Chapter Adventure Reading Challenges discussion

JUNE - Take the Plunge

“Read a book from any genre that is set on or near a body of water- lake, ocean, pool, river, etc."

Comment below with the name of the book you read this month and what you thought of it

Challenge Complete: A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

Women are so often given short shrift when it comes to book about war, so this book was a refreshing change of pace. It is the women, not the men, whose stories are told. And even though their stories have been covered by the Greek tragedians, those stories are little read or known by the modern audience.

Both sides of the conflict are covered, along with the goddesses whose actions began the whole thing. Told in short chapters, the story moves from side to side, forward and backward, yet never loses the thread of the narrative. Their stories mostly follow the ancient texts, but often with a surprising twist. The women come alive, and even though their fate is already ordained, I couldn’t help but wish for different outcomes.

Especially captivating are the letter from Penelope to Odysseus, and Hector’s wife, Andromache’s, tragic tale.

Challenge completed!

I read Maplecroft by Cherie Priest.
This is a fictional story of Lizzie Borden after she was found innocent of her father and step-mothers murders. Lizzie and her sister Emma purchase a home and find a supernatural creature that is terrorizing the town.

challenge complete!

I read Fable, and Namesake by Adrienne Young.
These were both pirate reminiscent love stories.
adventure ✅
shipwreck treasure hunts✅
chosen family ✅
betrayel and secrets ✅
love ✅
female lead with daddy issues ✅

all in all I enjoyed both books

Just finished Man In The Water by Jon Hill. A good fast-paced thriller. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. I rated it 3.5 stars (Goodreads really needs to make it so you can do half stars). The main character plucked my nerves and this book longer than it should have. I almost DNF'd, but then it finally started getting good, but even the ending was kind of flat.

For the monthly motif challenge this month I picked Tress of the Emerald Sea. I thought with Emerald Sea in the title it would surely meet the qualifications. Interestingly, I discovered the sea of the book isn't a sea in the traditional sense. But I decided to let it slide. Boy, am I glad I did, I loved this book. I love The Princess Bride and this was very reminiscent of that....a rollicking fantasy world with goofy characters that make you root for the underdog the whole way through. Highly recommend this book and I will definitely be reading more of this author!

Deep Blue - Jennifer Donnelly
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Ok, so this first book is a bit of an odd combination of technical detail (a different language is introduced right on page 1), paired with a fairly simplistic storytelling style. I want to say that it’s a easy read, but readers who are new to the fantasy genre might actually get tripped up a bit at the beginning due to the technical aspects. So I guess that I will specify that it was an easy read for ME. It’s definitely in the YA category, so be prepared for the usual tropes. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, and I really like the underwater setting, with nonhuman main characters (merpeople). I was also tickled to discover that the entire book is printed in blue ink.

For this month, I read The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. It was a short read, only about 130 pages. It is about an elderly fisherman who has gone 86 days without catching a fish. He had an assistant, but he left to work for another fisherman. One day, the elderly fisherman goes out in the early morning in his small boat and ends up hooking a fish. The fish ends up dragging the boat around the sea and out into the ocean for about a day and a half. Then the fisherman finally catches it and brings it back to his island. The entire book is basically one long fishing trip. It is well written, and in fact did win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Definitely a must read if you are into the classics.

CHALLENGE COMPLETE. It was a stretch but this one was set near the ocean and kept coming back to watery places. I grow fonder of this series with each book I read. Without spoiling it for anyone who reads later, the ending blew my mind! Got to the next book soon :-)

I read A Thousand Heartbeats? The characters kinda live in countries near the ocean and they talk about it a lot. It’s not super important to the plot, but it’s there! 😂

• Rogue Wave - Jennifer Donnelly
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

This series is turning out to be quite an enjoyable bit of fluff. Which may not sound like a compliment, but trust me, I find a lot of books of this type to be intolerably juvenile.

JUNE- Take the Plunge
“Read a book from any genre that is set on or near a body of water- lake, ocean, pool, river, etc.” The following books were read in June:

-Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell 4 stars
-The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes 3 stars
-Atalanta by Jennifer Saint 4 stars
-A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner 4 stars
-Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee 3 stars
-A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris 4 stars
-Crooked River by Preston & Child 4 stars

The soulmate by Sally Hepworth

Hi I see a July section but it was last updated 6 months ago. Should I use it for my 2023 motif challenge?

Elba wrote: "The soulmate by Sally Hepworth"

I enjoyed this one too!

I ended up reading a second book for this challenge - I started it in June but didn't finish until July. I read The Hotel Nantucket which was a fun very summer book. The cast of characters at the hotel were all interesting and I enjoyed the mystery aspect and supernatural elements of the book. Overall, a good read and I'll definitely be picking up some of this author's other books.

Tianna wrote: "Hi I see a July section but it was last updated 6 months ago. Should I use it for my 2023 motif challenge?"

There;s a July Motif under "2023"

Challenge complete. I read How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior. It was a nice, light read. I actually preferred the story of Veronica's grandson Patrick to her story.

Challenge complete! Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

I have this book in queue at the library and it's 6 wks away. Published after June so I'm guessing it was not completed in June. Lol

Emily wrote: "I ended up reading a second book for this challenge - I started it in June but didn't finish until July. I read The Hotel Nantucket which was a fun very summer book. The cast of cha..."

This looks so good! I am adding it to my TBR list :-)

Patricia wrote: "I have this book in queue at the library and it's 6 wks away. Published after June so I'm guessing it was not completed in June. Lol"

It was an Advanced Reader Copy :-)

Challenge complete!
I read The Wish by Nicholas Sparks. I recall that I was trying to get another book, but the wait list was very long at the library. This book ended up being better than I thought it would be, and, although I usually figure out the twist in a book early, this time I didn't see it too early, and I'm glad I didn't. I even shed a few tears, which is always the sign of a pretty good book to me!

Oh, I also read Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller.

The soulmate by Sally Hepword