Halloween Bingo 2018 | Update #6 - That Elusive First Bingo!

Halloween Bingo 2018

hosted by Moonlight Reader and Obsidian Blue

I wasn't really going to put up another update yet, at least not until either Sunday or Monday.  The household has been pretty busy these past few days--just a lot of family stuff going on.  I'm surprised I've even been able to make time to read anything.  But I had a little extra time this morning and decided to start this post.

Five more days until the end of Halloween Bingo 2018!  Honestly, aside from the fact that I'm not sure I'll actually get a Blackout this year, I'm actually much more impressed with how quickly I combed through books this month just for Bingo.  The comparison is crazy--I read a total of eight books in September, with only six of them actually being for Halloween Bingo.  This month, I decided to focus solely on Bingo books, and somehow managed to make it pretty far.  I've pretty much doubled my number from last month, with hopefully more to be finished.

I have four books left to finish reading, two that I'm currently reading and two I have yet to start.  I had had a notion to just start all four of them and see which one gets finished first... but I decided to pace myself and simply try to read one at a time.

I'm almost finished with Spinning Silver for A Grim Tale square.  Then I'll be hopping into Small Town Spin, which I already started randomly a couple days ago, but have only been reading a couple paragraphs here and there when I have a little extra time between working and socializing.  I've been spending my extra free time--and as in "free time" I mean those hours right before you go to bed when you really should be winding down and getting to sleep--reading Spinning Silver.

I'm hoping to start Midnight Blue-Light Special and The Haunted Hotel this weekend.  Since I loved Discount Armageddon so much, I'm hoping to gobble the second book in the InCryptids series right up.  I recently decided that Midnight Blue-Light Special will be my Creepy Raven Free Space book, mainly because I just really want to read this book.

Meanwhile, I DID manage to get my very first--and only--Bingo so far.  It is the second row down, and I drew a green line through it.  I realize that my Bingo card this year is a bit lacking compared to Penni and her laser eyes last year.  My goal when the new year starts will be to come up with a new Bingo card marking plan.  Yes, I am just nerdy enough to start planning this far in advance.

Anyway, when I finish Spinning Silver, hopefully before the night is over, I should have one more Bingo.  At this late point in the game, there is only one other square not on my card that hasn't been called yet, so my chances of getting more Bingos rolling in is pretty much a given.

Updated Marked Card:

So after much deliberation, I've decided to really personalize my card this year... and also because I just couldn't resist using this recent picture of our family dog.  I present to everyone the marker that will depict all of my Called Squares:

Dino Baby!  Rawr!

And that is the extent of my creativity this year... along with that tedious visual you see when you scroll down.  Because the markers for my Read Squares will simply by a book cover to set to the left  side of the square as Dino Baby roars at it from the right side of the square.

Currently Reading:

FOR

FOR

Squares/Books/Called Dates/Update Post Links:

Progress on my card:  22 squares called || 21 books read || 19 squares completed

Squares called that I do not have:
09/15/18 - Modern Masters of Horror
09/25/18 - Amateur Sleuth
09/29/18 - Supernatural
10/17/18 - Fear the Drowning Deep
10/21/18 - Country House Mystery

Halloween Bingo 2018: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Report Your Bingos!

October Group Read | Discussion Thread -- Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

Halloween Bingo 2018 | Update #1
It's Monday! Plus a Halloween Bingo Update, Just Because... | 09/17/2018
Halloween Bingo 2018 | Update #2
Halloween Bingo 2018 | Book Rambles at Mid-game
Halloween Bingo 2018 | Update #3
Halloween Bingo 2018 | Update #4
Halloween Bingo 2018 | Update #5

*And also, when I've posted them, the book covers will link to my reviews.

Called:  10/01/18 Read:  10/19/18	Called:  09/21/18 Read:  10/23/18	Called:  10/09/18 Read:	Called: 09/09/18 Read:  10/05/18	Called: 10/05/18 Read:  09/18/18
~*~*~*~
Called: 09/05/18 Read:  10/11/18	Called: 09/03/18 Read:  10/14/18	Called:  09/27/18 Read:  10/13/18	Called: 09/17/18 Read:  10/22/18	Called:  10/19/18 Read: 09/03/18
~*~*~*~
Called: 09/01/18 Read:	Called: 09/23/18 Read:  10/17/18	Called: Read:	Called:  09/19/18 Read:  10/01/18	Called: Read:  10/09/18
~*~*~*~
Called:  10/25/18 Read:  10/11/18	Called:10/11/18 Read:  10/06/18	Called:  10/07/18 Read:  10/17/18	Called:  10/23/18 Read:  09/27/18	Called:  09/13/18 Read:
~*~*~*~
Called:  10/13/18 Read:  09/24/18	Called:  09/11/18 Read:  10/22/18	Called:  10/03/18 Read:  09/22/18	Called: Read: 09/06/18	Called: 09/07/18 Read:  10/22/18
Halloween Bingo 2018 Ani's Book Abyss

Wild Card Author:

I haven't decided which author to use as my Wild Card yet, but I've been considering using Nora Roberts, as she is a writer of a lot of crime thrillers, romantic suspense, and supernatural, including the Circle trilogy I've chosen for this year's bingo.

Other authors I'm also considering are: Susanna Kearsley, who writes Gothic with a bit of supernatural; Elizabeth Peters, who has a lot of cozy mysteries; or another obvious option, Agatha Christie!

Thoughts: Desperate Girls

Desperate Girls

by Laura Griffin
Book 1 of Wolfe Security

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  4.0 Stars

Defense attorney Brynn Holloran is right at home among cops, criminals, and tough-as-nails prosecutors.  With her sharp wit and pointed words, she has a tendency to intimidate, and she likes it that way.  She’s a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom, but in her personal life, she’s a mess.

When a vicious murderer she once helped prosecute resurfaces and starts a killing spree to wipeout those who put him behind bars, one thing becomes clear: Brynn needs to run for her life.

When the police come up empty-handed, Brynn turns to a private security firm for protection.  But when she defies advice and gets involved in the investigation, even the former Secret Service agent assigned to protect her may not be able to keep her safe.  With every new clue she discovers, Brynn is pulled back into the vortex of a disturbing case from her past.

As the clock ticks down on a manhunt, Brynn’s desperate search for the truth unearths long-buried secrets and reignites a killer’s fury.

Nothing like a romantic suspense by Laura Griffin to really get you into a book.  I started out reading this book in the wee hours of the night, thinking I'd just start with the first couple chapters, go to sleep and then continue the next day.  The next thing I knew, I was 70% into the book and wanting to keep going.

That has to count for something, in my opinion.

It's not like this crime thriller was any different than Griffin's usual, gritty, fast-paced Tracers novels, but it certainly kept me riveted.

I like the story itself and I like the premise of this series.  There's a lot of potential, and as Laura Griffin is wont to do, she also introduces key players who will definitely be showing up as the main characters in future books.  She gives them enough background and personality for you to be interested--so that you look forward to the next book.  So aside from our main couple, Brynn and Erik, you get a slight taste of others like police detective Lindsay Leary, or even some of the other Wolfe Sec members: Jeremy, Trent, Hayes, Skyler...

Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to the next book already.

As for our main couple...  I liked them.  They made a pretty good team, and aside from their fun banters, I loved seeing Brynn in action as a defense attorney.  I also have a thing for bodyguard plots as well, and especially love when the person being protected comes to the realization that she needs to take this seriously.  Because, at first, I was thinking that I'd end up being frustrated with Brynn and her resistance to having a bodyguard--a team of bodyguards, even--and was being difficult on principle.  I was worried that this was going to be ongoing, and when she did a few stupid things that could have caused more trouble for her security team than should have been necessary, I got frustrated with her.

But I really appreciated that things started to change, and she realizes the urgency of the situation early enough to start working with her security detail rather than being a stubborn TSTL.  That doesn't mean that she didn't still do a few stupid things to compromise her safety, but I'm not sure it was totally intentional on her part.

That was definitely a nice change of pace from other bodyguard plot devices where your heroine is usually stubborn to the point where she starts putting other people's lives in danger.

The security/bodyguard aspect of the story could have been cleaned up a little bit, truth be told.  I feel like there were more times when both Brynn and Ross were left more vulnerable than was appropriate, for two people being under security protection from a top security firm.  I feel like we probably should have spent more time on the security aspects of the book than Brynn's current, ongoing trial--though I also sort of enjoyed the trial, at the same time.

Erik didn't really stand out much, if I want to be honest.  He was a great character... but that was pretty much it.  I'm not sure what more I would have wanted.  He and Brynn had excellent companionship and chemistry... but I have little to say about him.  We didn't spend enough time delving into his personality or even character background for him to have mattered much to me, so that's kind of a shame.

Meanwhile, the main crime thriller conflict was just constant and non-stop.  It was fast-paced, it was intriguing, and the twist nearing the end was a nice one, even if not what I'd been expecting.  I was expecting some sort of twist, but I like the direction it ended up going... as vague as that sounds... but I don't want to give too much away.

Overall, this was an extremely entertaining read that made me remember why I always auto-buy Laura Griffin books.


***

Halloween Bingo 2018
(mystery, suspense, horror, or supernatural that was published after 10/31/17)

Other Possible Squares:  Genre: Suspense; Romantic Suspense; Terrifying Women; Murder Most Foul