Make Me Read It Readathon - Results and Mini Reviews

From August 6th - August 13th, I took part in the Make Me Read It Readathon, hosted by Ely @ Tea and Titles and Val @ The Innocent Smiley.  I selected five books to try to get through in that week span which you all voted on, and big surprise - I actually completed all five books for the readathon!  I'm so proud of myself!

Before I get to my mini reviews, I'll share the results of your votes:

The Way Through the Woods (Doctor Who: New Series Adventures #45) by Una McCormack - 6 votes, my first read

Ex-Heroes (Ex-Heroes #1) by Peter Clines - 6 votes, my second read

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle - 5 votes, my third read

Nevermore (Supernatural #1) by Keith R.A. DeCandido - 5 votes, my fourth read

Ghost of Manhattan (The Ghost #1) by George Mann - 2 votes, my fifth and final read

Mini Reviews:

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

This Doctor Who tie-in novel, set during the sixth series, was a great way to kick off the readathon.  It's a fun and fast-paced, creepy and mysterious, and the author does an excellent job of bringing the Doctor, Amy, and Rory to life.  Definitely felt like I was watching an episode - I wouldn't say no if this were adapted to the screen either.  Amy and Rory are one of my favorite fictional tv couples, and although they are apart for a good deal of this story they are spot on, especially good as Rory is remembering his two thousand year wait for Amy.  If you're a fan of Doctor Who, you'll definitely want to give The Way Through The Woods by Una McCormack a try.

I read this novel from August 6 - 7, 2017 and my review is also on Goodreads.

❋ ❋ ❋

Not quite as good as either The Walking Dead or The Avengers (that's a very tall order, anyway), but still a good combination of zombies and superheroes. My main issue was keeping track of who's who and who can do what - it's easy to get the characters mixed up, especially right off the bat. I'm not sure if I will be continuing the series, but I do think that Ex-Heroes could be awesome on the big screen.

I read this novel from August 7 - 10, 2017 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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To start off, I've never read the Lovecraft story that this is based off of, but even I could see the Lovecraftian elements - more subtle in the beginning and becoming more obvious as the tale goes along - especially the underlying sense of dread. I wish I enjoyed this novella a little more than I ended up liking it. Honestly, I think The Ballad of Black Tom could have benefited from being a longer novel and fleshing out the cast of characters and their world a little more than they are already. Plus, I wish the novel had followed Tommy in the first person throughout which would've help me feel more connected to his character. Overall, if you're interested in a quick Lovecraft-inspired horror/ urban fantasy set in an alternate 1920s NYC, then The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle is for you.   By the way, I had the Supernatural episode called "Crossroad Blues" in the back of my mind throughout my entire read.

I read this novella on August 10, 2017 and my review is also on Goodreads

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

This was a decent tie in novel and I could totally see it as an actual episode - the characterization of Sam and Dean's pretty on the nose and it has a decent sense of humor. Now, if only the conclusion to both cases, Poe and the haunting, was a little more satisfying.  Nevermore is set early on in season two and I think it would have made a fun episode seeing the brothers in their younger days.  Favorite moments: p. 171, "Sam shrugged as he sipped his coffee. "What can I tell you, Dean, it [The Murders in the Rue Morgue] was revolutionary at the time. And hey, if it wasn't for that story we probably wouldn't have CSI today." "No loss," Dean said. "There's better things on Thursday nights anyhow."; and p. 245, Sam gets to pick their aliases for a change and they are Archie Leach and Marion Morrison (the real names of Cary Grant and John Wayne).  I definitely want to try more of the Supernatural tie-in novels in the future.

I read this novel from August 10 - August 12 and my review is also on Goodreads

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❋ ❋ ❋

Do you like noir, pulp, The Shadow, Watchmen, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, steampunk/ decopunk, Sin City, and Batman?  Then I have a feeling that you'll love getting to know The Ghost, our lead character and vigilante of Ghosts of Manhattan.  The story moves along at a lightning fast pace and it's a lot of fun, especially when it comes to the fight and chase scenes.  The only down side is the characters, they were a little too flat when it came down to it.  The tale is very visual and I think it could make a really cool movie.  I may be continuing on to book two, Ghosts of War, in the future.

I read this novel from August 12 - August 13, 2017 and my review is also on Goodreads.


Overall with this challenge, I actually enjoyed my two tv tie-in novels the most, the characters were exactly right for both. Have you ever taken part in the Make Me Read It Readathon?  Have you read any of the books I tackled earlier this month?  As always thanks very much for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below.