2013 Book Bingo Reading Challenge

The goal of this challenge is to try to read as many books as possible and make a bingo and possibly a blackout.
The board looks like this:


For more of the challenge rules click here. I don't plan on actually making a complete cover of the board, but I am going to try to read as many books as possible for this challenge. Since you can use books for other challenges, I should be able to make a horizontal BINGO if nothing else. I may try for the square as well, because there are several books I need to get off my TBR pile and several books I would love to re-read.
Thanks to Anne from Creativity’s Corner and Kristilyn from Reading in Winter for hosting!





 

Ten by Gretchen McNeil

This is my first read for the New Authors Challenge and my retelling read for my first Classic Double challenge.

When you are invited to Jessica Lawrence's party, you don't say no. When Meg and her best friend Minnie receive invitations to go to a weekend long party at Jessica's parents' island house, Minnie is excited and Meg is a bit apprehensive. Meg knows Jessica does not like her, because she stole Minnie away when they were in the 7th grade, but she is willing to do anything for Minnie. When the two arrive on the island they meet the other guests, including Meg and Minnie's crush TJ and Jessica's new boytoy, Ben. There is also Minnie's ex Gunner and his new girlfriend Kumiko, a prissy girl named Vivian, Lori, who is a singer, and two gamer guys, Nathan and Kenny. When it is announced Jessica will not arrive until the next day, the ten decide to make the most of it. They decide to watch a DVD, but find only one in the house. It plays a creepy video and at the end announces Vengeance is Mine! The ten think it is just a practical joke, but then someone dies and as more deaths occur, it is up to Meg to figure out who is stalking the guests and just exactly what crimes they committed. Is someone else on the island or is there a madman in their midst? This twist on the Agatha Christie story will have you wondering if there will really be none at they end.

I loved this twist on the classic story. I am in the middle of the Christie novel, And Then There Were None and McNeil's flowed just as quickly as Christie's. I will make comparisons to the two in another post, but I am impressed with the similar writing styles. Ten was extremely hard to put down and I felt like the characters were well-developed. I know I gasped out loud at some of the scenes and loved trying to figure out the mystery with Meg.

Favorite Character: Meg. Meg is loyal to Minnie, but also not strong enough to really help her. Meg is a little too critical of herself at times, but she is smart and resourceful. She really grows at the end of the story and I thought her relationship with TJ was believable.

Favorite Quote: "I'll just read the first page, Meg said to herself. To find out who the owner is. No harm in that." I think this shows Meg's curiosity well and really anyone's when they find a diary.

This reminded me so much of the spooky teen horror movies I watched throughout high school, but in a good way! It was cleverly paced and the characters and suspense were great. Definitely 5 cups of cocoa! This was the perfect way to start off this year's reading!

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

This is the first book in the series of the same name. Rose Hathaway's job is to guard Lissa Dragomir, the last of the Dragomir line. In order to do this, Rose has fled with Lissa, but is caught by other guardians, including Dimitri who is Lissa's assigned guardian. Lissa is a Moroi, a full vampire, and the Moroi are hunted by the Strigoi, who are immortal vampires who kill humans and Moroi to maintain their immortality. Rose is a Dhampir, a vampire/human hybrid, who has the extra strength of vampires, but without needing blood to survive. Lissa and Rose seem to have a special bond; Rose can sense Lissa's emotions and at times enter her thoughts. Rose wants to keep Lissa away from the mysterious Christian, whose parents were Strigoi, but he was not turned. Keeping the two apart proves as difficult as keeping her own feelings for Dimitri at bay. Rose will do anything to protect Lissa and when she fears Lissa may be target for her special abilities, Rose will put her own life on the line to save her.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! It has forbidden romance, (Rose and Dimitri, and to a lesser extent Lissa and Christian), action and complex relationships. It was also well-written and had some great sarcastic humor. I thought it would be just another vampire story, but it was a little something different. I loved the relationship between Rose and Lissa and their codependence on each other. Lissa is Rose's moral compass and Rose is Lissa's rock.

Favorite Character: Actually I loved both Rose and Lissa. They have a complex friendship, but they are loyal to each other no matter what. Rose is all sarcasm and bravado, while Lissa is fragile, but fierce.

Favorite Quote: "None of the bravado he usually showed was there. I guess there was "usually" and then there was being held in the grip of a really ripped, really tall, and really pissed-off Russian guy."

With plenty of suspense and a little romance, this was a quick and fun read! I definitely want to pick up Frostbite soon. 4.5 cups of cocoa!

Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon

Since I had fun doing the last read-a-thon, I thought this one looked like fun too! It is a no pressure, relaxed week in which you try to read books on your TBR lists and/or as I am going to do, books that are for all the different challenges I signed up for this year. I know I want to read The Goddess Inheritance and Mind Games this week, but I am not for sure what else I will add just yet. Thanks to Michelle @ The True Book Addict and Castle Macabre for hosting! The signup page is here.

My books for this week will be The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn, The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter, Mind Games by Kiersten White, and Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa. I will probably read from Red Garden by Alice Hoffman, when I want a YA break. I don't plan on finishing all these books, but I will try for around 50 pages a day.

Reading Stack #27

I hope to finish Jinx by the end of this week for my Random Read. I am also reading And Then There Were None for my Classics Double Pairing. I want to add two more books to the list, but they may have to wait until next week. I have The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter and Mind Games by Kiersten White waiting on my Kindle for me to read them and I really, really want to start them both! Hopefully I find some time this weekend. I also have to finish the reviews for Vampire Academy and Ten! What are you reading this week?

Floors by Patrick Carman

Floors is the first book in the Floors series and takes place in the Whippet Hotel. Merganzer D. Whippet's father left him with an interesting legacy. He is supposed to create wacky inventions and be good at it. Merganzer spent most of his time inventing strange and fabulous rooms in the Whippet Hotel. At the beginning of the story, Whippet has disappeared for over 100 days and on the 100th day, Leo, the son of the maintenance man finds a box in the duck elevator. One of Leo's job, since Mr. Whippet's disappearance is to walk the ducks who live on the top of the Whippet Hotel. The ducks are led by Betty, who is both smart and troublesome. Leo hides the box from everyone, but the new bellboy Remi sees it. Leo opens the box and learns about the wonders of the Whippet Hotel and cautiously includes Remi in the mystery left for him by Mr. Whippet. Leo must find all the boxes and solve the mystery or it could mean the end of the Whippet Hotel.

Full of zany characters and fantastic rooms, Floors is a great middle grades read. I loved meeting all the long-term residents, including the cape-wearing Captain Rickenbacker and Lillian Pompadore and her dog Hiney. Also how cool would it be to live in a hotel with a Pinball machine Room and a Cake Room!

Favorite Character: Leo. Leo is open to adventure and actually really responsible. He helps his dad with the maintenance duties, but still has fun just like any boy. He is also protective of his dad and thoughtful of others' feelings.

Favorite Quote: "You guys can team up all you want." Remi smiled. "But if there is a Cake Room in the place, I'll find it." This sounds exactly like me and I am fantasizing about a Cake Room now. Lemon cake with lemon icing or chocolate cake with chocolate icing would do nicely!

I though this was a fun and quirky story. I get to review the audio of 3 Below for School Library Journal, so I wanted to read/listen to the first one before I began the second. 4 cups of cocoa!

Bout of Books Wrap-up Post

 

I was able to finish Floors by Patrick Carman, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, and Ten by Gretchen McNeil! I am 3/4 of the way through Jinx by Sage Blackwood and I started And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie last night. I read 629 pages total, which is at least double if not triple the number of pages I usually read in a week! I finished five challenges and found 8 new blogs to follow, which is more than the 5 new blogs and 2 challenges that I planned on, so that is great. I think it was a pretty successful read-a-thon! I can't wait until the next time.
Thanks again to Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal for hosting!