Carol J's 2025 Reading Challenge

[Carol]

184. Schemes & Scandal by Kelley Armstrong - Time traveling Mallory is about to enjoy her first Victorian Christmas. She also gets to meet Charles Dickens. But then one of her employer's former lady friend is being black mailed because of some zesty letters she sent to her lover. **** 6/6/25

[Carol]

185. Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter - I loved this book! Goth girl Jade is labeled a freak at school because of her darkness, her love of black, her obsession w/ how people may die, & her basic Goth esthetic. She has her small group of friends, a new guy at school who is a hunk, & her former friend now enemy Mercedes. Years ago, Jade's Mom was killed in a car accident. Jade was in the car w/ her but survived. Fast forward to her teen years, something happens & she is propelled into an alternative universe, where Goth is cool and she is popular! ***** 6/7/25

[Carol]

186. The Words We Lost by Nicole Deese - Drama at Fog Harbor Books publishing house in San Francisco. *** 6/8/25

[Carol]

187. The Beach Hut Murders by Peter Boland - Summer is coming and the ladies of the Charity Shop Detective Agency are ready for another good season. Then one of the neighbors in the beach huts died as his house caught fire and burned down. Then a couple more huts burned. **** 6/9/25

[Carol]

188. The Sign of the Twisted Candles by Carolyn Keene - Nancy and friends visit an inn for something to eat. They see a very old man up in the tower window. *** 6/11/25

[Carol]

189. The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold - Miles is sent to the other side of the galaxy - where the Free Dendarii Mercenaries show up. **** 6/11/25

[Carol]

190. Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez - Emma is is a product of a dysfunctional childhood. Her flighty single mother would disappear at times. Even when she was a small child, leaving Emma to take care of herself. She did that until it was discovered her her mom wasn't taking care of her. Then she was placed in foster care. Years later she met Justin and he would rock her world. **** 6/12/25

[Carol]

191. Undead AF: A Queen Betsy Story by MaryJanice Davidson - Just when you think you saw the last of Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor... She is still the same, a little ditsy and a little self centered, but cares for many. Her mom is dying and Betsy is fighting it like hell. *** 6/11/25

[Carol]

192. The Ghost and Little Marie by Bobbi Holmes - Danielle's friend, 91 year old Marie broke her hip and checked into a nursing home temporarily for recuperation and physical therapy. Then one night someone comes into her room and smothers her. She is dead but her spirit finds her way to Marlow House. **** 6/14/25

[Carol]

193. Dark Shadows by Marilyn Ross - The first book in the Dark Shadow Series and basis for the Dark Shadows TV show. Victoria Winters leaves the "foundling home" to work as a governess at "Collins House" (called Collinwood on the TV show). The audio book features the haunting melody played on the TV show. *** 6/16/25

[Carol]

194. Kissing Christmas Goodbye by M.C. Beaton - It's Christmas time in the Cotswalds! Agatha wanted to have a perfect Christmas. Agatha was also bored. One of her potential clients was an older woman who was certain that one of her family wanted to kill her. Guess what. She died while having High Tea with Agatha Raisin! *** 6/16/25

[Carol]

195. The List> by Mick Herron - Diana Taverner discovers that their spy Dieter Hess has an extra bank account. This means he might have been a double agent. *** 6/16/25

[Karol]

Carol wrote: "193. Dark Shadows by Marilyn Ross - The first book in the Dark Shadow Series and basis for the Dark Shadows TV show. Victoria Winters leaves the "foundling home" to..."

Uh oh . . . I didn't know there was a book series. I need to look for that now. I am old enough to remember watching the series when it first came on the air. My older sister and I were hooked as kids!

[Carol]

Karol wrote: "Carol wrote: "193. Dark Shadows by Marilyn Ross - The first book in the Dark Shadow Series and basis for the Dark Shadows TV show. Victoria Winters leaves the "foun..."

Karol, Hoopla carries the ENTIRE series. (if your library carries them)

[Carol]

196. What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez - Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera is part of Argentinian society. She is wealthy and has everything she wants bu her parents who had just died while globetrotting in Egypt. She goes to Cairo to investigate, but her Uncle automatically wants to send her back home. Plus he has an infuriatingly handsome assistant that is constantly annoying Inez. *** 6/17/25

[Karol]

Carol wrote: "Karol, Hoopla carries the ENTIRE series. (if your library carries them)"

Good to know - I will start there.

[Carol]

197. What Dreams May Come by Christina Dodd - A novella in the Daughter of Montegue universe. Rosie is the daughter of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, THAT Romeo and Juliet. Apparently (in this universe) they faked their death. Being that Romeo and Juliet are so lusty (even after all these years of marriage) Rosie is determined to remain a spinster. But the romantic opportunities that she encounters are... chaotic. *** 6/19/25

[Carol]

198. Southern as a Second Language by Lisa Patton - Last book in the Dixie trilogy. Leelee Satterfield has been through a lot. Her husband hauled the family from in Memphis to Vermont. A few months after their move, he abandons them & has an affair with an older woman, leaving Leelee to run the Inn herself. She sells the inn & moves w/ her girls back to Memphis. Her new love, Peter, follows her to Memphis. In this book they are about to open a restaurant together. A legal problem ensues & Leelee's husband shows up, wanting her back! **** 6/19/25

[Carol]

199. The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - This historic fiction book, is one of those 2 timeline novels. The first timeline is in 1950's Hollywood where "The Seventh Veil of Salome" is being made into a movie. The other timeline follows Salome herself. *** 6/20/25

[Carol]

200. Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson - I think Kevin Wilson is my new favorite writer. He writes a deadpan humor that is hilarious. In this book, one by one, Rube, a product of a dad that abandoned his family, finds 4 other siblings. All children of his wandering dad. He meets Mad, Pep and Tom. They go on a road trip to confront their dad and they meet another sibling. **** 6/21/25

[Elyse, Moderator]

Carol wrote: "200. Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson - I think Kevin Wilson is my new favorite writer. He writes a deadpan humor that is hilarious. In this book, one by on..."

Too close to home... lol but also not lol. My FIL has presented my husband with TWO previously unknown half sisters. And my FIL has told one of his now known daughters that there could be more half siblings...crazyyyyyy!! It's such a story.

[Carol]

Elyse wrote: "Carol wrote: "200. Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson - I think Kevin Wilson is my new favorite writer. He writes a deadpan humor that is hilarious. In this b..."

OMG. Elyse! That would be a great book!

[Carol]

201. The Very Principled Maggie Mayfield by Kathy Cooperman - Ach! I just couldn't get into this book! I am so disappointed! I loved this author's other book, Crimes Against a Book Club. In this book, Maggie Mayfield is a principal for a hoity toity school in a hoity, toity district. ** 6/22/25

[Carol]

202. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore - Barbara is being made to go to her family's summer camp in the Adirondacks. One morning, she is missing from her bunk. A police investigation is started. The thing is, Barbara's older brother went missing from that same summer camp 14 years earlier. *** 6/23/25

[Elyse, Moderator]

Ugh God of the Woods was such a bore for me! I also gave it 3 stars. IDK what all these 5-star review readers were reading but I wasn't reading the same book! 😂

[Carol]

Elyse wrote: "Ugh God of the Woods was such a bore for me! I also gave it 3 stars. IDK what all these 5-star review readers were reading but I wasn't reading the same book! 😂"

I think I already read something very similar, by a Minnesota author...

[Carol]

203. From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back by Elizabeth Schaefer - Star Wars fan fiction by published authors, from another perspective. *** 6/24/25

[Carol]

204. The Cat Who Talked Turkey by Lilian Jackson Braun - The stories in The Cat Who series are turning into more "stories about your neighbors" than mysteries, but I still like it. A dead body was discovered on James Qwilleran's property and he investigates. *** 6/25/25

[Carol]

205. Gone to Texas by Forrest Carter - The first of two Josey Wales books. ** 6/26/25

[Carol]

206. Murder in Red by Jessica Fletcher - Jessica loses a loved one to unnatural causes so she feels like she must investigate. Then her dear friend George checks himself into a clinic with a serious disease. Then he disappears and Jessica must really do something about it. *** 6/27/25

[Carol]

207. Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show - The author talks about famous dogs and show dogs and dogs in media. It turned out to be a very cathartic read. **** 6/28/25

[Andrea, Moderator]

Yay!! 200+ books is just amazing Carol!

[Carol]

Andrea wrote: "Yay!! 200+ books is just amazing Carol!"

Thanks!

[Carol]

208. Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene - While working in her garden, a mysterious carrier pigeon lands in Nancy's yard. Also, Nancy's housekeeper Hannah fell and hurt herself. While there, the Dr. tells Nancy and her dad about an older woman he had to tend to. *** 6/29/25

[Carol]

209. The Mirror by Nora Roberts - Sonya MacTavish inherited a Victorian mansion on the coast of Maine that turned out to be haunted. She sees visions of seven brides that were to be married. They had their rings stolen by a witchy woman. **** 6/30/25

[Carol]

210. Compulsory by Martha Wells - Murderbot is interrupted from watching it's show to save a human miner. *** 7/1/25

[Carol]

211. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan - 1985 Ireland - Bill Furlong makes a discovery while delivering coal, *** 7/1/25

[Carol]

212. Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson - One summer when Frankie was a teen, she meets Zeek. Romantic and creative sparks fly. They create something really great and disturbing. That summer things start to go wrong and people die. **** 7/2/25

[Carol]

213. Victoria Winters by Marilyn Ross - Victoria is still a governess at Collins House. Creepy things are happening and creepy guests arrive. Victoria is in fear for her life. *** 9/2/25

[Carol]

214. The Crucible by Arthur Miller - Arthur Miller wrote this play in response to the Army-McCarthy trials of the 1940s and 1950s. His play was about the witch-hunts and trials in seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts. It started that a young girl accused a woman of witchcraft and before you know it, dozens of people were also being accused. *** 7/3/25

[Carol]

215. The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava - What a complex story! "A Chickasaw woman who can’t catch a break serves up a little white lie that snowballs into much more in this witty and irresistible rom-com by debut author Danica Nava." ~Goodreads *** 7/3/25

[Carol]

216. Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews - It is Christmastime and when Meg should be getting ready for the holidays, she is persuaded into taking place in the weaponsmithing competition, "Forged in Fire". Some of the contestants are "oldschool" and not happy about a woman participating in the competition. Then someone is killed! *** 7/10/25

[Carol]

217. Artifacts by Mary Anna Evans - Faye Longchamp inherited her ancestral home. It was the plantation that her great-great-grandmother Cally, a newly freed slave some how ended up owning. No one knows why. It had been in Faye's family since the end of the Civil War. Then the property taxes went up for Faye and she had to struggle to pay them by digging up artifacts on the land. But then she found the skeleton of a young woman with her head bashed in. *** 7/9/25

[Carol]

218. Tarzan and the Ant Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs - Tarzan's plane crashes in a remote jungle. He encounters 2 societies, the women centric trib of giants and the ant men, who are only 18 inches high. Tarzan is captured and enslaved. Will he be able to escape? *** 7/13/25

[Carol]

219. - This is a case of "opposites attract." A young couple meet while working at a winter wonderland named Cold World despite its being located in humid Orlando, Florida. *** 7/14/25

[Carol]

220. The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo - In ancient Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses bits of magic help her through her days as a scullion. Her mistress discovers her servant is hiding a talent for little "miracles". She forces Luzia to use those gifts to better the family's social position. **** 7/15/25

[Carol]

221. Die Trying by Lee Child - Jack Reacher, a dentist and random woman were kidnapped. Turns out the woman was with the FBI. That is helpful if Jack is going to bust them out. **** 7/16/25

[Carol]

222. Still Waters by Anne Zouroudi - Gikas Fragolis has been ill. There is rumor he has been poisoned. Looks like a job for Hermes Diaktoros. *** 7/17/25

[Carol]

223. The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne by M.L. Longworth - Antoine Verlaque was asked to visit a retired postal worker who found an old rolled up painting in his apartment. An apartment that was previously owned by the artist Cezanne! When he arrives, the postal worker is dead and the painting is gone. **** 7/16/25

[Carol]

224. Death at the Dog Show by Peter Boland - It is the day of the Christchurch Dog Show. It has such events as Best Biscuit Catcher and other such non-serious events. Then all of a sudden a woman collapses and the event vet is trying to give her CPR. It is unsuccessful. The ladies investigate what turned out to be a murder. **** 7/19/25