Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

Guys, quick question, How do we win?

The first team to finish all their books after the last call. So the only real strategy is to make sure that we are all caught up before the last call and then try to pick smallish books after the call.

Ooh okay. I was wondering. Sounds good, we have been doing well with planning & posting!

Selection Post
Week 5, Option 2


At Attention by Annabeth Albert
Pages: 304
How it fits This is #2 in a series. Tamika read #1 in the series, Off Base, on 1/6/17 and gave it 4 stars

Selection Post
Week 6, Option 1


Borrowing Blue by Lucy Lennox
Pages: 282
How it fits: Title has 2 words, both starting with B.

Selection Post
Week 6, Option 1


How to Bang a Billionaire by Alexis Hall
Pages: 384
How it fits: Title has 2 words starting with B

Week 5 completion post

Finished 4/10/2017
5 stars
Review: This was a reread for me. I love this series. This book tells a beautiful story of how two men find their way back together, but are able to include their favorite woman as well. Very hot and very emotional.

Week 6: Option 1

300pages per amazon

how it fits: Two words starting with S

Week 5 - Completion Post
Option 1


Call: Read a book featuring a cowboy from the following lists
Book: Saddled and Spurred - Lorelei James
How it fits: #12 on SAVE A HORSE RIDE A COWBOY - Page 1
Pages: 336 pp
Date Read: 04.13
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
Really good story. I think I liked it better than the first in the series. Both MCs were strong but also vulnerable and I liked watching them work through getting past each other's insecurities. They didn't get through all of them, of course, until the very end, but the grovel was pretty awesome! I'm anxious now to read the next - it looks to be a two for one love story :-P

Week 6 - Link to Post

Option 1
12. We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen has a lot of rhyming and repetition in it. Read a book where the title has at least two words in a row starting with the same letter (excluding A, An and The). Eg Power Play, Red River etc.

Option 2
Key date: 12 October 2016


Please ensure you follow the format shown in msg 3 of your team threads.

Week 6 Tracking


LaurLa
Book: Warrior Witch - Danielle L. Jensen
Review: Completion

❀~Amy~❀
Book: Borrowing Blue - Lucy Lennox
Review: Completion

Nicole
Book: The Strongest Steel- Scarlett Cole
Review: Completion

☘KathyD☘
Book: The Strongest Steel - Scarlett Cole
Review: Completion

Tamika♥RBF MOOD♥
Book: Starting from Scratch - Jay Northcote
Review: Completion

MountainKat
Book: Stuck-Up Suit - Vi Keeland
Review: Completion

Week 6: We're Going on a Bear Hunt has a lot of rhyming and repetition in it.
Selection Post

Stuck-Up Suit by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward, 245 p. per GR
'Stuck-Up' and 'Suit' both begin with 'S'.

Selection Post – Option 1

Week 6
, Scarlett Cole
Page Numbers ➔ 297
How the Book Qualifies ➔ title includes two words in a row beginning with “s”

Week 6 - Selection Post
Option 1


Call: Read a book where the title has at least two words in a row starting with the same letter
Book: Warrior Witch - Danielle L. Jensen
How it fits: Both words start with W
Pages: 384 pp

Completion Post
Week 5, Option 2


At Attention by Annabeth Albert
Date Read: 4/14/17
Rating and Review: 4 stars
This was another great addition to the series. I loved Dylan right from the start. He had such a great personality. Apollo took me longer to warm up to. He was gruff and grumpy and downright rude on occasion. I loved the daddy side of him though, right from the start. He was so warm and loving with the girls.
Apollo and Dylan together as a couple were great, once Apollo got with the program that is. lol!
I'm so ready for the the next book to be released since I am dying to see how Maddox and Ben work things out.

Week 6: We're Going on a Bear Hunt has a lot of rhyming and repetition in it.
Completion Post

Stuck-Up Suit by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward, 245 p. per GR
'Stuck-Up' and 'Suit' both begin with 'S'.

Completed 4.15.17 *4++ Stars*

Loved this, totally worked for me! Graham, the hero, was a total ass but he had a heart of gold underneath. Soraya, the heroine, was 'so far out of his league' that she fit him perfectly! She didn't put up with his BS and shoved his attitude right back at him. Their banter was great, I loved the back and forth between them! Their was a bit of unbelievable conflict thrown in, I can overlook it thought because I loved the characters so much. The ending was super sweet too!

I listened to the audio with Maxine Mitchell and Joe Arden as narrators. I really enjoyed their performance. They were very nice to listen to and added to my enjoyment of the book.

Week 6 - Completion Post
Option 1


Call: Read a book where the title has at least two words in a row starting with the same letter
Book: Warrior Witch - Danielle L. Jensen
How it fits: Both words start with W
Pages: 384 pp
Date Read: 04.15
Rating: ★★★★
Review:
I totally have book hangover right now. While I enjoyed this series, I have to say I am glad it's over. It was stressful to read. I don't do well with series where everything that could go wrong does, mostly because I know that's going to happen so I read with a sense of dread. And yet, I can't NOT read once I get started. Anyway, I knew this was the end of the series so I knew if I just kept moving forward, all of the setbacks would eventually stop and things WOULD WORK OUT!! And they did, of course, and everyone is living happily even after. In truth, this book, this series, was very good and the characters/world, while fantastical, still believable and I was invested in them and their outcomes, no matter how it sounds like I complained. I will likely read more from this author.

Completion Posts
Week 6, Option 1


Borrowing Blue by Lucy Lennox
Date Read: 4/16/17
Rating and Review: 3.5 stars
I had such a hard time rating this one. On the one hand, I loved Blue and Tristan so hard. They were a great couple and I loved the way things evolved with their relationship. Not to mention how seriously sexy they were together. There was *almost* too much sex. (Never thought I'd say that with how much I love me some hot sex scenes. lol!!) They were very sweet and considerate with each other and for the most part had little trouble communicating with each other.
On the other hand, there was way, way, way too much OTT drama with ex's and homophobic family members and people cheating (Lots and lots and lots of people cheating!). And Aunt Tilly, Granny and Irene weren't funny in the least. I found them rather disgusting for the most part. I also hated the way the author handled Tristan's sexuality. Blue thinks Tristan is straight when he mentions the ex-wife, but Tristan never told anyone that he was bisexual. He fooled around with a guy in high school and had a relationship in college that scared him off guys until Blue comes along. This is all well and good, until suddenly Tristan just up and decides that he is not really bi, he's gay since he loves Blue. Why oh why couldn't the author have just left him bisexual. Being in a committed relationship with a gay man doesn't automatically mean you have to be gay as well. Bisexuality is a real thing. *sigh* I'm probably doing a crap job of explaining all this but whatever. Suffice it say it bugged the mess out of me.
All the negatives aside, there were lots of feels with Blue and Tristan and I just totally adored them. If I was rating just based on them, I'd probably give 5 big stars, but everything else would probably get 2, landing me with a 3.5 star rating.
Oh and as a side to note to anyone who might pick up the audio of this. The narrator does a fantastic job for the most part. Very distinctive voices for the huge cast of characters and lots of emotion. He does the sex scenes very well too. Only negative is that he has the most annoying chuckle on the planet and he uses it A LOT!!! It sounds so very fake. Other than that small point I highly recommend it if you are going to give this story a shot.

I have to change my choice. I DNF this book @ 67%. Have to see if the book I'm currently reading works on anyone of you girl's shelf.

Week 5: Option 2

by Jay Northcote
249 pages Per GR
Option 2: #5 in the series, #2 in series on Amy's Read Shelf. Read 3.3.17 Rated 5 stars

Completion Post
Week 6: Option 2
by Jay Northcote
Date Read:4.18.17
Rating:4 stars

Review: Thank you Jay Northcote. Ben's story was done really well, and you couldn't have picked a better mate then Sid. I liked this friends to lovers story. It was very sweet, and endearing. Ben definitely came out of his shell in this book. I truly like how he evolved as a character. He tried so hard to be open to social hangouts, and I thought it was super cute his relationship with his mom.

I learned a lot of information in this book. So many things I didn't know, and it was very real to read about. I like how informed Ben was in his choices and life. I enjoyed Sid having his doubts, but researching to figure out what to say and do. This actually was growth for both of them. They each changed for the better.

The pace of the story was perfect. Ben is Transgendered, and he is lonely. He wants to be with someone but those fears and doubts create a stopping point each time. Sid is Jude's ex, but going through his own things, and he's attracted to Ben at first hang out. I liked the whole talking and courting aspect. This was a developed romance. It had its flaws, and relationship problems, but that's why its super realistic.

Not to heavy on the angst for me. I think we seem them become to connected to one another. Both experience this relationship for a first time. Both have reactions that are real to the situation. I am loving this series as it gets more along in fact. I really enjoyed this story. Ummm but Jay, you have to write Johnny's next. No way can we see LACE and not get his story!! Please. I might go back and re-read Dev & Ewan's because it just popped in my head as I type. LOL. This is a definite recommend folks! Get it and read it!

All looking good in here :)

Tamika♥RBF MOOD♥ wrote: "I have to change my choice. I DNF this book @ 67%. Have to see if the book I'm currently reading works on anyone of you girl's shelf."

That's too bad! What made it so bad?

It was too much internal monologuing for me. It would be 3 sentences of dialogue for the main characters, then 5 pages of internal b.s. I couldn't deal with it any longer.

Completion Post – Week 6

, Scarlett Cole – 4/19/17 – ✮✮✮✮✮
Review — I really enjoy this book! It was recommended to me quite a while ago, but there was never enough time to sneak it in! There were some very dark issues going on with Harper, but I thought Ms. Cole handled them beautifully. Harper didn’t need to be “cured,” but by gaining confidence and committing to her relationship with Trent, she was able to put the pieces of her life together. Trent, for the most part, was amazing! He had a small douche moment, but in all fairness, he was so excited! One part I didn’t like was that I couldn’t actually see the tattoos. I have a good imagination of what Harper’s looked like finished, but Trent’s are a bit ambiguous...they sound incredible though!

Tamika♥RBF MOOD♥ wrote: "It was too much internal monologuing for me. It would be 3 sentences of dialogue for the main characters, then 5 pages of internal b.s. I couldn't deal with it any longer."

I've been there. You get to the point you can't remember the conversation for all the internal stuff!

Week 7 - Link to Post

Option 1
5. Seeker. Read a book published for the first time in the last 6 months.

This means new releases only. Please show the publication date in your selection post.

Option 2
Key date: 19 October 2016

Week 7 Tracking


LaurLa
Book: Rock Chick Reawakening - Kristen Ashley
Review: Completion

❀~Amy~❀
Book: If I Should Stumble - Claire Davis
Review: Completion

Nicole
Book: Only You - Lacey Silks
Review: Completion

☘KathyD☘
Book: Rock Chick Reawakening - Kristen Ashley
Review: Completion

Tamika♥RBF MOOD♥
Book: Darkest Hour Before Dawn - Charlie Cochet
Review: Completion

MountainKat
Book: Razr - Larissa Ione
Review: Completion

Week 7 - Selection Post


Option 1
Call: Seeker. Read a book published for the first time in the last 6 months.
Book: Rock Chick Reawakening - Kristen Ashley
How it fits: published Jan 2017
Pages: 207pp

Selection Post
Week 7, Option 1


Whiskey Business by Avon Gale
Pages: 117
How it fits: Published 12/28/16

i'm thinking i'm going to follow your lead, laurla! thanks for posting so quickly! =)

☘KathyD☘ wrote: "i'm thinking i'm going to follow your lead, laurla! thanks for posting so quickly! =)"

:-P

Selection Post – Option 1
Week 7

, Kristen Ashley
Page Numbers ➔ 207
How the Book Qualifies ➔ published January 3, 2017

Selection Post – Option 1
Week 7

by Aleksandr Voinov
Page Numbers ➔ 348
How the Book Qualifies ➔ published February 4th, 2017

Hmmm, well I have a new release that I started a few days ago - managed to make it through slightly more than the first chapter I think. It's not in audio so I'm struggling to sit down and read it. I need it for the monthly and the FAC. If I restart it, I can use it here too - three challenges the charm? Hopefully!

Week 7: Seeker. Read a book published for the first time in the last 6 months.
Selection Post

Razr by Larissa Ione, 120 p. per GR
First published April 11, 2017.

Week 6 Completion post

300 pages
4stars
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The main character was scarred and hiding. Throughout the book you saw her grow and become strong. The chemistry between the characters was great. I will definitely read more in this series.

Week 7: read a book published in the last 6 months
Option 1

398 pages
Published March 20, 2017

Selection Post – Option 1
Week 7

by Charlie Cochet
Page Numbers ➔ 224
How the Book Qualifies ➔ publishes April 25th, 2017

Week 7: completion post

398 pages
5 stars
Review: I could not put this book down, There were many twists and turns and the character development was amazing. I felt like I knew these characters on a personal level. This book will make you laugh, cry, and angry. It was an emotional roller coaster but well worth the ride.

Week 7: Seeker. Read a book published for the first time in the last 6 months.
Completion Post

Razr by Larissa Ione, 120 p. per GR
First published April 11, 2017.

Completed 4.23.17 *4 Stars*

I enjoyed this, but it almost seemed out of place for the series. It was odd that a new species and different realms were introduced in a novella. If that is going to become part of this series, I would have listed to see it explored more in full length book. Just my opinion and thoughts while reading. I did like the story and characters though.

I'm want to give you all an early warning that I might need the pass next week. I'm hoping not, but I'm having minor surgery this week so I want to leave my options open. I would imagine I would know by Friday though.

Selection Post
Week 7, Option 1


If I Should Stumbleby Claire David and Al Stewart
Pages: 148
How it fits: Published 12/1/16

Completion Post
Week 7, Option 1


If I Should Stumble
Read: 4/23/17
Rating and Review: 3 stars
It was hard to know just how to rate this story. There were aspects that I really liked and enjoyed. I loved Kaz and Zack as a couple. Their love story was really sweet slow and gentle. Zack was a great guy and I loved how unsure of himself he was, but how Kaz built him up every chance he got. I also loved where Tork is in this one. He's so settled and confidant, which is a far cry from where he started in this series. I also really liked Jo since she made me laugh. =)
Then there are the things that bugged the mess out of me with this story. So much of Kaz's back story is vague and it left me with way, way too many questions. I would have loved some more details here. Also Adam still bugs me. I know he is supposed to be a good guy and every once in a while you see that come through, but for the most part he's a dick and I still don't like him.

Completion Post – Option 1
Week 7

by Charlie Cochet
Date Read:4.23.17
Rating:4.5 stars

Review: So close.....

Oh Charlie, you don't know how close I was to parting ways with your series. I got so tired of Dex & Sloane taking over everyone's stories, tired of the cliffhangers and tired of the other couple playing side characters in their stories. I was just tired. It would have been sad for me, but I would have no other choice. Along the way, the series has gotten so big that at times I forgot who is who, and what is what.

But Ms. Cochet, you've redeemed yourself to me. Big time. I'm not an easy series reader to please, and this felt like one of the beginning books in the series. I really liked this. It was an actual story with no cliffhangers, the minimalist of Dex, and Seb & Hudson finally gets to tell their story.

A really big reveal comes into play. I mean, I kinda figured it out, but I definitely like the direction it went in. Hopefully this means Seb & Hudson gets to play a bigger role in this series as well as a potential spin-off series. I did forget the reason for the breakup, but I did like seeing an established couple work through their problems. Is was very up and down at one point, but I understand both points of views.


This is not a standalone, and reading the series helps a lot. We get to see the main characters in their everyday lives, and how well they are able to work to one another. I got a feeling that the series is almost over for some of these people, but its a couple of people that I'd like to see have a story or novella before we leave. Zachary first and foremost, didn't forget about him. Austen, Dom, and Alfie ;). Have to read the story to find out about that last name folks.

All in all, I think this was a really good story. Nice plot, decent amount of heat, passion, love, and angst. Yes it was a bit angsty in my opinion, but it had me sucked in from the very beginning. Charlie has redeemed herself in my eyes. Can't wait to see what's next for this crew.

Completion Post – Week 7

, Kristen Ashley – 4/25/17 – ✮✮✮✮✮
Review — I have missed my beloved Rock Chicks! I remember when I started this series that I wasn’t so sure about Marcus and Daisy. He seemed to be a two-dimensional villain type, while Daisy was a Dolly Parton-look-alike with too much sass. As the series went on, I appreciated seeing both of these characters develop even though it was on the peripheral of the other stories. While this wasn’t nearly as long as her Rock Chick books (yes, I know it is meant to be a novella), I appreciated how much could be included in the story without losing touch with the characters. I’m so glad Ms. Ashley chose to write this book and give fans the chance to really get to know these two amazing characters!

Week 7 - Completion Post
Option 1


Call: Seeker. Read a book published for the first time in the last 6 months.
Book: Rock Chick Reawakening - Kristen Ashley
How it fits: published Jan 2017
Pages: 207pp
Date Read: 04.27
Rating: ★★★★★
Review:
I just want to take this book and hug it and kiss it and squeeze it and pet it and love it forever. Such a feel good story and a perfect beginning/ending/addition to the series. It was classic KA and Rock Chick but slightly less. Marcus was exactly how I thought he'd be and Daisy even more so. I wish we could have seen Daisy's integration into the Rock Chicks a bit more. I know we saw it in the regular books, but not from her or Marcus' perspective and that would have been fun, I think. I think there is supposed to be a spin-off with Mace and Stella in Cali. I hope I'm not dreaming that cuz I do miss the Rock Chicks!

Selection Post
Week 8, Option 1

by J.H. Knight
220 pages per GR
How it fits: #40 on Best Gay Books Dealing With Children List

Week 8: Option 1

305 pages
#37 on https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

Week 8 Tracking


LaurLa
Book: To Sir Phillip, With Love - Julia Quinn
Review: Completion

❀~Amy~❀
Book: Fair Chance - Josh Lanyon
Review: Completion

Nicole
Book: Craving Constellations - Nicole Jacquelyn
Review: Completion

☘KathyD☘
Book: Well Hung - Lauren Blakely
Review: Completion

Tamika♥RBF MOOD♥
Book: The Last Thing He Needs - J.H. Knight
Review: Completion

MountainKat
Book: The Chosen - J.R. Ward
Review: Completion