Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

Hi Everybody!

It's time to start looking at books for the group buddy read for August! Since it's the height of the summer season (for those of us in the northern hemisphere anyway) the majority of the choices that we will be voting on for next month will be on the lighter, humorous side - the classic "beach reads". They are spread across the three main sub-genres of romance, so hopefully you will find something interesting. The books up for consideration are:

Against the Wind (Contemporary)
Driving Mr. Dead (Paranormal)
An English Bride in Scotland (Historical)
Friend-zoned (Contemporary)
Hot Summer Nights (Contemporary)
Once Upon a Tower (Historical)
The Space Between (Paranormal)
Wallbanger (Contemporary)

The poll can be found here and will close on July 27, so please check it out and consider joining us!

I voted for the same book I voted for last month, lets see if it works out this time...LOL

Great list Karen :) had trouble picking between a couple of them!

Thanks, Jane! :)

Ok, the poll is closed, and the buddy read selections for August is...Wallbanger!


I hope everyone will come join the discussion, even if you've already read the book...it sounds like it should be a fun one!

Love Simon! :)

Oh, this was such a fun read! Hope you guys enjoy it.

I thought this one was very cute too. A great summer read :)

I *think* this is the one I voted for :)

I'll definitely join you for this one in August.

yay I voted for this one last month too...glad to finally be reading it :)

Sounds fun!

started reading it this morning :)

I started yesterday, but haven't made a lot of headway yet, maybe 20%, if that...definitely some funny moments so far, though!

I'm at 18% and will continue during my lunch. Very funny stuff!

OMG the looks I was getting during lunch...I couldn't stop laughing while I was reading...very funny! I'm at 25% now

Nadine wrote: "OMG the looks I was getting during lunch...I couldn't stop laughing while I was reading...very funny! I'm at 25% now"

It is hilarious! I laughed a lot as well.... tears streaming, gut wrenching laughs. Looking at the cover, you wouldn't think there were comedy aspects to this book! But, it makes the book so great! Clive is awesome!

I'll start tomorrow :) SO can't wait to finish my current audiobook!

I plan to listen to this one too Jane, I've heard good things about the audio!!

I really wanted to listen to this one too, but couldn't work it out to get it in time... :(

I love this book!

I'm at 73% now. loving this book!!!

finished. gave it 5 stars. can't wait to discuss it.

Just heard the first few sentences!

I didn't make much progress over the last few days - one of the disadvantages of having 12 people camping in your yard for 4 days...

They've all gone home now, so hopefully I'll have some good quality reading time today. I've really enjoyed what I've read so far, though!

I'm just under halfway - and it's great! Finally a straight romance with solid characterisation, humour, friction and great dialogue! It's definitely holding my interest :)

I'm only 16%, but I think it's fun so far!

I'm struggling, but not the fault of the book - I hate it when real life interferes with my reading time! I'm at about 60% and loving it so far...I WILL finish soon, really I will! ;)

Just three words: Purina, No O's, and Simon :)

I'm on audio, and not much driving in front of me, so I'm at least a week or more off finishing...

Gabby wrote: "Just three words: Purina, No O's, and Simon :)"

my fav is giggles, spanx and Clive...LOL

Jane (PS) wrote: "I'm on audio, and not much driving in front of me, so I'm at least a week or more off finishing..."

I know the feeling! BUT, my TV died so I will be walking around with earbuds in all day today. At least until we go down and buy a new TV. What?! It is a necessity you know! Really, the first football game is tonight!! At least one that matters - one with my team! I know it is preseason, but I'm sure Karen will agree with me - we are playing her team! =P

Anyway, I should get to about halfway though Wallbanger today...

MountainKat wrote: "Jane (PS) wrote: "I'm on audio, and not much driving in front of me, so I'm at least a week or more off finishing..."

I know the feeling! BUT, my TV died so I will be walking around with earbuds ..."

Hope you get your TV installed and working before the game tonight....my team plays tomorrow against Detroit :)

MountainKat wrote: "I know it is preseason, but I'm sure Karen will agree with me - we are playing her team! =P"

Yep, first game of the season is important even if it doesn't count...and if our teams have to play each other, I much prefer it to be a game that doesn't count - I don't like it when two teams I like play each other! :D

Oh, BTW, I FINALLY finished Wallbanger today! I absolutely loved it! Other than having a little trouble at the beginning figuring out how the layout of the apartments could work and the last couple of chapters seeming like there was just a little extra filler that wasn't completely necessary, it was almost a perfect read for me...just plain fun!

Clive!! Of course!!! I love him! :D

I finished this afternoon - loved it! Loved the characters, loved the story, loved the humor! A smart, funny read! I listened to the audio, and I'll say it again - loved it! Really enjoyed the narration. New to me narrator, Heather Smith, and I thought she did a wonderful job. I could tell all the characters apart and the voices fit their descriptions and what was going on at the time. The emotions she put into the reading made it worth the extra time it took to listen, I would have finished even quicker if I'd read it.

I'm hoping to finish this tomorrow, and then I'll post my final enthusing comments ;)

Did you get your TV Kat??

I'm still waiting for an electrician to visit to set up our satellite connection for our TV so that we can watch some basic programs :( 5 weeks so far and counting... (Good think I prefer to read!)

Jane (PS) wrote: "I'm hoping to finish this tomorrow, and then I'll post my final enthusing comments ;)

Did you get your TV Kat??

I'm still waiting for an electrician to visit to set up our satellite connection fo..."

We did and it is soooo pretty!! And big too! Had to promptly leave and go to the track with the hubby though. Home late tonight and hopefully we will get it all set up with the new audio stuff too tomorrow. (That died over a year ago...) It is a good thing you prefer to read!! Even though I do too, don't think I would be too happy waiting that long to get the satellite up and running again!

I hope you are enjoying the audio as much as I did!

Done!!!

The first 70% of this book is a full 5 stars. I loved it. I loved the characters, the care that was taken to showcase them without being described in detail, the dialogue, the humour - all of it! If it had been wrapped up at this point with a good prologue, I would have been very happy.

(view spoiler)[But then the looooong descriptions around the 'O' started. Along with drawn out sex scenes. More 'O', 'backbone', 'lower Caroline', jumping off figurative cliffs, 'nerves' and 'brain'. I found it pretty tedious. (hide spoiler)]

Still, I will definitely try this author again.

Thanks for the buddy read everyone!! And great book selection, Karen ;)

Hey Everybody,


I put a *SPOILERS* tag in the heading of this thread so you can post anything you want about the book.

Please feel free to share your favorite parts of Wallbanger or any parts that weren't your favorite...we want to hear it all!

Dee shattered my illusions about this book :( Evidently it is Twilight fanfic. I can't pick it personally, but in the beginning Simon was 'Edward' and Caroline was 'Bella'...

Jane (PS) wrote: "Dee shattered my illusions about this book :( Evidently it is Twilight fanfic. I can't pick it personally, but in the beginning Simon was 'Edward' and Caroline was 'Bella'..."

Never read Twilight, never saw the movie either...

DON'T watch the movie! ...And I think this book was better than Twilight anyway.

Jane (PS) wrote: "DON'T watch the movie!"

This made me LOL!!

I have to admit, I loved the book series and I did enjoy the movies. They weren't very well done, but the campiness of it was entertaining. And I thought the last one was actually good. The fight scene at the end was so cleverly done.

Picked this one up and loved it.

I meant the Wallbanger book.

Gabby wrote: "Love Simon! :)"

Yeah he was adorable yet HOT =3

Fran wrote: "I have to admit, I loved the book series and I did enjoy the movies. They weren't very well done, but the campiness of it was entertaining. And I thought the last one was actually good. The fight s..."

I still haven't watched the last couple of movies... The whole pregnancy thing in the book was pretty iccky. But I did really enjoy the second half of the last book when I read it a few years ago :)