Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

No worries Nichole...plenty of time.

FYI...I'm without a computer for the next few days...will check in again on Sunday.

Completion Post
Week #1

Caught
4*
Review- I enjoyed this story! Daniel and Taylor are so different, but that's what seems to draw them to each other. The way they met was unique, and sucked me into the story right away.
(view spoiler)[It's pretty much insta-love, but I like that, so this worked for me :) (hide spoiler)]

Fran wrote: "Completion Post
Week #1

Caught
4*
Review- I enjoyed this story! Daniel and Taylor are so different, but that's what seems to draw them to each other. The w..."

I recall really enjoying that book as well Fran :)

Selection Post
Week 1: Awards
Option 1
Book: by Colleen Hoover
Pages: 367
How the book qualifies: GR Choice Awards Winner for Romance

Week #1 bok that has won or been nominated for an award.

Rating (1-5) 4
Review Like any Nora Roberts book I read it pulled me in fast and hard. I felt so bad for Naomi to see such tragedy and deal with it her whole life.

Week #: 1
Bookcover/link: Redemption Bay
Rating (1-5): 4 stars
Review: I adored this story. It was just the sweet small town romance I have come to expect from Raeanne Thayne. I loved both her heroine and her hero in this book. They were both rough, but with really sweet insides. I did find the book a bit slow though, which is the reason for it receiving only 4 stars. I had a hard time getting through the first hundred pages... but then got through the other 250 in a day.

Nichole wrote: "Selection Post
Week 1: Awards
Option 1
Book: by Colleen Hoover
Pages: 367
How the book qualifies: GR Choice Awards Winner for Romance"

This was one of my favorite books last year! I can't wait to hea what you think about it Nichole!

It's CoHo so I'm bound to love it :) I can finally start it tomorrow!

Completion Post
Week 1: Books that have won or been nominated for an award
Bookcover/link: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Rating (1-5): ★★★★
Review: I'm not a fan of PNR but decided to give this a go considering it had a whole host of awards and its been on my TBR pile for awhile. It was told from the heroine's perspective, who has an interesting 0.7 "job". She was sassy and funny. Emotional and prone to deathly situations (pun intended). Even though there was the focal point of a murder mystery of three lawyers, I was more engrossed with the enigmatic and unknown hero, Reyes Farrow. He for me was the star of the show. Now to my chagrin, I'll be purchasing other books in this series, even though PNR is not my true love. Maybe Reyes Farrow is my true love and that's why I'm changing my ways ;)

Team,

I got the job, I start today Monday. I am so happy and excited.

Shannon

Shannon wrote: "Team,

I got the job, I start today Monday. I am so happy and excited.

Shannon"

Woohoo!!! Congratulations Shannon!

Yay Shannon!! Congrats!!

Nicole wrote: "Completion Post
Week 1: Books that have won or been nominated for an award
Bookcover/link: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Rating (1-5): ★★★★
Review: I'm n..."

Nicole, I agree, Reyes is a definite draw to the series. I recently finished the fourth in the series and Reyes keeps me coming back :)

Congrats, Shannon!

I love Charley. She's cray-cray :)

Shannon wrote: "Team,

I got the job, I start today Monday. I am so happy and excited.

Shannon"

Congratulations Shannon! And good luck today! I hope you have a wonderful first day.

Thanks all for the congrats and the well wishes. I am excited even if it is just part time.

Shannon

PS. Up and ready way to early.

Woohoo Shannon...congratulations!

Completion Post-Week 1, Option 1: 3/11

Shadow Music, Julie Garwood ★★★
Review:
I just 'liked it'. I typically love Julie Gardwood but this one was actually hard for me to read. An historical romance set primarily in Scotland that lobbied with contemporary emotion. Shadow Music is the sound of the sword...referenced a few times in the story.

Shannon wrote: "Team,

I got the job, I start today Monday. I am so happy and excited.

Shannon"

Congrats Shannon - great news!!

Thanks Tammie and Jane. My first day went well. Training for the whole week.

Shannon

Week #1: Awards
Book: by Colleen Hoover
Date Read: 3/15/17
Rating: 5 stars

*Blows out a big breath*

I really don't know how to write a review for this book without spoilers. And I really think that a person needs to go into reading this blind. That's what I did and I appreciated it more, I think. I honestly thought it was about something else entirely.

What I can say is that Collen Hoover writes books that always seem to sucker punch me right in the feels. I say sucker punch because even though I know it's coming somewhere in the book, it always catches me off guard. BAM! I'm crying. Your heart just breaks for her characters, sometimes even for the "bad" guy of the book. And the feels stay with you for a while after finishing a book of hers.

There was a time in this book that I thought she was going to take the easy way out but I should have known better. She takes conflict by the horns and all you have to do is brace for impact and pick yourself up after, just like her characters do.

“Cycles exist because they are excruciating to break. It takes an astronomical amount of pain and courage to disrupt a familiar pattern. Sometimes it seems easier to just keep running in the same familiar circles, rather than facing the fear of jumping and possibly not landing on your feet."

Nichole wrote: "Week #1: Awards
Book: by Colleen Hoover
Date Read: 3/15/17
Rating: 5 stars

*Blows out a big breath*

I really don't know how to write a revie..."

Oh my. This makes me want to read this book even more now. Never read a book by Colleen Hoover before, so I'm looking forward to it - emotional upheaval and all.

Theme for week 2 has been announced!
Option one is for list #13

Week #2, Option 1:

Charming the Prince, Teresa Medeiros
354 pgs
How Book Qualifies: Beauty and Beast List #98

Option 1 - Fairytale Books
Week #: 2
Bookcover/link/; Romancing the Duke
Page numbers: 370 pages
How the book qualifies - Beauty and the Beast #42

Option 1
Week #2: Fairytale Books
Book link: The Vixen and the Vet by Katy Regnery
Page numbers: 291 (Kindle Edition)
How the book qualifies: Beauty and the Beast #52

Week #2- Option 1


Thief
125 pages
How the book qualifies- Gay Cinderfellas #71

Week # 2- Fairytales
Option 1
Book: by Megan Derr
Pages: 204
How the book qualifies: #88 on -Best Retellings of fairytales, legends and history

This team must be good luck in the working world since I got a job offer on Friday as well. It will be nice to be able to set some money aside in case we end up moving soon!

Alexis wrote: "This team must be good luck in the working world since I got a job offer on Friday as well. It will be nice to be able to set some money aside in case we end up moving soon!"

Woohoo!! Blessings upon blessings. Great news Alexis. Congrats :)

That's awesome! Congratulations, Alexis!

ption 1 - Fairytale Books
Week #: 2

Pages 201
How book qualifies: Beauty and the Beast #40

WOW Alexis! Congrats to you as well! I'm glad we're 'lucky' for you! I hope you enjoy your work...

Completion Post-Week 2, Option 1: 3/19

Charming the Prince, Teresa Medeiros
3.5 ★'s
Review:
Pretty funny...Cinderella meets Cheaper by the Dozen meets 'Diner Girl'...I can't remember the movie
A funny historical romance. Well developed characters and I thought parts were realistic given the 'times'. The prince was pretty pathetic and I'm not sure I buy into Willow pulling all the pranks she did with the children.
In the end though...happily ever-after...just like a story with a prince should end!

Alexis wrote: "This team must be good luck in the working world since I got a job offer on Friday as well. It will be nice to be able to set some money aside in case we end up moving soon!"

Congrats Alexis! That's awesome :)

Week # 2
Book: by Megan Derr
Rating: 2.5 stars, rounded up

Well, I was a little disappointed in this one. It had all the makings of something I thought I would love but it just fell flat for me, unfortunately.

First, I have no idea how this ended up on a fairytale list because I just didn't see the connection. Or maybe I had blinders on and completely missed it. That is quite possible because the format was a little disjointed and hard for me to follow at first. You see, it's written in case files and they are not in chronological order. That really threw me at first and even though I was able to get my bearings I just didn't like it. Plain and simple. That, more than anything, had a negative impact on my rating.

That being said, each individual case file was okay and I even enjoyed some of them. But trying to fit the pieces together was more than I wanted to do at that point. However, it was full of the paranormal good stuff that I love. And it also had a bit of Romance with a side of Bow chicka wow wow, so it wasn't a total loss :)

Completion Post
Week #2: Fairytales
Book link: The Vixen and the Vet by Katy Regnery
Rating: (20/03) ★★★

This was a modern day twist on Beauty and the Beast - there were a number of similarities between the two. I enjoyed this for the most part. Hands down, once again, the hero made it for me. He was a veteran who was badly injured when an IED went off. He returns home, horribly scared on his right hand side and also has an amputated arm below the elbow. And since people are judgmental fools, he is treated like a leper and retreats into his house on top of the hill, where he remains for the next 8 years. The heroine on the other hand got on my nerves towards the end. She was so promising in the beginning - strong, stubborn, funny and understanding. Then she had a lapse in judgement and I wanted to slap her silly. I liked how they both helped each other to become part of the 'living' again. My favourite thing was the fact that the hero read romance novels! This gained him automatic membership to my Book Boyfriend Club;)

Alexis wrote: "This team must be good luck in the working world since I got a job offer on Friday as well. It will be nice to be able to set some money aside in case we end up moving soon!"


Congrats Alexis!

Completion Post
Week #2- Option 1


Thief
Rating- 3.5*
Review- This story had a few plot devices I don't usually care for...(view spoiler)[keeping identity a secret, prostitution, younger people involved in poverty/exploitation (hide spoiler)]but I liked this story in spite of those things. Ben is too good to be true, and really does fit the 'fairy godfather/prince' role. Cavin is definitely down on his luck and is in a way being 'imprisoned' by an evil person. Like true fairy tale fashion, this story ends with a happy ending for all :)

Option 1 Completion
Week # 2
Bookcover/link: Romancing the Duke
Rating (1-5): 4 stars
Review: This was such a cute and funny book. I loved Izzy, the heroine in our book. She is this perfect mixture of smart and strong but also so sweet and kind. The hero was also pretty good. He was rough and tried hard to stay angry, but I felt Dare did such a great job of always giving him just enough softness to make his love for Izzy believable. I wasn't expecting the story to be so funny. But, it was hilarious. I did give it a 1 star deuction because I found the ending a bit anti-climatic. I had figured out the big reveal pretty early on, so that was no big surprise. The other parts were quite literally just swept under the rug. But, this was such a fun read that I didn't mind much. I will defnitely be picking up more books by Tessa Dare in the future.

Thank you for all of the congratulations ladies! I am actually pretty excited about the job. I start later this week. I do find it funny that two of us have gotten jobs in the first 2 weeks. Anyone up for a promotion? Looking for a new job? Now might be the time!

Week #2 Fairytale Books Completion

Rating (1-5) 3 stars
Review The book follows the traditional story. The heroine of the story is much stronger in this version of the story. I really enjoyed that unknown twust. I also enjoyed the thought of a beast being more panther beast.

Nice job team! We are right on target...

Alexis wrote: "Option 1 Completion
Week # 2
Bookcover/link: Romancing the Duke
Rating (1-5): 4 stars
Review: This was such a cute and funny book. I loved Izzy, the heroine in our book. She is this..."

That's one of my favorites! Loved it! In fact, I'm a big fan of Tessa Dare :)

I'll be out until Sunday, I'll be sure to check in then :)

Theme for Week 3!
Link to Theme announcement-11

Week 3, Option 2:

Shadow's Claim, Kresley Cole
500 pgs
How Book Qualifies: Nichole read on 1/29/17

Option 1
Week #3: Male Bear MC
Booklink: Rock Hard by Nalini Singh
Page numbers: 398 (Kindle Edition)
How the book qualifies: Petite Heroine/Big Hero #47

Option 1
Week #3: Male Bear MC

Pages 292
How the book qualifies: Bear Necessaties #2