TART Challenge - Round 6 - Another Day, Another Story (13)

[Maggie]

MountainKat wrote: "I've checked your completions and updated your tracking. Everything looked good. 😊

And I really hope you all feel better and life gives you a break!!"

Thanks Kat!

[Maggie]

M wrote: "MountainKat wrote: "I've checked your completions and updated your tracking. Everything looked good. 😊

And I really hope you all feel better and life gives you a break!!"

Thanks! For everything!!"

M - Love in Vegas is the 26 - 28th correct?

Don't worry about tasks that week. I just wanted to make sure I had it in my calendar. Also - still SUPER jealous yet CRAZY excited for you!!! I hope you have a ton of fun!!!

[M]

Maggie wrote: "M wrote: "MountainKat wrote: "I've checked your completions and updated your tracking. Everything looked good. 😊

And I really hope you all feel better and life gives you a break!!"

Thanks! For ev..."

I fly out early the 28th, the signing is the 29th and then fly home the 30th late evening! We can sneak you in, totally lol.

I should be able to read at times while I'm away. I just won't be able to add my task here until I get home and can use the laptop.

[Maggie]

I figured you two may want or need a laugh...my kids are great for these sorts of stories. Bless their hearts (in the Southern way)

Our daughter is a junior in high school. I should also mention she's young for her grade. She's 15 as she has a December birthday. She's also mostly done with high school. She could choose to take an English class over this summer and graduate. We've already said no to this, but Wednesday really drove home the "NO!" as the forever choice. This kid is staying in public school for as long as we can and NOT heading off to anywhere without us first placing some sort of monitoring device under her skin.

Junior year in our district the kids are required to take round 2 of health ed. It covers a range of things besides sex ed. Mental and physical health, forms of abuse, addiction, addiction treatments and risk behaviors. The school resource officer is usually in attendance for these classes to help support the kids and the teacher. Not a big deal. We know our school resource officer outside of school. He's an awesome guy. And he is NOT working this week - because of what occured last week. It's the one time I really wish he'd been around as he MAY have helped me out a little with this one.

The health teacher decided to go ahead with the planned unit he has where the kids are herded into the fenced in tennis courts (clay courts and sans nets at this time of year)
He then breaks them into groups, has them don goggles that replicate drunken reality. The kids have to complete a challenge course while "drunk". Hence the need for an enclosed area that is mostly flat and without stuff.
Also why an extra adult would have been super duper helpful.

MY kid has been GIDDY over this project for weeks. She's also the poster child for "I'm always competitive even when there isn't even a competition" so she finished the obstacle course in a simulated drunken haze.
Looked up to see her good friend and former soccer teammate Abbi. My child took off at a full on (still drunk) sprint to derail Abbi from "beating her time" in "drunken obstacle course" when --- my daughter ran full on into the pillar that typically holds the net in place.
Yeah. The steel column that is filled with concrete.
Being that she has to lie to say she's 5'4" that sucker took out her entire ab area, her lowest rib, her hip, probably an ovary, and her thigh. She rebounded off of the pillar and then crashed onto her back onto the clay court.
Sigh.
THEN she convinced her health teacher she was FINE. And refused medical care.
THEN she DID NOT TELL ME that any of this had happened.
For over 5 hours.
I was in a different part of the state with her brother and my husband was in Jersey for a work project.

I got home at 6:30 to find her crying hysterically into dinner.
My mom came over to stay with our son so I could take the idiot to either the ER or the Urgent Care.
My mom is legally blind and can't drive, so my two adult sisters drove/came with her - because this is sort of normal for us. And they wanted to see how bad it really was before we started laughing about it.

I took her to the urgent care.
She IS fine. Nothing broken or lacerated. No internal bleeding. Nothing harmed in her ribs, lungs, back or heart. Nothing harmed in her internal organs and her ovary appears to be functioning.

I have never in my life seen a doctor try so hard not to laugh while a teen patient tells him "so today in class we were wearing beer goggles and running around the tennis courts when i ran into this pole thingy and then ... um.. yeah"

And then she reenacted the "incident"

And then he looked at me and all I could do was add "It's my old high school. I understand what class she was in, where she was, why it was being taught, and under normal circumstances I'd applaud this effort."

But this story does not end here.

As we are walking the Dr through her day, why I didn't know about the injury and finally the school and the class the Dr innocently asks my now very tired, very silly child "so what's the name of your health teacher?"

The teacher's name is - not lying - Dr. Pepper.
That is when the Dr lost the fight with laughter.

Never have I been so livid with my child, so scared for my child, and never have I had to lay on the floor of an exam room with my child looking at me while I have a panic attack followed by a round of uncontrolled hysterical laughter.

She's fine.
Homecoming is next weekend. The bruising on her thigh clashes with her dress.
I'm less than sympathetic to this plight.
Eventually I will write a parenting book of "How not to parent - totally true stories of my horror show"

In the meantime - I hope you two are able to enjoy your weekend - please genuinely laugh at my daughter's idiocy because she is very much okay (just sore) and one of my friends is now trying to convince us we should all pool our resources to purchase a used MRI machine so we can cut down on some of our collective medical bills. And they are 100% serious about this.
And they have a strong case as to why we should do this.
My kids aren't even the biggest ROIs in his business plans.

[Maggie]

M wrote: "Maggie wrote: "M wrote: "MountainKat wrote: "I've checked your completions and updated your tracking. Everything looked good. 😊

And I really hope you all feel better and life gives you a break!!"
..."

I am so very close to getting into my car and just driving out there. I'm also giving very real serious thought to asking Alley if she needs a "lift and carry" person with her for that event. I don't even need to get books signed. I just want to hang out and listen in on book people craziness and zaniness.

I head to Philly for the Indies signing in 29 days.
Not that I'm marking days off with large red Xs on a wall calendar or anything ....
LOL

[MountainKat, Moderator]

Here is your next task!

Task 10 - 52. Read 6 5 books with the same color cover, teams decide color.

As a team select a color, then read 6 books with covers that are primarily the selected color. Books selected need to be clearly and obviously the selected color! You can use any edition’s cover to qualify. Please include the chosen color and the qualifying cover in your completion posts.

[MountainKat, Moderator]

And I had a laugh to laugh at your story - because you just have to laugh right?!

[M]

Oh my gosh, Maggie! I couldn't help but to laugh! I bet there is never a boring and dull day in your home hahahaha. I'm glad she wasn't too hurt from her drunker escapade.. maybe just a bit of pride. The teacher's name LOL!

[M]

What about grey or black for the next challenge?

[Carolyn]

Maggie, first off please write that book because that’s hilarious and I’d totally read it!! Lol I teach high schoolers and they definitely can be total idiots to the point where all you can do is laugh. They definitely keep you on your toes and it’s never a boring day with them!! I’m so glad your daughter is alright though!!

[Carolyn]

For the next task I’m good with Black. That seems like an easy enough color for us all to find some good books!

[Maggie]

Black sounds good to me

[Maggie]

And yes - please laugh. There are days where I look at her and at our son and all I can think is
- You are in the top 5 of your class. How? HOW?!

-Someday you’ll run a company. Or a country. God help us all.

-I didn’t think through the ramifications of having children with our genetics. I think I owe the world an apology.


And my daily thought with our daughter is

-If you had taken Law and Ethics this year instead of AP Gov and Politics it would have been like arming a nuclear weapon. OMG 😳🤯

Our son is more interested in robotics and engineering but he has used the following as a real actual argument when confronted with “that’s NOT going to work and it’s going to harm you because …” -

“I used silly putty. That should stop physics for a little bit.”
🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

[M]

Completion Post

Task 10 - 52. Read 5 books with the same color cover, teams decide color. Black was chosen


Reckless Rock Star by Victoria Ashley

Qualifies Book cover is black 69% on tineye
Page Count 293
Date completed 10/25/22
Rating 3.5
Review I find that I'm starting to really enjoy this trope. I had read Steal You Away in the past by this author and loved it. Glad I picked this one up!

I freaking adored Madden! He was a rockstar just needing love. To feel like he was worth it. His ex was constantly trying to get his attention and he wanted nothing to do with her. He knows he has to do something drastic and out there to keep the ex away especially since they will be around each other at the friend trip.

So of course you'd ask your brother Logan to "borrow" his girl, right?! Yep, he knows that there is no way Natalie would ever fall for him so she'd be a safe bet. It doesn't help that she wasn't treated right by Logan. That the small touches, flirting and kisses were things that her relationship was lacking with Logan.

I was rooting for Madden and Nat the entire time! They both deserved to find love... it was just the cherry on top that it just worked out perfectly. Playing house turned into the real thing. No one could be mad since everyone was onboard with her playing the part for him.

I wasn't too shocked about the drama reveal. Kinda saw that coming. I did want to push the ex in the pool though!

[M]

Did you gals want me to read a second book for the task?

[Maggie]

M wrote: "Did you gals want me to read a second book for the task?"

Nope! I actually wound up reading two which had black covers! 😊

Go forth and get to Love in Vegas!! Have fun, remember to wear really comfy shoes, and keep a water bottle with you!! ❤️

[Maggie]

Completion Post
Task 10 - 52. Read 5 books with the same color cover, teams decide color. Black was chosen


Carnage Island by Lexi C. Foss

Qualifies: Book cover is black 86.9% on tineye
Page Count: Kindle Edition, 393 pages
Date completed: 10/26/22
Rating: 4
Review: This book was surprisingly more depthful than I was expecting. I wanted a darker read, a PNR read, and an RH read. This one met all of those requirements and the author is one I have a few books by in my library. The story line was more intriguing and layered than she gives her work credit for. Clove and her guys were beautifully written as was the overall plot with the long arc lines, the themes explored, and even the harsher sexual themes were handled and discussed in a kinder and non demeaning way. There was a very clear line of "acceptable behavior" and "unacceptable behavior" which mirrors what we strive for in our normal reality. This author was a great find for me and I'm thrilled this was the read I accidentally stumbled into.

[Maggie]

Completion Post
Task 10 - 52. Read 5 books with the same color cover, teams decide color. Black was chosen


The Quarterback Sneak: A Fake Dating Football Romance by Ana Shay

Qualifies: Book cover is black 73.1% on tineye
Page Count: 409 pages per Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09...
Date completed: 10/26/22
Rating: 3
Review: This book was okay. There were a lot of Brit-isms in the American setting. Nothing that upsets the flow of the plot, but small items that nag at me. This is more nit picky that I ever am typically. I wasn't in the proper mind frame to really take this book in. It also didn't help that this book was set in my home state, with an end game college that I am also equally familiar with. There were things written into the book that wouldn't make sense at all from an American point of view but I can 100% understand how they would flow from a British mindset - given my personal experiences while living there. Based on bad personal timing, the sneaking of smaller quirks sneaking through editing and these oddities that struck wrong - this book wasn't going to win any awards with me.
A beta or pre ARC reader from the area or the US would have benefited the storyline a bit.
Overall the pacing was slow. And the storyline was pretty common, very standard and a bit played out overall in the NA arena. I would have preferred the edgy rich girl from Greenwich having to fake date in Fairfield. Or even an East Side Manhattanite sent to Fairfield Prep for her senior year and fake dating the Connecticut old money to get back at whomever. This was just standard - rich guy pre arranged betrothal to rich girl cheats on her, then there is a locker room bet, and the rich girl fake dates the Scholarship Kid to get back at her ex. Shock. Gasp. Refined Upper Class Horror. (Eye roll from me)

The pieces of the plot that were held back were almost held back for too long. It was dragged out. It would have been okay to cut 50 or so pages of this book.

The author shows a lot of talent and a lot of meat in her characters, plot development and presentation. I've shelved two of her other books on my TBR to visit. I have a feeling this was either a wrong book wrong time thing for me or this was a newer direction the author was taking her writing in and she's growing.

[M]

Hey Maggie and Carolyn! Hope you both are doing well!
I'm back from Vegas... 100% exhausted, but seriously had the best time!!

Looks like we still need a couple of books for the task. Is anyone currently reading one? I don't want to start one if you guys already are.

[Carolyn]

How was your trip M?

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I’ve been sick with COVID all week. I’ve started a book for this task and I’ll do my best to finish it in the next day or two! Sorry for the delay.

[M]

Carolyn wrote: "How was your trip M?

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I’ve been sick with COVID all week. I’ve started a book for this task and I’ll do my best to finish it in the next day or two! Sorry for the..."

Oh no!! I'm sorry. Definitely don't worry about reading, please! Get lots of rest, take your vitamins and stay hydrated. Hugs and hope you feel better soon!!

[M]

We sure are having a rough time of it aren't we... if we finish the task ok, if not, that's totally fine too. Our health comes first.

[Maggie]

Oh man. We have had a go of it. Fall 2022 has not been kind.
M’s right our health comes first.
Carolyn I hope you are on the road to feeling better! COVID is not fun ever.

M- I’m so glad you had an amazing trip ❤️❤️❤️ I’ve been seeing different pictures and posts on FB and it looks like it was a ton of fun!

As for the task - we’ll get done what we can get done. Let me take a look at what I’ve read in the last week to see if anything will qualify. If not, we’ll figure something out. It’s okay.

Please take care of yourselves first ❤️

[M]

Maggie wrote: "Oh man. We have had a go of it. Fall 2022 has not been kind.
M’s right our health comes first.
Carolyn I hope you are on the road to feeling better! COVID is not fun ever.

M- I’m so glad you had a..."

I agree with it all! I'll try to find something that fits the task as well. It might be slow reading, but I'll start at least lol.

[Maggie]

M wrote: "Maggie wrote: "Oh man. We have had a go of it. Fall 2022 has not been kind.
M’s right our health comes first.
Carolyn I hope you are on the road to feeling better! COVID is not fun ever.

M- I’m so..."

I FOUND ONE!! 🖤

[Maggie]

Completion Post
Task 10 - 52. Read 5 books with the same color cover, teams decide color. Black was chosen


Mafia Lust by L. Steele
Qualifies: Paperback version - Book cover is black 74.8% on tineye
Page Count: 416 pages per Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B...
Date completed: 10/29/22
Rating: 3
Review: The book was good. I think I read this one out of order in the series which was highly interconnected with the different workings with an Italian Mafia family, a London gang driven family, and then finally the Father and Son featured in this book. It made for a slightly choppy read in that regard. Additionally it wasn't clear how Lena and Isaac's relationship had started nor that their roommate's life and death had played a role in their relationship until much later in the book. As these items turned out to be major drivers in their crumbling relationship - it should have been made clear sooner in the story that it was. The 3 star rating is mainly due to the fact that I felt pieces of the story were held just out of my sight and understanding and I couldn't determine if it was author oversight or if it was because I had accidentally pulled a book that was crucial to several key storylines in several different worlds. It was - excessively steamy and brutal without the blood of a mafia read. Just the chess game of men attempting to "protect the women" while "going straight" I can't even write that sentence without laughing my butt off. LOL
It's a good book. Good enough that I'll most likely grab the next one in the series.

[Maggie]

Completion Post Team 13 Another Day Another Story
Task 10

M:Msg 214
Maggie:Msg 217
Maggie:Msg 218
Maggie:Msg 226
Carolyn: Pass for this task

*Posted in Q&A

[M]

Thanks, Maggie!

[MountainKat, Moderator]

Here is your next task!

Task 11 - 53. Each teammate reads a book set in one of your teammates' home town (born in, raised in, currently live in - all work), teams decide. No pass for this task.

As a team, select one teammate and everyone reads a book set in that teammate’s home town. Please include the selected teammate and their home town in your completion posts. If they live in a big city that is easy enough, but you are free to use the state if their home town is within the US and the country if outside the US. Remember to let me know how you know your book qualifies, be it the title, precis, tags or lists - along with any necessary information or links. I need to know where to look to confirm your books.

[Maggie]

53. Each teammate reads a book set in one of your teammates' home town (born in, raised in, currently live in - all work), teams decide. No pass for this task-

Carolyn - New York
M - California
Maggie - Connecticut

I'd prefer NY or CA as these are more than likely to be easy to find.

[M]

I agree. I'm ok with either one. Should we just decide on one? Not sure if Carolyn is well enough to hop on :(

[Carolyn]

Hi All. I'm feeling a lot better and I'm going to get a lot of reading done this week. I just found a book that's based in California so I'd like to take that if it's ok. But if someone else wants that I'm totally cool with reading which is set in Connecticut. Thank you both for handling the last task!! I really appreciate it. I will read whatever needs to be read for this task :)

[M]

Carolyn wrote: "Hi All. I'm feeling a lot better and I'm going to get a lot of reading done this week. I just found a book that's based in California so I'd like to take that if it's..."

Oh I'm so glad that you're feeling better!!
California works for me :)

[Maggie]

Carolyn wrote: "Hi All. I'm feeling a lot better and I'm going to get a lot of reading done this week. I just found a book that's based in California so I'd like to take that if it's..."

I know I have CA and NY based reads in my TBR - but I am up for finding a CT read.
I'll go with whichever works best for you and M. I just plan on taking a weekend to read. And hopefully go apple picking one last time, and possibly sit by a fire pit longer than the American Cancer Society would prefer humans to LOL

I'm so glad you are feeling better. I know what COVID has done to my body so I always worry about others. I'm glad to see you bouncing back and with energy 💗

[M]

Let's go with California!

We plan to decorate for Christmas this weekend. Can't wait to cozy up and read by the tree.

[Maggie]

M wrote: "Let's go with California!

We plan to decorate for Christmas this weekend. Can't wait to cozy up and read by the tree."

California it is!

I need to start putting up the Christmas decorations next week as well.
The daughter's birthday is the first week of December and it's her sweet 16 this year. So my goal is to have the house "Christmas-ed" by the end of Thanksgiving week so we can roll right into birthday and then Christmas itself. My cousin has a December birthday as well. She stays on top of me to make sure my baby has a birthday and not a birthmas.

But it's supposed to be oddly warm this weekend - so I also want to stay outside as long as I can before the freezer temps and the snow move in and never ever leave. LOL

[Carolyn]

COMPLETION POST
Task 11 - 53. Each teammate reads a book set in one of your teammates' home town (born in, raised in, currently live in - all work), teams decide. No pass for this task..
Book/cover link:
Page numbers: 337 pages
How book qualified: book is set in California
Date Completed: 11/5/2022
Rating/Review: 3 Stars. I loved the first half of this book!! Miles was a catch at the start and would say things that just made me melt!! But I was not a fan of the relationship between young Miles and young Rachel. And I didn't like how the reveal of MIles' past was written. It was kind of a predictable second half of the book and nothing too special about the ending.

[M]

Completion Post

Task 11 - 53. Each teammate reads a book set in one of your teammates' home town (born in, raised in, currently live in - all work), teams decide. No pass for this task. We chose California.


Signed by Marni Mann

Qualifies Tagged hollywood x13 https://www.goodreads.com/work/shelve...
Page Count 290
Date completed 11/6/22
Rating 4
Review Well, well, well... This one hit the spot! My first read by this author and it for sure will not be my last!

One starlet in a crisis.
One hot man who wants to make it all better for her.
One chance encounter that starts a fire that cannot be extinguished.
One scandal. One touch, one kiss, one romp in the sheets - not nearly enough.

This was flirty, oh so steamy, but also the story was darn good.
Captivating and left you wanting more of these two!
So many great characters that brought the story to life.
Can't wait to continue on with the series!

[Maggie]

UUgggghhhh!!!!

I read my book. It is set entirely in LA - HOWEVER - the blurb doesn't state this.
Nor are there settings added to the book.
And apparently the Top Shelf function is turned off in the new version of the site.
Many many many creative words being uttered at Goodreads right now.

I read this one -

I'm going to try and see if I can access the older page set up from Kayley's author site or coming in from Amazon or something.

[Maggie]

Maggie wrote: "UUgggghhhh!!!!

I read my book. It is set entirely in LA - HOWEVER - the blurb doesn't state this.
Nor are there settings added to the book.
And apparently the Top Shelf function is turned off in..."

Never mind. The top shelves didn't help me either.
I fail.
Let me find one that will work.
I'm going to try spring boarding off of M's tag.

[Maggie]

Completion Post
Task 11 - 53. Each teammate reads a book set in one of your teammates' home town (born in, raised in, currently live in - all work), teams decide. No pass for this task. We chose California.

Wardrobe Malfunction by Samantha Towle
Qualifies: tagged "Hollywood" by 21 people, 1st page, left column
Page Count: Kindle Edition, 343 pages
Date completed: 11/8/22
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This one turned out to be a deeper read with better characters than I was hoping for. Really great story line with a slightly unexpected plot twist. It was a good read. I'll be adding the next book in the series to my TBR as I'm curious to see what happens with Gabe.

[Maggie]

Completion Post Team 13 Another Day Another Story
Task 11

Carolyn: Msg 237
M: Msg 238
Maggie: Msg 241

*Posted in Q&A

[MountainKat, Moderator]

Here is your last task!

Last Task: Read books by authors whose first or last name begins with the first letter of your team name.

Books selected for this task need to be written by authors whose first or last name begins with the first letter of your team name. For this task, books with page counts in multiples of 150 will count as more than one book. For example if your book is 300 pages - it will count as 2 books, if the book is 450 pages - it will count as 3 books, and so on. So don’t be afraid to read longer books! Remember to use the first edition Kindle page count!

Remember completion posts with errors or missing elements will not count towards your team total or the completion of this task. The task will be considered ‘completed’ when each team member has completed one book for this task, additional books will count towards a tie breaker if necessary. Help each other out by double checking posts are complete with the first edition Kindle page count!

There is no need to post a team completion in the Q&A thread, I will be checking all team threads at the conclusion of the challenge. 😊

[M]

Hi ladies! The challenge ends tomorrow... are we gonna try to get another task in or should we call it good?

[Carolyn]

M wrote: "Hi ladies! The challenge ends tomorrow... are we gonna try to get another task in or should we call it good?"

I have time to finish 1 book today but not sure if I could squeeze more than that in. The book I'm reading now is 336 pages so I guess it technically counts as 2 books....

[Maggie]

I've started one that will count. I think I can squeeze another in tomorrow.
I say we read and if we can complete books - great. If not - we had fun, it was a crazy fall and we can try again in the Spring?

[M]

Ok! I'll find something on the shorter side to read.

[Carolyn]

COMPLETION POST
Last Task: Read books by authors whose first or last name begins with the first letter of your team name.
Book/cover link:
Page numbers: 336 pages
How book qualified:Author's first name starts with an A
Date Completed: 11/10/2022
Rating/Review: 3.5 Stars. This was such a cute read!! Very light-hearted with a sweet story. Great character and plot development. Totally recommend for anyone needing a fun, drama free read.

[Maggie]

COMPLETION POST
Last Task: Read books by authors whose first or last name begins with the first letter of your team name.

Loud Mouth by Avery Flynn
Qualifies: Author's first name begins with A
Page numbers:Kindle Edition, 222 pages
Date Completed: 11/10/2022
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: I liked this one. It's cute. The story line was just different enough to keep it interesting. Both characters were dealing with some decent personal struggles, but communication between them and their needs were healthy and well met. My rating really comes from this book being a 3rd person POV which isn't my preferred voice. It's harder for me to get "into" the story. Still a great book and an interesting series.

[M]

COMPLETION POST
Last Task: Read books by authors whose first or last name begins with the first letter of your team name.


The Long Ball by Aria Cole

Qualifies: Author's first name begins with A
Page numbers: 164 pages
Date Completed: 11/10/2022
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review: This was a quick, insta love story. I'm missing baseball lol so having the story feature a star pitcher was perfect. Cash was sooo charming and had the best lines to win over Delilah. Both had triggers and had to overcome certain things to make their relationship work. Cash was persistent, but not in a bad way at all. He knew what his heart wanted and what his girl. Plus, there was a little special thing with them that was so endearing!