find herself back in her home town of Denver working as a rookie policewoman. But what happened in the army casts a shadow across her life from which she will never be free.
The prequel to the Bite Back series introduces Amber Farrell, a kick ass lady with a secret problem—she’s been bitten by a vampire. She’s working hard to start a new life, hold down a job and meet all the expectations put on her. When people start to die suspiciously in Denver, Amber has to decide between duty and instinct, between what she should do and what she must do. From Goodreads



This was good. Amber is a strong character. I like that this is not a typical vampire story. Amber was bitten by a vampire, was supposed to be dead, but is still alive. Nobody knows if or when she is going to turn but the military still lets her get out to hunt vampires, though they are keeping a close eye on her. I have added this series to my ever growing TBR pile of books.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory - R6: Team Challenge SSS
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Game of Life
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Pensieve
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: School's Out, Well...Almost
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Meet a Million Members

Malicious Mischief by Lora Young

Delia Eastman returns home from teachers’ college with two goals: find a teaching position and sidestep her mother’s insistence on finding her a husband. But employers don’t care for women who are smarter than they. Neither do suitors. As she struggles to find her place, she discovers her sleepy Missouri River town has turned into a powder-keg of rivalry between the steamships and the railroads.
Increasingly violent vandalism on the railroad brings her face-to-face with Endy Webster, a handsome trainmaster whose investigation into the crimes leads him to the door of a prominent steamship owner—Delia’s father.
As Delia tries to clear her father’s name, she keeps tangling with Endy. He’s intelligent. He’s charming. And he’s guarding secrets. Thinking he might know more than he’s telling, Delia reluctantly agrees to partner with him to solve the mystery. With the vandalism becoming deadly, they’ll need every scrap of intelligence and logic to stay alive. Working together may not be their first choice, but it might be their last.  From Goodreads.

This is a Christian, historical mystery.  Neither Christian nor historical fiction are genres I read a lot but I liked this one. Yes, there is a lot of mention of going to church and reproach of people using bad language but it was not done in a pushy way and did not get in the way of the story.
I like Delia, the MC of this story. She is quite intelligent and strong and she has her own opinions of things. This gives her problems as she is suppose to be a meek and obedient girl who should only think of getting married. The mystery was good as it was not as it seemed.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: May Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Arrival
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Holding out a Hero
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: I Solemnly Swear
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Game of Life
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Pensieve
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Meet a Million Members
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: the 50 States Amazing Book Hunt
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?

Ovenpå er der Stille by Gerbrand Bakker

When Henk’s twin brother dies in a car accident, Helmer is obliged to return to the small family farm. He resigns himself to taking over his brother’s role and spending the rest of his days ‘with his head under a cow’.
After his old, worn-out father has been transferred upstairs, Helmer sets about furnishing the rest of the house according to his own minimal preferences. ‘A double bed and a duvet’, advises Ada, who lives next door, with a sly look. Then Riet appears, the woman once engaged to marry his twin. Could Riet and her son live with him for a while, on the farm?
The Twin is an ode to the platteland, the flat and bleak Dutch countryside with its ditches and its cows and its endless grey skies. Ostensibly a novel about the countryside, as seen through the eyes of a farmer, The Twin is, in the end, about the possibility or impossibility of taking life into one’s own hands. It chronicles a way of life which has resisted modernity, is culturally apart, and yet riven with a kind of romantic longing. From Goodreads.

This was a rather depressing story. Helmer basically hates his life but has done nothing to change it. He felt a huge loss when he first lost his twin brother to a girl and shortly after lost him completely when he died. The whole book is depressing but in some weird way it is quite interesting too.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
I love Library books 2015
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: All About the Stars
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Meet a Million Members

Witch Hunt by S.M. Reine

A brutal murder.
There are scratches on Cèsar Hawke’s arms, a discharged Glock on his coffee table, and a dead woman in his bathtub. Yeah, maybe he brought the waitress home for some fun — he was too drunk to remember it — but he knows for a fact that he didn’t kill her. He’s an agent with the Office of Preternatural Affairs. He doesn’t hurt people. He saves them.
The cops disagree. Now Cèsar is running.
The search for a shaman.
Isobel Stonecrow speaks with the dead…for the right price. She brings closure to the bereaved and heals broken hearts. But when she resurrects someone for the wrong client, she ends up on the OPA’s most wanted list.
One risky solution.
Tracking down Isobel is the last case assigned to Cèsar before he bolts. If he finds her, he can prove that he didn’t kill that waitress. He can clear his name, get his job back, and bring justice to the victim.
She’s just one witch. Cèsar has bagged a dozen witches before.
How hard can one more be? From Goodreads.

I liked this, I liked that I did not know who the bad guys were till quite late. Cèsar Hawke runs fom the law, which means his own colleagues, to prove his innocence. But as soon as he finds out he actually did kill somebody he turns himself in, to his boss. Not everything is as it seem and when both demons, necromancer, witches and other paranormal creatures are involved it is not easy to find the culprits.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
2015 Witches & Witchcraft Challenge
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: All About the Stars
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List

Hollywood Assassin by M.Z. Kelly

Things could be worse for LAPD Detective Kate Sexton. Okay, so her ex-husband cheated on her and the DVD of his indiscretions made the rounds of the entire department, she’s broke and living above an appliance store with her canine partner Bernie who is a sexual predator, her British friend Natalie has a vocabulary that would make Howard Stern blush, and her mother is hallucinating about having sex with a dead president.
But things could be worse . . . like Kate could be stalked by a sadistic serial killer while she tries to solve a thirty year-old murder and save the life and reputation of a cop wanted for the crime. Come to think of it, maybe things couldn’t get any worse because this is Kate’s life.
Can Kate Sexton elude the killer, solve the cold case, keep Bernie's sexual wanderlust in check, keep her best friend under control, save a cop from death row, and find love again? Only time, loads of trouble, and tons of laughs will tell. Hollywood Assassin has more twists and turns than a car chase on Sunset Strip with a Hollywood starlet at the wheel.  From Goodreads.

This was okay. There were interesting bits in it and there were also funny episodes but there was also too much violence and people getting away with crime for thirty years. Though this was okay it did not make me want to continue the series.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: April Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: MARCHing Through Time
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Meet a Million Members

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

A SACRED OATH
A FALLEN ANGEL
A FORBIDDEN LOVE
Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.
But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life. From Goodreads.

I didn't like this book much. I don't understand why the male protagonist has to be a horrible, arrogant jerk and then end up being the extreme good guy. None of the characters in this book were the least bit interesting. There is no way I will continue this series. 

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
I love Library books 2015
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Pass The Parcel
The Challenge Factory - R6: Team Challenge SSS
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: April Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: All About the Stars
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Holding out a Hero
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: MARCHing Through Time
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Meet a Million Members
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Pick Your Fate Adventure Challenge 

Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs

The Alpha and Omega novels transport readers into the realm of the werewolf, where Charles Cornick and Anna Latham embody opposite sides of the shifter personality. Now, a pleasure trip drops the couple into the middle of some bad supernatural business...
For once, mated werewolves Charles and Anna are not travelling because of Charles's role as his father's enforcer. This time, their trip to Arizona is purely personal - or at least it starts out that way . . .
Charles and Anna soon discover that a dangerous Fae being is on the loose, replacing human children with simulacrums. The Fae's cold war with humanity is about to heat up - and Charles and Anna are in the cross fire. From Goodreads.







Good to be back in Mercy's world. This is the fourth book in the Alpha & Omega series about Anna and Charles and these books can't be read out of order.
Again Anna shows the strength an Omega wolf possesses and Charles shows he will do everything to protect Anna and all other wolves including their families, even if they are not in his own pack.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
2015 Witches & Witchcraft Challenge
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: April Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Hugh Jackman
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Holding out a Hero
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Meet a Million Members
Crazy Challenge Connection Read your age
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Spring Into Horror 2015
Dewey's Read-a-Thon April 2015

The Woman In Black by Susan Hill

Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor in London, is summoned to Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, and to sort through her papers before returning to London. It is here that Kipps first sees the woman in black and begins to gain an impression of the mystery surrounding her. From the funeral he travels to Eel Marsh House and sees the woman again; he also hears the terrifying sounds on the marsh.
Despite Kipps’s experiences he resolves to spend the night at the house and fulfil his professional duty. It is this night at Eel Marsh House that contains the greatest horror for Kipps. Kipps later discovers the reasons behind the hauntings at Eel Marsh House. The book ends with the woman in black exacting a final, terrible revenge. From Goodreads.





Another Horror book that I didn't find particularly scary. At least it was slightly scarier than The Haunting of Hill House and I felt sorry for Arthur that the ghost followed him.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
I love Library books 2015
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: April Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: All About the Stars
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
Crazy Challenge Connection Read your age
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Spring Into Horror 2015
Dewey's Read-a-Thon April 2015 

The One Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

After a long and eventful life Allan Karlsson is moved to a nursing home to await the inevitable. But his health refuses to fail and as his 100th birthday looms a huge party is planned. Allan wants no part of it and decides to climb out the window... Charming and funny; a European publishing phenomenon.
Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home, Allan Karlsson is waiting for a party he doesn't want to begin. His one-hundredth birthday party to be precise. The Mayor will be there. The press will be there. But, as it turns out, Allan will not . . .
Escaping (in his slippers) through his bedroom window, into the flowerbed, Allan makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving a suitcase full of cash, a few thugs, a very friendly hot-dog stand operator, a few deaths, an elephant and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, Allan's earlier life is revealed. A life in which - remarkably - he played a key role behind the scenes in some of the momentous events of the twentieth century. From Goodreads.

I wasn't wild about this book. The part in present day was okay and interesting though it at times was a bit too unrealistic and fantastical. I didn't like the historical part about Allan meeting all these different Heads of States and making himself invaluable to them, it seemed a bit too easy for him to get near them. A bit too political for me.

A Little Love by Amanda Prowse

Everybody needs a little love in their lives...
Pru Plum is the celebrated owner of a famous Mayfair bakery. She wears Chanel and her hair is expensively cut. Few would believe that this elegant woman turned sixty-six last year.
But Pru is not the confident, successful businesswoman she appears. She has done shameful things to get to where she is today. And she will do anything to protect the secrets of her past - especially when, for the first time in her life, she has finally fallen in love...
From bestselling author Amanda Prowse, this is a story about love, loss and lies - and finding happiness before it's too late. From Goodreads.






This was good and it was quite enjoyable that the MC was in her sixties. This also meant she had a past and that comes back to haunt her when she finds the love of her life. Pru and her cousin Milly has done what they needed in their youth to get to where they are now.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory - R6: Team Challenge SSS
Novel Books & Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon II
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: April Challenges
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: The Arrival
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Barreling Through
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: I Solemnly Swear
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Guess Who?
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Diagon Alley Supply List
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Spring Into Horror 2015