Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion
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TART Challenge - Round 3 - Fast like Molasses (11)
Elizabeth wrote: "Task 1: Completed 
Date completed: March 16
Pages: 317
Qualifies: Mostly green cover.
Rating: 3 stars (Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"
Please correct to the first edition Kindle page count (326) and repost. Thanks!
While we are waiting for Elizabeth's correction, here is your next task!Task 2 - 5. Read 4 books first published within the last year.
Make sure you use the initial publication date for this task! If there is one listed at the top of the editions page, use that. Otherwise, I will be looking for the earliest dated English language edition to qualify. Remember to use the first edition Kindle page count!
Wow, I finally made the right choice on which book to read and which to hold off on yesterday! I debated reading
but decided to hold off just in case it might work for either this task (or possibly tomorrow's PtP task), and it does...yay! And no, I'm not waiting until tomorrow's PtP announcement to start it...I have a whole week to get that one figured out! 😁
Jeaniene Frost is one of those authors that I always look at and think her books sound really interesting, but I never start for some reason 🤣. One of these days I'm going to have to try one!
Courtney wrote: "Chan wrote: "Thanks for the warning. I was waiting for your review of the book because the blurb is intriguing, but I too, thought it would be dark and gory. "Yeah, I figured it would be, too, so..."
i might give it a try. You make it sound so good and Laurent sounds like a hero I would adore.
~KarenH~ wrote: "Wow, I finally made the right choice on which book to read and which to hold off on yesterday! I debated reading but decided to hold off just in case it might ..."LOL enjoy. I forgot about tomorrow's PtP call.
Courtney wrote: "Jeaniene Frost is one of those authors that I always look at and think her books sound really interesting, but I never start for some reason 🤣. One of these days I'm going to have to try one!"They're good, but be forewarned, they can be gory...not a series I would recommend for Chan! I'm due for a reread of the Night Huntress series though, just looked back and it's been 10 years almost to the day since I finished Halfway to the Grave
I've had a long day, so I don't plan to start my book until this evening or sometime tomorrow. I need a break. Sowwy :-(I plan to listen to Under Currents by Nora Roberts. I think i'm in a Nora Roberts phase or I'm just looking for comfort reads :o)
Chan wrote: "i might give it a try. You make it sound so good and Laurent sounds like a hero I would adore."He's really cute. Sometimes he comes off a little selfish, but it's understandable from his background, I think. The way he reacts to things in the future is really well-done, too.
~KarenH~ wrote: "They're good, but be forewarned, they can be gory...not a series I would recommend for Chan! I'm due for a reread of the Night Huntress series though, just looked back and it's been 10 years almost to the day since I finished Halfway to the Grave"Good to know. Gore isn't too bad for me, but I do need to be in the mood for something heavy.
I think I'm going to do
, but I'm not 100% sure. I really want to do
, too, but I don't know if I should save it for a possible Ruby Dixon call or not.
Courtney wrote: "Chan wrote: "i might give it a try. You make it sound so good and Laurent sounds like a hero I would adore."He's really cute. Sometimes he comes off a little selfish, but it's understandable from..."
I couldn't resist...added it to my M&G shelf for this round. This challenge is really bad for any attempt I might be making to reduce my TBR!
~KarenH~ wrote: "Courtney wrote: "Jeaniene Frost is one of those authors that I always look at and think her books sound really interesting, but I never start for some reason 🤣. One of these days I'm going to have ..."I appreciate the warning. Someone else warned me about her books. A couple of years ago Halfway to the grave kept popping up in my feed and everybody was raving about it, but a GR friend told me to steer clear LOL
Yeah Chan, it's definitely not for you!But absolutely nothing wrong with being in a Nora Roberts phase OR looking for comfort reads...since for me at least NR is kind of the definition of a comfort read!
~KarenH~ wrote: "I couldn't resist...added it to my M&G shelf for this round. This challenge is really bad for any attempt I might be making to reduce my TBR!"I feel that way about all these challenges 🤣🤣
Yay I’m excited about this one. Now I just have to decide which one to go with.
Courtney wrote: "I think I'm going to do , but I'm not 100% sure. I really want to do , too, but I don't know if I should save it for a possible ..."Courtney, my vote is for Alien Wanted. That synopsis lured me in immediately. It sounds like it would be a book that I couldn't put down, but I need you to read it first and tell me if I can handle it 🤣
~KarenH~ wrote: "Courtney wrote: "Chan wrote: "i might give it a try. You make it sound so good and Laurent sounds like a hero I would adore."He's really cute. Sometimes he comes off a little selfish, but it's un..."
IKR! I was doing pretty good, but this challenge is awful for my tbr, but the recs I get from this challenge, 9 times out of 10 are fantastic reads.
Elizabeth wrote: "Yay I’m excited about this one. Now I just have to decide which one to go with."I seem to be pretty helpful this evening, Liz. I helped Courtney decide which book (although my reasons were purely selfish).
But I could lend my selfishness to you too and help you decide which book.
Chan wrote: "Courtney, my vote is for Alien Wanted. That synopsis lured me in immediately. It sounds like it would be a book that I couldn't put down, but I need you to read it first and tell me if I can handle it 🤣."Yeah, I ended up doing that one. I wanted to read a chapter first because it was a new author to me. I'm always a bit wary when I try a new sci-fi author because I've come across quite a few really terrible ones. But this one seems interesting. Kind of a Firefly vibe. Aliens living and farming on a rural planet with saloons and general stores. We'll see how it goes!
Task 2 Completed
Date Completed: 3-19-21
Pages: 336
Qualifies: 1st Published date is January 19, 2021
Rating: 5 Stars ❤❤❤❤❤
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Liz, did you see Kat's request in msg 152? She asked that you correct your page count for your task 1 book and repost...
Completion PostTask 2 - 5. Read 4 books first published within the last year.
Book:
Wicked All NightPages: 368
Rating: 4 stars
Completed: 3/19/21
Qualifies: Original publication date is February 23, 2021
~KarenH~ wrote: "Liz, did you see Kat's request in msg 152? She asked that you correct your page count for your task 1 book and repost..."No I'm sorry I completely missed that. Thank you for letting me know. It's updated now.
Actually, since it happened after she checked it, she needs it to be reposted, not just corrected...sorry! 🙁
I reposted it. Thanks. I'lll double check my page numbers in the future. I don't know where I got 317 from. 🤷♂️🤦♀️
Elizabeth wrote: "I reposted it. Thanks. I'lll double check my page numbers in the future. I don't know where I got 317 from. 🤷♂️🤦♀️"Thanks, but actually what I meant was to do a new completion post here...
Task 1: Completed
Date completed: March 16
Pages: 326
Qualifies: Mostly green cover.
Rating: 3 stars (Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
Hey. This afternoon i realized that Under Currents was pub'ed in 2019 so I switched to Beach Read. I have a little under 2 hours of listening left. I'll finish it tomorrow.
Completion Post - Task 25. Read 4 books first published within the last year.
Alien Wanted
Pages: 246
How it qualifies: First published Feb. 18th, 2021
Completed: 3/20
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review:
This was an OK read for me. Nothing terrible about it, but nothing super special either. I think the world building was interesting. I liked the mix of futuristic sci-fi with kind old timey Western style, like a Firefly vibe. I also liked the idea of a mail-order bride getting rejected and rescued. However, I just never really cared about these characters. I don't think the relationship building was really there, and there was just too much wishy-washy "should we be in a relationship - does he/she want to be with me" stuff. I also think Emily's big "secret" took way too long to be revealed, when it was pretty obvious what it was, and the amount of time spent talking about how they both were still whole and worthy of love despite what they were missing was a bit overdone. The majority of the MCs time together was spent talking about this, and not really much else.
And the double penis thing was honestly a bit too weird for me, and I read a lot of alien smut, so that's saying something. I just couldn't figure out how that could ever be attractive, especially when Makov says the top one never worked for his old mate. Like it was just flapping around while the other one was doing its thing?
And even with two little soldiers, the sex was kinda meh, so I really don't know what the point was anyway.
#2 | Task 5 - Read 4 books first published within the last year.Book: Beach Read
Pages: 380
Rating: 💻💻💻💻💻
Completed: March 20, 2021
Qualifies: First Pub'ed March 19, 2020
Courtney, i was interested in the same thing - mail order bride being rejected then rescued. I thought this would be a set up for a good story, but without a connection to the characters I guess not :-(I laughed at the part when you said "I read a lot of alien smut, so that's saying something."
I did read the double penis thing in the blurb and I wondered how the author was going to work that out...not so effectively. oh well, I'll wait for Ruby Dixon.
Here is your next task!Task 3 - 3. Each player reads a book by a new to you author - no pass for this task.
The books selected for this task need to be by a new to you author. You can have other books by the selected author on your shelves, but only the one read for this task can be marked as read. And please have the read book on your shelves marked as read and rated!! I am easily confused and looking for a book that isn't there will do it every time! Please include a link to your shelves sorted to the selected author or a link to your read shelf in your completion post.
Courtney, you saved me on this one! I'm going with
I'm reading a hero to come home to. Wait, i need to double check there is a Kindle edition. I have the paperback upstairs collecting dust.
Chan wrote: "Courtney, i was interested in the same thing - mail order bride being rejected then rescued. I thought this would be a set up for a good story, but without a connection to the characters I guess no..."Yeah, I missed the double penis thing, so it was a bit of a shock 🤣. The whole thing ended up just kind of boring. If you want to try funny, sweet sci-fi smut, I'm really enjoying this series
. I think the second and third books are a little bit better than the first, but it's a really light series. A very good way to try out the genre.
~KarenH~ wrote: "Courtney, you saved me on this one! I'm going with "I hope you like it!
🤣🤣🤣 That blurb is so funny - "he wants to plow more than just my fields."I am def adding this one
I'm going to do
. I need a title with five words for my yahtzee challenge, too 🤣
Task 3 CompletedDated Completed 3-21-21
Never Gonna Happen
Pages: 349
Qualifies: Cynthia Eden is a new to me author https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Rating: 3 Stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Task 3 - 3. Each player reads a book by a new to you author - no pass for this task.
Laurent and the BeastPages: 360 (Kindle version)
Rating: 4 stars
Completed: 3/21/21
How the book qualifies: K.A. Merikan is a new to me author - My shelf
I'm not listening to my book, so it's going to take a bit longer. i should be done this evening...the latest tomorrow afternoon.
Elizabeth wrote: "Task 3 CompletedDated Completed 3-21-21
Never Gonna Happen
Pages: 349
Qualifies: Cynthia Eden is a new to me author
Rating: 3 Stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/35..."
Liz, can you please add a link to your shelf to your qualification? From her post above: Please include a link to your shelves sorted to the selected author or a link to your read shelf in your completion post.
No need to repost since we haven't finished the task and reported to her yet. Thanks!
#3 | Task 3: Each player reads a book by a new to you author.Book: A Hero to Come Home To
Pages: 400
Rating: 🎖️🎖️🎖️🎖️
Completed: March 21, 2021
Qualifies: My first story by Marilyn Pappano
Completion Post - Task 33. Each player reads a book by a new to you author - no pass for this task.
Scoring With the Wrong Twin
Pages: 222
How it qualifies: First Naima Simone book read
Completed: 3/22
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review:
Honestly, this was very nearly a perfect romance for me. I loved Sophia. She's intelligent, sweet, and a bit reserved, but I loved that she had a wild side, too, with the tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair.
And Zephirin?
No, seriously, he's fabulous. Confident, sexy, yum yum yum.
I was pulled into their story right away. I think the author did a great job with the characters individually and as a couple. I normally don't like conflict that hinges on one of the characters just not coming clean, but I think in this story, it did actually make sense. The flow of the relationship was done pretty perfectly for me, and I loved how both characters had some good growth. Zephirin realized that he wasn't giving anyone a real chance with him because of how his ex burned him, and Sophia learned that she could grow a pair and stand up for herself. I just loved when she gave her jerky boss the big FU and quit at the end!
My only little nit-picky thing is that I think Sophia was a little too hung up on how she was treated in high school. It was a bit overdone, and I started to get annoyed by how often she brought it up, especially when the stuff Zeph went through with his psycho ex was so much worse. But overall, I loved all of their interactions.
Would I read more of this series?
Chan wrote: "#3 | Task 3: Each player reads a book by a new to you author.Book: A Hero to Come Home To
Pages: 400
Rating: 🎖️🎖️🎖️🎖️
Completed: March 21, 2021
Qualifies: My first story by Marilyn..."
Does the book need to be marked on your shelf as read?
Romance Readers Reading Challenges
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Yeah, I figured it would be, too, so I've been putting it off til I was in the mood. But, really, expect for one part at the very beginning where Laurent kills the guy who was trying to chain him up in the basement, it's surprisingly sweet. Definitely not as "dirty" as most motorcycle club romances I've read. There are a few kind of "sex in the club" stuff going on, but it's mostly off page. The two MCs are completely faithful, which is always one of the iffy things with a motorcycle club book.
The demon is barely in the book. Mostly he talks to Laurent about his deal to go into a future and what he needs to do there, and that's about it. Mostly, it's kind of a regular scarred hero type romance. Beast wonders why Laurent would want to be with someone who looks like him, and Laurent wonders why people don't see how great Beast is regardless of how he looks.
Honestly, the killing scene near the beginning might be too bloody for you, but if you skipped those pages, you wouldn't miss anything important to the story, and that's really as dark as the thing gets.