The Really, Really Hard Challenge Take 3!

[Jenne]

50% of either red, white, or blue.

[JoAnne]

Jenne wrote: "50% of either red, white, or blue."

Thanks! What I was hoping for.

[K~Terror]

Sounds good! Thanks Jenne!

[Barbara ★]

June completed.


June – This month: Vacation Time! Read 5 books set in different locations.
1. [Colorado]Dark Tort - Diane Mott Davidson 6/1
2. [Scotland]Never Love a Highlander - Maya Banks 6/6
3. [Canada]Hungry for You - Lynsay Sands 6/7
4. [England]The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker - Leanna Renee Hieber 6/14
5. [Denmark]Invisible Murder- Lene Kaaberbøl 6/15

[[deleted user]]

Starting with July :)


July – Red, white, or blue covers - Completed

1. Innocent Graves - Peter Robinson (2/7/15)
2. Reinventing Mona - Jennifer Coburn (5/7/15)
3. The Broken Souls - Jack Kerley (7/7/15)
4. Max - James Patterson (8/7/15)
5. Sparkling Cyanide - Agatha Christie (10/7/15)



January Catch Up - New Authors - Completed

1. Black Skies - Arnaldur Indriðason (4/7/15)
2. The Venetian Betrayal - Steve Berry (12/7/15)
3. Insanity (Mad in Wonderland) - Cameron Jace (12/7/15)
4. Apple Tree Yard - Louise Doughty (13/7/15)
5. Oceanswept - Lara Hays (19/7/15)

August – Read 5 books that are hot romances or 5 hot new releases - Completed.

1. The Last Thing You See - Emma South (1/8/15) - Romance
2. Beautiful Oblivion - Addison Moore (5/8/15) - Romance
3. Micah - Jo Raven (9/8/15) - Romance
4. In Too Deep - Mara Jacobs (14/8/15) - Romance
5. Incandescent - River Savage (20/8/15) - Romance

February Catch Up – Read 5 books with a red or pink cover - Completed

1. Invisible - James Patterson (3/8/15)
2. The Temporary Detective - Joanne Sydney Lessner (4/8/15)
3. Rose Hill - Pamela Grandstaff (7/8/15)
4. The Accidental Demon Slayer - Angie Fox (15/8/15)
5. Cinema Lumière - Hattie Holden Edmonds (18/8/15)




September – Read 5 books where the main characters have a different profession - Completed

1. Karma's A Bitch - Shannon Esposito (1/9/15) - Pet Boutique Owner
2. Girl's Guide to Witchcraft - Mindy Klasky (7/9/15) - Librarian
3. Diary of a Size 12 - Sophie Quinn (13/9/15) - Secretary
4. #Forfeit - Caroline Batten (16/9/15) - Teacher
5. Mum on the Run - Fiona Gibson (21/9/15) - Hairdresser

March Catch Up – March Madness!!! Read 3000 pages - Completed.

1. Blood Of Others - Rick Mofina (3/9/15) ~ 480 pgs
2. Venus Envy - Louise Bagshawe (5/9/15) ~ + 397 pgs = 877
3. The Secret of Chimneys - Agatha Christie (6/9/15) ~ + 256pgs = 1133
4. The Thirteen Problems - Agatha Christie (7/9/15) ~ + 192 pgs = 1325
5. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride - Cary Elwes (9/9/15) ~ +259 pgs = 1584
6. Closer Than You Think - Karen Rose (11/9/15) ~ + 544 pgs = 2128
7. The Seven Dials Mystery - Agatha Christie (14/9/15) ~ + 237 pgs = 2365
8. The Mysteries of Udolpho - Ann Radcliffe (17/9/15) ~ + 624 pgs = 2989
9. The Hound Of Death: And Other Stories - Agatha Christie (18/9/15) ~ + 190 pgs = 3179


October – Oktoberfest! Read 5 books that are set in Germany or have a German character - Completed.

1. Heidi - Johanna Spyri (3/10/15) - German character - Clara Sesemann
2. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne (5/10/15) - German character - Bruno
3. Everyone Burns - John Dolan (9/10/15) - German character - Klaus Vogel
4. Fatherland - Robert Harris (11/10/15) - Set in Berlin
5. Wanted - Nick Stephenson (15/10/15) - German character - Dieter Reiniger

April Catch Up - Read 5 books from 5 different genres - Completed.

1. Not Without My Daughter - Betty Mahmoody (4/10/15) - Memoir
2. The King's Curse - Philippa Gregory (7/10/15) - Historical Fiction
3. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green (10/10/15) - Young Adult
4. Mansfield Park - Jane Austen (13/10/15) - Classics
5. Hallowe'en Party - Agatha Christie (16/10/15) - Mystery

November – Read 5 books that you need to catch up on either for a challenge(s), reviews, etc. - Completed

1. You Are Dead - Peter James (1/11/15) - You Called Me What?? Scavenger Hunt Challenge
2. Graveyard Shift - Angela Roquet (3/11/15) - The Reporter's Challenge
3. Angel Dance - M.D. Grayson (4/11/15) - When I Grow Up Challenge
4. Snow Angels - James Thompson (6/11/15) - Author A-Z
5. Priceless - Shannon Mayer (7/11/15) - Fall Seasonal Challenge

May Catch Up – Read 5 books where something comes to an end. Could be a death, end of a series, divorce, etc - Completed

1. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie (3/11/15) - Death
2. Postern of Fate - Agatha Christie (5/11/15) - Last 'Tommy & Tuppence' book
3. Sleeping Murder - Agatha Christie (7/11/15) - Last 'Miss Marple' novel
4. Murder in Mesopotamia - Agatha Christie (8/11/15) - Death
5. The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Agatha Christie (10/11/15) - Death


December – Read 600 pages from any genre - Completed

1. Christmas at the Cupcake Café - Jenny Colgan (2/12/15) - Christmas Chick-Lit - 371 pgs
2. Calling Mrs Christmas - Carole Matthews (5/12/15) - Christmas Chick-Lit - 452 pgs

Total Pages = 823


June Catch Up – Read 5 books set in different locations - Completed

1. The Christmas Crimes At Puzzel Manor - Simon Brett (1/12/15) - Gloucestershire, England
2. Mistletoe And Murder - Carola Dunn (3/12/15) - Cornwall, England
3. A Family for Christmas - Mona Ingram (4/12/15) - Calgary, Canada
4. Driving Home For Christmas - Emma Hannigan (9/12/15) - Ireland
5. Sleigh Bells in the Snow - Sarah Morgan (11/12/15) - Vermont, USA

[[deleted user]]

As I'm starting this halfway through the year I thought it might be fun to try and catch up by doing two months at a time - for example this month I would do July and January, next month would be August and February etc. Would that be ok?

[Jenne]

Sure would Caroline :)

[[deleted user]]

Excellent, thanks Jenne.

[JoAnne]

Caroline wrote: "As I'm starting this halfway through the year I thought it might be fun to try and catch up by doing two months at a time - for example this month I would do July and January, next month would be A..."

Interesting way to catch up. Good thinking and less stressful too.

[★ gwiz ★]

Update post 28

I'd completed January through June challenges.

Now onto July's

[LaurLa]

Updated through June!


✔✔May – School is Out! Read 5 books where something comes to an end. Could be a death, end of a series, divorce, etc.

(view spoiler)[✔Storm Warning – Toni Anderson (dead body is found) - 06.30 ★★★★
✔Stolen Chances – Elisabeth Naughton (end of series) - 05.25 ★★★
✔Breathing Room – Susan Elizabeth Phillips (career is upended do to embezzelment) - 06.07 ★★★★★
✔Half Moon Hill – Toni Blake (hero ends self-imposed exile) - 05.30 ★★★★
✔Surrender to Temptation – E.B. Walters (end of series) - 05.30 ★★★ (hide spoiler)]

✔✔June – Vacation Time! Read 5 books set in different locations.

(view spoiler)[✔It Takes a SEAL – Delilah Devlin (Carribean) - 06.06 ★★★
✔Off Season – Sawyer Bennett (Ireland) - 06.06 ★★★★
✔Sleeping Beauty WAKES UP! - Elle Lothlorien )America) - 06.18 ★★★★
✔Love...Under Different Skies – Nick Spalding (Australia) - 06.07 ★★★
✔Boom! Listen To Your Heart – Roxanne Rogerson (Canada) - 06.04 ★★★ (hide spoiler)]

July – July 4th! Read 5 books with a red, white, or blue cover.

(view spoiler)[◘ The Darkest Touch - Gena Showalter
◘ Return to You - Kate Perry
◘ The Art of Deception - Nora Roberts
◘ Say No To Joe? - Lori Foster
◘ Strong and Sexy - Jill Shalvis (hide spoiler)]

[Krissy]

July is completed :)

[JoAnne]

Krissy wrote: "July is completed:)

Wow, that was quick. Haven't read a title yet that fits the bill!

[Laura]

Planning ahead for August, and just wondering: what actually counts as a new release? I'd quite like to read Go Set a Watchman which is out tomorrow, ie mid-July.

[⚜️XAR]

Laura wrote: "Planning ahead for August, and just wondering: what actually counts as a new release? I'd quite like to read Go Set a Watchman which is out tomorrow, ie mid-July."

I took it to mean any book released in the month of August, but with how much anticipation is surrounding that particular book, I'd say it counts as a Hot New Release, but I'm not a mod, so I can't speak for them.

[JoAnne]

Good question Laura. I usually don't get a chance to look ahead this early in the game but I would probably be thinking it's releases in August 2015 or later (I receive quite a few ARCs)but will be interested to see what the moderators will say.

[Jenne]

I'm feeling generous lol anytime in the last 3 months :)

[JoAnne]

Jenne wrote: "I'm feeling generous lol anytime in the last 3 months :)"

Quite generous of you. Thanks for the quick response Jenne. Hope you really are Beach Bound!

[⚜️XAR]

Jenne wrote: "I'm feeling generous lol anytime in the last 3 months :)"

Thanks for the clarification! Made it really easy to fill out my August section!

[Jenne]

I hope I'm beach bound soon too! Got to see it this weekend but couldn't go lay out :(

[JoAnne]

Jenne wrote: "I hope I'm beach bound soon too! Got to see it this weekend but couldn't go lay out :("

We went for a little bit on Saturday to our local beach that we buy a beach pass to. Met family and then went out to dinner. Hope to get some more beach time in soon. We'll see.

[[deleted user]]

Completed July and January catch-up :) (Message 155)

[Laura]

Thanks, Jenne! I'm looking forward to August now :)

[JoAnne]

Done with July - see post 41!

[Barbara ★]

July – This month: July 4th! Read 5 books with a red, white, or blue cover.


Beauty and the Blacksmith - Tessa Dare 7/6
Thrill Ride - Julie Ann Walker 7/10
Dragonquest - Anne McCaffrey 7/17
The Assassin's Blade - Sarah Maas 7/18
Forbidden - Jacquelyn Frank 7/31

[Erika]

since I get my books from the library,I don't get the new new books so I'm going to substitute this month for march since I didn't do march. 3000 pages

[JoAnne]

Erika wrote: "since I get my books from the library,I don't get the new new books so I'm going to substitute this month for march since I didn't do march. 3000 pages"

I put new books on hold at the library all the time. Our library purchases new books of a lot of authors I love!

[[deleted user]]

Completed August (and February catch-up). Post 155.

[JoAnne]

finished August on post #41

on to September!

[Barbara ★]

Finished August.


August – This month: It's Hot as Hades! Read 5 books that are hot romances or 5 hot new releases.
Nauti Temptress - Lora Leigh (erotic) 8/12
Quarterback Draw - Jaci Burton (2015 release) 8/25
Still the One - Jill Shalvis (2015 release) 8/13
Caught Read-Handed - Terrie Farley Moran (2015 release) 8/3
Born in Chains - Caris Roane (erotic) 8/30

[LaurLa]

Updated through August - all caught up!!!


✔✔July – July 4th! Read 5 books with a red, white, or blue cover.

(view spoiler)[✔The Darkest Touch - Gena Showalter - 07.06 ★★★
✔Return to You - Kate Perry - 08.01 ★★★
✔The Art of Deception - Nora Roberts - 07.14 ★★★
✔Say No To Joe? - Lori Foster - 07.28 ★★★★
✔Strong and Sexy - Jill Shalvis - 08.26 ★★★★ (hide spoiler)]

✔✔August – It's Hot as Hades! Read 5 books that are hot romances or 5 hot new releases.

(view spoiler)[✔Nauti Enchantress - Lora Leigh
✔Under the Covers - Rebecca Zanetti - 08.29 ★★★
✔Heat It Up - Elle Kennedy - 08.16 ★★★
✔Make Me, Sir - Cherise Sinclair - 08.10 ★★★★
✔Making It Last - Ruthie Knox - 08.13 ★★★ (hide spoiler)]

September – Labor Day! Read 5 books where the main characters have a different profession.

(view spoiler)[◘ Breaching the Billionaire: Alethea's Redemption - Ruth Cardello hacker
◘ Deadly Deception - Misty Evans FBI agent
◘ Honey on Your Mind - Maria Murnane advice columnist
◘ The Perfect Hope - Nora Roberts innkeeper
◘ Wicked Beat - Olivia Cunning soundboard operator (hide spoiler)]

[JoAnne]

September is done on post 41

October will need to be changed up for me since I almost never read a book set in Germany and rarely with those of German descent. Guess I better come up with something different. Suggestions?

[⚜️XAR]

JoAnne wrote: "September is done on post 41

October will need to be changed up for me since I almost never read a book set in Germany and rarely with those of German descent. Guess I better come up with something different. Suggestions?"

I went with a Halloween Theme. Specifically, my challenge was: "Read 5 books that feature a Halloween spooky of some kind with NO duplication! Examples of this include: Ghost, Witch, Vampire, Werewolf, Serial Killer, etc." I found tons of books that would fit it that way!

[JoAnne]

Trea wrote: "JoAnne wrote: "September is done on post 41

October will need to be changed up for me since I almost never read a book set in Germany and rarely with those of German descent. Guess I better come ..."

That's an interesting idea since I don't read paranormal books would really have to search for things that would fit.

[Krissy]

JoAnne wrote: "September is done on post 41

October will need to be changed up for me since I almost never read a book set in Germany and rarely with those of German descent. Guess I better come up with somethi..."


How about finding books whose covers match the colors of the German flag? Sort of like we did for July with the red white and blue covers.

[JoAnne]

Krissy wrote: "JoAnne wrote: "September is done on post 41

October will need to be changed up for me since I almost never read a book set in Germany and rarely with those of German descent. Guess I better come ..."

That's an interesting one and doable. I think I will go with this. Thanks Krissy!

[⚜️XAR]

JoAnne wrote: "That's an interesting idea since I don't read paranormal books would really have to search for things that would fit."

My Witch books for that challenge are from Annette Blair's Accidental Witch series, which starts with The Kitchen Witch. There is also Debora Geary's Witch series, and I love the Cindy Eller series as well.

For werewolf, you could read Before Midnight which is a paranormal retelling of Cinderella with a werewolf main couple. The second book in that series, One Bite, is a retelling of Snow White, with a vampire twist.

For ghosts, I found Slow Dance in Purgatory, but I am pretty sure I've read others.

You could always go with the old stand-bys of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunters/Were-Hunters for vampires and werewolves too. My choice for vampires was One Foot in the Grave for the half-vampire/vampire pairing.

I hope those help you find some paranormal books for the challenge!

[JoAnne]

Trea wrote: "JoAnne wrote: "That's an interesting idea since I don't read paranormal books would really have to search for things that would fit."

My Witch books for that challenge are from [author:Annette Bla..."

Wow, thanks Trea!

[JoAnne]

Thanks all for the suggestions. Decided to go with one of these:

This month: Oktoberfest! Read 5 books that the covers have at least 50% of the color of the German flag - black, red and gold - one per cover OR may go with books where the characters are drinking beer.

[☘KathyD☘]

I completely forgot the option to substitute! Thanks for the reminder...I was racking my brain trying to figure out how to knock out those October books! :)

[JoAnne]

♥KathyD♥ wrote: "I completely forgot the option to substitute! Thanks for the reminder...I was racking my brain trying to figure out how to knock out those October books! :)"

I know. This is the first time in the several years I've participated in the challenge that I believe I need to substitute. Others gave me a few ideas as you can see above. I'll wait until next to see which challenge I will change to.

[☘KathyD☘]

This is my first run at this challenge and I love it so far...but I was scratching my head on how to negotiate next month...thankfully, I can improvise and not stress! :)
And I'm totally going to look through all the suggestions again to figure it out! They all seemed really, really good!

[Anita Reads]

August/September update:

August – This month: It's Hot as Hades! Read 5 books that are hot romances or 5 hot new releases.
1. Shattered Promises | Jessica Sorensen 08/08/15 ★★★
2. Hero | Samantha Young 08/09/15 ★★★★
3. Wait for You | J. Lynn 08/13/15 ★★★★★
4. Be with Me | J. Lynn 08/16/15 ★★★★★
5. Stay with Me | J. Lynn 08/18/15 ★★★★★


September – This month: Labor Day! Read 5 books where the main characters have a different profession.
1. The Rosie Project | Graeme Simsion (professor of genetics) 09/01/15 ★★★
2. Bound by Night | Larissa Ione (CEO at Daedalus Corporation) 09/06/15 ★★★★
3. I Heart New York | Lindsey Kelk (Writer) 09/07/15 ★★★.5
4. Unending Devotion | Jody Hedlund (Photographer's assistant) 09/14/15 ★★★★
5. Shuttered Affections | Rene Folsom (Bartender) 09/14/15 ★★★★

[Anita Reads]

I think I'll go with Halloween theme as well. I never really read anything set in Germany. I'm not sure how I'm doing with German authors, but it's difficult I'd like to stick to my current reading plan as much as possible right now.

[[deleted user]]

Completed September and March catch up. Post #155.

[Barbara ★]

September is done.


September – This month: Labor Day! Read 5 books where the main characters have a different profession.
Hope Flames - Jaci Burton (veterinarian) 9/4
Savage Nature - Christine Feehan (travel guide) 9/5
Trouble in Spades - Heather Webber (gardener) 9/6
Hell for Leather - Julie Ann Walker (accountant) 9/11
Forever - Jacquelyn Frank (psychiatrist) 9/23

[Katherine]

Can someone help with October task. I don't know books that had German character or set in Germany.
Maybe I can re-read book series where author is from Germany, but the plot is in London??

[⚜️XAR]

Katherine wrote: "Can someone help with October task. I don't know books that had German character or set in Germany.
Maybe I can re-read book series where author is from Germany, but the plot is in London??"

Katherine, you can always do a create your own challenge for the month if you're having problems with a suggested theme for the month. I went for a Halloween theme, but you can tailor it to your tastes.

[JoAnne]

Finished October on post #41. Went with
Read 5 books where the characters are drinking beer

[[deleted user]]

JoAnne wrote: "Finished October on post #41. Went with
Read 5 books where the characters are drinking beer"

Wow, that was quick! Well done :)