Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

The Amazing Race Team Challenge - Round 5
April 12, 2022 through June 8, 2022
Still Running and My Feet Hurt!

Team:
★ MN Lisa
✓ Steph
✓ Susan A
✓ Hayley

The Amazing Race Team Challenge - Round 5
April 12, 2022 through June 8, 2022
Still Running and My Feet Hurt!

Tracking:

Task 1 - 0. Read a book with either blue or yellow on the cover, teams decide which. No pass for this task. 4.12.2022 - 4.14.2022
Task 2 - 6. Read 4 books with fewer than 500 reviews. 4.14.2022 - 4.17.2022
Task 3 - 3. Each player reads a book by a new to you author - no pass for this task. 4.17.2022 - 4.18.2022
Task 4 - 14. Read a minimum of 1000 pages in books with Contemporary Romance as MPG. 4.19.2022 - 4.20.2022
Task 5 - 8. Read 4 books with a beach on the cover. 4.21.2022 - 4.22.2022
Task 6 - 29. Read over 750 pages in books about the same profession, teams decide which profession. 4.23.2022 - 4.26.2022
Task 7 - 10. Read 4 books by authors who write under more than one name (Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb). 4.26.2022 - 4.29.2022
Task 8 - 19. Each teammate reads a book another teammate read and rated 4 Stars or higher in the last 3 months. No pass for this task. 4.29.2022 - 5.1.2022
Task 9 - 27. Read a minimum of 750 pages in books published in any one year prior to 2018, team picks the year. 5.1.2022 - 5.4.2022
Task 10 - 64. Read 6 books not set on a continent of a teammate. Space does not count - must be a real continent. 5.4.2022 - 5.6.2022
Task 11 - 73. Read a minimum of 1500 pages in books by the same author, teams decide author. 5.6.2022 - 5.10.2022
Task 12 - 58. Read 6 books published in the year one of the teammates joined RRRC, teams decide which teammate. 5.10.2022 - 5.12.2022
Task 13 - 47. Read 6 books set in a major city. 5.12.2022
Task 14 - 91. Add up the years of the teammates' births and each teammate reads a book with that minimum number of pages. For example, teammates were born in 75, 83, 87 and 94 - each teammate reads a book at least 339 pages long. No pass for this task. 5.14.2022 - 5.16.2022
Task 15 - 86. Read at least 1500 pages in books with a hat on the cover. 5.16.2022 - 5.18.2022
Task 16 - 63. Read a minimum of 1200 pages in books tagged 'magic' or 'magical'. 5.18.2022 - 5.20.2022
Task 17 - 93. As a team, pick a Romance List from GR Listopia with less than 100 books on it, each teammate reads a book from that list. No pass for this task. 5.20.2022 - 5.22.2022
Task 18 - 76. Read 6 books with a specific item on the cover, team selects item. 5.22.2022 - 5.25.2022
Task 19 - 70. Read a minimum of 1200 pages in books of the same sub-genre, but by different authors. 5.25.2022 - 5.27.2022
Task 20 - 80. Read 4 books initially published in different decades. 5.27.2022 - 5.28.2022
Task 21 - 120. Read 8 books in series that have names that are 3 words long. 5.29.2022 - 5.30.2022
Task 22 - 108. As a team, select a season and read a minimum of 1500 pages of books set in that season. 5.31.2022 - 6.1.2022
Task 23 - 75. Read over 1000 pages in books that start with the same letter (no articles), teams decide letter. 6.2.2022 - 6.2.2022
Task 24 - 69. Read 6 books that have won/been nominated for an award. 6.4.2022 - 6.6.2022
Task 25 - Last Task. Read books with a 5 in the first edition Kindle page count. No pass for this task. 6.6.2022

Information required when posting your completion/s:

Task
Book/cover link
Page numbers with source
How book qualified, with links or cover as necessary.
Date Completed.
Rating/Review.


**Remember to use the first edition Kindle page count only! If your page count comes from a Kindle edition published on the initial publication date on the editions page, it will count. If your page count comes from a Kindle edition labeled '1st edition', it will count. If your page count comes from the earliest dated English language Kindle edition, it will count. I am looking for one of those three things when confirming your books! As long the page count you list is correct, I will accept any link to the book. Ebook page count will be acceptable if no Kindle page count available. The acceptability of other page counts will be made on an individual basis.**

Please note that a rating is now required in your completion posts! A small review is also welcome. 😊

I think most of you know each other, at least a little, but feel free to introduce yourself again. Please give any relevant information, especially time zone as that helps know when it is best to communicate. 😊

Please select a team leader to help keep track of where your team is in any given task. And as necessary guide discussions for task decisions. Any teammate can report your completions though.

Remember, it is the team's responsibility to notify the host (me) if a teammate fails to complete the task in a timely manner or otherwise goes missing! I am not checking all the team threads regularly to notice and may only check when notified a task is complete.

PS - If you want to be known as anything other than Team 4, you are free to come up with a team name. 😉

Hello Team! I'm so excited to get started with this challenge. We were the Radiant Rainbows last time, do we want to say with the same name? Other name ideas?

Based on the info from the spreadsheet, looks like I'm in Central and everyone else is in Eastern?

We've already decided on a bunch of categories that might get called, be sure to check it out and let me know if you have any issues. A few of them are set to "Whoever sees it first picks the first item from the list..."

So excited!!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Hi Team! I'm happy to be playing with you all again.

I like Radiant Rainbows, but if anyone wants to suggest a change, I'm not opposed to it.

Yes, I am in the Eastern time zone

Hi everyone! This is my favorite challenge and I'm so excited to be playing with y'all again! :)

I'm happy with Radiant Rainbows.

I'm in Eastern time zone.

I meant to put on the spreadsheet somewhere but I did break up with a few authors since we've played last. Ella Frank, Brooke Blaine, KM Neuhold and Mia Monroe.

Ella Frank and Brook Blaine are ones that I usually try to read right away when new ones come out, but I haven't for their last few series. I still love the originals, but the new ones are harder for me. I'm still holding hope for Mia Monroe and KM Neuhold though. A new one for me recently is Reese Knightly and I do like Kiki Clark as well.

MN Lisa wrote: "Ella Frank and Brook Blaine are ones that I usually try to read right away when new ones come out, but I haven't for their last few series. I still love the originals, but the new ones are harder f..."

For me its like they're all writing the same books over and over. Just changing character names and locations.

I really like Kiki Clark too, Lisa! I love the Kinkaid Pack series sm

Steph wrote: "I really like Kiki Clark too, Lisa! I love the Kinkaid Pack series sm"

I can't wait for The Enforcer and His Heart to come out in July. I may just need to take this day off so I can read it when it comes out.

Just waiting for Hayley to check in!

MN Lisa, are you going to be the team leader this round? Just want to make sure. 😊

MountainKat wrote: "Just waiting for Hayley to check in!

MN Lisa, are you going to be the team leader this round? Just want to make sure. 😊"

Yes I am the team leader this time too. Hayley is on vacation until the 11th. She let me know when we organized the team via messages.

Thanks Lisa!

Just FYI, I'm not going to send Hayley a reminder message since you have been in contact with her. I will be away from the computer all day on the 11th, so I won't check back until the 12th - hopefully she will have time to check in after her vacation. 😊

I'm here!

MN Lisa wrote: "Hello Team! I'm so excited to get started with this challenge. We were the Radiant Rainbows last time, do we want to say with the same name? Other name ideas?

Based on the info from the spreadshe..."

I'm CST too

First Task

0. Read a book with either blue or yellow on the cover, teams decide which. No pass for this task.




My vote is blue, but I'm sure I can find yellow.

Susan A wrote: " First Task: 0. Read a book with either blue or yellow on the cover, teams decide which. No pass for this task.

My vote is blue, but I'm sure I can find yellow."

I vote Blue as well.

Blue is fine with me too!

I'm out of practice..do make a selection post? And, when do we want to finish by?

I don’t think we have to make a selection post. And I don’t think we’re being super competitive this round. The book I’m reading is one I wanted to read for SH anyway so I’m just going to switch out my readers choice and cross my fingers for points lol

Completion Post
0. Read a book with either blue or yellow on the cover, teams decide which. No pass for this task. (Blue)

Book You & Me: An M M Single Dads Romance

Pages 382/GR
Qualifies Blue cover
Date Read April 13
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review I want to start this by saying it's rare for a book to make me cry. There are only a handful that have. This book made me weep.

It is, in a word. Lovely.

There's more than one love story here. We have two men falling in love so beautifully. Two separate friendships, Luke and Landon's and Emmet and Bowen's. And then the love story that made me truly cry.

Parent and child.

Luke and Emmet's evolution hurt. I started the book hating Emmet. I wanted to shake him and yell, "Can't you see he's trying?!" The more into the story we got the more I hurt for Emmet. Both of his parents left him emotionally. So then I hated Luke a little bit. Then the kitchen scene happened and I was a wreck. I wanted to crawl into the flour with them.

I just truly loved every single word of this book. It hurt in the best ways. I spent most of the book with a smile on my face. Even now writing this review I'm smiling. And crying. Just a little.

Susan A wrote: "I'm out of practice..do make a selection post? And, when do we want to finish by?"

We don't have to do a selection post, but if you could either update the spreadsheet or post here your selection so that I know you we got a new task that would be helpful.

Like last time, the last person to finish could do the completion post for our team would be great!

Completion Post

0. Read a book with either blue or yellow on the cover, teams decide which. No pass for this task. (Blue)


Love in the Bargain by Kasey Stockton
Pages: 240
Qualifies: blue cover
Date Read<: 4/13/22
Rating: ⭐⭐
Review

The single good thing about this book was the very cute blue cover. Other than that, I've got nothing positive to say. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Mary Sarah. My first instinct was to say that the narration was terrible..but that's not true. The narrator chose a very haughty tone for the MC Elsie and as a result I really hated this girl. The narrator did an excellent job with this haughty tone, conveying the awfulness of this girl...so if that was her intent, great job! But if the author wanted me to feel any sympathy for this girl, who was surrounded by terrible people - her parents, friends, relatives suitors - -well then, this narrator did nothing to engender those feelings.

I chose this book because I've been looking for some Regency Romances -- like the Signets ones I read as a teenager. I don't know any authors who are currently popular. The tags "Clean" romance and "Christian" romance that are used interchangeably and often incorrectly are really hindering my search. I am offended by the term "clean romance" because it implies sex is dirty and wrong. This label just makes me angry. And, I absolutely do not want anybody preaching "Christian values" to me in a book. Lack of sex doesn't make a book Christian ...to me it's the preaching and religious overtones that do. It seems like lots of people like to slap the Christian label on sex free books.

I know that the author isn't always responsible for these labels, but the clean label makes me angry and I find myself trying to avoid books with this label.

And the Christian label...I am just so tired of people trying to force their religion on other people. I don't want any part of it. I try to research, but if it's hard too figure out, I just skip it.

Wow...I really went sideways with that rant.

Susan A wrote: "Completion Post

0. Read a book with either blue or yellow on the cover, teams decide which. No pass for this task. (Blue)


[book:Love in the Bargain|453221..."

I'm so happy to see someone found the words I couldn't for those awful labels.

First Task
0. Read a book with either blue or yellow on the cover, teams decide which. No pass for this task.
The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek Piper Vaughn

Pages 272/GR
Qualifies: Blue on cover
Date Read: April 13
Rating 4 stars
Review:pretty good story. Ash is a tattooing bad boy who can get anyone he wants. At least until he want's Fee, a geek. Fee turns him down cold. Ash then goes on a journey to try to capture Fee's affection and grows up in the process. I really liked Ash from the beginning. Fee took me a bit to get on board with, he just seemed a bit cold at first. I really liked them both by the end. I thought the guide excerpts were funny.

I totally read this task wrong...I thought I had to have a mostly blue cover. I know my book still works, but this is the 3rd time this week I didn't read the directions correctly. I need to cut that out.

Susan A wrote: "I totally read this task wrong...I thought I had to have a mostly blue cover. I know my book still works, but this is the 3rd time this week I didn't read the directions correctly. I need to cut th..."
The team had to choose between blue and yellow and its supposed to be primarily that color. I guess the question is...do we think that Hayley's book is primarily blue?

I'm still reading mine and won't be done until tomorrow. I'm only at about 30% and its a long book (over 400 pages)

Well..the task is " a book with either blue or yellow on the cover " team decides, we chose blue. ...to me that doesn't mean mostly. THat means just something blue, any amount of blue...in which case Hayley's book works. If it does mean "mostly" then it probably doesn't work.

This is the full task description: First Task - All Teams!

0. Read a book with either blue or yellow on the cover, teams decide which. No pass for this task.

I am sure we are all aware of the nightmare taking place in Ukraine over the past month and a half. To honor the Ukrainians’ strength and sorrow, the first task is to read a book with a color from the Ukrainian flag. Teams decide which color, blue or yellow. The selected book need to be primarily the selected color. No pass for this task.

ETA: You may use any edition's cover to qualify for this task. Please include the qualifying cover in your completion posts.

huh...that kind of stinks. You are right...it does say mostly. When I copied the task into the thread, I just copied the task, which doesn't say mostly, not the whole paragraph. My guess is Haley read just the part I copied.

I frankly don't know what to do. I'd be willing read a book for Haley since I'm the one who copied the tak into the thread, but it says no pass allowed.

Should I ask MKat?

Task # 1 Completion Post
Task: Read book with blue or yellow cover
Title: Code Blue
Page Count: 442 Pages
Qualifies:

Date Completed: 4/14/22
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review: Jeremy Dalton is 1/5th of a world famous Boy Band. Steve Frost is head of security for a world famous boy band. When a stalker sets eyes on Jeremy, Steve takes over security for Jeremy. Jeremy is straight. Jeremy is sick. Steve is gay. Steve is in love with Jeremy.

This was a good book. Excellent characters and story line. I was a bit worried that with the length it would get a bit repeat-y with what occurred, but it did not. Every time I thought it was going one way, it went another. It was really good. I am almost at a loss for words about how much I loved the way Jeremy and Steve were together and how they loved each other.

Completion Post Done!

Yeah!

Well... It does say that the "tasks will be explained in detail when assigned" on the message where the tasks are listed.

I will overlook that the book doesn't technically qualify - this time. But please make sure you read the tasks and the explanation going forward.

So, here is your next task:

6. Read 4 books with fewer than 500 reviews.

Books qualifying for this task need to have fewer than 500 reviews (not ratings). You can find this information on the main book page under the title. Please include the number of reviews in your completion posts. If your selected book might have over 500 reviews before the task is completed, i.e. it is a newer book or has over 490 reviews already, a screen shot might be advisable.

MountainKat wrote: "Well... It does say that the "tasks will be explained in detail when assigned" on the message where the tasks are listed.

I will overlook that the book doesn't technically qualify - this time. But..."

Thanks MKat..the error was entirely mine. I'll be more careful moving forward.

I'm reading Never Stay Gone by Tal Bauer -- I'm at 30% so I'm not going to DNF. I love the cover. So far the mystery is interesting...but these two MCs thinking back on their high school romance is awful. Seriously? This guy is dropped into an extremely gruesome mass murder and he is sitting in the car remembering how " He used to read Shakespeare’s sonnets in English class, trying to find something that came close to how he felt for Shane. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day…” ... ANd how "He didn’t have enough words, or enough oxygen, to tell Shane all the ways he loved him."

I'm feeling second hand embarrassment reading this.

I also just really struggle with this kind of plot -- the past love that was so great you can't move on...and yet you also can't call them, contact them, see them, maybe try again, or put it rest so you can move on? I can't empathize. Unfortunately, there's still lots of time left for the author to try to convince me I should feel sympathy for these guys.


Ugghh...I turned the page...really, "he danced with every girl in their class, even the shy ones...for a song or two." But he came back to Dakota after every dance. 60 kids in the class...so 30 girls give or take a few...did he have a list to check off and how long was this prom? This is so bad.

46% still quite painful and not enough of the mystery. Also, I think the author is setting a record for the most times ocotillo is used in a work fiction.

It's taking so long to read this

Susan A wrote: "I'm reading Never Stay Gone by Tal Bauer -- I'm at 30% so I'm not going to DNF. I love the cover. So far the mystery is interesting...but these two MCs thinking ba..."

I have such a hard time with the second chance trope. I'll continue to keep avoiding this book lol

Completion Post
Task 6 Read 4 books with fewer than 500 reviews

Book Seeking Sunshine
Author Carly Marie
Pages 315/GR
Qualifies 39 Reviews
Date Read April 15
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review I'd been putting this book off. The last couple books by the author haven't been my favorites and I didn't want to be disappointed.

I'm only disappointed in myself.

I really enjoyed this book. I don't usually like books with younger kids in a lot of the story. Usually they're written as OTT precocious or as toddlers. Jackson was written as a normal eight year old and he didn't take away from the story at all. One of my favorite moments featured him. I'm going to have to stop saying books don't spark much emotion in me. This is the second time this week a book has made me tear up.

Steph wrote: "Completion Post
Task 6 Read 4 books with fewer than 500 reviews

Book Seeking Sunshine
Author Carly Marie
Pages 315/GR
Date Read April 15
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review I'd be..."

Can you edit your post to include the # of reviews please?

Task # 2 Completion Post
Task: Read 4 books with fewer than 500 reviews.
Title: Rebound
Page Count: 429 Pages
Qualifies: 273 Reviews
Date Completed: 4/15/22
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review: Hockey star falls in love with older policeman. I love this story. Both MCs have been hurt by their previous partners, one verbally/emotionally, the other physically and emotionally. They meet, start to date and fall in love, but old abuses cause issues. They get their HEA. Its a great story.

MN Lisa wrote: "Can you edit your post to include the # of reviews please?

I knew I was forgetting something. Done!

Completion Post
Task # 2 Completion Post
Task: Read 4 books with fewer than 500 reviews.
Book/author: Never Stay Gone by Tal Bauer
Pages: 361
Qualifies: 298 reviews
Date Read<: 4/15/22
Rating: ⭐⭐
Review

It was bad. Cringey. Painful. The interactions between Shane and Dakota were embarassing to read. I thought I had gotten through the worst of it and then the karaoke happened. This book has 4.42 rating which I find perplexing. In the end I guess I'm glad I didn't DNF this because I can now take this author off my list. I will most certainly stay gone.

Can we please, pretty please take this author off of our list of possible authors to read?

Susan A wrote: "Can we please, pretty please take this author off of our list of possible authors to read?"

Sorry this was a miss for you, Susan. I love Tal's contemporaries. His romantic suspense books take me forever to work through and are very often hit or miss.

I'm horrible with spreadsheets. Is there anyway to add a tab for authors we'd prefer not to group read?

I usually like Tal Bauer and am now wondering if I should read that.

I added a tab that says "No-No Authors" for us to list those that are a hard no I will not read.

MN Lisa wrote: "I usually like Tal Bauer and am now wondering if I should read that.
."

I seem to be in the minority. What I'm calling embarassing and cringey, I think other people are calling romantic. I don't know..go read that quote again. If you don't think it is embarassing, (I just read it out loud to my daughter and she agrees with me), then maybe give this a chance. My extreme dislike of the interactions between the MCs interfered with my enjoyment of the mystery/suspense aspects of the book. I think if I could have tolerated the relationship, ust tolerated - not even like, I would have rated this 4 stars.

Susan A wrote: "MN Lisa wrote: "I usually like Tal Bauer and am now wondering if I should read that.
."

I seem to be in the minority. What I'm calling embarassing and cringey, I think other people are calling rom..."

Tal is uber mushy and cornball tbh. I usually roll my eyes at that OTT stuff. I've only really read his contemporaries. I'm reading one of his romantic suspense/mystery for SH currently. It's taken me three days and the only reason I didn't DNF is because it's my TBR category. I'm def going to pass on the book you read for now.

MN Lisa wrote: "I added a tab that says "No-No Authors" for us to list those that are a hard no I will not read."

I'm going to go add mine in now. Thanks, Lisa!

I'll message Hayley tomorrow am if we don't hear from her. I know we aren't rushing, but I'm not even sure she's seen we got a new task yet.

Completion Task 2
Task: 6. Read 4 books with fewer than 500 reviews.
Book/author: Jon's Spooky Corpse Conundrum A.J. Sherwood
Pages: 247
Qualifies: 246 reviews
Date Read: 4/17/22
Rating: 4 stars
Review: Another great installment in the Jon's Mysteries series. I'm really liking them and so far there hasn't been a bad book. Jon and Donovan are still going strong and their relationship continues to grow. I loved how big, strong Donovan is a scaredy cat. I also really liked how Jon gets to dig into his own past with his father and find out the truth of the situation. Wounds are healed and personal growth takes place. Cho and Garrett are in the background but that situation is developing as well. I can't wait to read the next book in the series!