Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

This thread is open to discuss Deathwish by Rob Thurman.



Synopsis
In a nightmarish new york city, life is there for the taking...

Half-human Cal Leandros and his brother, Niko, are barely getting by with their preternatural detective agency when the vampire Seamus hires them. He's being followed, and he wants to know by whom. But the Leandros brothers have to do more than they had planned when Seamus turns up dead (or un-undead). — Worse still is the return of Cal's nightmarish family, the Auphe. The last time Cal and Niko faced them, the Auphe were almost wiped out. Now they want revenge. Cal knows that before the Auphe get to him, they will try to destroy everything and everyone he holds dear. Because for the Auphe, Cal's pain is a pleasure.

And they're feeling good.

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hopefully gonna actually start this on time tomorrow. i'm listening to the song of achilles on audio as well for the BOM so gonna have both of them going at once lol

also i'm wondering if the cover for the next book is brown enough to count for wheelathon? they said they are gonna give points for buddy reads if anyone else is doing that


[edit: actually it might just be for BOM and not all BRs, guess we'll have to wait for more details]

I should finish my 2 current reads tonight so I should be able to start tomorrow.

Started but won’t read much until tonight but just had comment that we get Niko’s POV!!!!!!! Soooooooo excited by this!

i'm about a third of the way through right now and i'll probably end up being half done by tonight. i just love these books so much it's hard to slow down lol but yes i agree that i love niko's pov! this is the book that really made me love him the first time i read the series. and i like seeing private moments of him and promise together that we don't really get from cal's pov.

I understand, I'm completely obsessed and don't want to put it down either! Unfortunately am prepping for Partners meeting tomorrow so can't listen at work today :( But that's also good because then I can focus on our boys when I read tonight!

I'm already in love with Niko so getting this extra insight is going to be fantastic. Didn't even think about his private moments with Promise so that's like the extra cherry on top!

i read through chapter 7 today so just over half.

two fairly non-spoilery things i love about this book are 1. robin's new cat and 2. “Sharks with arms. Big-ass eel. Goddamn Auphe. Watch your ass.” kills me every single time.

I totally lost track of dates and just realized that it’s the 5th. Off to start reading now

I’m 45 % into the book I am so loving getting Niko’s POV. This book is also full of so much drama and I love it.

(view spoiler)[Who else guessed that they changed their plan and wanted Cal for breeding purposes the minute he mentioned that all the Auphe that attacked them were female. It was like super obvious and Cal missed it even as Niko caught on. (hide spoiler)]

Had to work late last night so I'm about the same place you are.

You know, I always sort of thought of the Auphe as only males so it makes sense that after the warehouse, only the females were left. (view spoiler)[What I didn't see coming was that Cal is the last male! (hide spoiler)]

Feeling so bad for Niko about Promise - I understand that he's hurt that she kept those things from him, and they WERE pretty big, but I so wanted Niko to have that little bit of happiness.

Will comment more when I get home tonight!

Devann wrote: "i read through chapter 7 today so just over half.

two fairly non-spoilery things i love about this book are 1. robin's new cat and 2. “Sharks with arms. Big-ass eel. Goddamn Auphe. Watch your ass...."

That was hilarious!

is the cat a spy for Wanhanket though?

@Claudia yeah i think cal was just so in denial about the whole thing and that is why it took him so long to figure it out, although i'm kind of surprised it took niko as long as it did.

@Cathy i know i hate that niko and promise fight so much in this but i guess they are some pretty big issues. and no the cat is not a spy, she just really wanted to go home with robin for some bizarre reason lol although i guess anything is probably better than hanging around that basement

also i went to an art museum today and they had a big japanese exhibit with a ton of katanas so i was thinking about niko the whole time. and also thinking about niko probably trying to drag cal around museums and cal just not being appreciative at all lol

i finished this morning!

robin and ishiah (view spoiler)[so how many of you saw that coming? lol it might just be the timing with the new tv show coming out but i think robin and ish are like a less pg-13 version of aziraphale and crowley from good omens ;) veeery less pg-13 but what would you expect from robin and this series in general (hide spoiler)]

niko and promise (view spoiler)[makes me sad that they went through so much in this book and that they are taking a break now because i really like them together :( cherish had to come in and ruin everything! (hide spoiler)]

I am enjoying this book so much. I’m currently in the middle of chapter 10 but am popping in to comment.

Niko and Cal I love them and their brotherly relationship so much. (view spoiler)[ After Cal unconsciously opens the gate behind Promise during their talk and then gets sick realizing what he almost did. I loved the whole Niko reassuring Cal and trying to help him through it. I also love how realizing he would lie to protect Cal helped Niko to come to terms with Promise and her lies and omissions and realizing he can’t hold it against Promise. (hide spoiler)]

@Claudia totally agree about niko (view spoiler)[like i get that he is mad she lied but also he holds everyone up to this impossible standard of behavior and generally when it comes to cal he wouldn't even hold himself to those standards so i'm like mmmm, chill a bit lol (hide spoiler)]

Finished chapter 10 right now and am going to work so won’t be reading rest until I get off work but have to be like holy crap that cliffy.
Also I have to ask Cherish is totally playing them right? (view spoiler)[Like I can’t shake the fact that she is working against them. Is it just coincidence that’s he asks Cal who the best fighter is and finds out it’s Niko then Niko get injured badly? Or did Cherish set Niko and Cal up somehow? Or am I reading too much into this? (hide spoiler)]

I'm thru Ch 11 & boy, this book is just killing me with all the reminiscing of Cal/Niko's past. Especially that story when the 7yo Niko 1st saw the Auphe and how he stayed up all night watching Cal. My heart broke a little at their childhoods so destroyed by that bitch of a mother and the Auphe who should've been just little boys' imaginations rather than real. And I must say that I have fallen more in love with Niko because of his POVs.

Funnier note - (view spoiler)["I never thought my dick would save our asses." Oh Cal... (hide spoiler)]

Devann wrote: "@Claudia yeah i think cal was just so in denial about the whole thing and that is why it took him so long to figure it out, although i'm kind of surprised it took niko as long as it did.

@Cathy i ..."

Now I'm wishing that cat (Salome right?) was around more! if she could take a Great Dane with ease, she could surely kill some Auphe. Sick her on them!!

Oh how fun (about the museum). I can just hear/picture Cal's snark at something like that :P

Claudia wrote: "Finished chapter 10 right now and am going to work so won’t be reading rest until I get off work but have to be like holy crap that cliffy.
Also I have to ask Cherish is totally playing them right?..."

You know, I didn't even think that before but your comments make me want to go back and re-read those sections again. I just thought she was self-centered and was too self-involved to think much about any of them really. Except Promise of course.

@Claudia i don't want to answer that either way bc definitely spoilers lol

@Cathy there is a time in a future book where Cal and Robin go to mess with a bunch of revenants and Robin brings Salome along in a cat carrier because he says she needs the exercise lol but yeah i agree she could be a major help, especially since they are fighting animals in this one. but maybe her and robin just haven't bonded enough yet at this point.

Ch 12 and ok things are suspicious about Cherish. Forgot this whole thing was about her stealing a necklace... Awful lot of trouble for that! And (view spoiler)[ why did he run when Cherish & Promise came down the stairs? (hide spoiler)] and what is the deal with Xolo?!

Finished last night & damn, so much happened in this book!!!!

(view spoiler)[Niko & Promise's breakup tore me up and I hated how it was because of Cherish's manipulations (at least until the very end). Claudia, you called it!

God when I read that scene where he saw Cal dead, and the ensuing madness, I was so confused because of the fog that Niko was in and could not believe what was happening. I thought maybe Cal was going to have another Auphe special power where he'd come back or something like that. Could you imagine your worst nightmare being played out in your mind over and over again?!?! Because it was so far in the book, didn't think there would be a resolution to that storyline, thought Cherish would be a villain in a future book, but so glad that she got what was coming to her. A little bittersweet that it was Niko who killed her.

And can't believe they used a NUKE to destroy Tumulus/kill all the remaining Auphe! And did not even imagine that it was Cal who killed Seamus... totally thought it was related to Cherish.

Cal has grown so much since that first book. I can't believe how much I love him, Niko & Robin. We're about halfway thru the series so I can't imagine what will come next! (hide spoiler)]

Devann wrote: "i finished this morning!

robin and ishiah [spoilers removed]

niko and promise [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Oh. My. God. The whole angry sex relationship betw Robin & Ishiah was surprising. Thought maybe they had a past. There always seemed to be a begrudging respect between them (on Ishiah's side) but I could not figure it out. All I know is I love it, and I could not stop laughing!

I'm hopeful that with that last scene in the book that Niko & Promise will be ok *fingers crossed* (hide spoiler)]

Devann wrote: "@Claudia i don't want to answer that either way bc definitely spoilers lol

@Cathy there is a time in a future book where Cal and Robin go to mess with a bunch of revenants and Robin brings Salome ..."

The things this author comes up with! Can't wait to see more with Salome & Robin.

Finished!!!

I loved this book so much. I totally rated it five stars. There was so many great things about this book. I of course loved finally getting Niko’s POV. So much happened in this book

(view spoiler)[ I was not surprised to find out cherish was playing them all and manipulating them. It was just such a weird shift from who she was to her regret. And the way she always seemed to be pumping them for information on their skill set and stuff. Xolo also seemed off and her caring so much for him raised flags since she was such a selfish character. Like even Cal couldn’t help wondering why she was so attached to Xolo.
I was happy that Niko was the one to kill her as she fucked him over badly.

I felt so bad for Promise and it was heart breaking that they broke up but I’m glad they were able to come back together at the end. The two of them went through so much in this book.

I was surprised that Cal was the one to kill Seamus. I think it was the one plot point I didn’t see coming.

@Devann Robin and Ishiah was not a surprise. They were hinting at it and I was happy to have that verified.
(hide spoiler)]

i saw all your highlights lol and totally agree about all the cherish stuff. also about seamus (view spoiler)[i totally forgot that it was cal that did it, which is ridiculous because i've read this book like 15 times lol. but they never really go into it that much so i guess it's just one of those small details i always gloss over. it does make sense as its a very cal thing to do but i'm kind of surprised more isn't made of it. i guess if niko knew then they would probably be having a talk, but also part of me thinks he must at least suspect ... (hide spoiler)]

@Devann Yeah I usually highlight and sometimes make notes when I read on my Kindle. I usually forget to post them though. SO today when I posted the ones from Deathwish I went back over all the books I hadn’t posted in the last 6 months…lol

About Seamus (view spoiler)[ Niko does know as when he was spying on Cal and Robin in the bar he thinks about it and how he was annoyed but amused by what Cal did but that it was something he would have done for Cal. He thought that in the future he would need to confront Cal about going without him but then he got the call about Oshossi and the story moved on to that. (hide spoiler)]

haha i've got like literally hundreds of highlights in all of these books because i've read them so many times so that would be a bit much if i posted all mine

about seamus: ah you're totally right, i glossed over that part too apparently lol. i am out of it lately i guess. but yeah i still would have thought a bigger deal would have been made out of it but i guess they did have a lot going on right then

Yeah I don't have that many higlights becuase I switch between reading and listening to the audible when I drive so stuff gets missed. I usually highlight more when i go back and reread. Like Madhosue only had oen highlight cause I listened to the entire book except small pieces.

when do you guys want me to ask for the thread for the next book? usually i would say the 15th but maybe we want to push it back to the 18th so we can decide if we want to read it faster or slower depending on what our words for wheel are that week? or are you guys doing wheel?

I'm not doing wheel but I'm okay starting later if you guys need time for wheel...

i can start earlier, apparently our first word is beige and branje is back in the next book so i can use that for b. i'll wait to see if anyone else cares. and even if i request the thread for the 15th we can always start later if we need to

I’m good with the 15th!

Yep doing WaT and we go Chocolate for 1st word so it’ll work for me.

ok cool i'll go request the thread then. i think mary is also doing wheel but surely at least one letter will work for her week one

thanks Devann!