Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

Team Members

Captain: Danielle Gypsy Soul
Mariana
BarbaraAnn
Nicole
Connie
Heather (Heatso)

1. Introduce yourself to your team. Let your team members know where you are from. This is a 'nice to know' when categories are announced and when team-mates can expect other members to post their book choices.

2. Team Captain - reserve a couple of posts in this thread tracking your team's book selection and completion. (Alternatively they could convert a chat comment to the tracking post/s.)

3. Name your team. Using this round's theme of CANDY LAND, come up with a fun name. Given we are an open/public group with no age limit, so please make sure any chosen name is smart, not smutty ;)

Please PM your name to Jane(PS) by 6 September.

4. If you have a private profile, please 'friend' your team-mates. This is really important, because without this, your team-mates can't see your shelves to select a books under option 2.

5. Please post your book selections/completions in the format provided below. (This format is also posted in both the Q&A and Sign-Up threads.) We need to know the week that each book corresponds to, the page numbers, and how the book qualifies including links to lists/shelves (where applicable), etc. I can't stress this enough. When in doubt - link it*!

* don't link to your review in your completion post - reviews in your completion posts should be included in full in that post.

You don't want to start reading a book and then find it doesn't meet the requirements because some information (eg page count or theme link) was missing from your original post.

I will be monitoring this and your book will not be considered complete until I am satisfied that your selection and completion posts comply with the format rules of the challenge.

Remember - you can ONLY change your book selection in the week that the theme is called.

6. You MUST check in with your team each week, ideally once the theme is announced. Please let your team know if you expect to have spotty communication or are on holidays or having an operation.

7. When you post the completion of your book, you must post a review; enough for us to know you have actually read the book. Please don't link to a review. You must post the review in this thread.

8. Re-reads are allowed but you can't read the same book twice within this challenge.

9. There is no prize for the winning team - bragging rights only :)

10. Each week, the theme will be announced in the Q&A Annoucement thread. The full list of themes announced during this round will be maintained in msg 1 of that thread.


The Rule on the Pass Option
* Each team can only have ONE member using their pass each week.
* Each member can only use that pass once each 5 weeks.
* This means that one or two team members (dependent upon the size of your team) will miss using a pass in each 5 week block.
* No-one can use the pass option in the last week of the challenge.
* In the final week Option 2 has altered and I will be allocating each team another team from which their book selection must be chosen :)

Key selection and completion post information. You must have ALL elements in your book posts.


For the initial selection post Option 1 I need:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Page numbers
How the book qualifies - please insert a link to the qualifying bookshelf/list.
If the theme is based off the bookcover or a letter in the title etc, please just repeat the theme.

For the initial selection post Option 2 I need:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Page numbers
Name of the team-member, their star rating, the date they read the book.


For the completion post I need:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Rating (1-5)
Review


Please DO NOT CHAT in these selction/completion posts. It needs to be super clear.

If you 'waffle' about your decided book - please REPOST your selection once you decide. DO NOT go back and edit your waffling post.

I'll be tracking each team's progress separately, using the Captain's summary in each team's thread to check for accuracy.

THEMES CALLED

Week 1

Option 1
1. Candy Land, a children's game, is our theme for this round.
Read a book with a title starting with the letter 'C'.

Option 2
Key date: 10 March 2017

Week 2

Option 1
1. One of the locations that players pass through is the Ice Cream Seas.
Read a book from one of the following lists:
Gay Romance That Takes Place on an Island
Romance Erotica Desert Island
Beach Reads Mysteries & Thrillers
Gay Beach - Summery Reads
What To read in Summer

These are compulsory lists. Your selected book MUST come from one of these lists. You must link to the list and note which page/which number it is on that list.

Option 2
Key date: 17 March 2017

Week 3

Option 1
3. Eleanor Abbott created the game whilst recouperating in hospital from polio.
Read a book from one of the following lists:
Best Gay Couple In Health and In Sickness
In Sickness and in Health Romance Novels that deal with Illness
Nurse Themed Romance Novels
OMG You Almost DIED mm with hospital scenes
OMG You Almost Died Straight Edition
Climatic or Romantic Suspense Villain Stalker Fight to the death Hero Heroine is attacked almost killed fight scene or almost die

Option 2
Key date: 24 March 2017

Week 4

Option 1
15. Gingerbread men are used as the tokens/markets to move around the board.
Read a book from one of the following lists:
Ginger woman Redheaded Heroine in Romance
Redheaded_Romance_Heroes
MM Redheads And Gingers
Historical Romance Red Headed Heroine or Hero
Redheaded Heroines in Contemporary Romance

Option 2
Key date: 31 March 2017

Week 5

Option 1
9. Lord Licorice is the baddie in this game.
Read a book where the author's name or the title of the book is written in black on the cover. Must be a solid black type, not just the outline of the letters.

Option 2
Key date: 7 April 2017

Week 6

Option 1
4. A number of organisations have produced the Candy Land game since its inception: Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, Hasbro and Landmark Entertainment Group.
Read a book released by a Publisher starting with one of the following letters: M, B, P, H or L
(eg Penguin, MIRA, LUNA, Harlequin etc)

Option 2 Key date: 14 April 2017

Week Seven

Option 1
2. Candy Land is a children's board game invented by Eleanor Abbott.
Read a book written by a female author. If there is more than one author, they must both/all be female.

Option 2 Key date: 21 April 2017

Week 8

Option 1
13. The Molasses Swamp - sounds pretty dark?
Read a book with a dark cover - black, brown, grey. No more than 30% of the cover should have white or a pale colour.

Option 2
Key date: 28 April 2017

Week 9

Option 1
14. Time to work together to get to King Kandy first!
The team needs to spell out 'Candy Land' as much as they can by reading a book whose title starts with one of those letters. You cannot use the same letter. However for the letters that are found twice (A, N and D), two members may use the same letter.
(Obviously some letters won't be used since there are a total of nine letters and only 5/6 team members.)
Captains, please set out this week's post with the letters in the order of their spelling for each of the books read.

Option 2
Key date: 5 May 2017

Week 10

Option 1
6. Players need to find King Kandy, the lost King of Candy Land.
Read a book with Royalty or Nobility in the storyline.
Royalty in Romance
Gay Romance Featuring Royalty Nobility
Gay Characters who Belong to a Royal Family
Princess in Disguise
Modern Royal Romances

These are compulsory lists. Your selected book MUST come from one of these lists. You must link to the list and note which page/which number it is on that list.


Option 2
Key date: 12 May 2017

Week One Summary:

Selection Posts:
Danielle Gypsy Soul Selection Post
Mariana Selection Post
BarbaraAnn Selection Post
Nicole Selection Post
Connie Selection Post
Heather (Heatso) Selection Post

Completion Posts:
Danielle Gypsy Soul - Cold Malice Option 1: Completion Post
Mariana - The Child Finder Option 1: Completion Post
BarbaraAnn - Cold As Ice Option 1: Completion Post
Nicole - Complicated Hearts Option 1: Completion Post
Connie - Catch and Release Option 1: Completion Post
Heather (Heatso) - Cream of the Crop Option 1: Completion Post

Week Two Summary:

Selection Posts:

Danielle Gypsy Soul Selection Post
Mariana Selection Post
BarbaraAnn Selection Post
Nicole Selection Post
Connie Selection Post
Heather Selection Post

Completion Posts:
Danielle Gypsy Soul - Strength of the Pack Option 1: Completion Post
Mariana - Blindsighted Option 1: Completion Post
BarbaraAnn - Prince's Gambit Option 1: Completion Post
Nicole - Until November Option 1: Completion Post
Connie - In Flight Option 1: Completion Post
Heather - The Body Finder Option 1: Completion Post

Week Three Summary:

Selection Posts:

Danielle Gypsy Soul Selection Post
Mariana Selection Post
BarbaraAnn Selection Post
Nicole Selection Post
Connie Selection Post
Heather Selection Post

Completion Posts:
Danielle Gypsy Soul - The River Leith Option 1: Completion Post
Mariana - Hush Option 2: Completion Post
BarbaraAnn - Faith & Fidelity Option 1: Full Tilt Option 1: Completion Post
Connie - Dancing in the Rain Option 1: Completion Post
Heather - The Upside of Unrequited Option 1: Completion Post

Week Four Summary:

Danielle Gypsy Soul Selection Post
Mariana Selection Post
BarbaraAnn Selection Post
Nicole Selection Post
Connie Selection Post
Heather Selection Post

Completion Posts:
Danielle Gypsy Soul - Then the Stars Fall Option 1: Completion Post
Mariana - Knight of Ocean Avenue Option 1: Completion Post
BarbaraAnn - More Than Exes Option 1: Completion Post
Nicole - Giving Chase Option 1: Completion Post
Connie - Alex Option 1: Completion Post
Heather - Cut & Run Option 2: Completion Post

Week Five Summary:

Danielle Gypsy Soul Selection Post
Mariana Selection Post
BarbaraAnn Selection Post
Nicole Selection Post
Connie Selection Post
Heather Selection Post

Completion Posts:
Danielle Gypsy Soul - What Remains Option 1: Completion Post
Mariana - The Hate U Give Option 1: Completion Post
BarbaraAnn - Love Comes Silently Option 1: Completion Post
Nicole - Dirty Shame Option 1: Completion Post
Connie - Her Leading Man Option 1: Completion Post
Heather - Girl in Pieces Option 1: Completion Post

Week Six Summary:

Selection Post:

Danielle: Selection Post
Mariana: Selection Post
BarbaraAnn: Selection Post
Nicole: Selection Post
Connie: Selection Post
Heather: Selection Post

Danielle: Archangel's Viper - Option 1 - Completion Post
Mariana: Five Dares - Option 2 - Completion Post
BarbaraAnn: The Awakening - Option 1 - Completion Post
Nicole: At This Moment - Option 1 - Completion Post
Connie: Nothing as it Seems - Option 1 - Completion Post
Heather: A Stranger in the House - Option 1 - Completion Post

Week Seven Summary:

Selection Post
Danielle: Selection Post
Mariana: Selection Post
BarbaraAnn: Selection Post
Nicole: Selection Post
Connie: Selection Post
Heather: Selection Post

Completion Post:
Danielle: Winter - Option 1 - Completion Post
Mariana: Unwanted - Option 1 - Completion Post
BarbaraAnn: Painting with Fire - Option 1 - Completion Post
Nicole: Sweet Gone South - Option 1 - Completion Post
Connie: Rotten to the Core - Option 1 - Completion Post
Heather: Kill the Boy Band - Option 1 - Completion Post

Week Eight Summary

Selection Posts:

Danielle: Selection Post
Mariana: Selection Post
BarbaraAnn: Selection Post
Nicole: Selection Post
Connie: Selection Post
Heather: Selection Post

Completion Post:
Danielle: Red Wolf - Option 1 - Completion Post
Mariana: Sleeping Giants - Option 1 - Completion Post
BarbaraAnn: Make No Bones About It - Option 1 - Completion Post
Nicole: Black Desire - Option 1 - Completion Post
Connie: Code of Honor - Option 1 - Completion Post
Heather: The Couple Next Door - Option 1 - Completion Post

Week Nine Summary:

Selection Post:
C: The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern - Connie Selection Post
A: All Kinds of Tied Down - BarbaraAnn Selection Post
N:
D: Dropping Gloves - Nicole Selection Post
Y: You Know Me Well - Mariana Selection Post
L: Lucky in Love - Heather Selection Post
A: Angel and the Assassin - Danielle Selection Post
N:
D:

Connie: The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern - Option 1 - Completion Post
BarbaraAnn: All Kinds of Tied Down - Option 1 - Completion Post
Nicole: Dropping Gloves - Option 1 - Completion Post
Mariana: You Know Me Well - Option 1 - Completion Post
Heather: Lucky in Love - Option 1 - Completion Post
Danielle: Angel and the Assassin - Option 1 - Completion Post

Week Ten Summary:

Connie: Selection Post
Heather: Selection Post
Danielle: Selection Post
Nicole: Selection Post
Mariana: Selection Post
BarbaraAnn: Selection Post

Completion Posts:
Mariana: Captive Prince - Option 1 - Completion Post
Connie: The Playboy Prince and the Nanny - Option 1 - Completion Post
BarbaraAnn: A Royal Affair - Option 1 - Completion Post
Danielle: In the Wreckage - Option 2 - Completion Post
Nicole: Breakaway - Option 2 - Completion Post
Heather:

Week Eleven Summary:

Passes Used Tracking:

Just in Case:

Hi, my name is Mariana, I'm 27 years old and I'm from Romania. I'm a doctor in training and I love to read and to watch TV series in my free time. I don't have a favorite genre, but I do love some authors: Santino Hassell, Jill Shalvis, J.D. Robb, Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas, Sarah MacLean. I am a mood reader, so I hope you will find something that you can read on my shelves.

Some suggestion for names:
The Duke of Swirl and his three courtesans
Lord Licorice Minions
Rainbow Reading Queens

We don't have this game here, so I googled the characters. I hope you will came up with better options.

Hi! I'm BarbaraAnn. I live in Illinois in the US and work in the relocation industry. I like to read some of everything - probably the genre I read the least is YA, but I recently finished Shadowshapers, which was a YA urban fantasy I loved. I'm horrible with names - I loved your ideas Mariana and I'll vote for Rainbow Reading Queens.

Hi, I'm Connie. I'm from Massachusetts where we're enjoying some beautiful fall weather at the moment, although the remainder of Hurricane Harvey is headed our way for tomorrow. I'm a grandmother of an 11-year-old boy, and I work in a small office only a 10-minute drive from my house. My favorite genre is romance, but I read pretty much anything. I'm also a mood reader, but I have a huge TBR so I'm sure I'll be able to find something to fit each week's theme. This is my first time playing PtP.
Rainbow Reading Queens works for me too.

Hello all. My name is Nicole. I live in Louisiana and I love to read. This is my favorite challenge. I love to read any type of romance. I'm not picky.

I like rainbow reading queens. That's my vote.

Hi everyone - I live in Phoenix, Arizona although we just settled here after moving around the world for the last 20 years. I retired from the Air Force and now I work from home mostly just to keep busy. I have an 11 year old daughter and a 14 year old son. I read all types of romance although I'm not big on YA either. I haven't played this challenge before but it sounds like lots of fun.

I think we are all agreed on Rainbow Reading Queens so I'll send that in as our team name.

Connie N. wrote: "Hi, I'm Connie. I'm from Massachusetts where we're enjoying some beautiful fall weather at the moment, although the remainder of Hurricane Harvey is headed our way for tomorrow. I'm a grandmother o..."

I hope the storm doesn't hit you too hard!

Hello, my name is Heather, and I'm nanny/homeschool teacher from California (where we currently have 100+ degree weather when we are usually in the 70s and I'm melting). I am going to be the opposite unfortunately since I read mostly YA but can read just about anything, so hopefully, I have a few things you'd want to check out. I've participated in a similar challenge in another group quite a few years ago but never this one so really looking forward to it!

Hi Heather.
I read some YA too, so I hope you will find something interesting on my shelves. History Is All You Left Me, Alex, Approximately, Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Eliza and Her Monsters are a few of the YA books that I read recently and that I really liked. I participated in 4 or 5 rounds of this challenge and I enjoy every aspect of it, so I look forward to start reading.

Hi all. I heard whispers that Jane will post the first theme early (tomorrow) . I am reading by Taylor Jenkins Reid, but it's so good that I think I will it finish soon. Are you reading something fun?

Oh that's good to know. I was thinking this wasn't going to start until Friday.

Connie N. wrote: "Oh that's good to know. I was thinking this wasn't going to start until Friday."

The first week I will generally annouce the first theme early if the teams are ready (ie members checked in and names selected).

That's good to know. I'll keep an eye out. Right now, I'm reading More Than Human because it meets several different challenges. It's interesting how perspective changes. I vaguely remember reading this long ago (maybe 70's) and loving the book. this time it was hard to get into - I'm about 75% through and can see why it's considered a classic but not a 5* read.

I finished reading , it felt like a soap opera about a famous actor, but with good writing. I liked the story and I wanted to read it all quicker because Evelyn Hugo had a interesting life, but I didn't love the main characters. In the end this was not a five star read, but I highly recommend this author, her writing is addicting and her story are always fun to read.

WEEK 1
Option 1
1. Candy Land, a children's game, is our theme for this round.
Read a book with a title starting with the letter 'C'.

Option 2
Key date: 10 March 2017


Please ensure you follow the format shown in msg 3 of your team threads. when you post your selection and completion posts.

I just happened to randomly see on my home page that the theme had been picked. We're underway! I'll read Catch and Release by Laura Drewry.

Week #1, Option 1


Book: The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
Page numbers: 256 pages per GR
How the book qualifies -a book with a title starting with the letter 'C'

Hi Connie, you need to make a selection post with week, option, the name of the book with link, page number and how the book qualifies, see message 3 on this page.

Week 1: Option 1


350 pages per amazon
Title starts with a C

Week 1: Option#1


Book: Cold Malice by Toni Anderson
Pages: 349
How the book qualifies: Title Starts with C

Mariana wrote: "Hi Connie, you need to make a selection post with week, option, the name of the book with link, page number and how the book qualifies, see message 3 on this page."

Thanks!

First Theme posted at the top please post make your selection posts in the correct format :)

Week #1, Option 1

Page numbers: 278
How the book qualifies - Title starts with C

Mariana wrote: "Hi Heather.
I read some YA too, so I hope you will find something interesting on my shelves. History Is All You Left Me, Alex, Approximately, [book:Daughter of Smok..."

Thanks! 3 of those are actually on my TBR and the other one I have also read recently :)

Mariana wrote: "Hi Connie, you need to make a selection post with week, option, the name of the book with link, page number and how the book qualifies, see message 3 on this page."

Oops, as you can guess, I'm not very good at reading directions. Thanks for keeping an eye on me.

Just wondering...does this mean that my book could be disapproved? Should I wait to be sure it's OK before I start reading?

Week 1: Option #1


Book: Catch and Release by Laura Drewry
Pages: 202
How the book qualifies: Title Starts with C

No Connie, as long as you started the book after the theme was announced, I think you will be fine.

Your book is fine Connie. As long as it meets the task and this one is obvious no need to wait. If you aren't sure you can always send me a message or just ask here. If I'm not sure I'll ask the mods.

The selection posts are just so the Captain can make sure the book meets the task and the page requirement so you don't get too far down the road and find out it didn't work plus to make sure that you are aware of the task :)

Selection post:

Week 1 - option 1
Book: Cold As Ice by Anne Stuart
Page numbers 371 pg GR
Fits task - title starts with "C"

Danielle Gypsy Soul wrote: "The selection posts are just so the Captain can make sure the book meets the task and the page requirement so you don't get too far down the road and find out it didn't work plus to make sure that ..."

I've looked in a couple of places but still haven't found the answer--what's the page requirement?