SBTB Goodreads Group discussion
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April - June 2018 Quarterly Challenge
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ZOMG I didn't think I'd make it!1. Easter: Pastel cover. Hot Response - Shannon Stacey. Read April 25th, 2018
2. April Fool's Day: Romantic Comedy. Piece of Work - Staci Hart. Read June 1st, 2018
3. Patriot's Day/Boston Marathon: Athlete. Delay of Game - Stephanie Kay (Hockey Hero). Read April 16th, 2018
4. Happy Birthday (I'm turning 29!): Page count that includes either a 2 or a 9. Say You Won't Let Go - Corinne Michaels (125 pgs). Read April 18th, 2018
5. April Showers: Body of water on the cover. Virtue Falls - Christina Dodd (Cliffs/SeaScape). read April 13th, 2018
1. Mother's Day: Heroine who's a mother. Hour of Need - Melinda Leigh. Read May 24th
2. May Flowers: Plant or flower on the cover. After the Wedding - Courtney Milan. Read Apr 26th 2018
3. Cinco de Mayo: Bartender character. Living Out LoudLiving out Loud - Staci Hart. Read May 19, 2018
4. Memorial Day: Military character. The DarkhorseThe DarkHorse - Selena Laurence. Read May 27, 2018
5. Reader's Choice: Read whatever you like! Next Year in HavanaNext Year in Havana - Chanel Cleeton. Read May 28th, 2018
1. Summer Vacation: Character on vacation or traveling: What Kind of Day - Mina Gueverra. Read June 2nd, 2018
2. Father's Day: Hero who's a father. Bountiful - Sarina Bowen Read June 13th, 2018
3. J is for: Author's first or last name begins with J: Too Wilde to Wed - Eloisa James. Read June 9th, 2018
4. Juneteenth: Diverse romance. Breathless - Beverly Jenkins. Read June 17th, 2018
5. Four Letter World: Four letter word in the title: A Girl Like Her - Talia Hibbert Read June 2nd, 2018
Whew- finished a bit ago but finally getting time to look back and reflect. My list can be found at message 7
My favorite read was The Summer Children by Dot Hutchison. It's the third in a suspense/serial killer series--Definitely NOT a romance though and basically ALL the trigger warnings.
Romance wise I think my favorites were Hard Hitter, Wrong to Need You, A Princess in Theory, and A Gift for Guile.
Like a lot of y'all I discovered Talia Hibbert through the podcast and enjoyed reading several of her books on KU as well.
Best of luck to those finishing up and congrats to everyone who is already through!
Well done, Laure, and thanks for posting the books you liked the most.
Arrgh I changed my last book selection, for Cinco de Mayo, from Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai to Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal.I just did not want to start the series in the middle!
Finished! List at message 23. I read Talia Hibbert for the other challenge and I’m going to jump on her backlist. Now off to finish the Best Picture Challenge...
Congrats Ginger and Laure! @Laure I love Hard Hitter like whoa. Doulie is such a great grump.
April
1. Easter: The Deception of the Emerald Ring, Lauren Willig 4/21
2. April Fool's Day: Dating You / Hating You, Christina Lauren 4/23
3. Patriot's Day/Boston Marathon: For The Win, Sara Rider 6/18
4. Happy Birthday (I'm turning 29!): Burn Bright, Patricia Briggs 4/15 also page count of 219
5. April Showers: Heart of the Sea, Nora Roberts 6/4
May
1. Mother's Day: Call on Me, Roni Loren 4/4
2. May Flowers: The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, Lauren Willig 5/2
3. Cinco de Mayo: Break You Down, Roni Loren 4/5 Heroine is a bar manager
Tears of the Moon, Nora Roberts 5/12 takes plate at a family owned Pub
4. Memorial Day: Read a book with a military character.
The Soldiers Mail Order Bride, Cora Seaton 6/28
5. Reader's Choice: Read whatever you like! Brooklynaire, Sarina Bowen 5/24
June
1. Summer Vacation: Dancing with Dragons, Lorenda Christensen 5/12 Lots of traveling, definitely not a vacation, fake honeymoon though
2. Father's Day: Behind the Mask, Carolyn Crane 4/9, Hero has adopted son
3. J is for: The Royal We, Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan 5/13
Devoted in Death, JD Robb 4/18
4. Juneteenth: A Hope Divided, Alyssa Cole 6/8
Wrong to Need You, Alisha Rai 6/19
5. Four Letter World: One True Pairing, Kathy Yardley 4/3
Congrats to all the finishers so far! I'm so close - just need to read a romantic comedy. I was planning on The Wedding Date, but maybe I want to re-read a Tessa Dare? Hmmmm. Which one would also get me a square in Summer Bingo, because so far my board is very empty.
Hey Amanda! Just curious, is Summer Bingo going to take the place of the next set of Quarterly Challenges or will it be business as usual? Thanks!
F I N I S H E D!!!
Brought it home with a recent SBTB reco:
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal.
Favorite of this batch:
My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin for the goregous prose, realistic historic challenges that the H/h had to overcome, a strong, caring heroine and a heck of a hot hero.
Least favorite:
Habibi by Craig Thompson
Finished :) A long reading day today to finish up the categories I was missing. I really enjoyed Let's Talk About Love - so unusual, I might have to ask the library to buy it.
And, also discovered a new to me author in Pippa Grant - and have been glomming everything I can find of hers.
Way to go Shannon, Critterbee and Anne!
Hooray! Just finished The Wedding Date, so that's my list finished!! (post #14). Really liked it and looking forward to her next one. Other top picks are mostly contemporaries - The Royal We, The Ones Who Got Away, and Hurts to Love You, but I also really liked Temptations of a Wallflower by Eva Leigh. Can't wait to see what the next round of challenges hold!
Finished! I love these challenges as they get me to think about my upcoming books and help me winnow down Mount TBR. I get a lot of freeby books as well as buying a lot of SBTB recommended books so my list is a bit hit and miss, a lot of misses but quite a few definite hits.
Easter - Love at Last, JH Croix. 3/5. Not bad. Enjoyable but not really memorable.
April Fool's Day - Claiming Victory, Beverly Watts 3/5. Not bad, quite funny but some irritating supporting characters.
Boston Marathon - Crossing the Line - Lisa B Kamps. 2/5. Not good. Some definite moments of total misogyny that no one calls out.
Happy Birthday - Biker, Fiona Roarke. 3/5. Not bad, amusing while I was reading it. (259 pages)
April Showers - Making Up, Lucy Parker. 5/5 Loved it. I love Parker's books, her scene setting, her writing style and I loved the characters. I only wish the stage show she creates for the book was real because I would be getting tickets in a heartbeat! (UK cover shows the River Thames)
Mother's Day: Wrong to Need You, Alisha Rai. 5/5 I ended up reading the whole trilogy and I loved them all. Thank you SBTB for introducing me to Alisha Rai.
May Flowers: All of Me, Leanna Morgan. 4/5. Amusing, a nice story-line and slightly unusual.
Cinco de Mayo - Beautifully Wounded - Susan Griscom. 2/5. I put it down in the middle of the book and it took me about three chapters to remember what was going on. Predictable and not especially engaging.
Memorial Day: Extreme Honour, Piper J. Drake. 5/5. I loved it. I liked the characters, I liked the plot and I liked the surprise at the end. Will definitely read more of her. Surprisingly unmacho military characters.
Reader's Choice: Ocean Light, Nalini Singh. 5/5. Was eagerly anticipating this book and it didn't let me down. Bad decisions bookclub but I'm totally not sorry.
Summer Vacation: A Long Goodbye, Kelley Mooney. 1/5. a freebie book and it wasn't worth it. Clunky writing, unappealing characters, slut shaming and general misogyny.
Father's Day: His Perfect Partner, Priscilla Oliveras. 4/5. Really liked it, loved the characters, the writing and the fact that Tomas was making an effort to alter his workload and organise his life around his daughter. Will definitely read more of hers.
J is for: Bargaining with a Rake, Julie Johnstone. 1/5. Not a brilliant plot, allegedly a historical set in Regency England but writing style/ character's speech is more an American contemporary and with a few glaring historical inaccuracies.
Juneteenth: Bollywood and the Beast, Suleikha Snyder. 5/5. Loved it, the characters broke my heart and I loved that there was no magic fix for a lot of the problems, just people choosing to be stronger together. It genuinely could have stood to be longer so I got to spend more time in the book.
Four letter World - Hate to want you, Alisha Rai. 5/5. Fast becoming one of my favourite authors. Loved the book, loved the characters and the whole trilogy.
Now I'm off to start the Ripped Bodice's Summer Bingo!
Mod
I'll be posting the new challenges today!
Amanda wrote: "Laure wrote: "Hey Amanda! Just curious, is Summer Bingo going to take the place of the next set of Quarterly Challenges or will it be business as usual? Thanks!"I'll be posting the new challenges today!"
Thanks, Amanda! Heading over to check them out now!
I finished a couple of weeks ago, but just now got around to putting them all up. My reviews here.APRIL
1. Easter: Read a book with a pastel cover. Be sure to include the cover! Crazy in Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. April Fool's Day: Read a book that's described as a romantic comedy. The Corsair's Captive ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. Patriot's Day/Boston Marathon: Read a book with an athlete. So Over You ⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Happy Birthday (I'm turning 29!): Read a book with a page count that includes either a 2 or a 9. Hurts to Love You ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. April Showers: Read a book with a body of water on the cover. Be sure to include the cover or mention the body of water. Earl Interrupted (the Atlantic Ocean) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
MAY
1. Mother's Day: Read a book with a heroine who's a mother. His Mistletoe Wager ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. May Flowers: Read a book with some sort of plant or flower on the cover. Include the cover, please. An Affair with a Notorious Heiress ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. Cinco de Mayo: Read a book with a bartender character. Chaser ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Memorial Day: Read a book with a military character. A Girl Like Her ⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. Reader's Choice: Read whatever you like! Goddess of Spring ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
JUNE
1. Summer Vacation: Read a book with a character on vacation or traveling. Mr. Impossible ⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. Father's Day: Read a book with a hero who's a father. The Decadent Duke ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. J is for: Read a book where the author's first or last name begins with J. Long Hard Ride ⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Juneteenth: Read a diverse romance Bollywood and the Beast ⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. Four Letter World: Read a book with a four letter word in the title. Cream of the Crop ⭐️⭐️⭐️
April1. Easter: Rock Chick Revenge DID NOT FINISH
2. April Fools Day: High Five FINISHED 6/30
3. Patriots Day: SKIPPED
4. Happy Birthday: Rock Chick Renegade FINISHED 5/15
5. April Showers: Bounty FINISHED 4/29
May
1. Mother's Day: Drums of Autumn FINISHED 6/3
2. May Flowers: Forever and a Day FINISHED 4/13
3. Cinco de Mayo: SKIPPED
4. Memorial Day: Thrill Ride FINISHED 5/10
5. Readers Choice: Dreamfever FINISHED 5/8
June
1. Summer Vacation: Beyond the Highland Mist FINISHED 4/8
2. Father's Day: SKIPPED
3. J is for: Always and Forever, Lara Jean DID NOT FINISH
4. Juneteenth: SKIPPED
5. Four Letter World: Four to Score FINISHED 6/5
Missed it by this much LOL!!14 books read ;)
My read deets here Msg 12
Always enjoy this group's quarterly challenges.
Have a safe and happy 4th!!!!
Congrats, everyone! I did manage to finish just in time. My favorite by far was The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. I loved it so much - and the ableist language mentioned in the original SBTB review was definitely not in the library copy I read or the kindle verison I subsequently bought.
SBTB Goodreads Group
Books mentioned in this topic
Beard Science (other topics)High Five (other topics)
Rock Chick Renegade (other topics)
Bounty (other topics)
Rock Chick Revenge (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Pippa Grant (other topics)J.L. Akins (other topics)
Mariana Zapata (other topics)
Sarina Bowen (other topics)
Cora Seton (other topics)
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For my 'Patriot's Day/Boston Marathon: Read a book with an athlete,' I read The Princess Deception. It is a contemporary|Royal|Athlete|f/f romance with a Princess heroine dressing up and acting like her Prince brother (to cover his drug addiction) and a soccer legend heroine who was forced to retired due to injury, and is now dealing with trying to remake her life as a sports reporter.
Not really my cup of soup, but well enough written - I know this has got to be someone's catnip!