July, 2014
July 4th, 2014, 12:24 p.m. - You can't be in love! You just met!
22. Phantom Instinct (Meg Gardiner)
Up next: Cop Town (Karin Slaughter)
July 5th, 2014, 12:49 p.m. - I think those ballerinas are in trouble
So You Think You Can Dance - "Top 20 Perform, 0 Eliminated": I like how they switched things up and had the top 20 perform in their own styles for their first live show. Everyone is, in a way, on level playing ground, and we get to see exactly why they were chosen for the top 20. The people I wanted to be good were good. Some of them were way better than good. I think I love Emilio. That is all. Rating: 4 mops
July 12th, 2014, 12:36 p.m. - Man, everyone in the '70s was awful
23. Cop Town (Karin Slaughter)
Up next: The Fever (Megan Abbott)
July 13th, 2014, 7:53 p.m. - Bridget won me over a little by making a face at Emilio's "vampires or werewolves?" question and opting for wizards instead
So You Think You Can Dance - "Top 20 Perform, 2 Eliminated": I can't be mad about Malene being eliminated; if I'd listed the top ten girls from favorite to least favorite, she would have been ninth or tenth. I was sad to see Nick go, mostly because it means he and Rudy have to be separated, but I preferred that to Casey going. I don't have strong feelings for Serge either way, but his performance this week was good enough to keep him around. I'm still rooting heavily for Valerie, Emilio, and Ricky – and I can't tell you how excited I was that Ricky and Valerie wound up as partners. Ricky already has a big following, so this is great news for Valerie. But my favorite part of this episode might have been how they let the dancers interview each other. That was a lot of fun. Rating: 4 phones
July 19th, 2014, 12:51 p.m. - They need to retire the "reveal a secret about your partner" thing. They're always awful
So You Think You Can Dance - "Top 18 Perform, 2 Eliminated": Two more predictable eliminations. I'm just glad my favorites are still safe, and that everyone seems to love Valerie as much as I do. Rating: 4 umbrellas that made no sense and were never explained
July 22nd, 2014, 8:15 p.m. - Does not contain an actual fever
24. The Fever (Megan Abbott)
Up next: Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
July 26th, 2014, 12:44 p.m. - Guys, Jessica is a partner black widow
So You Think You Can Dance - "Top 16 Perform, 2 Eliminated": Most of the partner routines were unmemorable, but I loved the group numbers. No disappointment from me on the eliminations. My favorites are still shining and safe. Rating: 4 times I wondered who the brunette next to Jacquie was (it was Bridget)
There's some great stuff here, but some of it could have been better. Parts dragged. Parts were repetitive. I don't buy the evolution of Aiden and Harper's relationship. But I will say that the portion where Harper chases Oscar through the mall was probably the best thing I've read all year.
Definitely not Slaughter's best. If it had been written by an author I didn't like so much, I doubt I would have finished it. Every character except one was unlikable. There was way too much going on. There were way too many people to keep track of. There was no way of figuring out who the killer was. And the worst part is that now I have to wait another year for a new Will/Sara/Faith book.
I couldn't get through Dare Me because there weren't any likable characters, and I couldn't bring myself to care about them. The characters in The Fever are at least a little more likable, but...I still didn't care about them. I don't get what all the hype for this book was about.