DNF: The Medium by CJ Archer

Author: CJ Archer

Title: The Medium

Series: Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy #1

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Paranormal Romance, Historical Fiction

Format: ebook

Pages: 261

Published: June 30, 2012

Where I got It: My shelf (Amazon)

Summary: 

Seventeen year-old spirit medium Emily Chambers has a problem. Actually, she has several. As if seeing dead people isn't a big enough social disadvantage, she also has to contend with an escaped demon and a handsome ghost with a secret past. And then there's the question of her parentage. Being born an entire year after her father's death (yes, a year) and without the pale skin of other respectable English ladies, Emily is as much a mystery as the dead boy assigned to her.

Jacob Beaufort's spirit has been unable to crossover since his death. It might have something to do with the fact he was murdered. Or it might not. All he knows is, he has been assigned by the Otherworld's administrators to a girl named Emily. A girl who can see and touch him. A girl who released a shape-shifting demon into the mortal realm. Together they must send the demon back before it wreaks havoc on London. It should be a simple assignment, but they soon learn there's nothing simple when a live girl and a dead boy fall in love.

Review:

This won the vote for DNF 2nd Chance. I was excited to give it another chance. It just sounds SO good. 

Whelp....

This just isn't for me, I guess. I got a couple of pages further than when I tossed the towel last time. 

Jacob was nice enough, and he was kinda cool. Emily? Eh. 

I just didn't care enough to push through and see how it all ends. I tried, though, but just not the book for me. 

DNF still. Bummer.

DNF Second Chance Announcement

The votes are in for our DNF Second Chance! 

I will try and get started on this in before the end of spring! 

Rules:

- The book must be sitting on the DNF shelf for at least one year. Time heals wounds...right?

- Honor the poll choice (if you do a polling)

- Read at LEAST 125 pages before giving up. 

- Be completely and utterly honest

- If it is a physical book and it was another DNF...the book must be rehomed. 

If you want to do this idea for yourself, please feel free. You can change the rules and etc. :) 

DNF Second Chance Poll - Add Your Vote!

It is that time again to give another book another chance! If you want to get in on the action, please feel free! 

Rules:

- The book must be sitting on the DNF shelf for at least one year. Time heals wounds...right?

- Honor the poll choice (if you do a polling)

- Read at LEAST 125 pages before giving up. 

- Be completely and utterly honest

- If it is a physical book and it was another DNF...the book must be rehomed. 

Click HERE to vote!

Voting ends 5pm est 3/23.

**If the link doesn't work, just put your vote in the comments. I'm testing out Google's poll. 

Book Review: The Charm School by Susan Wiggs

Author: Susan Wiggs

Title: The Charm School

Series: The Calhoun Chronicles #1

Genre: Historical Romance

Format: ebook

Pages: 384

Published: April 1, 1999

Where I got It: Borrowed from library

Summary: 

As the ballrooms of 1800s America glitter, romance is afoot...

Boston and Rio de Janeiro, 1851

An awkward misfit in an accomplished family, Isadora Peabody yearns to escape her life as a wallflower in Boston society. Fate intervenes when she learns that a ship bound for Rio de Janeiro is in need of an interpreter—a pursuit she very much enjoys. The only problem? The surly and handsome captain is adamantly opposed to a woman taking the role.

Sea captain Ryan Calhoun used to have a good family name. But he’d purposely walked away from everything it afforded him, driven by his quest to right an old wrong. When he finds himself falling for the meek young woman who comes aboard his ship, he’s determined to stay away from her—if only to keep her out of his secretive, dangerous plans.

As the tides of attraction flow between them, Ryan and Isadora must risk it all for love. For a true lady must learn to speak her mind, and Isadora is ready to put her newfound charms to the test.

Review:

This was voted for our DNF 2nd Chance challenge. I try to do this challenge twice a year, because sometimes a book (like some people) deserves a second chance. 

Isadora is awkward and a misfit in an accomplished family. She is nothing but a wallflower in the society of Boston. Fate has a funny way of intervening, and she finds herself on a ship bound to Rio de Janeiro as an interpreter. Everything seems golden.....except for the surly and handsome captain. Ryan used to have a good family name, but he walked away to right an old wrong. Isadora is something he wants to avoid so he can keep his secretive and dangerous plan...well...a secret. Attraction and lust have other plans for them though. 

I still don't get what the title means. There is no school. Ryan doesn't do much to teach her. Is it the boat? Is it the sea? Is Isadora self-teaching? Beh. 

Ryan is meh. 

Isadora is meh. 

Their chemistry seems forced and I just can't buy it even at the end. I did enjoy some of their quips though. I actually chuckled a bit.

The locations are the best part of the story! So refreshing, but sadly I still didn't warm up to these two as a couple. 

I managed to get to the end just so I could see the hows and whys. Morbid curiosity I guess.

All-in-all, I DID finish this so I can safely say it is a slight win for the DNF 2nd Chance challenge. However, my opinion barely changed. I'll give it a bonus star for the locations and the quips. 2 stars from me.  

Favorite Character(s): the boat

Least Favorite Character(s): Isadora's family.

 Challenge(s):

- Library love #10

2nd DNF Second Chance Announcement!

The votes are in for our 2nd DNF Second Chance! It was a tight race!!! But it won by a couple of votes

I will try and get started on this in before the end of spring! 

Again...here are my self-imposed rules: 

- The book must be sitting on the DNF shelf for over a year. Time heals wounds...right?

- Honor the poll choice

- Read at LEAST 125 pages before giving up. 

- Be completely and utterly honest

- If it is a physical book on my shelf and I DNF it again, I MUST rehome it.

If you want to do this idea for yourself, please feel free. You can change the roles and etc. :) 

2nd Chance Time! Cast Your Vote!

It is that time again to give another book another chance! If you want to get in on the action, please feel free! 

Rules:

- The book must be sitting on the DNF shelf for at least one year. Time heals wounds...right?

- Honor the poll choice (if you do a polling)

- Read at LEAST 125 pages before giving up. 

- Be completely and utterly honest

- If it is a physical book and it was another DNF...the book must be rehomed. 

Click here to vote!

If the link doesn't work, just put your vote in the comments. I'm trying a new polling system this year. 

Reading Challenge Update & Book Stats

 

It's that time of the year again! Let's take a look at how I did throughout the year with reading!

Reading Challenges

Goodreads - 130/130 Completed

Romance Reading Challenge - 25/25 Completed

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge - 25/16-25 Completed

LIBRARY LOVE CHALLENGE - 37/24 Completed

AUDIOBOOK CHALLENGE - 61/50+ Completed

DNF 2nd Chance - 2/2 Completed

Audiobook Review: Lucky in Love by Carolyn Brown

Author: Carolyn Brown
Narrator: Brian Hutchinson

Title: Lucky in Love
(Lucky #1)

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Western
Pages: Audiobook
Published: January 1st 2009
Where I Got It: My shelf (Audible)

Summary: 

Beau hasn't got a lick of sense when it comes to women

Everything hunky rancher -Lucky- Beau Luckadeau touches turns to gold--except relationships. He's gone and lost track of the woman of his dreams, and now he's got himself tied up with a gold-digger...

Milli can mend a fence, pull a calf, or shoot a rattlesnake between the eyes

When spitfire Milli Torres shows up to help out at the Lazy Z ranch, she's horrified to find that her nearest neighbor is Beau Luckadeau--the very man she'd hoped never to lay eyes on again. And if Beau ever figures out what really happened on that steamy Louisiana night when they first met, there'll be the devil to pay...

Review: 

This one was voted for our DNF Second Chance. Finally got myself to reopen the book and start over. 

Beau and Milli are our couple here. Beau has a lot of luck in a lot of things, but love? Nope. One day in Louisiana he had found the woman of his dreams, but he woke up from a drunk night and questioned if she even existed. That woman was Milli. It was a one night stand after a terrible break up. There was something about Beau but she had to leave. Time went on and the two are reunited when fighting over a cow.  

This 2nd go around I actually did finish the book. *pats back* So proud. I pushed through even with the dumb-dumbs. 

Let's be fair. I'm not mad at Beau. He's dumb, but harmless. 

I'm still mad at Milli. They say she is stubborn but I call her a fool and selfish. A selfish little girl. I forgave her for not looking for Beau. She didn't know too much about him. But after they ran into each other? When she realized he was the papa to her baby? She should've been honest with him especially when he broke up with that gold-digger. I get keeping it to herself while he was engaged. Sure....maybe. But the moment he was free....you gotta tell him. Honestly she should've told him as soon as possible even when he was taken, but I get the hestitation....kinda.....

I won't forgive her for her selfish, "but she's MY child" attitude. You kept that baby from him and would've kept that lie until it was forced open. SELFISH. She wasn't thinking of her kid. Just herself. GAH. Millie is the worst. 

But yes, I did finish it. When Millie wasn't being a child, I did enjoy myself. Especially the last quarter of the book. 

The narrator is amazing. Perfect voices. 

All-in-all, I'm glad this was voted for a re-do, but I still had some major issues. Everyone was still dumb, but I could forgive them all. I just can't get over how selfish and foolish Millie was though. Gah. I'll give this 2 stars. 

ONE WORD SUMMARY: Frustrating

Challenge(s):

- Audiobook #55

Reading Challenge Update

 

October is nearly over. I'll be traveling over the weekend and next week I'll be a busy bee....soooo I'll do the update now! We are nearly done with the year. A couple of months left to finish these challenges. 

Here is what I have read between Jan 1st - Oct 23rd 

Reading Challenges

Goodreads -  102 out of 143  130 (yesss I lowered it. This year has been a mess). Here are some recent ones I've finished! :D

Romance Reading Challenge -  25 out of 25. All done! Weeeee!

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge- 22 out of 16 done! Blasted past the goal!

LIBRARY LOVE CHALLENGE - 28 out of 24 borrowed and finished. Weeee another challenge completed! 

AUDIOBOOK CHALLENGE - 49 out of 50 done. One more! Here are some of my recent ones. 

DNF Second Chance -  I still need to do our 2nd one of the year. It keeps getting pushed to the back burner. Maybe it will be a November read or I could save it for December....Xmas is full of good will and forgiveness and love....right? 

But one is done. Here is the link to the review. I actually did like it more than the first time around! :)  

2nd DNF Second Chance Announcement

The votes are in for our 2nd DNF Second Chance! And we had a clear winner this time around!

I will try and get started on this in before the end of summer (maybe a July read)! 

Again...here are my self-imposed rules: 

- The book must be sitting on the DNF shelf for over a year. Time heals wounds...right?

- Honor the poll choice

- Read at LEAST 125 pages before giving up. 

- Be completely and utterly honest

- If it is a physical book on my shelf and I DNF it again, I MUST rehome it.

If you want to do this idea for yourself, please feel free. It might become a thing going forward. We'll see how book 1 goes ;) 

DNF 2nd Chance Time! Cast Your Vote!

I think it is time to give another book another chance! If you want to get in on the action, please feel free! 

Rules:

- The book must be sitting on the DNF shelf for over a year. Time heals wounds...right?

- Honor the poll choice

- Read at LEAST 125 pages before giving up. 

- Be completely and utterly honest

- If it is a physical book on my shelf and I DNF it again, I MUST rehome it.

Here are some books I am willing to give another chance. Cast your vote on what you would like me to give another try!

DNF Second Chance Announcement!

After the votes, it turned out we had a 4-way tie. Eeee. So I decided to do a wheel spin...yess....leaving it up to the Fate. 

Here is our first-ever DNF Second Chance pick!

I will try and get started on this in February! 

Again...here are my self-imposed rules: 

- The book must be sitting on the DNF shelf for over a year. Time heals wounds...right?

- Honor the poll choice

- Read at LEAST 125 pages before giving up. 

- Be completely and utterly honest

- If it is a physical book on my shelf and I DNF it again, I MUST rehome it.

If you want to do this idea for yourself, please feel free. It might become a thing going forward. We'll see how book 1 goes ;) 

Second Chance for an Old DNF??

Second chance means: "An opportunity to try something again after failing one time"

One of my goals this year is to give one or two DNFs a second chance. New year, new me...right? Like people, sometimes they need a second chance. I went back to some of my oldest DNFs here in blogland.

Here are some self-imposed rules I have made: 

- The book must be sitting on the DNF shelf for over a year. Time heals wounds...right?

- Honor the poll choice

- Read at LEAST 125 pages before giving up. 

- Be completely and utterly honest

- If it is a physical book on my shelf and I DNF it again, I MUST rehome it.

What DNF Deserves a Second Chance?

Her Perfect Mate by Paige Tyler The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly Twin Souls by K.A Poe

Love on the Range by Sondra Grey Royal Exile by Fiona McIntosh

Created with PollMaker

If there is a book I DNFed in the past that you think I should give a second chance to, put it in the comments! I plan to do at least 2 of these second chances this year, so maybe next time I will include the book you want on our next poll!