Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

Buddy Read Challenge

One of the best things about this group is having other romance readers to chat with about books, since often few (or even none) of our RL friends read the genre...if they read much at all. So, we decided it's time to get some action going in our Buddy Reads folder! The premise is simple...everyone who signs up will be paired with someone with some similar reading preferences. Together you will choose a book that you would like to read and discuss. You will then have a month to read your book and chat about it in a dedicated thread in the Buddy Reads folder. There are no hard rules about how the discussion should progress...you can read at the same pace and discuss as you go or wait until you both finish the book before chatting about it - or some combination of the two.

For those of you who are interested, here are the details:

Sign up in this thread by telling us your first and second favorite romance genres (contemporary/historical/paranormal), and also whether you read exclusively (or almost exclusively) m/m, m/f, or some of both.

Signups close Sunday, June 24 at 6 PM EST. Matchups will be posted as soon as possible after signups close - hopefully within an hour or less. If you have not connected with your buddy by June 28, please let me know...either by posting in this thread or by PM. Anyone who hasn't heard from their buddy by then will either be added to one of the other pairs (the more the merrier, right?) or if there are 2 people without buddies who have similar enough interests, they will be paired up.

Plan on reading a Romance novel for this challenge. In order to match people with similar interests, we need to limit this to romance only. The one exception to this is if AFTER you are matched up, you and your partner discover a non-romance title that you both really want to read, that is acceptable. This should be an exception though, rather than a common practice, and you should go into the challenge expecting to read romance.

Connect with your buddy and choose your book. Once the pairings have been posted, find your discussion thread in the Buddy Reads folder. When you have decided on a book, please post your choice here so the name of your thread can be changed to include the title of the book.

You will have the entire month of July to read and discuss your book. When you're all done reading and discussing, please come back here and let us know how it went!

Happy Reading and Chatting!

Tips/FAQ

Since this is a new challenge, there will probably be questions that we haven't thought of. As they come up and are answered, I'll copy them below.


Tips for choosing your book:

♥ Check out your buddy's "short list". If your buddy has a shelf designated for the PIFM or M&G challenges, look there to see if you can find something you're interested in reading. Or, if either of you doesn't already have a short list, create one! Give your buddy a list of 10 or so books that you're hoping to read soon to see if they have are interested in any of them.
♥ Consider trying something new and different. If you can quickly find something that you've both really been looking forward to reading, that's great! But if you can't, think about looking for something you've been hearing some buzz about but haven't gotten around to reading, or an author or sub-genre that your buddy enjoys but you've rarely or never read before.
♥ Check Amazon for freebies If you can't find something that you both already have (or that one or both of you are fine with buying), check Amazon for freebies. They generally have quite a selection, a combination of new/indie authors and frequently you can find the first book in a series by an established author.
♥ Consider book length when making your selection This challenge is only one book, but since so many of our members tend to participate in multiple challenges and read a lot of books in a month, you might want to discuss whether or not you want/need to try to find a shorter book to read.
♥ Above all, BE WILLING TO COMPROMISE! You've given a general idea of what you like to read, but within that there is still a wide range of options, so please be flexible. I wouldn't expect someone to read something that is completely outside their comfort zone (like asking someone who doesn't read m/m to read it for this challenge), but conversely, you must be willing to consider books that may not be right at the top of your short list.


FAQ:

July Buddy Read Pairings:

Nicole P
KarenH


Samantha
Pamela


Kelsey
MountainKat


Lisa
Filipa


Bianca
kuhi


Chiara
Sonja


Michaele
Ashley


Ezinwanyi
UnusualChild{beppy} 


Keisha
Samantha (Private Profile)

**

Me please! I seem to primarily be reading CR, with PNR coming in slightly ahead of HR for second. I read a mix of m/f and m/m.

Me please.
MM only. Any genre

I'm in again. My favourite genre is contemporary followed by paranormal. I read both m/f and m/m.

I'm pretty flexible. But I mostly read m/f. and I seem to go for suspense romance or contemporary romance. But again I'm pretty flexible if need be. if the book sounds good I'll read it.

I'm in. Contemporary or paranormal. I read mostly m/f.

I’m in for July!
Usually read contemporary and paranormal m/f, but definitely willing to try something new.

I'm in again! First choice is paranormal. Second is historical this time around. I read m/f, m/m, and f/f.

I'm in again - contemporary is my first choice, but I'll read either of the others if need be. M/m or m/f.

I'm in. my first choice is paranomal followed by contemporary. M/m or M/f

I'm in again. M/M or M/F. Any genre.

I’m in. I like CR, HR, NA/YA

Me please! I normally prefer M/F, HRs and sports romances, but I also just got The Nightengale by Kristin Hannah as a recommendation and would love to buddy read it! I'm open to other genres and subgenres as well.
Thank you!

I prefer M/F. Erotica Romance or things similar to that. I love the 50 Shades books, the doms of her life series', I am currently reading Masters and Mercenaries series.
Anyone interested?

I'm in again. I read m/f only. Any genre.

I would like to join
Paranormal
M/f

Romantic genre

I’m in.
I read both m/f and m/m, mainly contemporary. Second option is historical

I'd like to try this. M/M only, any genre (except erotica/bdsm).

Hi everyone! Signups are closed for this month, and you can find the pairings in msg #3 and in the Buddy Reads folder.

Have fun! =)

Hi Karen,
Samantha and I will be reading Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan

Pamela wrote: "Hi Karen,
Samantha and I will be reading Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan"

AWEsome book!!

Sonja wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Hi Karen,
Samantha and I will be reading Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan"

AWEsome book!!"

I agree! =)

Sonja wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Hi Karen,
Samantha and I will be reading Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan"

AWEsome book!!"

Yes, so I heard. Really looking forward to reading it :)

Hey Karen! kuhi and I will be reading How to Bang a Billionaire by Alexis Hall.

Hey Karen! Chiara and I are going for a double-feature!
We're doing a Sporty-Romance Buddy Read with both
and !

Interestingly, both MCs are named Alex! LOL!

Hi Karen, Filipa and I are going to read

Hi Karen,

I couldn't connect with my buddy.

Hey Karen,

Ezinwanyi (me) and UnusualChild{beppy} are going to read Behind the Bars and Kill Game
and

Thanks 🙏🏾

Hey Karen- Ashley and I are going to read Wanderlust together.

Thanks!

Samantha wrote: "Hi Karen,

I couldn't connect with my buddy."

Samantha-
I could do it, if you haven't found anyone else? And if that is allowed, of course!

Hi Ashley,

Let's see what we can do. Thanks for offering :)

Samantha wrote: "Hi Ashley,

Let's see what we can do. Thanks for offering :)"

Samantha - Does that mean yes? lol

Yes...it mean yes.

Michaele wrote: "Hey Karen- Ashley and I are going to read Wanderlust together.

Thanks!"

I just listened to that on audiobook a few days ago. I hope y'all enjoy it as much as I did. :)

Ashley wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Michaele wrote: "Hey Karen- Ashley and I are going to read Wanderlust together.

Thanks!"

I just listened to that on audiobook a few days ago. I hope y'all enjoy i..."

Glad to hear it!
I prefer to read a regular in hand book, but I have a month free trial to amazon audibles to I'm soaking it up while I can.

Samantha wrote: "Michaele wrote: "Hey Karen- Ashley and I are going to read Wanderlust together.

Thanks!"

I just listened to that on audiobook a few days ago. I hope y'all enjoy it as much as I di..."

I'm listening to it too- it's fun so far!

Michaele wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Michaele wrote: "Hey Karen- Ashley and I are going to read Wanderlust together.

Thanks!"

I just listened to that on audiobook a few days ago. I hope y'all enjoy i..."

Awesome to hear! :)

Ashley and I finished Wanderlust, we both liked it, though I think I liked it more than Ashley did :)

Hi Karen! I'm joining Chandra and Sonja's group to read Alex and Pucked.

Also, Michaele and I are moving onto The Edge of Never on Friday!

Pamela and I are moving onto Just Like That by Nicola Rendell.