The Challenge Factory discussion
♦SS Archives♦
>
R13: SS Team 3 - Shelf Indulgence
Here's our roll for week 9.Week: 9
Previous Spot: 60
Roll: 4 + 4 = 8
New Spot: 68
You can read any of the following:
- 6th book in a series
- 8th book in a series
- 68th book in a series
- Alternate task 68. LGBTQ+
6th or 8th book in a series might be tough for me to find right now... but LGBTQ book is quite easy :).
I am going to read Deadly Ever After by Eva Gates
It’s the 8th book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery Series.
Selection post Week 9
New spot 68
Dead of Night by Pandora Pine
282 pgs
Bk # 8 in Cold Case Pyschic series
Selection Post, Week 9Alternate task 68. LGBTQ+
Sink or Swim by Annabeth Albert
314 pages
How it Qualifies: MPG LGBT
Completion Post, Week 9Alternate task 68. LGBTQ+
Sink or Swim by Annabeth Albert
314 pages
How it Qualifies: MPG LGBT
Read: 20 Mar
Rating: 4 Stars
Review: The second book in Annabeth Albert's standalone Shore Leave series, Sink or Swim is a fun, sweet, and sexy forced proximity romance.
I love Albert's stories with macho military men, and I loved Calder! Talk about finding his perfect place, this guy really blooms when he gets together with Felix. And the careful, caring way Felix addresses Calder's issues totally melted my heart.
The slower pacing works great for this pair, and the way Calder bonds with the kids is the icing on the cake. Marvelous!
Completion Post: Week 9 - Spot 68
Book: Renewed for Murder by Victoria Gilbert
How it fits?: #6 in Blue Ridge Library Mysteries series
Date finished?: 3/19/2022
Rating: 4 Stars
Review:
Renewed for Murder was another amazing addition to the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries series with an intriguing plot.
Taylorsford Public Library director Amy Webber is settling into married life with her new husband Richard Muir. With a local arts festival coming up, Richard is set to judge the dance portion of the festival while Amy has been providing background on the source material that inspired the dance. But when the body of an unknown woman turns up in Zelda Shoemaker's backyard, the celebrations ground to a halt. After Chief Deputy Brad Tucker places Zelda under arrest following the discovery of a blackmail note in the deceased's pocket, Amy decides to use her research skills to help clear Zelda's name. But after Amy finds a connection in the distant past between the dead woman and Zelda, she will have her work cut out for her to uncover the truth before Zelda spends the rest of her life behind bars.
A dead woman turning up in Zelda's yard made for an interesting plot. At first we don't know if there's any connection between the deceased and Zelda which leaves us wondering how the woman ended up in Zelda's garden. Then after Amy uncovers a connection between the two, it quickly becomes clear that not all is as it seemed. Add in the fact that their connection goes back fifty years and that made Amy's research a bit difficult. With so few avenues to explore, Amy has to work the investigation from a different angle. Her search is definitely more research heavy in the library as opposed to interviewing this time around although she does manage to track down a few people who were around back then. Ultimately I was surprised by the identity of the killer as I had a different suspect in mind. The ending was fantastically done with a great final showdown with killer.
Amy is an excellent main character who has grown a lot throughout the series. Amy's research skills are an incredible asset as she manages to track down leads the cops may have overlooked. I like that she verifies all information she learns and doesn't take things at face value. One thing that's nice about this series is that Amy actively keeps the sheriff informed of her leads and avoids going off on her own as much as possible. A lot of cozy mystery leads are reckless, so it's a nice change of pace to have a lead who knows when to involve the authorities. Amy and Richard's relationship continues to be fantastic and I like that he trusts Amy to know where her limit is in investigations. While he expresses worry, he's supportive of what she does.
Overall Renewed for Murder was a great read and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Death in the Margins, when it releases later this year.
Completion post week 9 spot 68
Night Broken
Patricia Briggs
4 stars
3/20/22
8 in the series
Review:
Love this series and Mercy. She is a bad ass. Adam and the pack are an awesome force. Christy was very annoying but I love how Mercy handled the whole situation. I think this was one of my favorite of the series so far. I will definitely be continuing.
Better late than never - I'll finish tonightSelection Post
In a Midnight Wood by Ellen Hart
MPG LGBT
320 pages
Completion post Week 9
New spot 68
Dead of Night by Pandora Pine
282 pgs
21 march
Bk # 8 in Cold Case Pyschic series
4.5 stars
i read this series when it first cam out and loved it ..then the spin offs came out and tbh it felt very repetitive ( as same people in it ) so i stopped reading, but the last fe months i have read several.of them again and thoroughly enjoying ..with ghosts , detectives, loads of humour and children chucked in ..you cant go wrong
Completion post - Week 9 - Spot 68
In a Midnight Wood by Ellen Hart
Pages: 320 pages
How it Qualifies: MPG LGBT
Read: 24 Mar
Rating: 4 Stars
Review: That was much better written than I expected. I needed a Minnesota book and was not up for a heavy topic so figured a cozy would fit the bill. I liked where the characters are now so I am not going to go backwards but may read #28 if there is one. This one covers a murder from 20 years before in high school and involves all the usual small-town characters. It ends with a sense of hope and moving forwards.
I am so sorry to cut this review so close. I’ve been really sick the last few days and had to resort to listening to my book on audible because I couldn’t concentrate on the written pages.
BOOK: Deadly Ever After - Eva Gates 03/24/22
PAGES: 298
RATING: ⛵️⛵️⛵️⛵️⛵️
READ: March 24, 2022
HOW IT FITS: 8th book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery Series
REVIEW:
Deadly Ever After by Eva Gates is the 8th book in the Lighthouse Library Mystery Series. I give it ⚓️⚓️⚓️⚓️⚓️!
We return to Nags Head, NC, Lucy Richardson and her family, co-workers, friends and newly engaged fiancé Connor McNeil. Lucy’s parents are in town to celebrate Lucy and Connor’s engagement party. At the end of the evening the engagement party is crashed by non other than Evangeline and Ricky Lewiston. Ricky is Lucy’s ex-boyfriend and part of the reason she left Boston. Evangeline is the wife of Rich Lewiston, Lucy’s father’s partner in Richardson Lewiston Law. Evangeline is still desperate for Lucy to marry Ricky. After a family dinner at Jake’s Seafood Bar, including drama involving Ricky III, Evangeline and a client of Rich Lewiston Jr. who happens to live in Nags Head, Richard Lewiston Jr. is found stabbed to death at the back kitchen door to the restaurant. No one, not even Evangeline or Ricky knew he was in Nags Head. There are a slew of suspects. Rich Lewiston has been involved in some shady dealings with his clients. What was he doing in Nags Head? Who knew he was in Nags Head and why was he murdered?
Lucy has her hands full fending off pressure from Evangeline to reconnect with Ricky, planning her wedding to Connor and searching for the right house where Connor and she can start their new life together.
I love this series and am so happy that the 9th book, Death By Beach Read, book 9 will be released in June of 2022.
Review Posts: Week 9 - Spot 68Melanie: Post 209 - Blue Ridge Library Mysteries #6
- Renewed for Murder by Victoria Gilbert
Leslie Ann: Post 210 - Mercy Thompson #8
- Night Broken by Patricia Briggs
Janeylou: Post 212 - Cold Case Psychic #8
- Dead of Night by Pandora Pine
Lexi: Post 213 - Alternate LGBTQ+
- In a Midnight Wood by Ellen Hart
Trio: Post 208 - Alternate LGBTQ+
- Sink or Swim by Annabeth Albert
Shelly: Post 215 - Lighthouse Library Mystery #8
- Deadly Ever After by Eva Gates
Here's our roll for week 10.Week: 10
Previous Spot: 68
Roll: 4 + 3 = 7
New Spot: 75
You can read any of the following:
- 7th book in a series
- 5th book in a series
- 75th book in a series
- Alternate task 75. Published 2001-2010
Are we on schedule to get all our bonuses ?
Completion postWeek 10 spot 75
The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare
Lilian Jackson Braun
Pages 212
#7 in the Cat who books
4stars
3/26/22
review:
I love these books. They are a light hearted mystery series that really gets you into the characters Qwill the main character is a loveable sweet man. His cats Koko and YumYum are adorable.. If you love cats, you will love these books!
Completion Post: Week 10 - Spot 75
Book: Killer Words by V.M. Burns
How it fits?: #7 in Mystery Bookshop series
Date finished?: 3/26/2022
Rating: 4 Stars
Review:
Killer Words was another fantastic installment in the Mystery Bookshop series following our characters as they work to clear the name of the cop they've worked with in the past.
After the excitement of solving two murders while in England, mystery bookshop owner Samantha Washington is happy to be home while she anticipates the publication of her first book. After attending a breakfast with their family, Sam and Nana Jo see Detective Bradley Pitt deck mayoral candidate John Cloverton. When Cloverton later turns up dead, Detective Pitt is arrested for his murder. There's no love lost between Sam and the detective who arrested several members of her family, but she doesn't believe he's a murderer. With the help of Nana Jo and the Sleuthing Seniors, Sam works to uncover who framed Detective Pitt and clear his name.
The mystery in Killer Words was well done and I enjoyed how the author put a well known character at the center of the case. Sam and the Sleuthing Seniors have always found Detective Pitt to be a bit lacking when it comes to solving cases which is in part why they became involved in so many murder investigations. For all his faults though, the group doesn't believe Detective Pitt would murder someone. Working to clear a police detective made it so the group had to come at the case from a different angle. With no one inside the police department to pass on information, they had to rely on other sources. I love how many connections the Sleuthing Seniors have and how great they are at chasing down leads. Overall I was happy with the way the case was resolved and how Sam managed to figure everything out in the end.
Sam's writing career has really taken a step forward in this book with the publication of her first book inching closer and closer. I enjoyed watching Sam as she learned there was more to publishing a book than just writing it such as the use of social media. Like the previous books in this series, Sam writes another installment in her British cozy mystery series throughout the book. She continues to use her writing to work out her theories for the real-life murder which is a great way for the author to get across Sam's ideas for the case. In this book, her novel doesn't as closely resemble the real murder as it has in the past which I thought was a nice change of pace compared to the previous books.
Overall Killer Words was a great read and I'm looking forward to reading more from the author in the future. I highly recommend this series for readers looking for a fun cozy mystery series.
Janeylou wrote: "Are we on schedule to get all our bonuses ?"Yep. At this point we have every bonus except for the no alternate one which we'll get once we roll past 90.
So we just need to decide when we want to use the 5 bonus points we've accumulated.
Selection Post - Week 10 Spot 75
Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
Pages: 160
#7 in the series
Selection postWeek 10, spot 75
Alternate task 75. Published 2001-2010
Self Preservation by Ethan Day
181 pages
Published: February 10, 2009
Completion post Week 10 ..spot 75
#5 in series
Pixie Little Liar by Arden Steele
#5 in Blackhaven Manor Series
144 pgs
29th march
4.5 stars
Another excellent addition to this series .
Emrys one of the secret sons of King Stillwater ..king of the pixies, or should i say "was king of the pixies" as someone has mirdered him ...and framed Emrys .
Cyrus is the bounty hunter come to collect him, only to find that Emrys is his mate .
The race is on to find who the real killer is before Emrys is ticked off the list that need to die
Melanie wrote: "Janeylou wrote: "Are we on schedule to get all our bonuses ?"Yep. At this point we have every bonus except for the no alternate one which we'll get once we roll past 90.
So we just need to decid..."
This being my first time playing , im not to sure how it works and quite happy for those that do to pick 😊
Completion Post - Week 10 Spot 75
Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
Pages: 160
How it fits: #7 in the series
Date: 3/31
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This #7 in the Wayward Children series, and they are beginning to feel just a bit too episodic. I really like Cora and her first book Sugar Sky is still my favorite of the set, so I enjoyed seeing everyone, but I am not sure there was any real feel of growth and no sense of ending. I will keep reading them but wonder if there is a plan for ending the series or maybe the unending is the point because there will always be more doors and more children. I also missed Chris and not enough Kade. Despite what seems like complaints here, I still gave it four stars and really liked seeing Reagan from the last book.
Completion Post- Week 10 - Spot 75
Killer Comfort Food - Lynn Cahoon
Pages: 186
How it Fits: #5 in the series
Date 04/01/22
Rating: 🥞🥞🥞🥞
Review:
I have enjoyed the fifth book in Lynn Cahoon’s Farm to Fork Mystery series. Killer Comfort Food. Angie and her friends are trying to find a missing woman and save Angie’s farm from being swallowed up by Big Agra and a soybean processing plant. Along the way Angie finds corruption in the acquisition of other family farm land in the path of the developer.
I like the characters in this series. I like that they have formed a close knit work family. They are moving forward with relationships, life, and education.
Do we need to use one of our free passes for Trio or Trio, are you going to be done this evening?
Lexi wrote: "Do we need to use one of our free passes for Trio or Trio, are you going to be done this evening?"I've just messaged them to ask if they'll have it in time (a little under 3 hours til the deadline). If it's not in or I haven't received a response by 15 minutes before the deadline then I'll use the free pass and check us in.
Janeylou wrote: "Melanie wrote: "Janeylou wrote: "Are we on schedule to get all our bonuses ?"Yep. At this point we have every bonus except for the no alternate one which we'll get once we roll past 90.
So we ju..."
I'll just use them all this week as we're getting close to the end (some teams have rolled past 90 this week) so we might as well.
Ok, I'm going to use the Free Pass so we can check in and roll before the deadline.
Review Posts: Week 10 - Spot 75Melanie: Post 221 - Mystery Bookshop #7
- Killer Words by V.M. Burns
Leslie Ann: Post 220 - The Cat Who... #7
- The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare by Lilian Jackson Braun
Janeylou: Post 225 - Blackhaven Manor #5
- Pixie Little Liar by Arden Steele
Lexi: Post 227 - Wayward Children #7
- Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
Trio: Using Free Pass
Shelly: Post 228 - Farm-to-Fork Mystery #5
- Killer Comfort Food by Lynn Cahoon
Here's our roll for week 11.Week: 11
Previous Spot: 75
Roll: 6 + 5 = 11
Bonuses Redeemed: 5
New Spot: 91
You can read any of the following:
- 9th book in a series
- 1st book in a series
- Standalone
- 91st book in a series
- Alternate task 91. GR average rating >4.0
Mod
Well i havent read an alternative option ..and think some others havent as well
Lexi wrote: "Do we need to use one of our free passes for Trio or Trio, are you going to be done this evening?"I know Trio has been really poorly the last few days , so presuming thats why shes not checked in
Mod
Very good, I'll add it to your tally!
Selection Post 
Honey and Pepper by A.J. Demas
1st in series
Pages: 222
How it fits: 1st in series and rating over 4.0
Denise wrote: "Since you're now past 90, could someone check and confirm for me if your team has earned the last possible bonus point for at least one player never reading for the alternate option? Thx! :)"Sorry about that, several of us earned it. For whatever reason I thought I couldn't claim it until next week.
Sorry! Yes, here's my completion... it's been quite a week :( I apologize for leaving everyone hanging. I didn't even realize it was Friday.Thank you for putting in the Free Pass for me, even if my posting now doesn't count, I'll still do it.
Completion postWeek 10, spot 75
Alternate task 75. Published 2001-2010
Self Preservation by Ethan Day
181 pages
Published: February 10, 2009
Read: 1 April
Rating: 5 Stars
Review: Ethan Day's writing always hits me hard in my heart, and I’ve been avoiding Self Preservation for a long time. Maybe hoping for a bit of self preservation myself…? Well, I’m very glad I finally read it. This one is just as beautifully crafted as all of his novels.
Ethan Day had such a natural ability to make his stories flow like you’re watching a movie. Basically mainly coming from one person’s point of view, but checking in on other characters from time to time. Like the camera sweeping over to just check in on others’ reactions. It’s seamless, and perfectly executed.
Very bittersweet, but endlessly hopeful as well, Ethan Day tells the tale of Davis’ last ditch effort at reclaiming the love of his first love. Flashbacks show us how great it was, with just enough of the hurtful memories scattered in so we understand why Jack might not be quite the catch Davis is remembering. Plus, as possibilities gradually reveal themselves, we can see that it might be time for Davis to look ahead as well.
The traditional Ethan Day supporting cast of best gal-pal, the super sassy and effortlessly stylish mom, and the dishy best friend, fit perfectly in the flow of Self Preservation, and add the humor, romance, and warmth which serves to make this story great.
I’ll always appreciate Ethan Day’s skill in finding what makes his characters real. The honesty of their emotions, the truth in their actions… and (as expected) I wasn’t able to escape yet another crying jag while reading this truly lovely story.
Selection Post, Week 11Spot 91, 1st in a Series
The Vicar and the Rake by Annabelle Greene
274 pages / GR
Completion Post, Week 11Spot 91, 1st in a Series
The Vicar and the Rake by Annabelle Greene
274 pages / GR
Read: 2 April
Rating: 3 Stars
Review: I liked it, but I didn't love it. Something about the characters just never clicked quite right and there wasn't enough of that wonderful mystery! I'm still diving into the next one though, and I really do enjoy Annabelle Greene's writing style.
Nice performance by Cornell Collins on the audio.
Completion postWeek 11 Spot#91
Murder Games
James Patterson
1st in Instinct series
4/3/22
4 stars
Review:
A good James Patterson collaboration. Quick , easy read. Loved the two main characters . I love reading serial killer mysteries and loved the use of the playing card to identify the next victim. I recommend this book.
Completion Post - Week 11 Spot #91
Honey and Pepper by A.J. Demas
1st in series and 4.28 rating
4/3/22
3 stars
Review: I have read the first two books in a different trilogy by the author and a standalone and liked both. However, this one was just a little too light on plot. The resolution the main plot happened off scene by an unknown person and while I dislike cliffhangers, this just felt a little too easy. The relationship was lovely and minor drama but the whole thing felt a little too much like a stroll through the market, which if that is what you need right now in a book, this one is clever and has nice world-building, but I wanted more plot.
Completion post Week 11 spot #91
Cut & Run by Madeleine Urban
376 pgs
2nd April
5 stars
bk # 1 in Cut & Run series
I love this series and although ill dip into the series to read for a challenge , its been ages ( if at all ) since ive read this one again .
This is where it all began and there is an Edgar Allen Poe theme, which is always a good thing
The Challenge Factory
Books mentioned in this topic
Murder in a Scottish Shire (other topics)Cut & Run (other topics)
The Family You Make (other topics)
Murder Games (other topics)
Honey and Pepper (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Traci Hall (other topics)A.J. Demas (other topics)
Jill Shalvis (other topics)
James Patterson (other topics)
Annabelle Greene (other topics)
More...
Melanie: Post 200 - Lady Sherlock #6 - Bonus: Read 3+ Books in a Series (Post 154, Post 174, & Post 200)
- Miss Moriarty, I Presume? by Sherry Thomas
Leslie Ann: Post 197 - Standalone
- The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
Janeylou: Post 195 - Standalone
- Truth in the Dark by Amy Lane
Lexi: Post 199 - Standalone
- Noor by Nnedi Okorafor
Trio: Post 198 - Standalone
- Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi
Shelly: Post 196 - Wine & Dine Mysteries #6
- Fashion, Rosé & Foul Play by Gemma Halliday