Category Archives: Reading Challenges

2020 Book #27 – Buzz Books Romance sampler

Posted in 2020, Book Genre, Book reviews, Bout of Books 28, Fiction, Reading Challenges, Romance by

Title: BuzzBooks 2020 Romance Sampler
Author: Various – see below
Date finished: 5/13/20
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Various
Publication Date: May 14, 2020
Pages in book: 275

Where I got the book from: Edelweiss
NOTE: I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

These are the samples that are included in the BuzzBooks 2020 Romance collection – I can’t say I loved most of them, but there was a good variety of stories included. Just seemed like most of them weren’t ones that grabbed out at me personally. Anyways, here’s the books with samples included:

Romeantically Challenged by Marina Adair

The Ballad of Hattie Taylor by Susan Andersen – LOVE the cover on this one

Searching for Rose by Dana Becker

The Roommate by Rosie Danan

Meet You in the Middle by Devon Daniels – I couldn’t find this one on Amazon but I think this one was my favorite in the sampler. I really loved the dynamic between the two main characters and the story line had me interested right from the start. I’ll have to see if I can find this for review on NetGalley or Edelweiss

The Cul-De-Sac War by Melissa Ferguson

Follow Your Heart by Brenda Jackson

Paris is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinley

Better Than People by Roan Parrish

A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley

Then There Was You by Mona Shroff

How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams

Scandalous Secrets by Synthia Williams

The Way You Tempt Me by Elle Wright

Overall I was really excited by the diversity included in this sampler. There were so many different genres and types of characters that I think there would be something that everyone would love! I was surprised by the number of stories included featuring politicians (three!) since I haven’t seen as many of those featured up until about a year ago.

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

Bout of Books 28 Update – Day 2

Posted in 2020, Bout of Books 28, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

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I am loving Bout of Books this week! Tuesday went well, I was able to carve out some reading (and some blogging) time after work. So my Tuesday’s progress is below:

Update

Tuesday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) 2 hours
Number of pages I’ve read today: 117 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 262 pages
Books read: Finished Close Up by Amanda Quick and started Buzz Books Romance
Challenges: I participated in Tuesday’s challenge! It was great fun – the prompt for yesterday was “If You Like This, Try That” – you can see my post on it here.

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

Bout of Books: If You Like This, Try That

Posted in 2020, Bout of Books 28, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

Today’s challenge for Bout of Books 28 is “If You Like This, Try That.” This can be a really fun challenge (if I have enough time to put two thoughts together and type up the post). The organizers of Bout of Books 28 have provided the additional instruction for this challenge:

Put your recommendations hat on, #boutofbooks-ers. For this challenge, pick a book, author, or trope (or whatever!) from your TBR and suggest similar books.

Example 1: If you like Sarah McLean, try Lenora Bell.

Example 2: If you like a modern day, romantic twist on Greek mythology, try Staci Hart’s Hearts and Arrows series.

My examples that I’ve gathered are a mix of different categories and examples from books and other things I’ve experienced over the last year, hopefully it helps someone find a new and interesting read!

If you like being a part of a book club -> Try PODCASTS!

I started listening to podcasts last year and I’ve been hooked ever since! I have a few favorites, which I featured in a blog post earlier this year, but there are so many options out there! It’s especially fun to read along with the podcast hosts and other listeners and then “discuss” the book!

If you like vampires and / or other folklore -> Try the Immortals After Dark series!

I can’t say enough good things about the Immortals After Dark series. After listening to the intro episode to the Fated Mates podcast last spring I decided to give the series a try and I was immediately HOOKED. I read the whole series in like 3 months, I devoured it. It may not be for everyone but damn that series is definitely for me because it is BAT SHIT AMAZING.

If you like family secrets and plenty of plot twists -> Try The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

If you like books by Sarah Addison Allen -> Try The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins

If you like the movie The Proposal -> Try Not That Kind of Guy by Andie J. Christopher

And if you are for some reason enjoying the anxiety and panic and just craziness that comes with all this pandemic business but you’re looking for a love story to somehow find root in it -> Try After Sundown by Linda Howard and Linda Jones

It isn’t exact since it isn’t about a pandemic but I have to say when I first started reading this book it reminded me so much of what we were experiencing right now that I almost couldn’t continue reading it because it was creating so much additional anxiety for me!

2020 Book # 26 – Close Up by Amanda Quick

Posted in 2020, Book Genre, Book reviews, Book series, Bout of Books 28, Fiction, Reading Challenges, Romance, Romantic suspense by

Title: Close Up
Author: Amanda Quick
Date finished: 5/12/20
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: May 5, 2020
Pages in book: 302
Stand alone or series: #4 in the Burning Cove series
Where I got the book from: Edelweiss
NOTE: I received this book for free from Edelweiss 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:

Welcome to Burning Cove, California where 1930s Hollywood glamour conceals a ruthless killer…

Vivian Brazier never thought life as an art photographer would include nightly wake-up calls to snap photos of grisly crime scenes or headshots for aspiring male actors. Although she is set on a career of transforming photography into a new art form, she knows her current work is what’s paying the bills.

After shooting crime scene photos of a famous actress, the latest victim of the murderer the press has dubbed the “Dagger Killer,” Vivian notices eerie similarities to the crime scenes of previous victims—details that only another photographer would have noticed—details that put Vivian at the top of the killer’s target list.

Nick Sundridge has always been able to “see” things that others don’t, coping with disturbing dreams and visions. His talent, or as he puts it—his curse—along with his dark past makes him a recluse, but a brilliant investigator. As the only one with the ability to help, Nick is sent to protect Vivian. Together, they discover the Dagger Killer has ties to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood royalty and high society. It is a cutthroat world of allure and deception that Vivian and Nick must traverse—all in order to uncover the killer who will stop at nothing to add them to their gallery of murders.

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. I read this book as part of Bout of Books 28!

It’s been awhile since I’ve read an Amanda Quick book, but this one was a great one to pick back up on! The author did an awesome job of transporting the reader right into Old Hollywood. I felt like I was on the scene of one of those noir films, everything classic drama and black and white. And while that was one of my favorite parts of the novel, overall I can’t say that this book was one of my favorites. It was good and I loved the atmosphere and ambience that the author infused into the novel. But I thought the pacing could’ve been improved a bit, it felt a tad slow to me. And there wasn’t all that much chemistry between Nick and Vivian, nor was there all that much tension through the suspenseful parts of the story. There was enough of it to keep the story interesting but there wasn’t enough to really keep me on the edge of my seat. I still really enjoyed the novel and the world it transported me into and I would recommend it, especially if you love old noir films!

Link to author website

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

Bout of Books 28 Update – Day 1

Posted in 2020, Bout of Books 28, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

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I’m so happy to be reading again! This challenge is really just such a good way to make sure I have some dedicated reading time during the week. I’m looking forward to reading all day tomorrow too. So anyways my Monday’s progress is below:

Update

Monday

Time spent reading: (Approximately) 2.5 hours
Number of pages I’ve read today: 145 pages
Total number of pages I’ve read: 145 pages (Day one! Ha)
Books read: Continued reading Close Up by Amanda Quick
Challenges: I participated in the challenge for yesterday!

 

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

Bout of Books 28 – Sign Up Post!!

Posted in 2020, Bout of Books 28, For the love of books, Reading Challenges by

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WOO HOO It’s time for BOUT OF BOOKS! I’ve participated in the Bout of Books reading challenges in the past few years and I’m usually able to get a good amount of reading done – I’ve found it’s a great way to help me focus on reading and have concentrated reading time. I’m especially excited for this year’s Bout of Books since 1) I have a lot of time to relax at home right now (welcome to the pandemic) 2) I had a pretty bad reading slump this year and didn’t read for almost two months so I’m looking forward to diving into some great reads and 3) work this year has been intense so I am more eager than ever for some relaxation time!

Even though things continue to be busy at work (as always), they’re encouraging us to take some vacation time so I’ll be taking at least a couple days off next week to devote my time to reading!

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 readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are daily challenges, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For Bout of Books 28 information and updates, 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.

I’ve been reading pretty close to on schedule lately and I’m hoping to continue that trend over the next week!

Time Devoted to Reading

I plan to read at least an hour Monday and Tuesday and then from there I’m hoping to read at least 3 hours a day, hopefully more! .

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’d really like to just focus on getting back into reading and devouring my books. My traditional busy season at work goes from January to April and it was a killer this year, especially with all the additional issues presented with the pandemic. I gave up on reading for pretty much February through the beginning of April since all I was doing was making myself more tired staying up too late reading. I’ve just recently picked up reading again and it’s been going well but I need to get back on board with my reading schedule and catch up on books I missed over the last couple months!

Books to Read

  • Finish Outfox by Sandra Brown
  • Read Close Up by Amanda Quick
  • Read BuzzBooks Romance sampler
  • Read Strike Me Down by Mindy Mejia
  • Read Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson
  • Read a book I own (TBD)
  • Read Salvation Station by Kathryn Schleich

It’s a good sized list but 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 12th at 11:59pm CST! Happy reading!

UPDATE – October Reading Challenge: Booktober Reading Bookish Bingo!!

Posted in 2019, For the love of books, October Book Bingo, Reading Challenges by

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I unfortunately did not get bingo this month. I still had a ton of fun reading – I especially loved the bingo board for this month (see below). I wish I had been able to devote more time to reading – then I’m sure I would’ve been able to get bingo! Maybe next year.

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2019 Monthly Status Update: October

Posted in 2019, For the love of books, October Book Bingo, Reading Challenges by

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October was a busy month for me work wise (as per the usual lately if I’m honest). I was doing a reading challenge and I only wish I had been able to devote more time to reading since I missed getting book bingo by only a couple books. Even so, I had a great time reading during October and since Halloween is my favorite holiday I tried to allow myself some spooky reads for the month! So anyways, here are some highlights from October for me:

Monthly Stats:
# books read this month: 7
# pages read this month: 2,501
# books read year-to-date: 82
# pages read year-to-date: 29,217

Favorite Books I Read this Month:

 

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Pestilence by Laura Thalassa – did not post a review on this but it was so different and fun and it was one of my favorite books of the month! (4.0 stars)

Other Posts this month:

October Reading Challenge – Bookish Bingo!
The Widow of Rose House BLOG TOUR!! 

Next Month TBR List:

-The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
-Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher
-The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
-Don’t Close Your Eyes by Christie Craig
-Don’t Breathe a Word by Christie Craig
-The Princess Plan by Julia London

That’s a fairly manageable TBR list for me over a month so i’m also hoping to read something else among either my backlog, my owned books, or the next book from the Fated Mates podcast, which I’m trying to keep up with! Over the next month I’ll be trying to get a lot done at work while also gearing up for the holidays and getting ready for lots of family time, which I love! Here’s hoping you all had a colorful October and are looking ahead to a warm and loving November.

2019 Book #82 – The Lady’s Deception by Susanna Craig

Posted in 2019, Book Genre, Book reviews, Fiction, Historical Romance, October Book Bingo, Reading Challenges, Romance by

51dl92DyeEL (1).jpgTitle: The Lady’s Deception
Author: Susanna Craig
Date finished: 10/27/19
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Publication Date: October 29, 2019
Pages in book: 288
Stand alone or series: Rogues & Rebels #3
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:

Can a runaway English bride find love with a haunted Irish rebel?
 
Paris Burke, Dublin’s most charismatic barrister, has enough on his mind without the worries of looking after his two youngest sisters. The aftermath of a failed rebellion weighs on his conscience, so when the young English gentlewoman with an unwavering gaze arrives, he asks far too few questions before hiring her on as governess. But her quick wit and mysterious past prove an unexpected temptation.

Rosamund Gorse knows she should not have let Mr. Burke think her the candidate from the employment bureau. But after her midnight escape from a brother bent on marrying her off to a scoundrel, honesty is a luxury she can no longer afford. With his clever mind and persuasive skill, Paris could soon have her spilling her secrets freely just to lift the sorrow from his face. And if words won’t work, perhaps kisses would be better?

Hiding under her brother’s nose, Rosamund knows she shouldn’t take risks. If Paris learns the truth, she might lose her freedom for good. But if she can learn to trust him with her heart, she might discover just the champion she desires . . .

My rating:  2.5 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. Also I’m reading this book as part of my October Bookish Bingo Reading Challenge, checking of the “protagonist has a cat” box since a kitten played a big part of the interactions between the two main characters.

I haven’t read anything by this author before but I really liked the cover and was interested in giving it a try. I liked the book a good amount but there was a lot that I wasn’t thrilled with also. Rosamund was so very strong willed and I really liked that about her character, but at the same time she was so unbearably naive. And Paris was in some ways a great example of a romance novel hero but he was also very selfish and self-absorbed. There was a lot in this book too that seemed to be related to characters from previous novels in the series – I think I would’ve felt more connected to the story line if I had had some involvement in those story lines as well. And their relationship felt like it was progressing slowly but then it went warp speed when they started getting physical and it just didn’t feel developed enough for what was happening. Overall I liked the book ok but wasn’t especially excited about it.

Link to author website

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

2019 Book #80 – The Duke’s Stolen Bride by Sophie Jordan

Posted in 2019, Book Genre, Book reviews, Book series, Fiction, Historical Romance, October Book Bingo, Reading Challenges, Romance by

512jesA6P5LTitle: The Duke’s Stolen Bride
Author: Sophie Jordan
Date finished: 10/22/19
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: October 22, 2019
Pages in book: 368
Stand alone or series: #5 in The Rogue Files series
Where I got the book from: Edelweiss
NOTE: I received this book for free from Edelweiss 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:

An urgent dilemma…

To save her impoverished family, Marian Langley will become a mistress. But she will not be just any mistress. Marian intends to become so skilled, so coveted, that she can set her own terms, retaining control over her body and her fate. Only one problem remains: finding a tutor…

A scandalous solution…

Other men deprive themselves of pleasure for propriety’s sake. Nathaniel, Duke of Warrington, would much rather be depraved. He slakes his desires with professionals who ask nothing of him but his coin. Marian’s proposal—that he train her without taking her virtue—is an intriguing diversion, until their lessons in seduction spin out of control.

And a most unlikely duchess…

When Marian is blackmailed into engagement by a man she despises, Nate impulsively steals her away. Though he never intended to take a wife, he can’t tolerate the idea of Marian forfeiting her freedom to another. But can he bear to give her what she demands—a real marriage?

My rating:  2.75 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. Also I’m reading this book as part of my October Bookish Bingo Reading Challenge, checking of the “a character goes missing” box since Marian gets herself kidnapped towards the end of the book (*spoiler alert* I guess though it’s not a huge plot point).

I had actually read the last book in this series also (#4) and didn’t really realize it til partway through the book. Which is fine. Anyways, I had mixed feelings about this book. There was a lot that I did really like – the chemistry between the two main characters was fantastic and I swear the pages caught on fire during a couple of their intimate scenes. Also the book overall really captured my interest and I wanted to see how the book would end. At the same time though, there were some problematic areas of the book for me. The biggest is probably the scene where Marian and Nate have sex for the first time – there is some questionable consent in the scene that made me unhappy. It involved Nate being the one not fully consenting, but I don’t think that should be treated any differently than how a reader would think of the scene were a woman in his place. I also just overall wasn’t into the plot line personally. The fact that Marian had to basically throw herself at him, and then let him walk all over her in order to strike the deal she needed, was not my cup of tea. I’m sure it will 100% work for certain readers but it didn’t for me. Overall this was (I thought) a well written book but it just wasn’t the right fit for me personally.

Link to author website

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