Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while)’s
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(group member since Nov 16, 2021)
Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while)’s
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from the Aussie Readers group.
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Challenge completed!**Spring Challenge - Read a Rainbow**
Duration: 1/9/25 - 30/11/25
Level:
12/12
AA🦘 4/4
Part A:
Read a Rainbow - It's the colour on the cover that counts! (Minimum 50% colour coverage essential!) If you're uncertain if your cover has enough of the specified colour in it, check here - https://labs.tineye.com/color/
✅#1. Yellow
The Last Laugh Club by Kate Galley COMPLETED 16.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐.9 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#2. Orange
Her One Regret by Donna Freitas COMPLETED 07/11/25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#3. Red
Long Way Down: A Thriller by Lisa Kusel COMPLETED 23.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.4 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#4. Green
Good Hair Days by Grace Helena Walz COMPLETED 17.11.25 ⭐⭐⭐.7 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#5. Blue
The Dentist: A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim Sullivan COMPLETED 26.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.2 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#6. Purple
Double Wedding by Patricia Scanlan COMPLETED 19.09.25 ⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...Part B:
✅#7. Title: Read a book that has any of these spring themed words in the title; BIRDS
Love Is for the Birds by Diane Owens Prettyman COMPLETED 20.10.25 ⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#8. Title: Read a book where the title begins with a letter in SPRING
The Stolen by Vikki Petraitis AA 🦘COMPLETED 07.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#9. Author: Read a book where both the author's initials fit into RAINBOW
Mistletoe Magic in the Highlands by Bella Osborne COMPLETED 12.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.2 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#10. Cover: Read a book which depicts SPRING on the cover (show cover)
Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen AA🦘 COMPLETED 14.11.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.4 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#11. Winter is over!: Read a book which makes you happy - a favourite author, or one you've been waiting for to be released!
The Road Trip by Tricia StringerAA🦘 COMPLETED 02.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#12. Reader's Choice: Read any book of your choice
The Funeral Crashers by Joanna Nell AA🦘 COMPLETED 27.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sign me up please Brenda! I'll be back with my picks. 💖📚**Summer Challenge - Mini Bingo**
Duration: 1/12/25 - 28/2/26
Level:
0/?
TEMPLATE:
Easy - 2 Rows = 10 books (Minimum 2 Aussie authors)
Medium - 3 Rows = 15 books (Minimum 3 Aussie authors)
Hard - 5 Rows = 25 books (Minimum 5 Aussie authors)
#1 Across
a) On Bestseller list -
b) Dog on cover -
c) Male MC -
d) Aussie author -
e) Suspense/Crime -
#2 Across
a) Received an award -
b) Snow on cover -
c) Male author -
d) Red cover -
e) On TBR over 2 years -
#3 Across
a) Female MC -
b) Over 500p -
c) One word title -
d) Published 2016 -
e) Favourite Genre -
#4 Across
a) Set in AU -
b) Historical fiction -
c) Novella (over 125 pp) -
d) Set in another country -
e) Love that cover! -
#5 Across
a) Child on cover -
b) Young adult -
c) Female author -
d) Beach on cover -
e) Paranormal -
Nov 16, 2025 03:38PM
A celebration of community, love and the power of forgiveness.Finding Joy in Oyster Bay continues on from Sleepless in Stringybark Bay. While it's not essential to have read Sleepless first, it will enhance your enjoyment of Finding Joy in Oyster Bay. Or, even better, go back and start with The Briny Café, to get the full experience.
I love the community feeling in these books. Although not all the characters are particularly likeable, they know they can rely on one another in times of need, and Sam is certainly in need of help when Kate ups and leaves without warning.
While Ettie and Marcus are busy helping Sam, and putting their own relationship to the test along the way, the GeriEcstacies are feeling in need of a project to keep them from fossilising, and come up with a plan to help Lizzie restore her old home as a cover for 'doing good' elsewhere. All very hush-hush and 'undercover' stuff! My favorite character? Definitely Cliffy.
Finding Joy in Oyster Bay is a charming read with equally charming characters. Duncan has shown the terrible toll guilt can take on people, weaving in other issues along the way - like the need to keep our aging brains ticking-over and our bodies in motion, and acknowledging our own and others limitations. A delightful read, and I am sorry to see the end of this series.
I have just discovered that the author, Susan Duncan, has recently passed away. I will miss her gentle stories of endearing characters facing and (mostly) overcoming major life events.
⭐⭐⭐.6
Challenge completedSign me up please Brenda. I'll be back with my selections.💖📚
October Featured Author - Kelly Rimmer
Duration: 1/10/25 - 31/10/25
Level: HARD - Tasks & Spell Out (minimum 4 AA)
10/10
AA🦘 5/4
TASKS
✅#1. Kelly was born and brought up in Sydney, NSW, Australia. When she was in kindergarten, she told her dad she'd be an author one day, so it's fair to say her published books represent a lifelong dream.
**Read a book by an Australia author - Joanna Nell
The Funeral Crashers by Joanna Nell AA🦘 COMPLETED 27.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#2. Kelly's latest standalone novel, The Midnight Estate, was published in Australia on 30th July, 2025.
**Read a book where the first letter of each title word fits into "THE MIDNIGHT ESTATE" (minimum 2 word title)
A Disappearing Act by Jo Dixon AA🦘 COMPLETED 30.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#3. Kelly is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, including The Secret Daughter and The Things We Cannot Say. She has sold more than one million books, and her novels have been translated into more than 20 languages.
**Read a book set in the USA (California)
Long Way Down: A Thriller by Lisa Kusel COMPLETED 23.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.4 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#4. Kelly lives in the Central West of New South Wales with her family and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil.
**Read a book set in NSW
Twisted River by James DunbarAA🦘 COMPLETED 05.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.7 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅BONUS
**Read a book by Kelly Rimmer -
Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer AA🦘 COMPLETED 18.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...SPELL OUT Using either first letter of title (disregarding "A", "An" or "The" if you choose to) or either the first or last initial of the author. For the difficult letters - Q, X and Z, you may use a book in which the letter appears somewhere in the title or author's first or last name.
Dream
✅D -
The Second Story Bookshop by Denise Hunter COMPLETED 07.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐.8 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅R -
The Road Trip by Tricia Stringer AA🦘 COMPLETED 02.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅E -
Good Days Bad Days: A Novel by Emily Bleeker COMPLETED 09.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.4 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅A -
End Game by Jeffrey Archer COMPLETED 10.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...M -
Murder of Crows by Andrew James Greig COMPLETED 31.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Yes please, Phrynne! I'll be back with my selections.November's Featured Author is Lee Child
Duration: 1/11/25 - 30/11/25
Level: HARD
6/10
3/4 AA🦘
HARD - Tasks & Spell Out (minimum 4 AA)
November 2025's Featured Author is Lee Child
TASKS
✅#1. Lee Child is a British thriller writer who was born in 1954. His real name is James Dover Grant **Read a thriller
Softly Calls the Devil by Chris Blake COMPLETED 03.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.9 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...#2. Lee is best known for his Jack Reacher series , the first of which was Killing Floor published in 1997 **Read a book from a series.
Close Your Eyes by Michael Robotham #8 in the Joseph O'Laughlin series AA🦘#3. Lee Child was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to Literature.
**Read a book set in England
New Beginnings for Christmas by Sally Page✅#4. Lee worked for 18 years for Granada television in England. When his job was phased out he decided to try writing fiction. As his Jack Reacher novels gained popularity he moved to the USA.
**Read a book set in the USA
Her One Regret by Donna Freitas COMPLETED 06.11.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...BONUS
**Read a book by Lee Child - TBA
SPELL OUT Using either first letter of title (disregarding "A", "An" or "The" if you choose to) or either the first or last initial of the author. For the difficult letters - Q, X and Z, you may use a book in which the letter appears somewhere in the title or author's first or last name. JAMES
J -
Pilbara: The stunning new novel from Australia's No.1 bestselling author of Black Sheep and Khaki Town by Judy Nunn✅A -
Franz Josef by Alan Carter AA🦘 COMPLETED 08.11.25 ⭐⭐⭐.9 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅M -
The Prospect by Fleur McDonald AA🦘 COMPLETED 16.11.25 ⭐⭐⭐.9 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅E -
Evensong by Stewart O'Nan COMPLETED 10.11.25 ⭐⭐⭐.7 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅S -
At Cafe 64 by Shaeden Berry AA🦘 COMPLETED 07.11.25 ⭐⭐⭐.9 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for the final installment in Jeffrey Archer's William Warwick Series,
. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
⭐⭐⭐⭐.4 for this multigenerational family drama
Good Days Bad Days by Emily Bleeker https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished in the nick of time.September Featured Author - Elizabeth Strout
Duration: 1/9/25 - 30/9/25
Level: HARD
9/9
AA🦘 4/4
September 2025's Featured Author is Elizabeth Strout
This is a two-part challenge, where you are welcome to complete either the task section or the spell section, or both. A book may be used only one time for this challenge.
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
TASKS
✅#1. Elizabeth Strout was born and raised in Portland, Maine, USA
**Read a book which is set in America AND
**Read a book where the first letter of each word in the title can be found in PORTLAND, MAINE, USA (minimum two word title)
The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham COMPLETED 14.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#2. When Strout relaxes she likes to spend her time knitting. She also enjoys hiking and nature.
**Read a book in which a character spends time on your favourite hobby (tell us what it is) I 💖 hanging out at the beach!
**Read a book with a picture of nature on the cover
The Stolen by Vikki Petraitis AA🦘COMPLETED 07.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#3. Strout writes literary fiction. She has written several series and also standalones. Probably most famous are her Olive Kitteridge series and her Amgash series which features the much loved Lucy Barton
**Read a book from a series (#4 Martin Scarsden series)
Legacy by Chris Hammer AA 🦘 COMPLETED 28.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#4. Elizabeth Strout is a highly acclaimed author. She works as a University lecturer and teaches creative writing. Her novel Olive Kitteridge won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2009.
**Read a book where both the author's initials can be found in PULITZER PRIZE
Hot Ground by Lisa Ellery AA🦘COMPLETED 09.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐.3 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅BONUS
**Read a book by Elizabeth Strout - My Name is Lucy Barton
My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout COMPLETED 30.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...SPELL OUT Using either first letter of title (disregarding "A", "An" or "The" if you choose to) or either the first or last initial of the author. For the difficult letters - Q, X and Z, you may use a book in which the letter appears somewhere in the title or author's first or last name.
LUCY
✅L -
Remember Where You’ve Buried the Bodies by Julie Lancaster COMPLETED 22.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅U -
Up-Island Harbor by Jean Stone COMPLETED 16.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐.3 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅C -
Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley AA🦘 COMPLETED 29.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅Y -
A Cast of Falcons by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett COMPLETED 11.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sign me up please Brenda. I'll be back with my selections.💖📚October Featured Author - Kelly Rimmer
Duration: 1/10/25 - 31/10/25
Level: HARD - Tasks & Spell Out (minimum 4 AA)
10/10
AA🦘 5/4
TASKS
✅#1. Kelly was born and brought up in Sydney, NSW, Australia. When she was in kindergarten, she told her dad she'd be an author one day, so it's fair to say her published books represent a lifelong dream.
**Read a book by an Australia author - Joanna Nell
The Funeral Crashers by Joanna Nell AA🦘 COMPLETED 27.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#2. Kelly's latest standalone novel, The Midnight Estate, was published in Australia on 30th July, 2025.
**Read a book where the first letter of each title word fits into "THE MIDNIGHT ESTATE" (minimum 2 word title)
A Disappearing Act by Jo Dixon AA🦘 COMPLETED 30.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#3. Kelly is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, including The Secret Daughter and The Things We Cannot Say. She has sold more than one million books, and her novels have been translated into more than 20 languages.
**Read a book set in the USA (California)
Long Way Down: A Thriller by Lisa Kusel COMPLETED 23.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.4 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#4. Kelly lives in the Central West of New South Wales with her family and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil.
**Read a book set in NSW
Twisted River by James DunbarAA🦘 COMPLETED 05.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.7 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅BONUS
**Read a book by Kelly Rimmer -
Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer AA🦘 COMPLETED 18.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...SPELL OUT Using either first letter of title (disregarding "A", "An" or "The" if you choose to) or either the first or last initial of the author. For the difficult letters - Q, X and Z, you may use a book in which the letter appears somewhere in the title or author's first or last name.
Dream
✅D -
The Second Story Bookshop by Denise Hunter COMPLETED 07.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐.8 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅R -
The Road Trip by Tricia Stringer AA🦘 COMPLETED 02.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅E -
Good Days Bad Days: A Novel by Emily Bleeker COMPLETED 09.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.4 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅A -
End Game by Jeffrey Archer COMPLETED 10.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...M -
Murder of Crows by Andrew James Greig COMPLETED 31.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Happy birthday Thomas! May your day be filled with love and laughter. 💖📚
Finally finished!Sign me up please, Brenda! I'll be back later to sort out my books.
**Winter Reading Challenge**
Duration: 1/6/25 - 31/8/25
Level: Easy: Christian name x 3 - minimum 4 AAs
19/19
AA🦘 7/4
June - favourite author: MICHAEL ROBOTHAM
✅M -
Don't Say a Word by David Mark COMPLETED 19.06.25 ⭐⭐.2 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅I -
Imogene's Grand Fiasco: The Misadventures of Imogene Taylor by David Putnam COMPLETED 25.06.25 ⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅C -
Chasing Shadows by Robert Bryndza COMPLETED 28.06.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅H -
The Women at Ocean's End by Faith Hogan COMPLETED 20.06.25 ⭐⭐⭐.9 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅A -
Melaleuca by Angie Faye Martin AA🦘 COMPLETED 13.06.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ✅E -
When Sleeping Women Wake by Emma Pei Yin AA🦘 COMPLETED 23.06.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.4 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ✅L -
Missing by Catherine Lee AA🦘 COMPLETED 06.06.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...July - favourite author: CHRIS HAMMER
✅C -
Cockatoo Cove by Maya Linnell AA🦘COMPLETED 06.07.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.4 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅H -
Hard Country: A Golden Bay Life by Robin Robilliard COMPLETE 26.07.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.2 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅R -
Moving On by Roisin Meaney COMPLETED 03.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅I -
No I Don't Want To Join A Bookclub by Virginia Ironside COMPLETED 01.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅S -
Second Chance Station by Renae Black AA🦘 COMPLETED 13.07.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...August - favourite author: STEPHEN KING
✅S -
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley COMPLETED 19.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐.6 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅T -
The Ghost Walk by Karen Herbert AA🦘 COMPLETED 08.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐.6 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅E -
End of August by Paige Dinneny COMPLETED 30.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅P -
The Paradise Petition by Carolyn Brown COMPLETED 15.07.25 ⭐⭐⭐.8 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅H -
Hello? Who Is This? Margaret?: Essays by Dani Alpert COMPLETED 09.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅E -
Once You Were Mine by Elizabeth Langston COMPLETED 31.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.2 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅N -
Nemesis by Patricia Wolf AA 🦘 COMPLETED 28.07.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
All done! 💖📚August Featured Author - Christian White
Duration: 1/8/25 - 31/8/25
Level: HARD - Tasks & Spell Out (minimum 4 AA)
10/10 books
4/4 AA🦘
TASKS
✅#1. Christian was born and raised on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria
**Read a book set in Australia
The Watervale Ladies' Writing and Firefighting Society by Mette Menzies AA🦘 COMPLETED 26.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#2. His debut novel, The Nowhere Child, published in 2018, won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript.
**Read a book where both the author's initials fit into THE NOWHERE CHILD
Where She Lies by Caro Ramsay COMPLETED 06.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.3 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#3. Christian had an eclectic range of ‘day jobs’ before he was able to write full-time, including food-cart driver on a golf course and video editor for an adult film company.
**Read a book where the first letter of each title word fits into ADULT FILM COMPANY (minimum 2 word title)
Little Children by Angela Marsons COMPLETED 15.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#4. He has a passion for true crime podcasts, Stephen King and anything to do with Bigfoot.
**Read a mystery/thriller/horror novel
If It Bleeds by Stephen King COMPLETED 29.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅BONUS
**Read a book by Christian White AA🦘
The Wife and the Widow by Christian White AA 🦘COMPLETED 25.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...SPELL OUT Using either first letter of title (disregarding "A", "An" or "The" if you choose to) or either the first or last initial of the author. For the difficult letters - Q, X and Z, you may use a book in which the letter appears somewhere in the title or author's first or last name.
WHITE
✅W
All the Ways You Save Me: A completely heartbreaking and unforgettable romance by Melissa Wiesner COMPLETED 18.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐.8 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅H
Hello? Who Is This? Margaret?: Essays by Dani Alpert COMPLETED 09.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅I
The Three Wives of Charlie Mellon by Ian Siragher COMPLETED 23.08.26 ⭐⭐⭐.7 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅T
Stillwater by Tanya Scott AA🦘COMPLETED 13.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅E
Eva Reddy's Trip of a Lifetime by Fiona McKenzie Kekic AA🦘COMPLETED 19.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐.4 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Add me in please Phrynne! I'll be back next week with my reading selections. September Featured Author - Elizabeth Strout
Duration: 1/9/25 - 30/9/25
Level: HARD
9/9
AA🦘 4/4
September 2025's Featured Author is Elizabeth Strout
This is a two-part challenge, where you are welcome to complete either the task section or the spell section, or both. A book may be used only one time for this challenge.
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
TASKS
✅#1. Elizabeth Strout was born and raised in Portland, Maine, USA
**Read a book which is set in America AND
**Read a book where the first letter of each word in the title can be found in PORTLAND, MAINE, USA (minimum two word title)
The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham COMPLETED 14.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#2. When Strout relaxes she likes to spend her time knitting. She also enjoys hiking and nature.
**Read a book in which a character spends time on your favourite hobby (tell us what it is) I 💖 hanging out at the beach!
**Read a book with a picture of nature on the cover
The Stolen by Vikki Petraitis AA🦘COMPLETED 07.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#3. Strout writes literary fiction. She has written several series and also standalones. Probably most famous are her Olive Kitteridge series and her Amgash series which features the much loved Lucy Barton
**Read a book from a series (#4 Martin Scarsden series)
Legacy by Chris Hammer AA 🦘 COMPLETED 28.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#4. Elizabeth Strout is a highly acclaimed author. She works as a University lecturer and teaches creative writing. Her novel Olive Kitteridge won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2009.
**Read a book where both the author's initials can be found in PULITZER PRIZE
Hot Ground by Lisa Ellery AA🦘COMPLETED 09.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐.3 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅BONUS
**Read a book by Elizabeth Strout - My Name is Lucy Barton
My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout COMPLETED 30.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...SPELL OUT Using either first letter of title (disregarding "A", "An" or "The" if you choose to) or either the first or last initial of the author. For the difficult letters - Q, X and Z, you may use a book in which the letter appears somewhere in the title or author's first or last name.
LUCY
✅L -
Remember Where You’ve Buried the Bodies by Julie Lancaster COMPLETED 22.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅U -
Up-Island Harbor by Jean Stone COMPLETED 16.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐.3 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅C -
Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley AA🦘 COMPLETED 29.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅Y -
A Cast of Falcons by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett COMPLETED 11.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
⭐⭐⭐.8 for #1 in the Sandy Harbor series,
All the Ways You Save Me by Melissa Wiesner https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Yes Please, Brenda. I'll be back with my selections. **Spring Challenge - Read a Rainbow**
Duration: 1/9/25 - 30/11/25
Level:
12/12
AA🦘 4/4
Part A:
Read a Rainbow - It's the colour on the cover that counts! (Minimum 50% colour coverage essential!) If you're uncertain if your cover has enough of the specified colour in it, check here - https://labs.tineye.com/color/
✅#1. Yellow
The Last Laugh Club by Kate Galley COMPLETED 16.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐.9 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#2. Orange
Her One Regret by Donna Freitas COMPLETED 07/11/25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#3. Red
Long Way Down: A Thriller by Lisa Kusel COMPLETED 23.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.4 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#4. Green
Good Hair Days by Grace Helena Walz COMPLETED 17.11.25 ⭐⭐⭐.7 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#5. Blue
The Dentist: A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim Sullivan COMPLETED 26.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.2 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#6. Purple
Double Wedding by Patricia Scanlan COMPLETED 19.09.25 ⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...Part B:
✅#7. Title: Read a book that has any of these spring themed words in the title; BIRDS
Love Is for the Birds by Diane Owens Prettyman COMPLETED 20.10.25 ⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#8. Title: Read a book where the title begins with a letter in SPRING
The Stolen by Vikki Petraitis AA 🦘COMPLETED 07.09.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#9. Author: Read a book where both the author's initials fit into RAINBOW
Mistletoe Magic in the Highlands by Bella Osborne COMPLETED 12.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.2 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#10. Cover: Read a book which depicts SPRING on the cover (show cover)
Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen AA🦘 COMPLETED 14.11.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.4 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#11. Winter is over!: Read a book which makes you happy - a favourite author, or one you've been waiting for to be released!
The Road Trip by Tricia StringerAA🦘 COMPLETED 02.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#12. Reader's Choice: Read any book of your choice
The Funeral Crashers by Joanna Nell AA🦘 COMPLETED 27.10.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
✅All Done!✅A Six Month Challenge - Autumn to Spring
Duration: 1/4/25 - 30/9/25
Level: Medium 12+
12/12
8/3 AA🦘
✅F -
Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill AA🦘COMPLETED 17.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅R -
Right Way Up by Fiona McCallum AA🦘COMPLETED 08.04.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅E -
The Everyday and Far Away: The perfect bookclub read for fans of Rachel Joyce by Jacqueline Jones COMPLETED 10/05/25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅S -
Finding Joy in Oyster Bay by Susan Duncan AA🦘COMPLETED 10.07.25 ⭐⭐⭐.6 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅H -
Scrublands by Chris Hammer AA🦘COMPLETED 29.04.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...* * * * * * * * * * *
✅V -
Vanish by Shelley Burr AA🦘 COMPLETED 04.05.25 ⭐⭐⭐.8 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅I -
It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover COMPLETED 25.05.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅B -
Boney Creek by Paula Gleeson AA🦘 COMPLETED 09 June 2025 ⭐⭐⭐.9 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅R -
First Person by Richard Flanagan AA🦘
First Person by Richard Flanagan AA🦘 COMPLETED 15.04.25 ⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅A -
The Art of Keeping Secrets by Rachael Johns AA🦘 COMPLETED 10.05.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.2 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅N -
The Note by Alafair Burke COMPLETED 26.04.25 ⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... COMPLETED 24.04.25 ⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅T -
The Unquiet Grave by Dervla McTiernan AA🦘 COMPLETED 28.04.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...💖📚
Aug 14, 2025 03:23PM
Natasha Lester brings to life the true story of one of history's unsung heroes, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the only woman to lead a military intelligence network in WWII France. Her story is one of epic love, tragic loss and magnificent leadership.Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was a brave woman, an extraordinary woman. Mother. Rally-car driver. Journalist. A woman who was at the top of the Gestapo's most wanted list. A woman whose heart was broken over and over again by treachery, by the war, but who kept fighting because it was the right thing to do.
This is a story about the very best people, those who endangered their own lives and the lives of their loved ones and associates, and the very worst people in the world, those who tortured, destroyed, raped, pillaged and killed.
At one point the Gestapo pushed in Marie-Madeleine Fourcade’s door while hunting for French Resistance spies. They shoved her aside, ransacking her apartment for information about an important member of the Resistance cell known as “Alliance.” Little did they know its ringleader was Fourcade herself. The inability to recognize—let alone even imagine—a woman spymaster wasn’t just a German shortcoming: throughout, the same proves true of men on all sides of World War II, including MI6 in London.
Fourcade was the revered leader of thousands of men and women who, as members of a military intelligence network and at the cost of their own lives, resisted Nazi domination. She was a master of disguise, intelligent, resourceful, and cunning, but most of all incredibly brave.
I, and I assume most of us, had never heard of this woman, but once I became immersed in Marie-Madeleine's story, I did more research online and learned something more of her story, and then the author's note at the end of this book (make sure you read it) answered many more of my questions. She also lists her sources for this novel, and I have asked my local library to try and obtain some of these for me. She explains the liberties she took with the truth and the characters in order to produce a readable novel, and eminently readable it is.
The Mademoiselle Alliance is not a quick read. There were days I had to put it down and walk away, overwhelmed, sickened, afraid for this amazing woman and her children. I cried. Copiously. I was also amazed by the strength, determination and courage of Marie-Madeleine and, like the author, developed a 'hero-worship' of her.
There are many other wonderful characters in this novel, Léon, Lucien, to name but two - but I shall leave you to discover them for yourself.
After the harrowing opening to this novel, there came a point where I worried that this was going to be superficial and nothing more than a love (yes, love - not romance) story set against the backdrop of WWII. How wrong I was.
Thank you, Natasha Lester. I have rediscovered my love of history through your passion and your storytelling.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A stunning ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐gritty Aussie crime thriller debut
Stillwater by Tanya Scott. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 for #2 in the Philomena McCarthy series from Michael Robotham
The White Crow https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
August Featured Author - Christian WhiteDuration: 1/8/25 - 31/8/25
Level: HARD - Tasks & Spell Out (minimum 4 AA)
10/10 books
4/4 AA🦘
TASKS
✅#1. Christian was born and raised on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria
**Read a book set in Australia
The Watervale Ladies' Writing and Firefighting Society by Mette Menzies AA🦘 COMPLETED 26.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#2. His debut novel, The Nowhere Child, published in 2018, won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript.
**Read a book where both the author's initials fit into THE NOWHERE CHILD
Where She Lies by Caro Ramsay COMPLETED 06.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.3 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#3. Christian had an eclectic range of ‘day jobs’ before he was able to write full-time, including food-cart driver on a golf course and video editor for an adult film company.
**Read a book where the first letter of each title word fits into ADULT FILM COMPANY (minimum 2 word title)
Little Children by Angela Marsons COMPLETED 15.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅#4. He has a passion for true crime podcasts, Stephen King and anything to do with Bigfoot.
**Read a mystery/thriller/horror novel
If It Bleeds by Stephen King COMPLETED 29.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅BONUS
**Read a book by Christian White AA🦘
The Wife and the Widow by Christian White AA 🦘COMPLETED 25.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...SPELL OUT Using either first letter of title (disregarding "A", "An" or "The" if you choose to) or either the first or last initial of the author. For the difficult letters - Q, X and Z, you may use a book in which the letter appears somewhere in the title or author's first or last name.
WHITE
✅W
All the Ways You Save Me: A completely heartbreaking and unforgettable romance by Melissa Wiesner COMPLETED 18.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐.8 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅H
Hello? Who Is This? Margaret?: Essays by Dani Alpert COMPLETED 09.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅I
The Three Wives of Charlie Mellon by Ian Siragher COMPLETED 23.08.26 ⭐⭐⭐.7 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅T
Stillwater by Tanya Scott AA🦘COMPLETED 13.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...✅E
Eva Reddy's Trip of a Lifetime by Fiona McKenzie Kekic AA🦘COMPLETED 19.08.25 ⭐⭐⭐.4 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
