Mountain Climbing Challenge: Q4 2021

[Sam I]

This challenge is meant to help you climb your TBR Mountain and get those books finally read.



This will be a quarterly challenge, with a new theme each quarter. This year our final theme will be FIRST LETTER ROMANCE GAME ( based on a word, name or season) In a nod to the Acrostic composition style

Oh my wild and weird, it's the end of 2021. It's time to wrap up those MCC books. I was feeling uninspired (no surprise given my participation lately) but I tripped across Alexis Hall retweeting publisher Casablanca about doing romance novels with the first letters of your name.

I thought, "we could do that," and came over here to set it up. What is on your TBR that spells out your name, your favorite, seasonal item/thing, or any romancey word. You should choose a 5 letter name, ideally, like I could do

Thomas by Grace Burrowes
Emerald Rain(Maggie Osborn)
Night In Eden (Candace Proctor)
Twice as Wicked (Elizabeth Bright)
Hamilton's Battalion
(For the tenth month)

This is flexible and the purpose is to get some books moved from TBR to Read shelf, so have has much fun with this theme as you want:

HOW IT WORKS:
1) The first poster will post 5 book titles that they pick from their TBR shelf.

2) The next poster will choose 2 books from the first poster's titles and choose 5 book titles off their own TBR. The first poster will then choose to read at least 1 of the 2 books chosen.

3) The third poster will choose 2 from the second posters list .... and so on.

4) Each participant will have the entire quarter to read their book(s), post their rating and review. And tell us what you think of your book in this thread.

5) You are not limited to 1 time. You can return to select and post more options as often as it suits you.

[Sam I]

What does it take to not get weird formatting??

C-Chase the Heart
H-Honeytrap
I-The Ice Princess
L-Lady Be Good
L-The Last Hellion

[Joanna Loves Reading, Bluestocking of HR novels]

Sounds fun! I need to think on my list and which word, but I'll be back.

[Susan]

Hi Sam - for you I choose 'The Last Hellion' and 'Chase the Heart'

My picks
S - Simply Scandalous by Tara LeJeune
U - Unforgivable By Joanne Chambers
S- Splendid - Julia Quinn
A - A Hellion in Her Bed by Sabrina Jeffries
N - A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare

[Joanna Loves Reading, Bluestocking of HR novels]

Hi Susan,

I choose for you Unforgivable & A Night to Surrender.

My picks are going off my Goodreads middle name: "Loves"

L - Lions and Lace by Meagan McKinney
O - The Other Guy's Bride by Connie Brockway
V - Valiant Chaos by Kathryn Le Veque
E - Enslaved by Hope C. Tarr
S - Splendor by Catherine Hart

[Missy]

Hi, Joanna, I choose Lions and Lace & Enslaved for you.

I haven't participated in a while and this theme sounds fun! I'm hoping for some rain this fall/winter now that summer is over!


R - Ruined by Jess Michaels
A - After the Abduction by Sabrina Jeffries
I - If the Duke Demands by Anna Harrington
N - Never Trust a Pirate by Valerie Bowman
S - Seduced by the Stowaway by Ann Mikal

[Sam I]

Glad you guys like this one! It was a bit of hunt buy I easily spelled 3 of my favorite things about fall.

And I also think reexamining shelves is the beauty of this challenge!

[🐝 Shaz 🐝]

Darbella I pick for you
Lady Vivian Defies a Duke / Across a Moonlit Sea

H Hazard
E Enslaved
L Lady of Sin]
E The Earl's Inconvenient Wife
N All Night with a Rogue

[T.]

Shaz, I pick for you Hazard and Enslaved.

A - A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant
M - The Mad Earl's Bride by Loretta Chase
O - Once and Always by Judith McNaught
R - Ravished by Amanda Quick
E - The Endearment by Lavyrle Spencer

[Lauren]

I pick for you Once And Always by Judith McNaught and The Mad Earl"s Bride by Loretta Chase.

D - Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer
A - Again the Magic by Lisa Klepas
T - Till Dawn Tames the Night by Meagan Mckinney
E - Escaping the Earl by Lauren Smith
S - Suddenly You by Lisa Klepas

[Joanna Loves Reading, Bluestocking of HR novels]

Missy wrote: "Hi, Joanna, I choose Lions and Lace & Enslaved for you.

I haven't participated in a while and this theme sounds fun! I'm hoping for some rain this fall/winter now that summer is over!


R - [book:..."

Thanks Missy! You picked the two I wanted picked, lol

[Missy]

@Joanna, I'm glad. Coincidentally, Darbella picked the two books I wanted, too! Thanks, Darbella!

[T.]

Lauren wrote: "I pick for you Once And Always by Judith McNaught and The Mad Earl"s Bride by Loretta Chase.

D - Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer
A - Again the Magic by Lisa Klepas
T - [..."

Thanks, Lauren. I'll finally be reading my first McNaught Book. ;-)

[Lauren]

T.Rosado, I should warn you that it's a BR, which means it's a hit or miss. I enjoyed it bc I loved the h, but the H has some a**hole moments. I'll be interested to see how you like it.

[🐝 Shaz 🐝]

T. wrote: "Shaz, I pick for you Hazard and Enslaved.

A - A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong by Cecilia Grant
M - The Mad Earl's Bride by Loretta Chase
O - [book:Once and Always|..."

Thanks T
I will read Enslaved first, it will also be good to read for Octobers RATA

[T.]

Lauren wrote: "T.Rosado, I should warn you that it's a BR, which means it's a hit or miss. I enjoyed it bc I loved the h, but the H has some a**hole moments. I'll be interested to see how you like it."

Lauren, I can be okay with a**hole heroes. In fact, there are a few that have become favorite heroes of mine.

[Sam I]

Lauren wrote: "I pick for you Once And Always by Judith McNaught and The Mad Earl"s Bride by Loretta Chase.

D - Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer
A - Again the Magic by Lisa Klepas
T - [..."

Sorry I let this go so long! I will pop in and pick for you end of today if no one else joins :)

[Lauren]

thanks

[Sam I]

So sorry, forgot!

I’m picking your A and T!

[Lauren]

thanks Sam! I'm looking forward to reading these books. When is the deadline to finish the books?

[Sandra]

I'm sorry but it seems I'm being a little bit daft... so, when we participate we have to read 7 books, right? 5 from my choosing plus 2 from the the post before?

[🐝 Shaz 🐝]

Sandra
You pick 5 books . Then someone picks 2 books for you to read, Then you have 3 months to read the 2 books.
This is one way that gets you to read books, that you may have had on your TBR self for months or years.
Hope this helps .

[Sam I]

Lauren wrote: "thanks Sam! I'm looking forward to reading these books. When is the deadline to finish the books?"

12/31 technically but we don't punish anyone. 😜

[Sandra]

Ohhh, from the 5 books I've chosen I only read 2 that someone choose for me!!!!

[Sandra]

See, I was saying I was feeling daft :D

[Sam I]

Sandra wrote: "Ohhh, from the 5 books I've chosen I only read 2 that someone choose for me!!!!"Yes! It's a pick it for me challenge of stuff you've already got on your TBR

[🐝 Shaz 🐝]

I am starting to read Enslaved
I did not realise that it was a time travel.

[Lauren]

shaz, I hope it's still good

[🐝 Shaz 🐝]

I finished reading ] Enslaved
Well this was an interesting read Started off in Georgian times in Bath. England. Then went to Roman times in Bath. and back to Georgian times.
4 stars

[Susan]

Joanna Loves Reading wrote: "Hi Susan,

I choose for you Unforgivable & A Night to Surrender.

My picks are going off my Goodreads middle name: "Loves"

L - Lions and Lace by Meagan McKinney
O - [..."

Thanks for choosing 'Unforgivable' - a new author for me and a 4 star read. Very enjoyable

I have also read the Tessa Dare - A Night to Surrender. It was also enjoyable, but I don't enjoy Tessa Dare as much as a used to. 3 stars for this one

[Joanna Loves Reading, Bluestocking of HR novels]

Susan wrote: "Joanna Loves Reading wrote: "Hi Susan,

I choose for you Unforgivable & A Night to Surrender.

My picks are going off my Goodreads middle name: "Loves"

L - Lions and Lace by [author..."

I am glad you enjoyed! I recently read Unforgivable as well, my first by the author also. Looking forward to checking out more by the author.

It’s been a while since I read that Dare book, but I don’t think it was favorite for me either.

[Sam I]

Susan wrote: "Hi Sam - for you I choose 'The Last Hellion' and 'Chase the Heart'

My picks
S - Simply Scandalous by Tara LeJeune
U - Unforgivable By Joanne Chambers
S- [book:Splendi..."


I'm almost done w/ The Last Hellion (LOVE) and I did finish Chase the Heart. I actually ended up skimming quite a bit, it wasn't really a mystery/plot that required a lot from me, but was still quite fun overall.

[Lauren]

To be fair: I did read Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer. Loved it!
unfortunately I haven't read my 2 picks:( About Magic is my next book. It's about time

[Missy]

I finished my two books.
was 3 stars
was 1 star. It's not about pirates at all!!! 😡

[Sam I]

Missy wrote: "I finished my two books.
was 3 stars
was 1 star. It's not about pirates at all!!! 😡"

What a rip off!

[Sam I]

I finished and loved The Last Hellion. :)

Looking forward to next quarter! Or maybe I'll work through some more here hmm

[🐝 Shaz 🐝]

I will be reading my second book in December in-between my Christmas reads .

[Joanna Loves Reading, Bluestocking of HR novels]

I finished my first and gave it 3 stars - Lions and Lace. It has great works building but the romance left quite a bit to be desired IMO. I would read more by the author.

I have started my second - Enslaved - and thankfully I have KU right now because that is the only place you can get it right now. I read the first in series years ago on my Nook so I do wish I had them in the same platform.

[Joanna Loves Reading, Bluestocking of HR novels]

Shaz and I are both reading Enslaved but by different authors 😃

[Missy]

I noticed that, too. 😆

[Mariana]

Joanna Loves Reading wrote: "Shaz and I are both reading Enslaved but by different authors 😃"

Ha! Hope they are both hits. :)

[Susan]

Lauren wrote: "To be fair: I did read Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer. Loved it!
unfortunately I haven't read my 2 picks:( About Magic is my next book. It's about time"

It's my favourite Georgette Heyer book. Not to everyone's taste though - you have to love a real rake and be prepared to forgive. I could read the final scene when the h runs into the Duke in the country inn over and over and still giggle and sigh.

[🐝 Shaz 🐝]

I have just seen your enslaved read. Got to say they both look like very different reads 😂😂

[Lauren]

yeah! I finished one of my books. I read Till Dawn Tames The Night by Meagan McKinney. It was a pretty good read.

[Lauren]

Susan, I enjoyed the ending as well. Though, These Old Shades is still my favorite. The two books are very different. The Devil's Cub had a more zany feel to it. I loved them both.

[🐝 Shaz 🐝]

I have read my second book, Hazard by Jo Beverley 3.5 stars ⭐️ started well lost it in the middle then got better near the end.