In this update, I've completed 5 more bingo squares & blacked out my card- Yay!

For my 'Graphic Novel or Comic Book' square,

I chose Who are the Mystery Men by David Liss- It features pulp-era

characters in Marvel continuity. I'm not a big reader of comic books but I actually liked it.

For my 'Read on Vacation' square,

I chose Ezekiel Boone's The Hatching- It was absolutely fantastic! Well the

vacation actually came to us- we had a "stay-cation" as they say.

Some of our out-of-town relatives & friends stayed for about

two weeks for the July 4th holiday. We did do a day trip out-of-state

one day but for the most part we hung out by the pool and the lake.

For my 'Adapted for the Big Screen' square,

I read Rick Yancey's The Last Star- It's the third book in

The Fifth Wave series which has been Adapted for the big screen.

For my 'Book by a Dead Author' square,

I read The Golden One by Elizabeth Peters- She is one 

of my favorite authors and I wish she was still around to share her

amazing talent & stories. She'll be remembered for years to come I hope!

For my 'Book with a Terrible Cover' square,

I actually had the perfect book for this square but haven't brought myself to

read it yet so I'm substituting another book I read, The Levee by Michael McDowell.

It's creepy and kind of ugly but the other book has it beat by a long-shot. I can't put off reading/reviewing it much longer though so hopefully I can use it for Halloween Bingo.

1. Beach, Sand or Sun on Cover : Boar Island by Nevada Barr

2. New To You Author: Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

3. First Book of a New Series: The Amber Project by J.N. Chaney

4. Adapted for the Big Screen: The Last Star by Rick Yancey

5. A Blast From the Past-Historical Fiction: Brooklyn on Fire by Lawrence H. Levy

6. Graphic Novel or Comic Book: Who are the Mystery Men by David Liss

7. Published June, July or August: Summit by Harry Farthing

8. Comfort Read: In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

9. Read in a Boat, Tent or Cabin: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

10. A Book That's Been on Your Shelf for Over a Year: Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

11. Romance: The Hunt by Megan Shepherd

12. A Book by a Dead Author: The Golden One by Elizabeth Peters

13.       *Free Space*

14. Summer Word in the Title: Ice Station Nautilus by Rick Campbell

15. A Hard Book: In the Hope of Memories by Olivia Rivers

16. Travel-Trains, Planes or Road Trips:  Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin

17. Mystery or Suspense: Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James 

18. Book Bust or Bummer: I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurđardóttir  

19. More Than 400 Pages Long: A Darker Shade of Sorcery by William Collins

20. Favorite Re-Read: Thirteen at Dinner by Agatha Christie

21. YA or Children's Title: Click Here to Start by Denis Markell

22. Space Opera or Other Sci-Fi: Extinction Edge by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

23. Read on Vacation: The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone

24. A Book with a Terrible Cover: The Levee by Michael McDowell

25. Fantasy: Bookburners: Season One-Episode 2 by Brian Francis Slattery

Hosted By: Moonlight Reader

The Levee is the second book in the Blackwater Saga and while I enjoyed it, I liked the first book more. Of course, in the first book everything is new which it makes it more exciting but The Levee also didn't really have as much of the creepiness that I thought the first book had. I felt like this book was more geared toward setting up the playing field for what's to come.

Elinor plays one big role in this book but for the most part all of her scheming is pretty subtle and sly, then she kind of sits back and lets the chips fall where they may. I think we'll be seeing a lot more of her in book three though which I'm really looking forward to.

We were also introduced to a new and rather annoying character, Queenie & her two brats, excuse me, children, Malcolm & Lucille who show up on the Caskey doorstep broke and running from her abusive husband. She is a relative of James Caskey's wife, Genevieve, so he feels obligated to support them in the Caskey lifestyle but if I were him I would have sent her broke, country ass back to Nashville. She is so irritating and the redneck way she talks grates on my nerves but McDowell excels at character development so I wouldn't expect anything less. He's nailed her to a tee. I have this sneaking suspicion too that James Caskey is actually starting to like her now so I'm really hoping that they do not get together in the next book. I can only imagine what the matriarch of the Caskey clan, Mary Love, has to say about it. She likes her about as much as I do....

The Fireman is post-apocalyptic novel about a new highly contagious and very deadly spore that is sweeping the country called Dragonscale. It leaves black & gold marks on the body which will then burst into flames. The story follows Harper, a pregnant nurse, as she endeavors to survive and give birth while being infected with the Dragonscale and The Fireman - a man who has learned to embrace and control his Dragonscale and also wield the fire as a weapon when needed.

I really waited way to long to write this review so my feelings about this book aren't as strong as they would've been if had wrote it right after I finished. My first thoughts though were that it was a pretty long book - almost a little too long. While I enjoyed a lot of it, there were also parts that I thought could have been cut out.

I also thought there wasn't enough research done on a pregnant female because there were quite a few highly unbelievable scenarios featuring a pregnant Harper. I really had to suspend my disbelief quite a bit on that. 

As for what I liked, I really enjoyed Dragonscale as an epidemic. I thought it was a very unique concept and really well developed. It's definitely a concept I haven't seen before in a post-apocalyptic book so I was glad to hear about something new for a change. Also, I listened to the audio version and I thought the narrator did a nice job. If you like audio books this is a good book to listen to.

Uhh I've been sitting on this review, thinking that if I ponder over this book a little longer I'll have a better grip on my feelings but that hasn't happened. I still have mixed feelings about this book and the whole series actually. It had so much potential but I feel like Yancey is his own worst enemy. Sometimes he can write so beautifully, then other times he gets on these tangents and the storyline and dialogue gets so convoluted you don't know what the hell he is going on about. I kept thinking well maybe I'll like it more if I can see it as a movie where I can actually see the story come to life but seeing as The 5th Wave movie didn't do a whole lot for me and The Infinite Sea isn't even greenlit yet I don't have much faith in that happening.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either.  I just felt more of an indifference really. Honestly my last thought when I finished reading this was-

     I'm glad I don't have to hear about that damn bear anymore!!

So if that tells you anything.... Don't have too high expectations and you won't be disappointed...

Let me just say that Elizabeth Peters aka Barbara Michaels/Mertz is one of my all time favorite authors! I absolutely love all of her books but this series is my most favorite because of its ancient Egypt and archaeology theme. Plus I fell in love with Amelia Peabody and her family from book one. It literally has some of everything that I enjoy- exotic locales, mystery, espionage, war, suspense, adventure and travel, archaeology, Egyptology etc.etc. It just resonates with me on so many levels. I'm going to be so sad when I reach the end of the series! I actually stopped reading it a year or so ago because I was getting close to the end and I wasn't ready for that at all, but for one of our Summer Book Bingo squares we had to read a book by an author that has passed away so I figured this was my cue to suck it up and just savor the few remaining books. I'm very glad I did. I've missed their family dynamics and their scheming... 

In this particular book they have just arrived at their home in Luxor, Egypt for an extended stay because the war is on and traveling back to England by ship is too dangerous because of the military submarines. They are working at the site of Deir el Medina; speculation about the possible location a royal tomb is running rampant and British Intelligence is seeking out Ramses for another mission. As always there is never a dull moment and the story is highly entertaining. If you haven't read any of Peters' books yet you should give them a try one day. Just a word of caution though, I would stay away from the audio of this particular series. I don't care for the narrator at all. In my opinion, she doesn't do the series or characters the justice they deserve.