Around The Blogs With Chuckles

We all enjoy snooping and lurking on other people's blogs right? Why not share those entertaining things you found with other readers and bloggers too! Welcome to Around the Blogs with Chuckles, where I take time out to show you some of my favourite blog posts from the previous seven days and link you up so you can check them out. 

This week!

 

1) Book Review-Wither by JG Passarella (Wendy Ward #1)

Barb goes retro horror.

http://bookertsfarm.blogspot.com/2020/02/retro-horror-vol-1-wither.html  

2) Book Review-Kill The Queen by Jennifer Estep (Crown Of Shards #1)

Nicci's review.

https://www.sunnybuzzybooks.co.uk/2020/02/review-kill-queen-by-jennifer-estep.html 

 

3) Book Review-Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams 

Karen's review.

http://www.fwiwreviews.net/2020/02/review-undercover-bromance-by-lyssa.html#.XlqPT0qnzcs 

4) Book Review-When We Were Lost by Kevin Wignall

Lark's review.

http://larkwrites.blogspot.com/2020/02/when-we-were-lost-by-kevin-wignall.html 

5) Book Review-The Departure by Neal Asher

Full review with spoilers by Bookstooge.

https://bookstooge.wordpress.com/2020/02/26/the-departure-owner-sequence-1-%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%86/ 

6) March Releases

List by AJ.

http://ajsterkel.blogspot.com/2020/02/cant-wait-wednesday-march-2020-book.html  

7) Book Review-The Unspoken Name by AK Larkwood

Mogsy's review.

https://bibliosanctum.com/2020/02/24/review-the-unspoken-name-by-a-k-larkwood/ 

Chuckles Friday Reading Roundup

Welcome to my Friday Reading Roundup! This feature will show exactly what I've been reading and DNFing through the week. 

READ

2 star and 4 star, in that order!

 

Chuckles Weekend Roundup

Welcome to my feature Chuckles Weekend Roundup where I will be looking at what books I've received, anything interesting I've done or bought or watched and other random stuff. I'll be taking a look back at what happened in my blogging world too, sort of like The Sunday Post that some of you do! 

Please note that I'll be visiting your STS/SP as normal, but I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow DISQUS to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I am the only one who does that on my social media! I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account. Sometimes, I have problems leaving messages on blogs hosted by Wordpress-they try to block me because I deleted my account with them but I will persevere as it only happens the odd time!

****************

This has been a week of getting stuff done, which is good. I spent a lot of time off the computer this week, and I enjoyed some of it-like spending three days constructing my Red Keep in the afternoons! It is finished and looks GREAT but I still have a post or two to upload about it so watch for that coming in the next few days. I also did a bit of work in the kitchen, checking the use by date on the bottled water I've stored, tidying my food cupboard to get a few new things in it and some general tidying. I can't say that was fun exactly, but it was productive! There was also the usual housework but that goes without saying!

 

I'm also trying to clear files off the computer which includes YouTube films and documentaries, music stored on the computer for my dad, e-books stored by me. I've made good progress but still have lots to do, plus I need to empty my almost full Kobo! The books I've read the last couple of days are from it so I can get them deleted. Reading has slowly improved this week. I've managed to read a couple of normal sized books which is an improvement though both are non fiction. At the moment, whatever I feel like reading is ok with me. Hopefully I'm getting out of the slump but I really feel the urge to re-read a few old favourites-but not until I clear some of the backlog!!!

Chuckles Blogging World

Lots of work being done on the computer this week means I've had to upload a lot of posts today that were meant to go up earlier this week.

 

Book Reviews

 

Chuckles Mini Reviews Catchup

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/chuckles-mini-reviews-catchup.html 

 

Caleb Cleek-The Fall

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/book-review-fall-by-caleb-cleek.html 

John P Logsdon

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/book-review-merging-by-john-p-logsdon.html

Regular Posts

 

Chuckles Friday Reading Roundup

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/chuckles-friday-reading-roundup_22.html 

 

Around The Blogs With Chuckles

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/around-blogs-with-chuckles_23.html 

 

Discussion Posts

 

Constructing The Red Keep

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/constructing-red-keep.html 

 

Constructing The Red Keep

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/constructing-red-keep_27.html 

Reading Challenges

 

Chuckles Challenges 2020-Non Fiction

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/chuckles-challenges-2020-non-fiction.html 

Chuckles Challenges 2020-Fiction

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/chuckles-challenges-2020-fiction.html

Films & TV

I've been watching a lot of documentaries this week, mostly Royalty. I'm checking them for quality and to see which ones I would keep and watch again. I've also re-watched a few Jurassic Park and Harry Potter films for fun.

 

Book Tags/Blog Awards

 

Reader Problems Tag

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/reader-problems-tag.html 

 

Currently Reading/Up Next 

I'm not sure what I'll feel like reading next but I just read Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson and really enjoyed it. I think I might be sticking with non fiction so these are possibilities. I also hope to get a few fiction books looked at if my mood allows!

 

 

FOLLOW ME:

https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/chuckles-book-cave-9910183 
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3426724-chucklesthescot 
https://twitter.com/chucklesthescot 
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/chucklesthescot/ 

 

Chuckles Challenges 2020-Fiction

Welcome to another year of challenges with Chuckles! This year I've changed things up for the challenges to allow for all mood reading and less targets to avoid stress, while still getting stuff done. What I'll be doing is putting up the categories and themes that I want to target and I'll then fill in the books as I finish or DNF them, rather than pick out a ton of books in a list. That way when I change my mind, I don't have to start deleting stuff and filling in gaps! This is my Fiction List. Books listed here that are from a series will be on my Series Catchup list under series name too.

HORROR
1) Jack Martin-Halloween II (2.5 star)
2) Jon Athan-The Abuse Of Ashley Collins (3 star)

ZOMBIES
1) Robert Barnard-Hour 23 (3 star)
2) Caleb Cleek-The Fall (3.5 star)
3) Lora Powell-First Contact (3 star) 

APOCALYPSE
1) Godsby Jim-Preppers of the Apocalypse (2.5 star)
2) Godsby Jim-Preppers of the  Apocalypse 2 (2 star) 
3) Nick Williams-Surviving the EMP (3 star)
4) Nick Williams-The Will to Survive (3 star)
5) Nick Williams-Our Survival (3 star)
6) Darrell Maloney-Countdown To Armageddon (5 star)
7) Darrell Maloney-After The Dust Settled (4 star)

URBAN FANTASY
1) Spencer Quinn-A Cat Was Involved (4 star)
2) Matt Wallace-Small Wars (2 star)  
3) Orlando A Sanchez-The Date (3 star)
4) John P Logsdon-The Bleeding (4 star)
5) John P Logsdon-The Chief (2 star)
6) John P Logsdon-The Merging (3 star)
7) Ilona Andrews-A Questionable Client (4 star) 

Chuckles Challenges 2020-Non Fiction

Welcome to another year of challenges with Chuckles! This year I've changed things up for the challenges to allow for all mood reading and less targets to avoid stress, while still getting stuff done. What I'll be doing is putting up the categories and themes that I want to target and I'll then fill in the books as I finish or DNF them, rather than pick out a ton of books in a list. That way when I change my mind, I don't have to start deleting stuff and filling in gaps! I'm adding the fiction Fred Basset books to the non fiction humour for easyness.

Update 1-a good start to the month with two huge political memoirs, two average sized books and a few short fun reads. A good opening month. The rest of this month will be about fiction.

NON FICTION-POLITICS/ROYALTY
1) John Major-The Autobiography (5 star)
2) Michael Heseltine-Life In The Jungle (3 star)
3) John Crace-I, Maybot (1 star)
4) David Hoey-Not In Front Of The Corgis ( 3 star)
5) Andrew Morton-Meghan (2 star)

NON FICTION-EXPEDITIONS
1) Jonathan Waterman-In The Shadow Of Denali (1 star)
2)
3)
4)
5) 

NON FICTION DISASTERS
1) Paul Firth-Four Minutes To Hell (4 star)

NON FICTION/FICTION HUMOUR
1) Jen Campbell-Weird Things Customers Say In Bookstores (4 star)
2) Jen Campbell-More Weird Things Customers Say In Bookstores (4 star) 
3) Tim Benson-Best Political cartoons 2019 (3 star)
4) Jenny Lawson-Furiously Happy (4 star)

Book Review: The Merging by John P Logsdon (LVPPD #1)

Ian Dex is the captain of the Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department (PPD), the crew responsible for kicking the crap out of any supernatural stupid enough to mess with the Strip. He's a cop, a millionaire, an amalgamite, and a horndog. Sin City is always running amok with disturbances and glitter, but sometimes those two items merge and the nightlife gets out of hand. Kind of like mixing Hell and...well, more Hell.

When an ubermage appears on the Strip, strutting around in his Chippendales-style outfit and sending out other ubernaturals to kick up dust and unleash destruction, it's up to Ian Dex and his team to do what they do best: bust heads and shred souls. Casinos are clamoring for help, cops are fighting tooth and nail just to survive, and tourists think it's all part of the Vegas experience. The weather forecast for tonight on the Strip is dark. Very damn dark...and bloody.

My Review:
I had read two short stories which were prequels to this series-The Bleeding, which I really enjoyed and The Chief, which was too full of sex references for my liking. I was unsure whether or not to continue and read the first book but based on The Bleeding I wanted to at least give the series a fair try.

Ian Dex is the chief of the Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department. He and his colleagues are genetically enhanced as part of their training, which leaves them with a higher than normal sex drive. Ian is also a DNA mix of all the major paranormal creatures which gives him enhanced strength, speed, healing and a little magic but he is not immortal. He is a bit of a smart arse, says inappropriate things, spends his time chatting up women but he is at least interesting. I have doubts about him being chosen as leader as he is very impatient and not the sharpest tool in the box-a strange mix for the Chief.

Ian's city is seriously under threat. Mutated vampires, werewolves and fae are rampaging through the streets causing death and destruction and even the enhanced abilities of the team are barely enough to stop them. Ian's team work out that a powerful magic user is possessing human bodies with a hybrid of a summoned demon mixed with either a vampire, werewolf or fae, giving them extra strength and size. Ian and his friends try to stop both the puppetmaster and his creations before they take over the city, but do they have the combined power to do it?   

My random irritations. The women in the book come across as sex obsessed airheads and for Rachel to be jealous of the female AI's flirty conversations with Ian is so dumb when she is about the only female thing that Ian hasn't been with. The fact that she has slept with various male and female colleagues as well as Ian makes her jealousy childish in the extreme. In fact I'm amazed that the whole department find any time to solve crimes with all the bedhopping that is discussed. So far, there has been no actual sex scenes in the series, just constant talk about it. There are also childish farting jokes. And I grind my teeth at the way Lydia talks to Ian, calling him things like puddin and babycakes. Ugh, so annoying. She is a bloody AI without the intelligence it seems.

The good things are the writing style which flows nicely. The story is well put together and I find the details of Ian's powers interesting. The characters have the potential to be interesting if they would act like adults instead of all the bickering and innuendo. I also love the cover art, which is what attracted me to the books in the first place. There are multiple series set in this world and I have the first one of each series to try. Based on the writing, I'll be giving each one a try as they all sound interesting. I am hoping that the characters in each book aren't as oversexed as this series. Am I going to read on with Ian Dex? I really don't know if I can put up with the innuendo and bickering for a whole series. At the moment the plan is to leave it and consider it again in the future.   

Read February 2020
3 star.

Constructing The Red Keep

Welcome to my second Game of Thrones 3D puzzle! This time I'm constructing the Red Keep and I'm going to do more of a step by step set of posts to give you a better idea of how it goes together, as it is hard to explain clearly!

This was the way I finished my last post, just to remind everyone of progress.

Next step was to continue building the out-buildings around the side of the Red Keep.

Moving back round to the front of the Red Keep, these are the first of the levels that need to put onto the construction. These photos show them flat in the first photo. The small part becomes the second level on the building on the left. The large bit slots into the building lower down and  then I added a couple of support towers under this section. You can see the elevation. 

This is the next building to be added (below). It goes on top of the small piece from the last step.  

Next, on the edge of the raised level, I'm building the wall. You can see the bits slotted into the edge of the raised platform. We are taking shape now!

I have to add another group of turrets. I HATE this turrets as they can be very fiddily! Each turret has three to five parts and are my least favourite bit to make! However they look great when added to the wall construction, along with another bit of building! The third photo shows the bottom of the throne room going on to the construction, in the centre.

 

The next bit is to add on to the throne room part in the centre. On the side of the throne room, I add spires to give it that gothic look. The second photo is the close up of that bit.

Reader Problems Tag

This tag was created by Tiffany of About To Read over on BookTube and has been around for a while. I might have answered the questions before but I saw it recently and figured I'd do it again anyway. As always if you want to join in, consider yourself tagged!

1) You have 20 000 books in your TBR, how in the world do you decide what to read next?
I've got about 1350 books that I own but haven't read-a mixture of physical and digital. I generally try to take steps in deciding what to read. Do I feel like fiction or non fiction? If fiction am I in the mood for horror, apocalypse, Tudors, prepper, SF, urban fantasy? If it is apocalypse, do I want EMP, nuclear, pandemic, zombie etc. If non fiction, do I want mountain disaster, history, royalty, politics, disaster etc. Then I browse my physical or Goodreads shelves and pick.

2) You're halfway through a book and you're just not loving it. Do you put it down or are you committed?
I wouldn't get halfway through a book I wasn't enjoying. As soon as I lose interest in a book I DNF it and move on to read something else. I never force myself to keep reading something that is slow or boring or that I'm just not connecting to.

3) The end of the year is coming and you're behind on your reading challenge? Do you try to catch up? If so, how?
I always try to catch up, even if it means going to the short stories and novellas. They all count off my TBR and would get read anyway. If I'm way off, I'd adjust the book target down to take the pressure off but I don't do that close to the end as that is kind of cheating!

4) The covers of a series you love do not match. How do you cope?
I hate that! It makes me really twitchy! My pet hate is when halfway through the series it switches from a design I love to something I hate. Take a bow Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series for that! I just have to deal with it or prepare to buy a new set with better covers! (which I've only done twice, for the Mercy Thompson series and Sookie Stackhouse!)

5) Everyone and their mother loves a book that you do not. Who do you bond with over your shared feelings?
I either talk to online bloggers with a similar view of the book but I mostly rant about it to my dad, who always likes a book discussion!

6) You're reading a book in public and you're about to start crying. How do you deal?
I'm never reading books in public now that I don't have a job, but when I did this never happened to me. I rarely read genres that make me cry.

7) The sequel to a book you loved just came out but you've forgotten a lot of what happens. Are you going to re-read it?
I'll usually read my review to refresh my memory or do a quick skim rather than a re-read. The only exception is if I read book one many years ago and I'm doing a series catchup. For that I really do need to get back into the story and the characters.

8) You do not want anyone to borrow your books. How do you politely say no when someone asks?
The only person who gets my books are my dad and I watch him like a hawk for signs of spine damage! I only loaned my books out twice-once to a work colleague who never gave it back and once to my uncle who decided to smoke while reading them, despite my orders not to, and they came back stinking.

9) You have picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over this reading slump?
I used to get over reading slumps by re-reading an old favourite like Harry Potter but I find my slumps are now mostly through being tired so it isn't that easy. I just veg out in front of the TV, do a craft project or something and wait until I feel like reading again.

10) There are so many books coming out that you're dying to read. How many do you end up buying?
I used to buy all the books but now I'm running out of space! I try to switch more to getting reduced price or box set e-books to try an author or series and only buy the paperbacks if I totally love it. Indie books can vanish quickly so you tend to have to grab entire series as soon as each book comes out in case they go out of print, so that can be hard! I don't generally have a big list of new releases that are on the must buy list.

11) After you purchase all of these books that you're dying to read, how long do they sit on your shelves before you get to them? 
I have some urban fantasy series that date back to me reading book one and starting to buy the rest from 2010, which is pretty shocking! I'm trying to get some of that backlist dealt with but all these shiny new books are a distraction. Most books sit about three or four years before I get to them but there are a few exceptions that I read as soon as I get them or maybe they fit into a current challenge I'm doing.

Constructing The Red Keep

Welcome to my second Game of Thrones 3D puzzle! This time I'm constructing the Red Keep and I'm going to do more of a step by step set of posts to give you a better idea of how it goes together, as it is hard to explain clearly!

After completing the base last time, I moved on to constructing the high tower and surrounding buildings. These are the flat pieces for the tower, which become the 3D tower and I put it on the base as shown.

I then worked on a couple of the side buildings which were easy to construct. I put the three buildings onto the base, joining them together. It's amazing how adding three pieces can make it look like real progress has been made! I made a couple of turrets and a small building to go on top of the tower.

There are six buildings which make up the next section of the project. These photos show how they look flat, constructed individually and then how they fit against the other buildings at the rear of the base.

 

Around The Blogs With Chuckles

We all enjoy snooping and lurking on other people's blogs right? Why not share those entertaining things you found with other readers and bloggers too! Welcome to Around the Blogs with Chuckles, where I take time out to show you some of my favourite blog posts from the previous seven days and link you up so you can check them out. 

This week!

1) Apology Required? 
Sam never says sorry for her reading choices, and quite rightly!
http://www.weliveandbreathebooks.com/2020/02/discussion-apology-required.html 

2) Book Review-Ten Days Gone by Beverly Long
Katherine's review.
http://iwishilivedinalibrary.blogspot.com/2020/02/ten-days-gone-mystery-review.html 

3) Book Review-The Dark Corners Of The Night by Meg Gardiner (#3)
Carole reviews book three.
https://carolesrandomlife.blogspot.com/2020/02/review-dark-corners-of-night-by-meg.html 

4) Book Review-River Of Souls by TL Bodine 
Bark goes zombie!
http://barksbooknonsense.blogspot.com/2020/02/book-review-river-of-souls-by-tl-bodine.html 

5) Book Review-Dead To Her by Sarah Pinborough
Mogsy's review.
https://bibliosanctum.com/2020/02/17/review-dead-to-her-by-sarah-pinborough/ 

6) Book Review-The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James 
Carole's review.
https://carolesrandomlife.blogspot.com/2020/02/review-sun-down-motel-by-simone-st-james.html 

7) Book Review-Death Without Company by Craig Johnson
Barb's review.
http://bookertsfarm.blogspot.com/2020/02/2-bloggers-1-series-death-without.html 

Book Review: The Fall by Caleb Cleek (Infected #1)

When a bus full of tourists, infected with a genetically engineered virus, stops in a quiet community for lunch, the area threatens to become the epicenter for a worldwide outbreak. Two Vista County deputies race to contain the revived dead, stop the spread, and combat the chaos and anarchy that ensues.

My Review:
Connor is a cop in Lost Hills, a rural town best known for being a rest and lunch stop for tourist buses that are passing through. On this day, a group of Japanese tourists enter the diner and start to collapse and die. Connor and the diner staff try to deal with the crisis which gets worse when the first body turns zombie and attacks. It becomes clear that a deadly virus has infected these tourists and attempts to quarantine the diner fails when it is discovered that someone from the bus went to another shop, and that an infected resident of the town who encountered her is trying to flee Lost Hills. Connor has to face a wait to see if he is immune and fears what may be happening to his family as zombies roam the town.

The opening chapters start off really well with the incidents in the diner and the realisation that everyone inside has been infected, causing a lockdown situation. On hearing details of the infection from medical experts, Connor starts to realise that he may be immune and can try to track the infected people from the other shop affected by the sick tourists. He has to try and balance his duty to protect the town and his fear for his family who came into contact with the woman fleeing town. This virus was a man-made Chinese bioweapon and a flight of Japanese tourists were targeted and infected with it before they arrived in the US. Just breathing the air expelled from an infected person is enough to infect and being bitten by zombies is of course also fatal unless you are immune. The infection was interesting to read about.

Trouble is about to descend on the town in the form of Homeland Security teams who have instructions to kill everyone who came into contact with the tourists, regardless of whether they are immune or not. With Connor stuck in town looking at their handiwork, he realises that a team is headed out to his home to kill him and his family. Can he and Matt get out there in time? This was a very good section of the book. I certainly can't complain about the amount of action in the book and the way it is written, though the dumb decisions of the characters do leave a little to be desired!

My bug bear is that Connor is happy to play hero and run around town saving everyone but never seems to pay any attention to the safety of his family back at their house. After going to the trouble of ensuring they are safe in the rural house, he leaves to go into town and has to rush back when he realises that Homeland Security are attacking the house. After that you'd think he would take a bit more care but nope, every time he leaves the house or loses focus, some disaster seems to befall his family whether it is zombies or bad guys. You can't expect two women-one untrained with a gun and one recovering from being shot, and an old retired man who can barely walk and two kids to look after things each time you leave them unprotected! Likewise he seems to find trouble in every place he goes to in town, which doesn't help.

The soldiers left in town seem to have no real purpose in just stopping people travelling down one road, instead of getting out there and killing zombies and bad guys. I also wonder at their common sense in not having their vehicles in a defensive position to protect their front and rear if attacked. They give Connor a few vaccinations that protect people from the virus. Why did he not give these to Frank and his brother, who he deemed so vital in the protection of the town, instead giving them to his best friend's wife and kid? Funny how Connor has enough sense of duty to abandon his family for town issues yet wastes the vaccination on people hiding at his house instead of giving it to the best gunfighters in the town. Yes that makes sense. He also doesn't seem to think out a plan before racing off every time. THINK what the bad guys might do and target before you run off to do other things!

Another niggle is that it can get too descriptive about things that really don't matter. We don't need to know every single detail of how an injection is given. We all know how it is done so it was unnecessary. These detailed info dumps do tend to appear suddenly and affect the flow of the story, which is a shame when the actual story has enough interest of its own. Overall though it was a pretty solid and fast paced zombie pandemic story and it did keep me reading to the end. I'm not reading on with book two though, as the first two books were released in 2014 and 2015 and there has been no sign of any other books to finish the story. I really do hate unfinished series and I won't buy book two unless book three (if it is the last book) comes out.

Read January 2020
3 stars.

Chuckles Mini Reviews Catchup

I review everything I read, on my blog and on Goodreads. Most reviews are of a decent length but sometimes you don't have much to say about the book because of its length or you DNFed it or various other reasons. In cases like that it makes sense to write a few mini reviews in one post and clear them out your way! So lets catch up with some reviews from February!

1) Ilona Andrews-A Questionable Client (Kate Daniels #0.5)
In a world beset by magic waves, Kate Daniels works as a mercenary. She is tired, hungry, and there is foul-smelling blood on her boots. All she wants to do is to go home, but when Mercenary Guild offers her a job she can't refuse, she finds herself protecting a man against Russian wizards. 

In this book we meet Kate Daniels who is a mercenary and sometimes bodyguard. She is paid to take over guard duties on a rich shifter, who is being targeted by the Russians. He is accused of both kidnapping a young woman, and stealing a magical object but the truth is much more complicated than that. Kate finds that Russian witches and folklore are her enemies in this case if she wants to keep her obnoxious client alive.

I had read the first Kate Daniels novel many years and gave it three stars but I wasn't fully in the mood for it then so I'm going to give the series another try. I liked the idea of the magic waves coming and going-when the magic is working, electricity fails and vice versa. I found that concept interesting, as was Kate herself. I liked the Russian folklore coming into it and wanted to hit the vain client Saiman! Overall it was a good re-introduction to Kate's world and I'll be gradually reading more in the series.

Read February 2020
4 star.

2) John P Logsdon-The Bleeding (LVPPD #0.5)
Ian Dex's early years in Netherworld PPD, before his time in Vegas. Ian and partner are investigating a Vampire.

This was my first time reading this author so I wasn't sure what to expect. Ian Dex is in training to be a cop in the Netherworld PPD but he really wants to work topside among the normal humans where he can blend in better. He and his vampire partner/mentor Sarge are on patrol and find a vampire covered in human blood. As they investigate they find that vampires are holding humans hostage as food sources. I loved the character of Sarge and it's disappointing that he is due to retire and may not feature at all in the further adventures of Ian.The writing was very good and I particularly liked the world-building in the book.

Ian is certainly interesting. His DNA is a mix of the paranormal races who despise him for being a mixed breed, but it gives his strength, speed, agility, basic magic and healing abilities. He also has a few nifty tricks like Freeze-which freezes his emotions and lets him kill without remorse for a short period of time, and Haste which lets him move at speed to deal with issues, which leads to an amusing scene with angry werebears! I liked the abilities but I am a bit wary about Ian saying his enhanced abilities have led to him being horny all the time. That concerns me as I'm not a great fan of oversexed MC's. There was enough here for me to read on to the next short story, but I do have concerns.

Read February 2020
4 star. 

3) John P Logsdon-The Chief (LVPPD #0.6)
It's all fun and games until the day you get promoted.
Ian Dex was living the dream. He was a supernatural cop who worked from sundown to sunup, took down the bad guys, and got to play around with the ladies on his squad. Too bad the good times don't last forever. A fae by the name of Fay showed up and the wheels fell off. She'd gotten her hands on a mind-control device that promised to help her take over the city. Despite what you may have heard, it turns out that being subjected to the influence of a mind-control device isn't all that fun. Fortunately for Ian, there was something about his genetic makeup that gave him an edge.

Join the ride and learn how Ian Dex, officer extraordinaire, became the chief of the Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department. It not only changed his place in the department, it also put one hell of a damper on his sex life.

I read this book straight after The Bleeding. It was another decent story, well written and again I enjoyed the world-building as we see Ian's switch from Netherworld to cop in Las Vegas. A dangerous Fae called Fay is trying to take over the city and starts by taking control of the Chief and Ian's partner Rachel. Ian isn't as infected and realises that it is up to him to stop Fay and save the city. I liked the actual story and we see Ian using different skills-his brain and the department's AI Lydia--who gushes and coos at Ian in an annoying way.

My fears did come to pass in this short story. From start to finish, Ian is talking about and thinking about sex non stop, which gets in the way of a good story. A few lines in, he's telling the reader about banging Rachel and propositions her later in the story too, he tries to seduce a woman at the hotel, gives an account of an ex, and is considering sex with Fay. All in a short story. There are the typical crude comments about the women which are sexist, and Ian is like a walking hormone who is also vain and arrogant. I didn't much like his character in this story. Sex seems to be his reason for living and it gets in the way as he tries to chat up women when he should be doing his job. Who would promote this guy to boss??? I'm now not sure about even going to the full length novel but I would still try other series the author has written in this world and hope for less sex and more plot.

Read February 2020
2.5 star.    

4) John Crace-I, Maybot
Ever since Theresa May first whirred into inaction as prime minister, there has only been one reliable source of strength and stability: John Crace's political sketches for the Guardian. These doses of biting satire not only provided much-needed respite from the madness of it all, but also gave us his now notorious moniker for our automaton PM, the Maybot. In I, Maybot, Crace introduces a curated selection of his most acerbic sketches, charting May's tumultuous premiership to date. From the EU referendum and ensuing tragicomic leadership campaign, to the snap election, Tory-DUP coalition of chaos and endless Brexit wranglings, Crace's analysis makes for essential and uproariously entertaining reading.

This book is supposed to be a satire version of the events from the resignation of David Cameron through all the problems Theresa May had with Brexit and controlling her own Cabinet. I was looking forward to a funny account of these events as a lighter look at politics but it was not what I thought it was going to be. I figured that lots of MP's would be ridiculed in the book but it was really just a book aimed at picking on Theresa May with very few digs at anyone on the opposition benches. It also featured her as a real robot with system overloads, fried circuits and reboots, but it also made up a lot of incidents and distorted actual events, with things like policy advice from plants, which is not what I was looking for. The humour fell totally flat and I found it really annoying and dull. I won't be reading any more of these parody things, that's for sure. 

Read February 2020
1 star.

Chuckles Friday Reading Roundup

Welcome to my Friday Reading Roundup! This feature will show exactly what I've been reading and DNFing through the week. 

OK so I'm a day late but I just ran out of time yesterday! 

READ
 
4 star, 4 star, 3 star, 4 star, 2.5 star, 3 star. 

 

Chuckles Weekend Roundup

Welcome to my feature Chuckles Weekend Roundup where I will be looking at what books I've received, anything interesting I've done or bought or watched and other random stuff. I'll be taking a look back at what happened in my blogging world too, sort of like The Sunday Post that some of you do! 

Please note that I'll be visiting your STS/SP as normal, but I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow DISQUS to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I am the only one who does that on my social media! I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account. Sometimes, I have problems leaving messages on blogs hosted by Wordpress-they try to block me because I deleted my account with them but I will persevere as it only happens the odd time!

****************

It has been one of those weeks where everything small seems to have gone wrong! Getting annoyed with the energy provider trying to force a smart meter on us for the umpteenth time despite us saying no, the wild weather continues, spilling the bright blue liquid residue from the de-humidifier down my favourite dressing gown, insomnia issues, one of my favourite cds has gone missing...you know the kind of week I mean! It's an annoying week though this lingering cold does seem to be on the way out which is something! To cheer myself up I bought a few cheap political hardbacks which now I'll need to add to that growing TBR that is currently out of control...ARRGGHH! I actually did read a few short stories last night (hurrah!) which I hope will kickstart the reading from the slump!

 

PAPERBACKS/HARDBACKS

 

 

 

Chuckles Blogging World

I'm reasonably caught up this week and I'm getting back into the swing of things for getting posts uploaded. I'm happy enough with that and will be fully caught up by tomorrow.

 

Book Reviews

 

After The Dust Settled by Darrell Maloney (Countdown to Armageddon #2)

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/book-review-after-dust-settled-by.html 

 

Regular Posts

 

Around The Blogs With Chuckles

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/around-blogs-with-chuckles_15.html 

 

Discussion Posts

 

Chuckles Chuntering

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/around-blogs-with-chuckles_15.html 

 

Authors I Want To Try

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/authors-i-want-to-try.html 

 

Constructing The Red Keep

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/constructing-red-keep-base.html 

 

 The Big Chuckles TBR Add-On

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-big-chuckles-tbr-add-on-chuckles.html

 

Reading Challenges

 none this week

Films & TV

I've watched a few old favourites this week-The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Mummy, along with more Royal documentaries.

 

Book Tags/Blog Awards

 

Fictional Dog Tag

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2020/02/fictional-dog-tag.html 

 

Currently Reading/Up Next 

I'm HOPING that I might be out of the slump, having read three short stories last night. I hope to be tackling something tonight. I want to check these out soon.

 

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