Category Archives: Reading Challenges

Bout of Books 22 Update – Day 1

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 22, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

LLnmmXw

Yesterday (first day of the read-a-thon) didn’t exactly go as planned. I have a feeling the whole week will end up being like this but I worked like a 14 hour day yesterday, so there wasn’t much time left for reading unfortunately. I did the best I could but this week isn’t going to be my best showing for the read-a-thon participation.

Update

Monday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) 1 hour
Number of pages I’ve read today: 107 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read:  107 pages (Day one! Ha)
Books read: Finished A Harmless Little Plan by Meli Raine (review post to come) and read a little more of The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll
Challenges: I did not do the challenge for yesterday, I was too focused on work during the day

Stay tuned for continued progress made in tomorrow’s post on my Tuesday update!!

Bout of Books 22 – Sign Up Post

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 22, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

LLnmmXwSo for one of my goals this year to help me focus more on reading and having concentrated time for reading, I am participating in all 3 Bout of Books reading challenges / read-a-thons this year! The first one was in early January and I got a good amount of reading done. The next one is coming up next week and while I have a really busy schedule I am looking forward to hopefully getting a lot of reading done next week!

For those of you who don’t really know much about Bout of Books, it is basically a week-long, no pressure read-a-thon that has been going strong since 2011! Here is a description directly from the Bout of Books blog:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 14th and runs through Sunday, May 20th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 22 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

The Bout of Books Read-a-Thon was created by Amanda @ On a Book Bender on a complete whim in August 2011. It took on a life of its own and was such a hit that Amanda decided to do it again and turn it into a somewhat regular occurrence.

  • Bout of Books is a week long read-a-thon, usually from 12:01am on a Monday through 11:59pm on a Sunday in whatever time zone you are in.
  • It is low pressure, meaning participants are only asked to push themselves to read more than they normally would during any given week. There is no competition between readers.
  • How much time a reader wants, and can commit, to read, tweet, or network with fellow bloggers is left to individual preference. All challenges and giveaways are optional.
  • Networking with fellow bloggers is actively encouraged, though never required.
  • Use Twitter to post updates throughout the read-a-thon. Everyone will be tweeting with the #boutofbooks hashtag.

Since I’m so behind in my reading schedule, this will be a great week to devote to reading and catch up!

Time Devoted to Reading

I plan to read at least 2 hours each day during the week, with hopefully additional hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Saturday I’m working and I have a bridal shower but then Sunday is pretty open so hopefully I can make up for any lost time on Saturday. I usually like to take a day or two off during the May reading challenge but this year I’m not able to because I’m too busy.

My Goals

My goals for this read-a-thon are that I’d like to participate in as much as I can: the daily posts plus reading every day.

Books to Read

Hopefully I’m actually able to get through all (or at least a few) of those, if so I could at least kind of stay on track with May’s reading schedule so far. I’m really looking forward to this week-long reading challenge devoted to reading ! If you do want to join make sure to add yourself to the page’s Sign Up Post by Tuesday, May 15th at 11:59pm! Happy reading!

2018 Book #30 – Third Son’s a Charm by Shana Galen

Posted in 2018, Book reviews, Bookish 2018 Reading Challenge, Historical Romance, Reading Challenges by

61pSH2RHthLTitle: Third Son’s a Charm
Author: Shana Galen
Date finished: 4/20/18
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: November 7, 2017
Pages in book: 418
Stand alone or series: #1 in The Survivors series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Ewan Mostyn thinks a job as a duke’s daughter’s bodyguard will be easy—but Lady Lorraine has a few tricks up her sleeve that spark an undeniable passion

Fiercely loyal to his friends and comrades, Ewan Mostyn is the toughest in a group of younger sons of nobility who met as soldiers and are now trying desperately to settle back into peaceful Society. Ewan trusts his brawn more than his brains, but when he’s offered a job watching the Duke of Ridlington’s stubbornly independent daughter, he finds both are challenged.

Lady Lorraine wants none of her father’s high-handed ways, and she’ll do everything in her power to avoid her distressingly attractive bodyguard—until she lands herself in real trouble. Lorraine begins to see Ewan’s protectiveness in a new light, and she can only hope that her stoic guardian will do for her what he’s always done—fight for what he wants.

My rating:  3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This is from my 2017 Backlog list, I read this for the 2018 Bookish Reading Challenge for the “a book with the moon or stars on the cover” category, I originally requested this book because I just loved the cover. The starry night / purple background is beautiful and I loved the dress featured on the cover as well!

This was a good book. There wasn’t anything that I would say was overtly thrilling about the story line but it was a solidly built romance and the plot line was interesting. The main characters had good chemistry and it was interesting to see their relationship develop. I was satisfied for the most part with how it ended, although I think I would’ve maybe liked to hear more about how miserable Francis turned out, he was a jerk. The hero in the book too was very interesting, he had dyslexia and was considered an imbecile by most of his family and could barely read. It was an interesting change from other books in the genre. The heroine was a bit impertinent and most definitely willful but I liked (for the most part) how headstrong she was and how passionate she was. This was a good book and I’d recommend it, I’d be interested to read more in the series.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2018 Book #28 – The Bride Who Got Lucky by Janna MacGregor

Posted in 2018, Book reviews, Bookish 2018 Reading Challenge, Historical Romance, Reading Challenges by

510FgHQ2n0LTitle: The Bride Who Got Lucky
Author: Janna MacGregor
Date finished: 4/12/18
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: October 31, 2017
Pages in book: 364
Stand alone or series: #2 in the Cavensham Heiresses series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

He would do anything to protect her. Even marry her…

The son of a cold-hearted duke, Nicholas St. Mauer isn’t one to involve himself in society…or open his own heart to anyone. But driven by honor, the reclusive Earl of Somerton feels obliged to keep a watchful eye on Lady Emma Cavensham. She possesses a penchant for passions unbecoming a woman that finds Nick in constant peril of losing his well-structured solitude. She even dared kiss Nick once—an utterly unladylike, and delightful, lapse…

Emma can’t deny the appeal of the earl’s attention, and occasional affection, but she has no need for a man. There are worse fates than spinsterhood, as Emma knows too well. She still mourns the loss of her dear friend Lena, and is determined to prove Lena’s husband responsible for her death before he lures another innocent woman into a brutal marriage. But as Emma pursues her prey, a compromising moment upends all her plans. Now, with gossip swirling and her reputation in tatters, Nick may be the only man brave enough to join in Emma’s cause. . .and fight for her heart.

The Bride Who Got Lucky is a sweeping Regency romance from Janna MacGregor in her Cavensham Heiresses series.

My rating:  4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This is from my 2017 Backlog list, I read this for the 2018 Bookish Reading Challenge for the “a book you regret not reading last year” category, I especially regretted not reading it since I ended up signing up to review the next book in the series in May!

I always love it when I get to read a historical romance with a really strong and fierce female lead. In a day and age when women were not at all encouraged to think for themselves, Emma Cavensham rises above the rest with revolutionary ideas about women’s place in society. I especially loved that Emma’s character was so strong-willed and opinionated in this book, although she lost a tad of her luster as the novel went on. I also really was a fan of her wanting to be a career woman and her efforts to make a difference in the world. I also loved that Nicholas’s character encouraged Emma in many ways, although he wasn’t quite prepared to let her make her own decisions (partially because she was making bad ones). Nicholas and Emma ended up being a tad too stubborn when combined for my tastes, I started to grow weary in the end that we’d ever be able to reach a compromise. There were a lot of interesting family characters mentioned in the story and I’m looking forward to potential additional books in the series featuring them. I already am lined up to read the next book in the series, which will be out in May.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2018 Book #11 – The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

Posted in 2018, Book reviews, Bookish 2018 Reading Challenge, Fiction, Reading Challenges, Suspense, Thriller, Women's fiction by

51MbMthRSSLTitle: The Things We Wish Were True
Author: Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Date finished: 1/29/18
Genre: Fiction, suspense, thriller
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: September 1, 2016
Pages in book: 290
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

In an idyllic small-town neighborhood, a near tragedy triggers a series of dark revelations.

From the outside, Sycamore Glen, North Carolina, might look like the perfect all-American neighborhood. But behind the white picket fences lies a web of secrets that reach from house to house.

Up and down the streets, neighbors quietly bear the weight of their own pasts—until an accident at the community pool upsets the delicate equilibrium. And when tragic circumstances compel a woman to return to Sycamore Glen after years of self-imposed banishment, the tangle of the neighbors’ intertwined lives begins to unravel.

During the course of a sweltering summer, long-buried secrets are revealed, and the neighbors learn that it’s impossible to really know those closest to us. But is it impossible to love and forgive them?

My rating:  4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This is from my 2016 Backlog list, I read this for the 2018 Bookish Reading Challenge for the “a book whose title uses alliteration” category.

This book delved into the minds and lives of a number of different characters in a small town, including a child and a matron of the community. A boy is rescued from the pool one day during the summer, unconscious and unresponsive. The people there too witness the event seem to form a bond over the shared experience but all of them have significant secrets to hide. I think that’s one of the things that bothered me about this book, everyone seemed to be betraying someone and (while its naive) its sad to me to think that people are so deceptive and selfish. All of the characters were so downtrodden and unhappy at different points of the story, it was slightly frustrating to get involved with such flawed (but realistic I guess) characters. That being said, I thought this was such a great story and I love how everything was laid out in the end and all the loose ends got tied up neatly. There were some great plot twists, most of which the reader can see coming due to being able to tie together multiple view points but were still exciting. This was a really good read and I would recommend it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it even after I’d finished it!

 

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

Bookish 2018 Reading Challenge

Posted in 2018, Bookish 2018 Reading Challenge, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

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I came across this reading challenge the other day and I had a great idea for using it. While in the past I would have read whatever was next on my list and tried to have it fit into a particular category, I thought this reading challenge would be perfect this year for me to do exactly as described and #killyourTBR! I have a large backlog of books from 2016 and 2017 and I’m not always sure which ones to read next when I have the time. So I decided to use this list to help me slug my way through my backlog lists. Looking forward to a productive 2018!!

Bout of Books 21 Wrap Up Post

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

So for one of my goals this year to help me focus more on reading and having concentrated time for reading, I decided to participate in all 3 Bout of Books reading challenges / read-a-thons this year! The first one was luckily scheduled for this past week which is before my busy season at work officially starts.

Below were the goals that I had set for the week and my assessment with how I did on them.

Time Devoted to Reading

I plan to read at least 2 hours each day during the week, with hopefully additional hours on Friday. Also the Saturday during Bout of Books I have Goal Day planned but then I have other family plans in the evening so I’m hoping for a good 4 hours of solid reading. And then Sunday I don’t have anything planned other than house work so hopefully a solid 4 hours that day as well.
Things didn’t go quite according to plan – Goal Day for Saturday got moved because of a family function and due to prep work and chores I barely got to read at all Saturday. Plus a couple social functions kept me away from reading during the week. Overall I ended up reading close to 16 hours this week though which I’ll call a success. 

My Goals

My goals for this read-a-thon are that I’d like to participate in as much as I can: the daily posts plus reading every day.

I did participate in 3 out of the 7 daily challenges and I did read every day. 

Books to Read

 

Overall this was a great week of concentrated reading for me and I am glad I was able to get so much accomplished! Looking forward to the next one in May!

 

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 7

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books by

Sunday was a great reading day! We ended up staying home and not doing much, my favorite kind of Sunday plus I was able to spend most of my time reading. So my Sunday’s progress is below:

Update

Sunday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) I didn’t really track it exactly but I read off and on all day – I’d estimate about 5 hours total
Number of pages I’ve read today:  279 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 978 pages
Books read: Finished The Safest Lies, started The Rogue Is Back in Town
Challenges: Coincidentally I had to post a review today anyways, which was lucky since that was the challenge for Sunday! See my review of The Safest Lies here

Make sure to check out my wrap up of the challenge overall, had a great week of reading!!

2018 Book #5 – The Safest Lies by Megan Miranda

Posted in 2018, Book reviews, Bout of Books 21, Fiction, For the love of books, Mystery, Reading Challenges, Suspense, Young Adult by

518u1R1zo6L._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_Title: The Safest Lies
Author: Megan Miranda
Date finished: 1/14/18
Genre: Young adult, thriller/suspense
Publisher: Ember
Publication Date: May 30, 2017 (Paperback; hardcover was released May 24, 2016)
Pages in book: 357
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: My friend Alex

Blurb from the cover:

Kelsey has lived most of her life in a shadow of suspicion, raised to see danger everywhere. Her mother hasn’t set foot outside their front door in seventeen years, since she escaped from her kidnappers with nothing but her attacker’s baby growing inside her—Kelsey.

Kelsey knows she’s supposed to keep a low profile and stay off the grid for their protection, but that plan is shattered when her dramatic car accident and rescue by volunteer firefighter and classmate Ryan Baker sparks media coverage.

A few days later, she arrives home to find her mother missing. Now, to have a chance at a future, Kelsey will have to face her darkest fears. Because someone is coming for her. And the truth about the past may end up being the most dangerous thing of all.

My rating:  3.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review:

What do you do when your worst fears are realized?

Kelsey’s whole life her mother has been subtly training her, giving her the knowledge that she would need to survive. Kelsey always believed that her mother was paranoid because of what she experienced when she was around Kelsey’s age – being abducted and held against her will. But after Kelsey’s mother disappears and Kelsey finds herself in danger, facts start to surface that don’t fit with this story. As Kelsey fought her way to freedom and in the days and interrogations that followed, I found the thought process for the police and for some of the other adults in charge to be a little unrealistic. Overall though I liked this book and found it to be an interesting read. I especially liked how Ryan and Kelsey’s relationship developed through the book, I thought it was really sweet. And I think the part where they were trying to escape the panic room was one of the best parts of the book, I only wished it had been closer to the end since it created such great tension in the story. I thought this was a good read though and I would recommend it.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

Bout of Books 21 Update – Day 6

Posted in 2018, Bout of Books 21, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

cc4sUlk

Saturday did not go ok reading wise. I was able to read a little in the morning but then grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and parties took up the entire rest of my day! So my Saturday’s progress is below:

Update

Saturday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) Probably just about 1 hour, didn’t really track it exactly
Number of pages I’ve read today:  63 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 699 pages
Books read: Continued The Safest Lies
Challenges: I did not participate in the daily post challenge for Saturday, I wanted to but ran out of time

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post on my Sunday update and my wrap up of the challenge overall, hoping for a day full of reading today!!