Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion
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TART Challenge - Round 5 - Fast Like Molasses (7)
Courtney wrote: "Yeah, I'm the same. If something is well written, but I just didn't like it, the lowest I'll go is a 3. But if the writing is bad, there are lots of errors, it feels ripped off etc. then I think a ..."I've only given a single 1-star rating, and it was because the author put in very specific geographic details about my hometown that were so blatantly wrong I couldn't get past it. There were several, but the most glaring (mentioned multiple times) was that the Pacific Ocean was visible from the hero's penthouse apartment in Seattle. That must have been some crazy high apartment building, because the Pacific Ocean is in the neighborhood of 75 miles from Seattle, and on the other side of a mountain range. There were other similar errors, but that was the most glaring.
Courtney wrote: "Yeah, I'm the same. If something is well written, but I just didn't like it, the lowest I'll go is a 3. But if the writing is bad, there are lots of errors, it feels ripped off etc. then I think a ..."It's hard to fully immerse myself into a book that is riddled with errors. Audiobooks don't really have those types of errors lol.
I listened to a book where a male reader was coughing clearing his throat towards the latter half of the book and forgot to edit it out. There are other errors of mispronunciations, or saying the wrong name, etc.
Completion Post - Task #1776. Read 6 books with a specific item on the cover, team selects item.
Team chose chin
Jockblocked
Pages: 418
Completed: 5/16
How it Qualifies: Chin on cover
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review:
This book was really just a lot of fun. Matty was such a goofy character in the series' first book, and he still had that energy here, but it was channeled into more great guy-ness. It's nice having a hero that's not a big, tough alpha a-hole male, but more a big, tough sweetheart. I thought the couple was great and the story was sweet. What more do you need? 😄
Looking at Karen and my covers together, it looks like we were going for a orange and black aesthetic with this task 🤣
Courtney wrote: "Looking at Karen and my covers together, it looks like we were going for a orange and black aesthetic with this task 🤣"Mine were the last 2 books left on my M&G shelf, and they've been there together for a while. I definitely noticed the color theme, and I guess it was fitting that they got used together for the same task! 😂
~KarenH~ wrote: "Mine were the last 2 books left on my M&G shelf, and they've been there together for a while. I definitely noticed the color theme, and I guess it was fitting that they got used together for the same task! 😂"Chan's fit the motif too 🤣. I think we must have posted at the same time, so I didn't see hers earlier.
Chan wrote: "It's hard to fully immerse myself into a book that is riddled with errors. Audiobooks don't really have those types of errors lol.I listened to a book where a male reader was coughing clearing his throat towards the latter half of the book and forgot to edit it out. There are other errors of mispronunciations, or saying the wrong name, etc."
Ah that's probably why I have so many more 1 and 2 star books. No hiding all the mistakes 🤣. There are some writers that really have no idea how to space things in a book, and different scenes just jump from paragraph to paragraph and it's so discombobulating! If I have to keep going back to figure out where the heck I am, there's no way I'm going to enjoy the book as much as I could.
I think with a good narrator you could get away with some awkward or cheesy lines that just feel glaringly bad when read, too.
~KarenH~ wrote: "I've only given a single 1-star rating, and it was because the author put in very specific geographic details about my hometown that were so blatantly wrong I couldn't get past it. There were several, but the most glaring (mentioned multiple times) was that the Pacific Ocean was visible from the hero's penthouse apartment in Seattle. That must have been some crazy high apartment building, because the Pacific Ocean is in the neighborhood of 75 miles from Seattle, and on the other side of a mountain range. There were other similar errors, but that was the most glaring."That would drive me crazy too. I don't know why authors add details that they're unsure of. I'd rather have less description than wrong information. I got irrationally angry at Scoring the Player's Baby because the author wrote that the character looked "Samoan or Polynesian"...ummmmm Samoa is a Polynesian island, so Samoans are Polynesian 🤷🏼♀️. Just drove me nuts.
#17 | 76. Read 6 books with a specific item on the cover, team selects item -Team chose chin
Book: Killing Sarai
Pages: 393
Qualifies: chin on cover
Rating: 3 stars
Completed: 16th May
Once again, I am running out the door - not to play this time though. I will check completions later.Here is your next task!
Task 18 - 51. Each teammate reads a different book by the same author, no pass for this task.
As a team select an author and everyone read a different book by the author. Make sure you don't select the same books!
We have Sarina Bowen for this task51. Each teammate reads a different book by the same author, no pass for this task.
Sarina Bowen
I'm having the hardest time deciding so I'm just going to go with
.
I'm going with
. It's a reread but from several years ago and I don't remember any of it. I need to get through the first few of this series before I can get back to the True North series since there's a crossover (yes, I'm that obsessive about reading series in order!!) 😂
~KarenH~ wrote: "I'm going with . It's a reread but from several years ago and I don't remember any of it. I need to get through the first few of this series before I can get back to..."oh karen lol you make me so happy.
Is a co-written book okay?
Tink Magoo is bad at reviews wrote: "Is a co-written book okay?"I'm almost positive someone asked about this earlier in the round and Kat said yes it's ok, but when I went back and looked for the question I couldn't find it. Unfortunately Kat isn't available to ask right now, so I don't know what to tell you. If it were me I'd go for it, but I also have the time to read a 2nd book if the first one isn't allowed.
Sorry I'm not more help...I'll go do a little more looking to see if I can find the post I'm thinking of...
Thanks Karen, I'll try the Moo U one instead just to be safe
I loved the first True North book, but I feel like I'm going to have to be in the right mood to read book 2. Seems a bit heavy. And I don't want to go out of order.Rookie Move was a hard one for me because of the heroine's back story. I remember it wasn't mentioned in the precis, and it was just a lot. I have to be in the right frame of mind for things like that, and it was too much for me without warning.
I'm not really loving mine anyway, and I'm only three chapters in, so I'm going to change to
. I'm a sucker for a secret baby story 🤣
Courtney wrote: "I loved the first True North book, but I feel like I'm going to have to be in the right mood to read book 2. Seems a bit heavy. And I don't want to go out of order.Rookie Move was..."
I read the earlier series which included the history, so that wasn't a shock to me. I didn't remember it before I started, but as soon as it was mentioned I remembered the earlier books. It's weird...I remember that, but even though this one is a reread it's like I'm reading it for the first time - absolutely nothing is ringing any bells!
Courtney wrote: "Oh shoot! My book is cowritten too! Should I change?I'm not really loving mine anyway, and I'm only three chapters in, so I'm going to change to
. I'm a sucke..."I'm almost positive a dual author will work, but as long as you're not any farther than that it's probably safer to switch...Kat and I almost always think alike, but though it's rare, it does happen that our brains go different directions! And if you weren't really enjoying the first one anyway, it's a win-win! 😁
No worries! This one is way better. Although the heroine has the same back story of (view spoiler), which again I was not expecting.
#18 | 51. Each teammate reads a different book by the same authorTeam chose Sarina Bowen
Book: Good Boy
Pages: 283
Qualifies: Author is Sarina Bowen
Rating: 🏒🏒🏒🏒
Completed: May 16, 2022
Karen i remember seeing that too - dual authors being accepted. I couldn't find it either though 😂Maybe it was a different round, but i feel like it was this one. idk...i can barely remember the day of the week 🤪
Courtney wrote: "No worries! This one is way better. Although the heroine has the same back story of [spoilers removed], which again I was not expecting."Depending on the scene, I'm not always bothered by that. When it's glossed over, i'm okay with it. When the author gets descriptive, i can't handle it. It would be nice if the author put those trigger warnings in their precis. I noticed that some are doing that and it's helpful.
Task 18 - 51. Each teammate reads a different book by the same author, no pass for this task. Team chose Sarina Bowen
Book:
Rookie MovePages: 336
Qualifies: Author is Sarina Bowen
Rating: 4 stars
Completed: May 16, 2022
Task 18 - 51. Each teammate reads a different book by the same author, no pass for this task.Team chose Sarina Bowen
Book: Boyfriend
Pages: 265
Qualifies: Author is Sarina Bowen
Rating: 4 stars
Completed: 17th May
Completion Post - Task #1851. Each teammate reads a different book by the same author, no pass for this task.
Team chose Sarina Bowen
Lies & Lullabies
Pages: 278
Completed: 5/17
How it Qualifies: Written by Sarina Bowen
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review:
This started really strong for me, and I like Kira and Jonas a lot. They had a nice friends to lovers thing going on, and when the book starts, Jonas is returning after five years, so a little unrequited love going on there too.
The beginning of the book goes back and forth between flashbacks of the couple's summer together five years ago and present day, and at the tail end of the flashbacks, we learn about Kira's past sexual assault in college. Unfortunately, I ended up having similar feelings to how it was handled here as I did with Rookie Move. I've been trying to figure out what exactly bothers me about it, and I think it's two things. One, we don't find out about the assault until quite a few chapters in during the last flashback, and then the book goes back to current time, and Kira is no longer the woman who needs to be "healed" by Jonas. In the book world, Kira has had five years to move on and it's no longer a major part of her life, but for the reader, it's a chapter. So to go from having her being scared to have sex again and flippantly telling Jonas (view spoiler) to their next encounter being a rougher all-over-each-other thing, it's a bit jarring and strange. My other issue is that it didn't really feel necessary for Kira's character. Besides using it as a strange catalyst to get the two together, it's essentially forgotten about for the rest of the book. It was built up as this huge important thing, and then it's never mentioned again. It kind of overshadows everything else that we learn about Kira, though, so it's hard to focus on anything else about her.
So with all of that, it was harder for me to enjoy the middle part of the book. The ending gets better, but honestly, there were a lot of more interesting things that could have been developed more that just get passed over so quickly. Like, how Kira worried about being enough for Jonas after watching his concert. I think that would have been an interesting dynamic to explore.
Overall, I never really felt like this was a very strong couple. It was weird that Jonas left for five years and was still whoring it up, and he didn't really come back to Maine with the expectation of seeing Kira. It was just coincidence that they were there at the same time. So to go from 'never expecting to see someone again' to 'I've loved you the whole time we were apart' just didn't feel that believable.
It was written well, and I loved Kira's relationship with her brother and her daughter, but as a romance, it fell pretty flat for me.
Looks like we're right up there at the top
Chan wrote: "Depending on the scene, I'm not always bothered by that. When it's glossed over, i'm okay with it. When the author gets descriptive, i can't handle it. It would be nice if the author put those trigger warnings in their precis. I noticed that some are doing that and it's helpful. .."Yeah, if it's glossed over or if I'm reading something clearly tagged as dark so I'm expecting stuff like that, then it doesn't bother me. Or if it's something crucial to a character's development like in The Duke.
But when it's just thrown in there unexpectedly, especially in something that is otherwise pretty fluffy, then it really bothers me.
I prefer when authors put warnings in their precis too, especially in just a regular type romance. Ruby Dixon is really good about that. In all her recent stuff there's been an intro section that lists everything that could be problematic.
Tink Magoo is bad at reviews wrote: "Looks like we're right up there at the top"I was thinking today about how much better I'm keeping up this time , which just shows how much time I'm breastfeeding and getting the baby to sleep every day 🤣. He only likes napping in his carrier while I'm walking, so I spend a lot of the day pacing around my bedroom and reading.
Courtney wrote: "Tink Magoo is bad at reviews wrote: "Looks like we're right up there at the top"I was thinking today about how much better I'm keeping up this time , which just shows how much time I'm breastfeed..."
I remember those days when there was a list of things to cram in when they slept and then finally sitting down just for them to wake up. Is he old enough to be trying proper food yet? I loved that stage, it was fun seeing their reactions
Courtney wrote: "Tink Magoo is bad at reviews wrote: "Looks like we're right up there at the top"I was thinking today about how much better I'm keeping up this time , which just shows how much time I'm breastfeed..."
Courtney, you kept up fine the other times as well. pacing and listening to an audiobook would be better than reading. it would prevent you from walking into walls...or is that just me lol
I'm messing with you. I know you can't do audiobooks.
do you think Kat forgot us or didn't see our post? She responded to all of the questions. Well, it's only been about 10 hours since we posted our completion, so maybe we wait a bit longer.
Did any other team check in and get a new task? If so, maybe we should write again? She said before to post again if she missed one.
We can't get a new task until tomorrow...we all just finished so fast it seems like we should have it today!
Tink Magoo is bad at reviews wrote: "I remember those days when there was a list of things to cram in when they slept and then finally sitting down just for them to wake up. Is he old enough to be trying proper food yet? I loved that stage, it was fun seeing their reactions"Almost. He'll be 4 months in about 2 weeks. It's going by so fast this time! I think because I know he's my last baby, and I want to soak up every moment, so everything moves faster than normal 🤣
Chan wrote: "Courtney, you kept up fine the other times as well. pacing and listening to an audiobook would be better than reading. it would prevent you from walking into walls...or is that just me lolI'm messing with you. I know you can't do audiobooks."
No running into wall yet, but I have bonked him with my ereader a few times 🤣
~KarenH~ wrote: "We can't get a new task until tomorrow...we all just finished so fast it seems like we should have it today!"Ohh...i thought the completion was posted last night. sorry about that.
Courtney wrote: "Chan wrote: "Courtney, you kept up fine the other times as well. pacing and listening to an audiobook would be better than reading. it would prevent you from walking into walls...or is that just me..."🤣🤣 He'll be fine. You're just training him to duck and weave lol
Chan wrote: "~KarenH~ wrote: "We can't get a new task until tomorrow...we all just finished so fast it seems like we should have it today!"Ohh...i thought the completion was posted last night. sorry about that."
It was, or at least before Kat was up this morning, but we can't get a task 2 days in a row. Since we received our current task on Monday the 16th, the earliest we can receive our next one is the morning of Wednesday the 18th (my time). So at least until the end of the month, or until we take longer than the 2 days to finish a task, we will only be eligible to get new tasks on even-numbered days.
hmm...okay. I'm not sure i quite understand, but I'm also in brain shutdown mode. but my takeaway is that Kat hasn't missed us. I'm just an eager beaver and I need to be patient 😂
Chan wrote: "hmm...okay. I'm not sure i quite understand, but I'm also in brain shutdown mode. but my takeaway is that Kat hasn't missed us. I'm just an eager beaver and I need to be patient 😂"It's just something she set up to prevent one team from totally running away with everything by grouping together a bunch of super speedy readers who could all finish every task in a day...it's just never come up before because we've never been speedy enough for it to register! 😁
And yes, the bottom line is she hasn't forgotten us!
You're not forgotten! You will get a new task in the morning. 😊
Chan wrote: "🤣🤣 He'll be fine. You're just training him to duck and weave lol"It'll come in handy once he's big enough to play with his brother and sister 🤣🤣
Here is your next task!Task 19 - 87. Read 8 books set in NYC.
Books selected for this task need to be set in New York City. Remember to let me know how you know your books qualify, be it title, precis, book details, tags or lists - I need to know where to look to confirm your books. Please include any necessary links or information in your completion posts.
I've checked all your completions, but will not get your tracking updated until later. 😊
Romance Readers Reading Challenges
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For me it depends on the reason..."
That makes sense and makes rating a story a little more fair.