Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

July Buddy Read

hey Pamela I looked through your to read list a little and found a few that sounded interesting. if you wanted to do one these let me know. I'm up for other suggestions too.

willing captive by belle aurora
because if him by Terri laine
if you were mine by Jennifer sucevic
archers voice - mia Sheridan
Just like that by Nicola Rendell

Hi samantha, I would love to read archer's voice since this has been sitting on my kindle for a while now. But if you have something else you really want to try that is not on my tbr I'm up for that too

archers voice sounded very interesting so I really can't wait to read it.

Great! Then we have a decision, that was fast :) I'll post it in the buddy reads threat

awesome!

so how should we go about this? like a weekly thing? At our own pace or what?
I'm pretty flexible.

I suggest we define reading goals. Maybe twice a week? Or weekly if this works better for you. I never tried this but I think the exchange could be more fun like this

We could try twice a week and always adjust if it doesn't seem right. But I agree sounds fun.

I checked and there's about 36 chapters.
So we just have to figure out what 2 days a week we're gonna discuss and if there's gonna be a set chapter goal for each.

Let's take Wednesday and Sunday? I think we should aim for 4-5 chapters and adapt depending on how much time we both will be able to spend. Should we start right away with the first 5 chapters until July 4th?

Perfect. Sounds good to me.

I can't wait to read this.
Lots of people seem to really like it so I'm really excited to find out for myself.

Me too. And I'm glad you suggested it, I have been planning to read this forever now

Well I'm glad I could help check one off the to read list. :)

So excited to start this today.

Me too, though I won't get to it today. But tomorrow! :)

Finished the chapters last night. wow. I'm just gonna start with saying I loved that little thing about the centaur before the first chapter. I just love when authors set the tone for the book like that. it helps bring out more depth.

Yes, I liked it too. Can't see the connection to the story yet though.
Anyways... I have high hopes for this book. The writing immediately pulled me in. Bree is kind of a stalker though...

yeah that's true usually don't see it's whole tie till the end.
But yes. it's amazing how well she can quickly switch from a 6 year old boy to a woman in her twenties with such ease.
I just realized how right you are that's she's kind of a stalker.
it's not like she's trying to be creepy on purpose tho. I feel like it's a bit common amongst young ladies to be curious now a days. with the internet it's so easy to stalk without thinking about it that I guess I only thought what she was doing to be only slightly odd.
Oh and what I feel might be an issue later is the cousins. archer and his cop cousin. I feel like something's gonna happen between them.

I think Bree will eventually date the cousin and this will get Archer to act so that he doesn't lose Bree...
5 more chapters until Sunday?

yeah I can see that happening now that you mention it.

yes 5 more for Sunday. can't wait! hope the next few chapters are as good or more so then the last few.

Now it's getting really interesting! Obviously being a stalker pays off at times ;) But Travis really lost all sympathy points in this flashback on the lake.
Do you want to stick to five more until wednesday?

Yes 5 more for wednesday!
It really is getting interesting.
I totally agree about Travis. I was originally like huh why don't the cousins really hang much. Well now we know. He's kind of a jerk!
But of course Bree doesn't know..yet.
But yeah Archer really doesn't seem to mind her stalker tendencies. I mean he obviously knows. He pointed out her tire tracks. Plus she has let it slip that she's basically asked around about him.

I am so glad that we picked this book! It's so captivating. I wanna know more about Archer's history and I also wanna know more about Bree's future.

Finally Wednesday!!! I have to admit that I read all 5 chapters on Sunday and was now waiting anxiously to share my thoughts ;)

I'm a little disappointed how the date with Travis went down. He really isn't a likeable character. Might be a good thing though, this way I won't feel bad for him when Bree drops him.
Also the flashbacks suddenly stop because of ONE conversation about it? Is this realistic? I really don't know and there may be cases where it is that simple. The brain works in a strange way. But it just didn't seem realistic to me. On the other hand's side I'm sure she'll have some sort of relapse during the book.
And finally Archer... He sure is sweet in his own strange way. Do you think he is a virgin or was there some arranged encounter with one or more women in his past? Anyway... I can't wait to find out what was going on in his head during this last encounter with Bree where he sent her away! I really hope we get a thorough explanation :)

Yeah we might have to adjust the days we read. maybe instead of twice we do 3? and if we finish early could always start a new book. just a thought. I'm just so hooked on this book. haha

Oh yes. I really don't like Travis. He freaking gives me the creeps. Like at first I was excited to see where that was going but now I'm not so sure.
I didn't even think about that. I was just glad that Bree was finally starting to feel better. But my thought was that Archer seemed to make her feel things she hadn't felt in a very long time, like being safe. So maybe that gave her mind a bit of comfort. I mean I get where you're coming from but I also understand how it could stop. Because I've gone through similar stuff. But I also know that with progress comes relapse. So we will see.
Oh I just adore Archer. He's just sweet and has this innocents about him but yet he's rough and tortured. And i don't think he has much experience with women or people in general from what I've gathered so far. So yeah maybe that's why he sent her away he didn't know how to comprehend things.
I also wanna say I just love the trust that seems to be building so fast between them. With them revealing more to each other then they have with anyone else. It's lovely.

Yeah, another day works for me. So 5 more until friday?

I'm fully on board with this connection between Archer and Bree that you mentioned. And I'm really impressed that we are able to feel it even though the two of them are just about starting to really talk to each other.

yes! 5 more to Friday works.

yes it is impressive. it just goes to show how intense their connection really is.

omg i knew there would be a professional involved - call it intuition or whatever. do you think it is really possible to be that unaware of everything that you don't understand that what Travis fed Archer is complete bs? i mean Archer seems intelligent enough, but this was just dumb! i wouldn't be surprised if there was a baby involved sooner or later.

I do believe it's possible to be that naive. I mean he basically grew up in isolation and Travis is so devious. I had so many thoughts that I conflicted with. like I couldn't understand it either at first but then I thought and tried thinking from archers view and it's possible. He was wary but wasn't sure. plus with drinking his first time ever. And getting drunk. doesn't help his thought process. I being fully aware of the world and knowing right from wrong do stupid stuff while intoxicated. But he has more then that to struggle with. So it can't always be simple black and white. a lot of times it's this gray area we struggle with.

Hehe... it's quite clear who has the more positive view in this buddy-reads constellation ;) I can agree with this to some degree, but at least in my experience people mostly do stuff they secretly want when drunk. It may be dumb, but still rarely something they don't want. And I don't say they don't regret it afterwards (me included ;) ).
But I fully agree with this gray area struggling. Can't wait to see how everything plays out!

haha I just try to be open minded. I try to look at every angle and try to understand each point.
I totally understand where you're coming from tho. I used you agree that being drunk was never an excuse but now that I see so much gray it's harder for me to say.
I really can't wait to find out either.
I also have to say your an awesome reading buddy. And I'm glad we're reading this book. I'm so hooked.

5 more for Sunday?

Yes, 5 more! And I love this buddy read too!

awesome!

Okay... I thought this would go in a completely different direction. I like this direction more! Also Archer doesn't seem that naive anymore. But I can't imagine being with someone that childlike in so many ways. I think a special kind of patience would be needed here that I'm not sure I would have.

It's so fun seeing how another person views this. I believe they kinda poked at his child like behavior in an earlier chapter. But I think bree is aware and up for the challenge. because in many ways she understands. she is also without parents and when she did have her dad she still kinda had to look out for him. plus she understands he didn't really have anyone to teach him he hasn't socialized since he was seven. that's 15/16 years of not knowing what to do and teaching himself. (since his uncle wasn't right in the head.) on top of it he's only 23 and male. look at Travis. he's a cop who still has a mom. And he grew up with society and he still behaves as a child. most of us at some point behave as children even when we're adults. archer just has it worse. But considering all what he has against him he's adapting pretty well. most men mark up their women and stake claim. most men are driven by desire. And most people don't know what they wanna do yet even in their twenties. most men even have doubts. so everything considered. I think he's doing pretty good. I mean he still needs work but he'll get there like he does with everything else. He's just got to trust and believe in her more and stop listening to Travis. (I'm so sick of Travis.)
But I mean my husband even acts like a child sometimes and he grew up in a normal family and we've been married almost 6 years. He's 27. so I mean most men don't fully grow up. not the ones I've been around anyways. I'm not saying it's not frustrating tho. Oh boy it gets on my nerves but love is a powerful thing. that's why I think they can work thru it tho.

I agree about the never fully growing up part. I always believed that I would be all mature when I'm 34, but now I don't have a clue what I'm doing most of the time. Also my hubby frustrates me to no end sometimes (especially when he knows I'm right, but still does the opposite just because), but that's another sort of childlike. I don't have to explain the world to him like I do to my daughter. And I don't have to be afraid that someone takes advantage of him.
I also agree that Archer isdoing pretty well given the circumstances. Still he has a really long way to go before leading a "normal" life and I don't think I would be able to handle it. This is one example when love just might not be enough. Can't wait to see how Bree manages!

10 chapters to go. Do you want to finish by wednesday or should we stick to 5 chapters and finish by Friday then?

Yeah that's true. I agree that it's different. But she's been patient and willing to help so far. I think it'll work itself out. I have hope. But I still can't wait to see how it all works out though.

sure. we can finish the rest for Wednesday. so excited

well so much happened in those last ten chapters. I have to take a look back in my notes to properly discuss it all.

i have so much to say about it all. But one word sum up is wow.

some predictability very little of it actually. like I'm pretty good at knowing what happens in most stories but so much happens that I was really shocked by 2 things. And that's what happens at the end of chapter 30 and chapter 33.

But I was not shocked at all to find out about archer and Travis having a different connection.

I'm trying not to leave spoilers in case you haven't finished yet lol

Don't worry, I finished yesterday evening

I didn't see this ending coming either. But I don't know why I was surprised he left actually. And there was this one scene where Bree thought about Archer not wanting to feel like her child. This was what I meant when I told you I can't imagine a relationship like this.
I was a little disappointed about the ending. Where did he get the suit from on such short notice? I doubt it was something he just happened to have in his closet. But this was just something I wondered that wouldn't have disturbed me that much. But the ending was a little too cheesy for my liking. I expected something to happen to Archer when Bree talked about this moment when leaving him in the morning being important, but I thought he would die. I'm usually a HEA kind of girl, but in this case it would have been fitting in my opinion.
Anyways, I liked most of this book, but the ending was sadly not for me

oh my goodness. I forgot about the suit. yes! I was like huh? where did he get that. But I mean he got a job and all that kinda stuff so maybe he got a nice outfit during that time too.

personally I love cheesy happy ending. I like predictability too. But only with things I read and watch.

when he left to better himself I was like okay sad but I understood why he needed to leave. it turned out for the best in that.

But when the guy showed up and he got shot I almost threw my phone to be honest. I didn't see that coming at all. I honestly thought he died. although I like happy ending it did seem rushed but most of the books I read do tend to rush at the end so oh well.

But as far as this book is considered as a whole it's not perfect. has some small holes/unanswered questions. But I really did enjoy it and if a friend asked I'd recommend it.

oh and the fact Travis and archer turned out to be brothers didn't surprise me. I figured awhile ago that might be the case.

But overall I'm glad we read this.

I was kind of surprised Travis and Archer were brothers. Mainly because if Archer wasn't Marcus' son, why did his mother marry him if she loved Connor that much. I guess this is one of these holes you were talking about. I'm still glad we read this, but I mainly enjoyed the first half of the book. That was great, the rest was okay

yes that was one of the holes I was talking about. But people do crazy things all the time that we do not fully understand. like shooting a 7 year old and crashing a car with family in it.

But I do agree first half was more thought out and more enjoyable.

we do have a chunk of July left. did you want to start a new book to discuss?

Sure, sounds good. Did you have something in mind?