Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

Team members

Presenter:
★ MKat

Nominees:
☆ Suzanne
☆ Sally906
☆ Chan
☆ Plethora

1. Introduce yourself to your team. Let your team members know where you are from. This is a great to know when themes 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 International Awards, come up with an award from anywhere in the world for your team name. 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 early Wednesday 4 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 names 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 within 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 if Option 2 is used, members must select their book from another team. This will be advised in the week 11 announcement.

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


The format for selection posts Option 1:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Page numbers
How the book qualifies - please link or name the qualifying bookshelf/list where applicable (link if possible).
If the theme is based off the bookcover or a letter in the title etc, please just repeat the theme.

The format for selection posts Option 2:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Page numbers
Name of the team-member, their star rating, the date they read the book.


Format for completion posts:
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.

Weeks 1-3 Selection Posts

Week 1: Golden Raspberry
MountainKat - Wood, Screws, & Nails by Piper Vaughn and Kade Boehme, message #56
Suzanne - Lothaire by Kresley Cole, message #60
Sally906 - The Christmas Mail Order Bride by Kit Morgan, message #45
Chan - Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard, message #42
Plethora - Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, message #41

Week 2: Best in Show
MountainKat - Tell Me It's Real by T.J. Klune, message #77
Suzanne - The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee, message #81
Sally906 - Miss Frost Chills The Cheater by Kristen Painter, message #80
Chan - PASS
Plethora - I Love Your Cupcakes by Olga Núñez Miret, message #82
Tina - Cooper's Charm by Lori Foster, message #79

Week 3: Palme d'Or Cannes Film Festival
MountainKat - Hook, Line, & Sinker by Piper Vaughn and Kade Boehme, message #102
Suzanne - Isabella Moon by Laura Benedict, message #107
Sally906 - The Director Gets a Grip: Moonchuckle Bay Romantic Comedy #3 by Heather Horrocks, message #97
Chan - The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans, message #99
Plethora - Excursion to Tindari by Andrea Camilleri, message #117
Tina - Get a Clue by Jill Shalvis, message #109

Weeks 1-3 Completion Posts

Week 1: Golden Raspberry
MountainKat - Completed 9.12.19, message #73
Suzanne - Completed 9.12.19, message #69
Sally906 - Completed 9.7.19, message #52
Chan - Completed 9.12.19, message #78
Plethora - Completed 9.8.19, message #61

Week 2: Best in Show
MountainKat - Colmpleted 9.16.19, message #101
Suzanne - Completed 9.18.19, message #93
Sally906 - Completed 9.18.19, message #88
Chan - PASS
Plethora - Completed 9.17.19, message #
Tina - Completed 9.17.19, message #86

Week 3: Palme d'Or Cannes Film Festival
MountainKat - Completed 9.24.19, message #113
Suzanne - Completed 9.22.19, message #108
Sally906 - Completed 9.21.19, message #100
Chan - Completed 9.23.19, message #111
Plethora - Completed 9.27.19, message #135
Tina - Completed 10.7.19, message #164

Weeks 4-6 Selection Posts

Week 4: Archibald Prize
MountainKat - Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh, message #129
Suzanne - Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh, message #131
Sally906 - The Perfect Gift by Serenity Woods, message #123
Chan - Option 2, Cooper's Charm by Lori Foster, message #122
Plethora - Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty, message #146
Tina - Just This Once by Rosalind James, message #142

Week 5: Olympics
MountainKat - Tempting the Player by J. Lynn, message #158
Suzanne - See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson, message #167
Sally906 - Fake Fiancée by Ilsa Madden-Mills, message #155
Chan - Room for You by Beth Ehemann, message #156
Plethora - Playing to Win by Jaci Burton, message #160
Tina - Just Good Friends by Rosalind James, message #168

Week 6: Pulitzer Prize
MountainKat - Once Upon a Wild Fling by Lauren Blakely, message #190
Suzanne - A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas, message #201
Sally906 - It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas, message #188
Chan - Scorpius Rising by Rebecca Zanetti, message #191
Plethora - The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne by M.L. Longworth, message #197
Tina - Running From A Rock Star by Jami Albright, message #186

Weeks 4-6 Completion Posts

Week 4: Archibald Prize
MountainKat - Completed 10.3.19, message #157
Suzanne - Completed 10.2.19, message #143
Sally906 - Completed 10.1.19, message #134
Chan - Completed 9.30.19, message #132
Plethora - Completed 10.5.19, message #152
Tina - Completed 10.7.19, message #165

Week 5: Olympics
MountainKat - Completed 10.7.19, message #175
Suzanne - Completed 10.9.19, message #179
Sally906 - Completed 10.7.19, message #163
Chan - Completed 10.11.19, message #189
Plethora - Completed 10.6.19, message #162
Tina - Completed 10.8.19, message #176

Week 6: Pulitzer Prize
MountainKat - Completed 10.14.19, message #195
Suzanne - Completed 10.17.19, message #202
Sally906 - Completed 10.18.19, message #203
Chan - Completed 10.18.19, message #204
Plethora - 10.13.19, message #199
Tina - Completed 10.21.19, message #220

Weeks 7-9 Selection Posts

Week 7: Global Music Awards
MountainKat - Cake by J. Bengtsson, message #209
Suzanne - How to Kill a Rock Star by Tiffanie De Bartolo, message #221
Sally906 - Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts, message #206
Chan - Ride Steady by Kristen Ashley, message #216
Tina - Rock Me by Cherrie Lynn, message #215

Week 8: Darwin Awards
MountainKat - Love Means... Courage by Andrew Grey, message #228
Suzanne - The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter, message #242
Sally906 - Dancing at Midnight by Julia Quinn, message #230
Chan - Hello Stranger by Lisa Kleypas, message #229
Plethora - Graveyard Shift by Angela Roquet, message #240
Tina - First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones, message #241

Week 9: UNESCO Peace Prize
MountainKat - Crocus by Amy Lane, message #247
Suzanne - Temptation Ridge by Robyn Carr, message #258
Sally906 - The Brands Who Came For Christmas by Maggie Shayne, message #248
Chan - The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, message #249
Plethora - Jared by Alisa Woods, message #256
Tina - Call Her Mine by Melissa Foster, message #255

Weeks 7-9 Completion Posts

Week 7: Global Music Awards
MountainKat - Completed 10.23.19, message #223
Suzanne - Completed 10.23.19, message #222
Sally906 - Completed 10.20.19, message #208
Chan - Completed 10.25.19, message #225
Plethora - Completed 10.19.19, message #219
Tina - Completed 10.22.19, message #226

Week 8: Darwin Awards
MountainKat - Completed 10.28.19, message #233
Suzanne - Completed 10.31.19, message #243
Sally906 - Completed 10.30.19, message #237
Chan - Completed 11.1.19, message #245
Plethora -
Tina - Completed 11.5.19, message #254

Week 9: UNESCO Peace Prize
MountainKat - Completed 11.4.19, message #252
Suzanne - Completed 11.7.19, message #260
Sally906 - Completed 11.4.19, message #253
Chan - Completed 11.2.19, message #250
Plethora - Completed 11.7.19, message #257
Tina - Completed 11.11.19, message #271

Weeks 10-11 Selection Posts

Week 10: Booker Prize
MountainKat - A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert, message #264
Suzanne -
Sally906 - Wild Water by Jan Ruth, message #263
Chan - Rescuing Harley by Susan Stoker, message #266
Plethora - Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney, message #268
Tina - The Billionaire's Tenacious Boss by Leslie North, message #270

Week 11:
MountainKat -
Suzanne -
Sally906 -
Chan -
Plethora -
Tina -

Weeks 10-11 Completion Posts

Week 10:
MountainKat - Completed 11.11.19, message #274
Suzanne -
Sally906 - Completed 11.11.19, message #267
Chan - Completed 11.11.19, message #269
Plethora - Completed 11.12.19, message #273
Tina - Completed 11.12.19, message #272

Week 11:
MountainKat -
Suzanne -
Sally906 -
Chan -
Plethora -
Tina -

**

I'm here, I'm here! Sorry for the delay, I left the house early this morning and just got home - after barely surviving the billion degree temps we are having here in SoCal!

Anyway, I'm Kat. I've been married forever to my high school sweetie and we have three grown kids. All college grads, all happily married - I think we did pretty darn well there! I live in the boonies of - wait for it - Southern California! And yes, we have boonies here. I'm up in the mountains, about an hour from the grocery store and two hours from Disneyland. I mention Disneyland because I'm sort of addicted. 😊🤷🏻‍♀️ So addicted that I started and finished my book for the last week of this challenge last year while watching the holiday parade on Main Street! 🤣 Anyway, I will probably mention going once or twice, or more than a half dozen times, during the challenge. The other big news that will be happening soon is that we have a new grand baby coming in September! Super excited to meet the little guy and will probably mention that more than a half dozen times as well... 👶🏻

And it goes without saying that I love romance - that is probably 99.9% of what I read and I can't think of anything recently that wasn't romance. I try to read a little bit of everything - CR, RS, PNR, HR and MM, not a lot is off limits but I do have my favorites. Hopefully that means my shelves can help you if you need to use Option 2!

So, where are you from? What do you read? What's going on in your lives? I spilled, so now it is your turn!

Hi

I’m Sally and I live in Australia - over on the east coast in the state of Queensland - so my time zone is a day ahead of the USA.

I’ve been married to my hubby for almost 42 years - not childhood sweethearts but have known each other since our teens.

We have two grown-up daughters and between them we now have 3 grandchildren - all of who read.

We are newly retired and was hoping I’d have more time for reading - but not so much - am always on the move doing stuff.

I’ve sent friend requests to those of you team members I’m not already friends with - as my profile is set to private so you can see my shelves if you need to

I have gone through and picked books for each theme already - so am prepared whichever ones are called - unless I read one in the meantime - LOL!

I think that’s it for now - I am an eclectic reader so I think there is something on my shelves for everyone.

Oh - and a suggestion for a team name:

Award winning Readers

Wow Sally - we just had our 36th anniversary, but you have us beat by quite a bit!

All of my kids and grandkids read too! I say it is genetic, my grandma was a librarian. 😂 Hubby doesn't though so I get side-eyed if I sit and read - thank goodness for audiobooks! I can pretend to be somewhat productive and still read. 👍🏼

I like Award Winning Readers! I will try to come up with something too, but not feeling very creative just yet. I'm still recovering from the heat today - I don't do heat!

Congrats Sally and MKat! We don't hear of marriages lasting that long these days.

Hello Everybody {waving and jumping up and down}!

I live in Georiga, USA. I enjoy reading...well lately, I enjoy listening to books. Big romance fan, but I steer clear of thrillers I'm not into the scary or dark stuff. I recently jumped on the PNR wagon. Not vampires and such, but magic and humans having extra sensory abilities. If you know of any books with humans having heightened or extra abilities, similar to Rebecca Zanetti's Blood Brothers, please let me know.

Have you tried Thea Harrison's Elder Races series Chan? It isn't exactly what you are looking for, but not as heavy as most PNR. The first book, Dragon Bound, is especially light and funny - and fabulous in audio! Another idea, again not exactly what you are looking for, is Darynda Jones' Charley Davidson series - so funny! And also great in audio! Pretty much if I'm recommending something these days, I listened to the audio - so if I mention that it is good it really stood out for me.

Otherwise, a lot of Nora Roberts trilogies fit what you are talking about. Or Lisa Kleypas' Friday Harbor books. I'm sure there are more, but I will have to think to remember them. 😊

Both of those sound fantastic, especially first grave on the right. Added them both to my tbr. MKat, do you have a trick for cheap audiobooks?

Chan wrote: "Both of those sound fantastic, especially first grave on the right. Added them both to my tbr. MKat, do you have a trick for cheap audiobooks?"

If they work for you, the library is a great option! I don't have much luck there, so it is usually audible and the Escape package for me. Whispersync is a good way to save as well - sometimes it is cheaper to buy both the Kindle book and the audio than the audio alone! (You just have to remember to look and buy the Kindle book first.)

MountainKat wrote: "Chan wrote: "Both of those sound fantastic, especially first grave on the right. Added them both to my tbr. MKat, do you have a trick for cheap audiobooks?"

If they work for you, the library is a ..."

Hey Chan, just to add to what Kat said, if you have Kindle Unlimited, it's another good source. If a KU book has an audiobook available, it will either be free to listen to (but not keep), or can be purchased at the Whispersync price if you have the Kindle book in your library. Also, I second the library suggestion, and I have much better luck there than Kat does. I would guess that I get at least a third of my audiobooks there...maybe more. The rest come from Audible, either using credits, the Escape package, or KU. Oh, and in case you don't know what the Audible Escape package is, it's similar to KU - pay a flat monthly fee (I think it's around $7 if you already have KU or an Audible plan, and $12-13 without one of those) and you can "borrow" books from a specific collection, up to 10 at a time. For me personally, the selection is better than KU, because it's geared toward romance readers...most, if not all, of the titles are romance.

OK, not a lot of chatting goin on here and we are still missing a couple of members! I know it is a holiday weekend in the US, but still... Jane has PMed the missing ones, but we need to really start to work on a name!

The only suggestion so far is - Award Winning Readers. I like that, but I will try to throw out some other ideas just as options...

Gold Medal Readers
Red Carpet Arm Candy (Lovers?)
After Party Bliss (or Blues?)
Too Busy Reading
We Don't Need No Stinkin' Awards
Nobel vs. Noble 🤔
Kickin' Up Our Heels - I don't wear heels, so for me it would be Kickin' Off My Heels! 😂
Reading 'round the Golden Globes - I know it's not a category, but I thought of it before I checked. 🤷🏻‍♀️

That's it, I'm done.

Hello! I'm checking in! In the middle of holiday weekend stuff so I'll post more tomorrow! I just finished Slouch Witch and it was on Kindle Unlimited! It was pretty good too, light and fluffy and snarky :)

~KarenH~ wrote: "MountainKat wrote: "Chan wrote: "Both of those sound fantastic, especially first grave on the right. Added them both to my tbr. MKat, do you have a trick for cheap audiobooks?"

If they work for yo..."

HEY KAREN! I heard about whispersync, but didn't know what it was. I just took the time to look it up. For some books, it's a great deal. I went through the escape audios and many of those I have on my tbr. Thanks!

MKat, those are good. I'll add one -

And the winner is...

Chan wrote: "MKat, those are good. I'll add one -

And the winner is..."

Love it, but already taken. ☹️

Hey all - we need to get a name to Jane by tomorrow! Thoughts?

What about adjusting one of your suggestions to

Red Carpet Romancers or
Read Carpet Romancers

but honestly, MKat, whatever you go with, I'm okay. I'm not too picky about a name.

I like 'Read Carpet Romancers' - it's punny!

Okay. Let's go with it!

MountainKat wrote: "I like 'Read Carpet Romancers' - it's punny!"

Go for it!

When does the first task get drawn? It’s soon isn’t it?

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

PASS THE PARCEL - Round 13
THEME - INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

Start date - FRIDAY 6 September
Sign up - now through to FRIDAY 30 August 4pm US EST
Teams assigned by 30 August after sign ups close
Last theme call - 15 November

I sent the name to Jane - in case you didn't notice the change above. 😊

Hi everyone - Plethora has joined your team! You will no doubt hear from her shortly.

Hopefully we will still hear from Brenda, but if not, you now have a full team :D

Hi Plethora! Welcome.

Hi. I'm here, just stopping in at break.

Hey y'all just wanna let you know that I love your name! It's so cute!!

Aww...thanks Sassafrass :o)

I've removed Brenda from the team and the game given she missed kick off.

I may have another player to replace her though, so watch this space :)

Selection Post
Week # 1
10. Golden Raspberry



Book: Anna and the French Kiss
Pages: 372
How the book qualifies: #82 on Male Characters You Would Run From if They Tried to Date You list.

Week 1 | Theme 10 | Option 1 ~ Selection Post
Book link: Gabriel's Inferno
Page numbers: 602
Qualifies: #29 on Male Characters You Would Run From If They Tried To Date You

Boy, you go to Disney one day and go pick up the grandkids the next and miss all kinds of things! 🤷🏻‍♀️

Welcome Plethora, glad you joined us!

Thanks Sassafrass!

I'll post the theme and my selection shortly!

Link to Jane's post: HERE.

Week 1

Option1
10. Golden Raspberry
The Golden Raspberry Awards is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements.
* Read a book from one of the following lists:
Guilty Pleasures - Crap You're Embarrassed to Love
Male characters you would run from if they tried to date you
Would Rather Pluck My Eyebrows
Most Unappealing MM book covers of 2015
Most Unappealing MM book covers of 2014

If you use this option please quote the list and page number where the title is found. A link would be even better!


Option 2
Book chosen from a team member's shelf that was read on the date below or more recently and rated at least 3 stars.
Key Date: March 8, 2019


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

Week 1 selection post - 10. Golden Raspberry

Book reading: The Christmas Mail Order Bride by Kit Morgan
Pages: 148
How it qualifies: Is number 19 on the Would rather pluck my eyebrows list: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

This book! YES! I want to devour it, but I also want to slow down so it can last forever.
So far, Gabriel definitely deserves to be on the 'run from' list, but there is something about him that calls you to him. The emotional confusion is yummy. LOL!

hahaha....Sally, i just read some of the reviews for that book. I can't wait to see what you think.

Chan wrote: "hahaha....Sally, i just read some of the reviews for that book. I can't wait to see what you think."

I haven’t read the reviews - but I do like the fluffiness of these mail order bride books - and was a freebie :)

Ooh..freebie. I like freebies.

I need to go through the lists again, my first pass was unsuccessful... I'll find something eventually - I don't usually have a problem finding books! Maybe flying by the seat of my pants is catching up with me. 🤷🏻‍♀️