Hooked on Books discussion
Do Not Open This Challenge
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Once Upon a Box: Team 17
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Mod
🔐 Michelle
🗝️Julia
Hi Michelle, excited to partner up with you for this challenge!I'm from Austria, so I'm on CET.
I'm crap at writing reviews, but have been pushing myself to do it more, so I'm curious to see how the whole reflection part of this challenge works for me 😉
Hi Julia...I'm in New York so I'm EST. If I'm converting right you should be 6 hours ahead of me. I work evening so I am usually on late at night.
I've starting writing more reviews because of another challenge group that I'm in requires it. Sometimes it's hard coming up with something, but when I start thinking about the book and what happened I just let it all out. Sometimes it's neat and tidy, other times the review is a bit of a bullet point post and kinda chaotic.
Awesome! I suppose we need a team name... Any suggestions?How about Once upon a Box?
Julia wrote: "Awesome! I suppose we need a team name... Any suggestions?How about Once upon a Box?"
I think that's perfect.
🔐 Week 1 Prompt: What You Bring With YouSome locks don’t need a key—they open for what you carry.
Choose a book that reflects something you bring to this partnership:
a personality trait, a past experience, a strength, a flaw—anything that shapes how you read and relate.
Each of you will choose your own book and explain what you're bringing to the box.
Our deadline is Sunday 14th.
I'm going to need to think about this one.
Week: Week 1Book Title: Underdog
Author: L.A. Witt
Page Count: 338
Reflection: I am a passionate equestrian, so I'm always super excited about horse-themed books. I'm super picky when it comes to weak plotlines or flat characters, and don't even get me started on unnecessary plot devices such as miscommunication... But if there's horses, I'm usually happy to overlook any flaws that the book might have otherwise. Luckily, this book was rather well-researched when it comes to the horsey parts of the story, even though there were some minor errors. But I understand that the typical, non-horse-obsessed reader won't care the slightest bit about those.
Week: 1• Book Title: They Own the Night: Surviving the Pilliga by
• Author: Luka T. Jacobs
• Page Count: 130
• Reflection: I hate talking about myself or what I bring to things. It weirds me out so here goes. I read a lot of different genres. even some of the strange ones. I'm open to many different situations and experiences. I know some people would read this book and think the family was nuts or just attention seeking. I do not, I believe their story was valid. There are a lot of things that we don't understand in this world or know is out there. Do I believe in sasquatch type creatures? You bet I do. There are to many stories out there for them not be real.
Will you check us in once you've added your reflection? 😊(I'm on CET, so I probably won't be online again until time's up and we get the next prompt...)
Julia wrote: "Will you check us in once you've added your reflection? 😊(I'm on CET, so I probably won't be online again until time's up and we get the next prompt...)"
Sure will.
We are checked in. I have no idea why that was so difficult for me 🤦♀️🤣
Awesome! LOL I also found this task WAY harder than I expected 😅 I'm really curious whether the next tasks will be similar...
Mod
This box doesn’t open on its own.
It opened because you showed up as yourself.
What did you learn about each other through these picks?
This message is yours to unlock together. Keep the responses flowing between you; nothing else needs to be checked in.
OMG why is this so hard?! I actually do have a question though... Does your pick reflect the kind of books that you typically read? You mentioned that you like to read all kinds of genres - what are some of your favourites?
My pick does actually reflect my weirdness. I love creature feature genres the most especially bigfoot/sasquatch. I like to scare myself silly. If it has some sort of cryptid in it, I will read it. However I do read almost every genre out there. Reverse Harem, Dark academia, or enemies to lovers are a few that I don't read often. Once in a blue moon I will if the plot is good, otherwise it's a no go. Currently I am listening to mystery/thriller/western on audio and a YA historical fiction in book form. My most favorite are paranormal, urban fantasy, thriller/mystery, and young adult.
🔐 Week 2 Prompt: Judge This BookSome locks don’t care what’s inside—only how it looks.
Choose a book based solely on the cover.
No blurbs. No reviews. No second guesses. Just vibes.
Michelle wrote: "My pick does actually reflect my weirdness. I love creature feature genres the most especially bigfoot/sasquatch. I like to scare myself silly. If it has some sort of cryptid in it, I will read it...."Looks like we're the exact opposite 😂 I'm really bad with scary books/movies, and I rarely read paranormal or mysteries. I mainly stick with contemporary fiction, sometimes also historical or fantasy. The most important things for me is that it's a romance (and preferably a spicy one!).
Julia wrote: "Michelle wrote: "My pick does actually reflect my weirdness. I love creature feature genres the most especially bigfoot/sasquatch. I like to scare myself silly. If it has some sort of cryptid in it..."I read contemporary fiction some. I guess I can say that I'm not really a romance reader. I'm good with some romance, but would prefer it to not be the main plotline. I love J.R. Ward though, but her stuff is mixed with vampires. I have dipped into some Mia Sheridan. Romance is more my daughter's domain. She really likes the spicy, dark, romance stuff.
Week: Week 2Book Title: Work for It
Author: Talia Hibbert
Page Count: 284
Reflection: I'll admit that I did not choose this book completely randomly, but from my tbr pile of books that I already own. I try to avoid buying new books for challenges whenever I can since I already have so many that I haven't read yet. I'm a sucker for flowers on a cover; I just think they look so pretty. Also, I'm just realizing that that makes me sound like a big fat liar since there's also a half-naked man on the cover and here's me like, oh, no, I chose it for the background, not for the super-sexy cover model. LOL. My subconsciousness works in mysterious way. Joke's on me, though, the book ended up being rather disappointing, unfortunately. Lots of insta-lovey, overdramatic BS including the dreaded third-act breakup. Ugh.
Also, I'm just realizing that that makes me sound like a big fat liar since there's also a half-naked man on the cover and here's me like, oh, no, I chose it for the background, not for the super-sexy cover model. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I ain't judging. If you say it's for the flowers, then I wholeheartedly believe you 💯
Week: 2
• Book Title: Battle Mountain by
• Author: C.J. Box
• Page Count: 358
• Reflection - Like Julia, I also did not choose this randomly, nor do I buy books for challenges unless they are from a favorite author and I can't get it any other way. This is one of my favorite authors. Just look at this cover. The scenery, the bird, the sky...everything is gorgeous and makes it very atmospheric. I would have to say that this is my favorite cover from this series and if it was from a standalone, I probably would have picked it up. The stormy looking sky, the mountains, and that hawk all call to my soul.
Mod
Looks can be deceiving.
But sometimes… they’re not.
What do you think your partner would have expected from your cover—and were they right?
This message is yours to unlock together. Keep the responses flowing between you; nothing else needs to be checked in.
Uhm... There's definitely too many "you"s in that prompt, I don't quite understand what we're supposed to do... Should we talk about our own cover or each other's? I'll ask in the Q&A...
Week 2 ClarificationWhen the prompt says: “What do you think your partner would have expected from your cover—and were they right?” here’s how it works with Partner A and B:
Partner B looks at Partner A’s cover and says:
“If I had only the cover to go on, I would’ve expected your book to be about X.”
Partner A then responds:
“Yep, that matches what the book delivered” OR “Nope, the cover was misleading—here’s how.”
Then switch roles: Partner A guesses from Partner B’s cover, and Partner B responds.
So the flow is: one partner guesses what the other’s book looked like it would be about, and the book’s owner confirms or denies whether that expectation matched reality.
Okay, guess I'm gonna start us off. The cover of your book has very dramatic vibes, maybe because of the vibrant colours, stormy clouds, and the hawk in motion? So my guess would be that it's a book with high stakes and lots of suspense. I'd also guess that at least one violent death with unnatural causes occurs in the book? Probably getting this association because of the bird of prey...Also, I'm guessing a rural setting/maybe even with large parts set somewhere in the wilderness?
You guessed everything correctly:high stakes and lots of suspense. One of the MC goes after the bad guy from the last book because he killed his wife. His partner is also going after the bad guy because he burned his house to the ground and almost killed his wife and daughter. The suspense about killed me and caused me severe anxiety. This author will kill a character at the drop of a hat and I think he smiles while he does it.
one violent death with unnatural causes occurs in the book Several people met their ending. It was pretty gruesome.
bird of prey 2 of the MC's are falconer's. The one owns a bird abatement business and he uses all sorts of hawks. He is also very much like a bird of prey in his mannerisms.
rural setting/maybe even with large parts set somewhere in the wilderness? Yep..out in the wilderness on a mountain.
As for your book my best guess that it was some sort of contemporary romance by the shirtless guy on the front. The way he is standing makes me think he might actually be shy or a bit stand offish, maybe even a little grumpy. The flowers confused me to be honest, but they were pretty. Maybe he's a landscaper or florist.
That's actually pretty spot on as well!contemporary romance: Exactly.
shy/stand-offish/grumpy MC: Almost. Griff is quiet and an outsider, the other people from his village find him weird and talk badly about him behind his back, but I never got why, other than that his mother had killed herself 10 years ago and people seemed to judge him for it? He's really sweet, and even though the blurb says that he prefers plants over people, I didn't really get that from the book itself. I mean, I'd also feel uncomfortable around people if I knew they were talking shit about me behind my back, but the blurb implies that Griff is a grumpy loner when actually, his being an outsider is not his choice. The whole story suffered because neither one of the MCs was well-crafted, tbh. A whole lot of things just didn't make sense or didn't feel very thought through or consistent.
landscaper/florist: Again, almost. He works on a fruit farm and develops cordial recipes. No idea what the daisies have to do with it, the clostest we get to flowers in the book is an elderflower harvest.
At least the cover was pretty. I did look at the other cover it had and that one was prettier, but it left me wondering what the book was about too. If I were in a book store I would have been attracted to the book, but would have immediatley set the book down due to the blurb.
Yeah... I had kinda high hopes since the reviews were really good.
🔐 Week 3 Prompt: Your Missing PieceSome locks stay closed because something’s missing.
Choose a book that fills a gap in your reading life—something you’ve been avoiding, neglecting, or meaning to try.
Even better if it’s outside your comfort zone.
Week: Week 3Book Title: Outrun the Rain
Author: N.R. Walker
Page Count: 190
Reflection: N.R Walker used to be one of my favourite authors, but over the past few years, I found that her newer releases tended to be a bit too cheesy for my taste. This trilogy has been sitting on my TBR since it was published two years ago (I used to read her new releases within the month that they were published in). I finally read them now because they worked for this as well as two other reading challenges that I'm participating in. So glad that I did, because I really enjoyed the whole trilogy and binge-read it within a matter of days.
Week 3 - Choose a book that fills a gap in your reading life—something you’ve been avoiding, neglecting, or meaning to try.Book Title - Imaginary Friend
Author - Stephen Chbosky
Date Read - 9/26/25
Page Count - 721
Reflection - I avoid big books a lot of the times. Usually that entails 450 pages or more unless I have read the author previously (ie: Stephen King, Jonathan Maberry, Sarah J. Maas, Kristin Hannah...). Why? I have found that many of the books that I have tried that were large, sucked. Too much dialogue and not enough action for me. Also this book had very mixed reviews. I did give it 4 stars and this is my review:
I'm not gonna lie, this was super weird. It felt like what Stephen Kind would write if he were tripping on acid. That's not bad, it was good, just a bit trippy. The beginning was a little slow, but it picks up somewhere near the 200 page mark and doesn't let up till you hit the last 200 pages and that's when all the weird starts to happen. People are not who you were led to believe they are, a multitude of events happen that are trippy and scary, and then you feel like you're in some sort of fever dream and you will get a bit confused. The ending feels like you re being sucked backwards out of whatever rabbit hole you fell in and honestly you begin to wonder if this was really the end. Will their be a follow up book. It's possible.
Mod
This key slipped into place like it had been waiting for you.
Maybe the stories we resist are the ones we need most.
What did your partner’s choice reveal about what they might be ready for now—even if they weren’t before?
Same, I'm also always hesitant to pick up anything longer than 400 pages.Sooo... Maybe you're more likely to give a long book by a new to you author a try, since your four star rating seems to indicate that you liked it after all? Would you read another book by this author?
🗝️ Week 3 ResponseIs it possible that you just needed a break for awhile from this author? I can't binge read a series. I have to take a break in between books so that I don't get bored.
Julia wrote: "Same, I'm also always hesitant to pick up anything longer than 400 pages.Sooo... Maybe you're more likely to give a long book by a new to you author a try, since your four star rating seems to in..."
I still might be little hesitant to read a longer book by a new author . I would definitely read another book by this author if the blurb caught my attention.
Michelle wrote: "🗝️ Week 3 ResponseIs it possible that you just needed a break for awhile from this author? I can't binge read a series. I have to take a break in between books so that I don't get bored."
I think that might be true, yeah. Although there are still some books by her that I won't pick up any time soon since I know they're too shallow and cheesy for my taste.
And I feel the same way about longer series! I'm currently rereading Throne of Glass and I'm on book 7 now and I just can bring myself to to listen to it in the car any longer... Overall really enjoyed seeing all the characters again but I'm exhausted.
🔐 Week 4 Prompt: Pick a Trope, Any TropeThis lock is a little more dramatic than the others. It wants a twist.
Choose a book with a trope you either love, hate, or can’t stop reading.
Enemies to lovers. Found family. Secret royalty. You know the type.
Your partner has to guess how you feel about it.
Julia wrote: "Michelle wrote: "🗝️ Week 3 ResponseIs it possible that you just needed a break for awhile from this author? I can't binge read a series. I have to take a break in between books so that I don't ge..."
Do you do a lot of audio books? I love my audio books. I can listen while I'm at work or in the car.
I've only recently gotten into them, tbh. Tried them a few years ago and decided they were not for me; but then I discovered graphic audios a couple months ago, and now I like listening to those or to regular audiobooks in the car.
🔐 Week 4 Prompt: Pick a Trope, Any TropeThis lock is a little more dramatic than the others. It wants a twist.
Choose a book with a trope you either love, hate, or can’t stop reading.
Book - How to Dance an Undead Waltz
Author - Hailey Edwards
Date Read - 9/29/25
Page Count - 310
Trope - Slow Burn Romance and The Chosen One
Hooked on Books
Books mentioned in this topic
How to Dance an Undead Waltz (other topics)Imaginary Friend (other topics)
Outrun the Rain (other topics)
Battle Mountain (other topics)
Work for It (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Hailey Edwards (other topics)Stephen Chbosky (other topics)
N.R. Walker (other topics)
C.J. Box (other topics)
Talia Hibbert (other topics)
More...
🔐 Welcome to Your Box.
The lock is real. The box is closed. But the two of you? You have the keys.
This is your personal team thread. Each week, you’ll receive a new reading prompt. Each of you will choose a book, read it, and post your reflection here. Once both reflections are posted, a key turns—and the box reveals a message just for you.
You must complete all 12 keyholes to open the box in Week 13.
You can use this thread for:
🔐 Weekly reflections
🔐 Talking with your partner
🔐 Celebrating when a new lock opens
Your first prompt arrives Sunday at 6pm CT. You’ll know it when you see it.
Until then: get to know each other. Decide who’s reading what.
And whatever you do… don’t open it yet.
📖 Weekly Check-In Format
When you finish your book, post the info below in this thread to let your partner know you're ready. Once both of you have posted your reflections, one of you should check in on the main thread to unlock your keyhole.
• Week: (e.g., Week 1)
• Book Title:
• Author:
• Page Count:
• Reflection: Your response to the week’s prompt.
🔎 Weekly Check-In Thread
This is how your keyhole gets unlocked.
No check-in, no click.
How to check in:
Just post your team name and a link to your team thread.
Example:
Team: The Locked Hearts
Thread: [insert link here]
Once I see your check-in, your message will appear in your thread—if you’ve earned it.