Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion
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TART Challenge2 - Bookin' It (17)
The flat share it is. But I have to go pick it up, so I won’t be able to start until the afternoon.
Hayde wrote: "The flat share it is. But I have to go pick it up, so I won’t be able to start until the afternoon."Hopefully you like it. It has definitely gotten a lot of mixed reviews. Most people either hated it or loved it.
@Katelyn I hope you enjoy troublemaker! Ryder is such a cute kid and it's a really light read. The email exchanges were really adorable too.@Jans I am about 15% in so far and I really like it!!! Can't wait till they finish setting up the world and background.
Task 4: Read a book recommended to you by a teammate - no pass for this task.Book/cover link: The Cruel Prince
Page numbers with source: 370 pages Kindle GR
How book qualified, with links or cover as necessary: Recommended by Jans here
Date Completed: 9/21/2020
Rating/Review: 5 Stars
Wow, just wow! I feel like I need some time after reading this book to fully process everything. I also just want to immediately jump to the second book but I think this book deserves some time to process.
The world that Holly Black built is so thought out and captivating. I felt like I was just griped on the edge of my seat the entire time as I was reading from the prologue to the end. I felt lost and consumed in the world she created through her writing.
Jude has been hardened by her experiences and her unabashed determination to gain power is refreshing. She knows what she wants and she goes after it despite the consequences. While she is a caring person, she isn't afraid to scheme and get her hands dirty. She's flawed but so is everyone else and I loved that she recognizes it for what it is.
Prince Cardan grew on me as the story went on and we learned more about his background and motives. At first, I thought he was just another stereotypical prince but he has so much depth in his character. I think a huge part is the story is told through Jude's eyes and perception can skew the reality of the situation. Jude's views of him was so surface level in the beginning which is all the reader can see. As Jude (and the readers) peel back the layers, his character really just jumps out of the page.
Also, that ending!!! Just honestly, wow this book.
Thank you so much for the recommendation Jans; it definitely didn't disappoint. I am conflicted between reading the next books or waiting until Cardan's book comes out so I can just binge it all at once. I am actually leaning towards waiting so I can just bask in all the goodness.
Task 4: Read a book recommended to you by a teammate - no pass for this task.Book/cover link: King of Wall Street
Page numbers with source: 308 pages Kindle GR
How book qualified, with links or cover as necessary: Recommended by Busy Right Meow here
Date Completed: 22 Sep 2020
Rating/Review: 3.5 Stars
I am juggling between 3.5 and 4 stars. Maybe on a second read I would reconsider to change my rating.
We hear there are billions of people in the world, so billions of stories could be written. This is one such story.
Harper(h) is one of the most realistic woman character, that makes you look back into your own past and wonder if you have done something wrong in your life.
She is flawed, not just beautifully flawed but annoyingly flawed, like holding a mirror to our faces.
The best part of her is, she judges everyone's motives. She puts a standard and mocks everyone who doesn't fall into that standard. I would be lying through teeth, if I am going to deny I never did it, once in my life.
The story begins childishly and I thought of DNF it through 35%. It has the most cliched dialogue and characters in the initial part. But I am glad, I stayed and kept going.
One by one, layer by layer, Harper's mind is barred open to us, and I find her story to be pitiful. As I said, not all stories had to be beautiful or tragic or vengeful, some stories can show how shallow and non-retrospective anger could mingle and become part of our identity.
Heroine definitely isn't everyone's cup of tea. But she has got a chance to tell her story and I am so happy I got to read it.
Like most romantic stories, the friend and sisters are merely caricatures for characters who are simply there to support our MCs. We don't really know who they are or care about them. Even if they die, I won't care. I find it annoying that authors forget to flesh out important supporting characters.
Too many smuts that I simply wanted to skip. I am not even interested in knowing how their sexual encounters which weren't elevating into emotional connection. Heroine has perfect assets and the hero has a big cock. Bang! They fuck like bunnies. It isn't too emotional or for me to invest.
There were moments during the initial period when Max(H), crossed the line with Harper. I am all for employee/employer sex story if both are invested in each other's growth and consciously accept. But what Max did to Harper, in the initial 35% of the book, crossed lines that shouldn't be crossed. The power imbalance is blatant here. Max is her employer and he literally makes her feel lacking because he can't keep it in his pants. Moreover, I wasn't buying that their relationship did not have any power imbalance. It looked very wrong.
@Jans I felt like I led you astray; I'm sorry! :( I read that book a few years back and now reading through your review, I feel like I need to reread the book and get a new perspective on it.
I am really struggling with reading the last few days. Hopefully I can buckle down and actually read and finish this book. I just have had a bunch of stuff to get done at work, so when I come home I just crash.
It's okay Katelyn! Life and work happens to all of us. Take the time you need. :)
@Kitty: Definitely not! I like certain elements of the book and these elements are not at all present in any other book. I really loved it. Infact it made me retrospect myself. Haha! A few places the book could have made better. Thanks for suggesting Kitty.@Katelyn : As Kitty said take your time and enjoy the read.
Katelyn, you are not alone I’m not having finished the book. I had a time getting either of the books I wanted to read from the library. Finally got one today during lunch. I had forgotten my local library had reduced hours due to COVID. 😔 My plan is to read Happy ever after playlist after work today. @Kitty, you are so strong in being able to not jump right to the next book. I been binge reading Darkfever series all weekend. Every single book ended on a cliffhanger. And I just couldn’t stop myself from grabbing the next book. Based on your review, I’ll definitely had The cruel prince to by TBR.
@Jans, @Kitty, I sometimes purposely don’t re-read books because we change over time and things we liked before don’t catch our attention later. What was once not a pet peeve, now is. Other times on the second reread I start finding the flaws in the book. I have actually ruined a few favorites that way. At the same time though it is nice to kind of see how I have grown and what once was acceptable no longer is or vice versa. It’s very interesting for me to read romance novels from the 90s or early 2000s. I feel the Alpha hero has definitely changed.
Hopefully I can finish it today. My anxiety has been weird the last few days which affects my want to read. I am just having a hard time picking up the book. I think I would really enjoy this book if I was in a different head space, but I am just trying to get it done so we can move on to the next task. I know a lot of teams have caught up and finished task 4 already.
@Katelyn I hope you feel better. Reading should be fun so don't force it if you need a break. No pressure you guys. This is suppose to be a fun challenge so don't worry about the other teams. Honestly if we cared about placement we're doing the challenge wrong anyway and we should have all been picking like 150ish page books from the start hahaha.
You are right! I am glad it is getting me reading more. Having the prompts really helps me choose. I have so many books to choose from as soon as I finish one it takes me DAYS before I decide on the next one to read.
I also am battling my competitiveness haha
I am totally agreeing with Kitty. This should only be a fun time for us. After all, we are reading books -- something we love, so we should never put pressure.Take all the time, guys!
Task 4: Read a book recommended to you by a teammate - no pass for this task.Book/cover link: The Happy Ever After Playlist
Page numbers with source: Kindle Edition, 400 pages
How book qualified, with links or cover as necessary: Recommended by Katelyn https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Date Completed: 24 Sep 2020
Rating/Review: 4 Stars
😭😭😭 I knew coming in that this book would tear me up a bit. I read The Friend Zone and knew how heart broken Sloan was. I won’t say why she was heart broken as I don’t want to put any spoilers.
I will say that I just LOVED seeing Sloan’s and Jason’s relationship unfold. It kept putting smiles on my face. All the banter and flirting was very well written. I actually read this book slow as I wanted to continue enjoying their story.
The songs at the beginning of each chapter were a nice touch. It would have been nice to know before I finished reading the book that there was an actual playlist already created in Spotify. Instead I kept searching each song before I started each chapter.
I’m giving this book 4 stars. The first half of the book was beautiful. Seeing Sloan and Jason fall in love just makes you smile, second half got a bit boring. I get it, it was necessary for the plot, but it just felt bleh. Then ending was lovely. 😍😍 A bit cliché but I didn’t care. I was smiling thru it all. Can I get this book as a Hallmark movie please? I think I’m going to get the audiobook in the meantime.
@Katelyn Thanks for recommending. I need this book after Darkfever. I needed a break from angsty love. This book delivered. I’m off to bed with a smile and an awesome playlist.
I love books with playlists. I definitely need to add to my tbr!
🤦🏽♀️ I just realized this book had been the one I put aside for the “dog in the cover” task. Guess I better start looking for a new one now. 😂
How have I not heard of this book? I’m adding it to my TBR! Thanks!
Alright ladies, I have today off so I AM finishing this book.
Task 4: Read a book recommended to you by a teammate - no pass for this task.Book/cover link:
Troublemaker
Page numbers with source: Kindle Edition, 295
How book qualified, with links or cover as necessary: Recommended by Kitty
Date Completed: 24 Sep 2020
Rating/Review: 3 Stars
I honestly wish I liked this book more than I did. I really think it is a personal problem and not the books problem. I just could not get into the book in a lot of parts and I just think the writing was not for me. The pacing was just a little off as well. I will say, I loved Ryder (Alex's son). He was so cute and just wanted his dad to be happy.
Alright! I finished! Hopefully, the next book pulls me in and I ca read it faster.
Hayde wrote: "@Katelyn Thanks for recommending. I need this book after Darkfever. I needed a break from angsty love. This book delivered. I’m off to bed with a smile and an awesome playlist."I am so glad you loved it! I never read the first one, but still loved this one. I loved the cute banter and the dog was one of my favorite characters ever!
Just posted the completion post. Hopefully, a new task soon for everyone as we gear up slowly towards the weekend! @Katelyn Happy you have a day off since it sounds like work's been crazy for you earlier!! Hope you're able to do something fun today. I'm glad you loved Ryder despite the rest of the book not being your style. He's one of the best kid character that I've read in a while.
Hopefully we get our task soon. I am in the mood to read now and want to jump in!
me too. Am reading random stuff. I am going to organize all of your recommendation and read one by one, in the meantime
She must be busy today because I don't think anyone else has gotten their tasks yet today either.
Sorry for the delay - left early, just got home! Here is Task 5:
10. Read 4 books by authors' who write under more than one name (Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb).
Please include a link to the author page or website that shows they write under more than one name in your completion post.
So I think I am going to read
C.M Owens has 2 other pen names; Kristy Cunning and S.T. Abby.
It has been on my TBR for a while.
It is also a shorter read which I think is what I need right now.
I think I'm going with
. Sawyer Bennett writes under S. Bennett and Juliette Poe. Taking this opportunity to continue with this series. :) https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Busy Right Meow wrote: "I think I'm going with . Sawyer Bennett writes under S. Bennett and Juliette Poe. Taking this opportunity to continue with this series. :) https://www.goodreads.com/aut..."
I didn't realize she wrote under different names!
Katelyn wrote: I didn't realize she wrote under different names!Honestly I didn't either. LOL I was just very determined to read something from my collection so I started searching up authors in google and "pen name". I would NOT recommend others to do that haha
I am with ya on trying to read what I already have. I really want to use this challenge to help me knock out my TBR, but I am doing a lot of adding to it. haha. It is helping me read more though. I can't wait to see how many books I read next month because we started this challenge only half way through September.
The book I am reading has been on my list for way too long.
That link saved my day, Hayde.I am going with
It is written by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. She also goes with the pen name Justin Cole
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_E...
Completion postTask 5: Read 4 books by authors' who write under more than one name
Book/cover link:The Billionaire
Page numbers with source: Kindle Edition, 167 pages
How book qualified, with links or cover as necessary: The book was written by Jessica Bird who also writes under the pen name, J.R. Ward https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Date Completed: 24 Sep 2020
Rating/Review: 3 Stars
Books ok, meh. No great not terrible. I should have known this was going to happen. This is actually a short book so there wasn’t much room for character development. The bones are there to make this a great book but nothing was really developed. It would have been good to expand on Lizzie’s mother who is mentally challenged or more on the impact of Sean’s child abuse. Overall 3 stars. This book is ok to pass an afternoon but it won’t really stick with you.
Hayde wrote: "Completion postTask 5: Read 4 books by authors' who write under more than one name
Book/cover link:The Billionaire
Page numbers with source: Kindle Edition, 167 pages
How book qu..."
Don't forget to include a link to author page, goodreads, or amazon page where it says she writes under both.
Katelyn wrote: "Hayde wrote: "Completion postTask 5: Read 4 books by authors' who write under more than one name
Book/cover link:The Billionaire
Page numbers with source: Kindle Edition, 167 pag..."
Done :) thanks Katelyn!
Task 5: Read 4 books by authors' who write under more than one name Book/cover link: Kiss an Angel
Page numbers with source: Kindle Edition, 384 pages
How book qualified, with links or cover as necessary: The book was written by Susan Elizabeth Phillips who also writes under the pen name, Justin Cole
Author with two names
Date Completed: 26 Sep 2020
Rating/Review: 3 Stars
There is something about wild animals that fascinates me. As a kid, me and my father would watch all about wild cats in discovery. My husband introduced to me the world of Kevin Richardson. I run to any zoo in the place I visit. I could watch wildcats and baby elephants all day.
Guess how I felt reading Tater(baby-elephant), and Sinjun(Tiger), in the book. I rejoiced, throwing colored papers in the air.
Alright, this is one of the books, that would make your hair rip out from roots. A book is strong when the additional characters are as strong as the MCs. And this book quenches that thirst. So I was all set to be in the ride. Boy, what a ride it was!
Daisy(h): I usually prefer women who break societal norms and do not bend to any rules. I prefer selfish characters, as it always touches some real, raw feelings. This is the only book where I liked the miss-perfect Daisy. Who could hate a girl, when she cleans up elephant dung, and gets thrown by baby-elephant right and left, but still fights with a man to never use a prod? Oh, I want all animal lovers, this world could provide. I would love anyone who respects animals. Besides, Daisy is a hard-damn-worker. And I love her.
Plot: The character development was insanely good. It was worth every page I read. Daisy started off as a secluded person who had a comfortable life. But she learns a truly hard way to get around the hardships and builds her strength, head straight and chin up. Add it up with brilliant bantering dialogues, animals around, speculation of circus life. This book has brilliant female characters etched with love. Sheba is supposed to be the woman who vies for the male lead to separate him from the female lead. But, no! I admired Sheba. I admired her terrific characterization. The author knows to respect women from all angles and aspects. Only then you can bring hatred to such a negative character and yet still draw inspiration. I wish the recent books take that angle sometimes, instead of "slut-shaming".
Now, I know this is a pretty old book, but I can't accept what happened to Daisy as "okay"!
Self-respect and dignity are two aspects that I value so much in my life. I can't even fathom to think an imaginary character has to go through such abuse. IT WAS WRONG!!!
Alex (H), marries Daisy and brings her to a circus unit he was performing. She doesn't even know where he lived, and she had merely 10 dollars in her purse, and when she requests him to break off the marriage and offer her some debt, he brushes off telling he wouldn't. That in itself was cruel.
Daisy didn't even know if he was going to rape her, beat her, or murder her, but she traveled to his place because he thinks she was an uppity girl who didn't know the value of hardship and he was going to teach her. Mysoginist?? No, not just Mysoginist, it is called cruelty. Many liners of Daisy is filled with her fear that he might whip her. And he never once, "not even once" assures her that he wouldn't lay her hands on her. Imagine how harsh it would be to stay with a stranger. My blood boiled through 50% of the book when he abused her in the name of "teaching". Hey, I am all for growing and learning in life, where one curve would change the perspective of living, but that should happen from within. This guy treats her like shit because he thinks she isn't fit in his crooked world to live. Gods, I hated Alex. He is the representation of all sexist men I have met and all assholes I have seen.
And I pitied Daisy, not because she was weak because she had no choice. Her father forced her to marry Alex and she had little to no choice, other than to force herself to endure insult and lose her dignity. She represented all the women, who were forced to remain good and pure because one day the sexist husband would see her gentle heart and love her.
Finally, as much as I love wild cats, I can't see them be treated as house-cats. They are dangerous for a reason and you can't make them Disney animals. The end was so cliched.
Task 5: Read 4 books by authors' who write under more than one nameBook/cover link: Legend
Page numbers with source: Kindle Edition, 227 pages
How book qualified, with links or cover as necessary: The book was written by Sawyer Bennett who also writes under S. Bennett and Juliette Poe. Author Profile
Date Completed: Sep 25th, 2020
Rating/Review: 4 Stars
I went into Legend thinking I was going to get an Enemies to Lover book and instead I got a Friends to Lover book. Sawyer Bennett literally starts her book off with an author note saying she doesn't include an epilogue for her books as she treats the entire series as an extended epilogue for the other couples in the books. I guess it was implied that her previous books also served as a extended prologue for her future books.
We first met Legend and Pepper in the second book Erik. Legend is the goalie for the Arizona Vengeance hockey team. Legend likes rules and order and clashed with his bohemian, whimsical neighbor Pepper. Legend complained to their HOA about her over the top lawn decorations and she retaliates by lining up their fence line with hilarious pink flamingos in the middle of the night.
I really enjoyed Legend and Pepper's banter in the second book and I have to admit I was hoping for more of the enemy dynamic in Legend's book. However, Sawyer Bennett has different plans and dropped a surprise on both Legend and the readers.
Legend handled his surprise extremely well. He just man-ed up and honestly, I respect it a lot. I'm not sure I truly buy how quickly he went from enemies to friends to lovers with Pepper but the book has enough self awareness to poke fun at that point. He did go through a life changing event so I can reluctantly buy the fact that this event bonded him and Pepper quickly.
I really enjoyed Pepper's POV in the story and I wish we had more of it. But I guess the book is called Legend so who am I to complain. I loved Pepper and I wish we could have known more about her backstory. Pepper always liked Legend from the start and basically poked at the bear to get his attention. I enjoyed learning this extra tidbit about her in the beginning but I feel like her character development got pushed aside for the sake of Legend's story and she was relegated as the love interest. I hope we get to see more about Pepper in the future books.
Overall, this was a surprisingly heartfelt book with just enough drama. Although this could be read as a standalone, I think readers would get the most of it if you read the previous book in the series to fully appreciate Legend and Pepper's backstory.
@Hayde I feel like I struggle with short books to really get into the character development too. Hope your next book is better!@Jans Wow....your book sounds like it was a rollercoaster. I'm not sure I would have even been able to finish it after reading your review. Alex...wtf the gaslighting and abuse. Kudos for you for getting through the book and hopefully not tearing all your hair out....
@Kitty: Your review makes me want to read the book. I have never read Sawyer Bennett's book before. Maybe I ll start with book1 then book2.There are so many good elements in the book, that I read. Most of GR friends have given 5 stars for the amazing character development. But the blatant sexism made me want to rip my hair out. I would recommend it to read with a caution.
@Hayde: As Kitty said, even I found the lesser pages book to be quite dull with unfleshed character.
Completion Post - Task #5Task 5: Read 4 books by authors' who write under more than one name
Book/cover link: Hooked on the Game
Page numbers with source: Kindle Edition, 204 pages
How book qualified, with links or cover as necessary: The book was written by C.M Owens who also writes under Kristy Cunning and S.T. Abby.
https://www.cmowensbooks.com/
Date Completed: Sep 26th, 2020
Rating/Review: 4 Stars
I really enjoyed this book. I kept wanting to pick it up to read which was nice because I have been struggling recently. I love an enemies to lovers when they are not enemies for too long. I like how their relationship built over time before they finally got together. I am also not one to love drawn out drama and I liked that they just threw a little bit in at the end. I love a good neighbors/roommates story as well. So this story had a lot of things going for it for me. The only thing I did not love was how often she kept saying she was not good enough. I look forward to reading the other ones in the series.
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I actually watched the first 2 movies before I started reading Harry Potter. Granted those are the two movies that stay the truest to the books.
I’m debating between reading The Flatshare or The Happy Ever After Playlist. Let me see which one is available at my library