TART Challenge - Round 4 - Fast like Molasses (4)

[Chan]

#23 | 95. As a team, select an animal. Read 8 books tagged with that animal | Book 1
Team chose dogs
Book: Wait for It
Pages: 670
Rating: 🐶🐶🐶🐶
Completed: November 8, 2021
Qualifies: Shelved dogs by 2 people





#23 | 95. As a team, select an animal. Read 8 books tagged with that animal | Book 2
Team chose dogs
Book: Until November
Pages: 291
Rating: 🐕🐕🐕🐕
Completed: November 5, 2021
Qualifies: Shelved dog by 1 person

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

2nd book finished and completion post updated. 😀

[Courtney]

My first is done (and terrible 🤮), but started my second this morning. It's a bit longer, so probably won't finish until tomorrow. It's really good so far, though 🤞

[Courtney]

Completion Post - Task #23

95. As a team, select an animal. Read 8 books tagged with that animal
Team chose dogs

Book 1


Fit

Pages: 160
Completed: 11/9
How it Qualifies: Tagged Dog by 1 person
Rating: ⭐️

Review:

Honestly, this book mostly made me uncomfortable. Violet obviously has self-esteem issues that allow her to be pushed around and do things that she doesn't want to do. Really not someone who should be in a D/S relationship.

You see it from the very beginning with her "best" friend, Faye. A woman who pressures Violet into taking an advanced gym class that she's not ready for (and goes so badly that Violet cries during), and Faye doesn't apologize or even seem to notice that she's done anything wrong. It's the trainer that tells Violet that she isn't ready for the class and suggests a trainer that can work better for her needs.

Faye also pushes Violet into going for frozen yogurt when she doesn't want to, and while knowing Violet is trying to eat better, pressures her into going out late and drinking, etc. etc. And she only contacts Violet for things when her boyfriend is unavailable. This is not a friend.

So, then Violet meets up with the "gentle" trainer, Grant, that was recommended to her. And after only just looking at her Facebook page decides she's funny and smart and would make a good submissive.



And at their first meeting, he asks if she'd be interested in a D/S relationship, while also planning to take her money to become her personal trainer.....



Violet is horrified by his request and says that she won't contact him, but that night decides to go ahead with it. And it never feels like she really is interested in this. It feels like she is a lonely woman who is willing to do things she's uncomfortable with just because she really wants a man to want her....which is just not a good basis for a romance.

And, I seriously can't believe Grant's personal "training" was walking three miles with her twice a week with his dog. People would actually pay for that?



And if you want to know how "in it" Grant actually was. Violet breaks up with him because she starts feeling uncomfortable about their relationship, and he just says OK. Then she comes back to grovel and get him back at the end because she realizes that she's lonely.

Bleh. This is not a relationship worth reading about. This is sad.

Book 2


Misconduct

Pages: 288
Completed: 11/10
How it Qualifies: Tagged search rescue service dogs by one person

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review:

I was surprised by how emotional this book was. I really wasn't expecting it. But following Carmina as she works through her trauma after the military was really gripping and made this book a real stand out to me.

This is actually the first book I've read in the series, and I think that might have messed with some of enjoyment outside of Carmina's story. While the author does a good job of keeping the reader caught up on things that happened before, and I was never confused about things that happened, pretty much all of Danny's storyline was focused on him dealing with things that happened in earlier books...and maybe before the series actually started (lots of references to his college days). I just couldn't connect to him as much as I did Carmina. And honestly, he didn't really feel necessary to her story. Tom also felt more like a prop for her to get through her issues rather than his own character.

So, for Carmina's story, this was a total slam dunk, but for the men and the relationship, a bit more luke warm for me. I ended up really liking the first half of the book, but as it progresses and focused more on the game with the Vegas team, it lost steam for me.

[Chan]

yikes. courtney, that first one sounds awful. not a romance at all

[MountainKat, Moderator]

Here is your next task!

Task 24 - 61. Read 4 books rated over 4.5 on GR.

Books selected for this task need to have an average rating of 4.5 or higher on GR. You can find this information on the main book page under the title or add it to the settings on your shelves. Please include the average rating in your completion posts. If the average rating may drop below 4.5 during this task, for example if it is a new book with very few ratings, a screen shot might be advisable.

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

I knew there was a reason I was saving this one:

4.61 Average rating and only 151 pages, so just BARELY qualifies

[Elizabeth]

I’m doing
It’s rated 4.57. I’ve been meaning to read it for weeks.

[Courtney]

Chan wrote: "yikes. courtney, that first one sounds awful. not a romance at all"

I know! I kept hoping it would turn into a story where she realizes that she's awesome and shouldn't surround herself with crappy people who take advantage of her. Would have been a lot better. I'm still pissed she stayed friends with that woman, too. She could have at least had some sort of confrontation where she calls her out for being a crap friend 😡

[Courtney]

Oh darn! I was hoping would work because I haven't been able to get to it yet, but it's 4.40! 😭

[Courtney]

Ok. I didn't have too much luck. I found a lot in the 4.0 to 4.3 mostly. So I'm going to go with . Romantic suspense is not my fav, but I really like the author, so hopefully I'll have good luck with it 🤞

[Chan]

Just in case something happens, i'm serving as eye witness 👀

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - 4.57
Rescued by the Cowboy - 4.53
Goodbye's a Witch - 4.61

[Chan]

I should be done with mine by early evening. I'm reading

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Chan wrote: "Just in case something happens, i'm serving as eye witness 👀

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - 4.57
Rescued by the Cowboy - 4.53
Goodbye's a Witch - 4.61"

I actually took a screen shot of mine, just in case. I wouldn't expect it to drop enough to not qualify, but it doesn't have very many ratings, so just in case...

[Chan]

#24 | 61. Read 4 books rated over 4.5 on GR
Book: The Takeover
Pages: 477
Rating: 🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️
Completed: November 10, 2021
Qualifies: 4.55 rating

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Task #24 - 61. Read 4 books rated over 4.5 on GR.

Book: Goodbye's a Witch
Page Count: 151
Rating: 4 stars
Completed: Nov 10, 2021
Qualification: 4.61 Rating

[Courtney]

Completion Post - Task #24

61. Read 4 books rated over 4.5 on GR.


Rescued by the Cowboy

Pages: 185
Completed: 11/11
How it Qualifies: Rated 4.53
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️

Review:

It almost pains me to review this book because I usually like Petrova so much, but this thing is just freaking nonsensical. Between the Montana ranchers being such famous bodyguards that they might work security at the Grammies, to the insta-love between the MCs, which includes being OK with an accidental pregnancy the first time they get it on, to the hero breaking down a freaking glass wall in a hotel to bang the heroine because she's hiding from him because she's worried about "giving up her dreams" if she gets in a relationship with him, to shoot outs and car chases and this so called protection expert never thinking to get rid of the heroine's phone and laptop so they aren't tracked, to the stupid OW drama and the heroine's unbelievable reaction to it (view spoiler)[ When you find out your new boyfriend had a one-night-stand with your best friend, you usually don't go bang him on the balcony directly after to stake your claim (hide spoiler)]....oh my goodness there is so much ridiculousness in here, I don't even know what to say. And for the love of everything on this earth....a woman's nipples do not get darker and heavier when she gets aroused. How the heck does a nipple even get heavier anyway? Nonsense. And if I see the word nubbin one more time, I might lose my darn mind! I can't think of any word less sexy than nubbin to refer to a part of a female's anatomy. For goodness sakes.

[Elizabeth]

#24 - 61. Read 4 books rated over 4.5 on GR.

Book:
Page Count: 691
Rating: 5 stars
Completed: Nov 11, 2021
Qualification: 4.57 Rating

[Chan]

Hi. could someone check us in? I won't be able to do it until after 6pm.

[Elizabeth]

Sorry I’ll do it right now

[MountainKat, Moderator]

Here is your next task!

Task 25 - 82. Each teammate reads a different book from the same series.

As a team, select a series and then everyone reads a different book in the selected series. Please include the selected series in your completion posts.

[Courtney]

Ok, so we picked Heartbreaker Bay

I'm on if no one else needs it.

[Elizabeth]

I’ve found this book but honestly I haven’t been reading this series in order so if someone else is on this book I can switch.

[Chan]

I listened to two hours of this one. I'll finish it up tomorrow.

[Courtney]

Chan wrote: "I listened to two hours of this one. I'll finish it up tomorrow.

"

Did you watch the movie for this one? Of all the Passionflix things, I think it's the best one.

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Yikes, I totally missed this! Thank goodness the series is a reread for me, so I can read anything. Off to check...

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Ok, I've got my act together now...I'm going with

I should be able to finish tomorrow easily...stuck at home all day waiting for someone to come fix my brand new loveseat that was damaged when it was delivered. 😕

[Chan]

Courtney wrote: "Chan wrote: "I listened to two hours of this one. I'll finish it up tomorrow.

"

Did you watch the movie for this one? Of all the Passionflix things..."

no i haven't seen it. I'll need to sign up for passionflix b/c i like this story

[Chan]

#25 | 82. Each teammate reads a different book from the same series
Team Chose Heartbreak Bay
Book: The Trouble with Mistletoe
Pages: 387
Rating: 🐱🐱🐱🐱
Completed: November 12, 2021
Qualifies: Book 2 in Heartbreaker Bay

[Courtney]

Chan wrote: "no i haven't seen it. I'll need to sign up for passionflix b/c i like this story."

I actually started the series because I saw the movie and thought it was cute 🤣. I was hoping they would do more of them.

[Courtney]

Completion Post - Task #25

82. Each teammate reads a different book from the same series
Team picked Heartbreaker Bay


One Snowy Night

Pages: 160
Completed: 11/13
How it Qualifies: Book 2.5 in Heartbreaker Bay
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review:

It's been a long time since I read the first two books in the series, so I honestly couldn't remember who Rory and Max were and how their relationship was portrayed in earlier books. I think their past was explained well enough in here, but maybe because I couldn't remember their earlier interactions, I just didn't really feel it. What Rory did to make him "hate" her didn't really seem like that big of a deal.

There are some cute bits in here, and the relationship building is good...until you get to the end. Way too soon "I love yous". It ended up feeling really fake and cheesy. Max mostly hated Rory (while also finding her hot) for six years, and after a night together, he's in love? A bit much for me.

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Here's some info on the end of the challenge that Kat posted in the Q&A thread:

‼️ PLEASE TAKE NOTE! ‼️

With the challenge ending on Wednesday, November 17th, there will a minor change to the last task. Beginning on Monday, November 15th, when teams post their completions and get a new task, they will all get the same task. For this task, instead of just completing it, you will continue reading to add to the total number of books read for your team. There will be no passes for the last task and to complete it, every team member must complete a book for the task and contribute to the overall book count. So, the task is considered ‘completed’ when every team member has read one book for the task, but you can continue reading in order to increase your overall book count for the task in case that is needed for a tie breaker. In the event that two or more teams are tied based on the number of tasks completed, the team with the highest book count will win The Amazing Race Team Challenge!

**Remember if your completion posts are incomplete or have the wrong page count, your books will not count. So help each other out by checking the posts!**

‼️ If your page count comes from a Kindle edition published on the initial publication date on the editions page, it will count. If your page count comes from a Kindle edition labeled '1st edition', it will count. If your page count comes from the earliest dated English language Kindle edition, it will count. I am looking for one of those three things when confirming your books! As long the page count you list is correct, I will accept any link to the book. ‼️

[Elizabeth]

Completion Post - Task #25

82. Each teammate reads a different book from the same series
Team picked Heartbreaker Bay



Pages: 387
Completed: 11/13
How it Qualifies: Book 7 in Heartbreaker Bay
Rating: 🥱🙄🙂

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Task #25 - 82. Each teammate reads a different book from the same series.
Team chose Heartbreaker Bay

Book: Accidentally on Purpose
Page Count: 391
Rating: 4 stars
Completed: 11/12/21
Qualification: Book 3 in Heartbreaker Bay

[Courtney]

[Courtney]

Elizabeth wrote: "Completion Post - Task #25

82. Each teammate reads a different book from the same series
Team picked Heartbreaker Bay



Pages: 387
Completed: 11/13
How it Qu..."

🤣🤣 I noticed the little yawn emoji there!

[Elizabeth]

Courtney wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "Completion Post - Task #25

82. Each teammate reads a different book from the same series
Team picked Heartbreaker Bay



Pages: 387
Complete..."

Yeah I was surprised. I liked the other books in this series but this one took me a while to get into. I just didnt really click with either of the characters much. About 3 quarters of the way in I started liking it more but yeah it was really meh overall.

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Ok, I posted our completion in the Q&A thread. 😃

[Courtney]

Elizabeth wrote: "Yeah I was surprised. I liked the other books in this series but this one took me a while to get into. I just didnt really click with either of the characters much. About 3 quarters of the way in I started liking it more but yeah it was really meh overall"

Yeah, I had that problem with a few books in the Lucky Harbor series. Like she didn't have much of a story planned, so it just dragged.

[Courtney]

Oh my gosh, I totally didn't realize the challenge was ending this week! 😭

And I still didn't get to ! I've had it ready to go for two rounds now 🤣🤣

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Courtney wrote: "Oh my gosh, I totally didn't realize the challenge was ending this week! 😭

And I still didn't get to ! I've had it ready to go for two rounds now 🤣🤣"

Well, we've still got 2 tasks to go (assuming we don't somehow get bogged down on the next one) so maybe you can still fit it in.

[MountainKat, Moderator]

I'll be back in the morning with your next task!

[Courtney]

~KarenH~ wrote: "Well, we've still got 2 tasks to go (assuming we don't somehow get bogged down on the next one) so maybe you can still fit it in.."

Or might have to be my post-challenge read 🤣. I always have a hard time picking things to read when I don't have someone giving me tasks to do.

[MountainKat, Moderator]

Here is your next task!

Task 26 - 101. Read 8 books published in even months and even years.

Books selected for this task need to have been initially published in even months (February, April, June, August, October or December) and even years (2010, 2012, 2014, etc). Make sure you use the initial publication date for this task. If there is a date at the top of the editions page use it, otherwise I will be looking for the earliest dated English language edition regardless of format for the qualification. Please include the initial publication date in your completion post.

[Chan]

I'm reading these two



Combined they are under 13 hours. Shorter if i speed them up.

I might be able to grab a third, but I'll let you know. I have a busy weekend ahead...full of adulting :-(

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

I'm starting with since it's my PtP book for this week, and then have planned for my second book. Unlike Chan I don't have a busy weekend ahead (more like a very boring one) and found a reread that's short and works so I can get through a third by tomorrow night if it would make life easier for anyone to only have to do one. Just let me know. 😃

[Courtney]

I'll start with , Feb 2016, and it fits PTP with the wilderness 🤣

[Elizabeth]

I’m going with these April, 2006 and August, 2020

[Courtney]

Ok, I think this one is OK for my second . That version is June 2016, and the first edition Brigand: 4 says April 25th, 2014. So either way, all evens 🤣

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Way to cover your bases, Courtney! 😁 Of course, the first Kindle edition has the initial pub date of April 25, 2014, so the version you posted above wouldn't matter either way...