Big Book Summer Reading Challenge 2024 discussion

Here's the place to share when you finish a Big Book, what you thought of it, and/or a link to your review.

I just finished the last few pages of the Fine Print (Dreamland Billionaires #1) it was so cute! It was a workplace romance. It was five stars for me. I loved Zarah and Rowan. Zarah really brought out the best in Rowan. I can’t wait to read the next two books! I have them downloaded on to my kindle.

Allie wrote: "I just finished the last few pages of the Fine Print (Dreamland Billionaires #1) it was so cute! It was a workplace romance. It was five stars for me. I loved Zarah and Rowan. Zarah really brought ..."

Wow, Allie - you already read a 400-page book just today? That's impressive! It sounds like a fun one!

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (finished today) - a new all -time favorite five star book.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros - finished today 3 1/2 stars. A propulsive “romantasy” with interesting world-building, dragons, and surprisingly graphic sex scenes.

Eric wrote: "Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (finished today) - a new all -time favorite five star book.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros - finished today 3 1/2 stars. A propulsive “romantasy” with interest..."

I agree. I loved Cutting For Stone.

Just finished Terms And Conditions (Dreamland Billionaires #2. Five stars! I read it in three days on my kindle. I loved Iris! Seeing Rowan and Zarah back in book 2. Rowan was a jerk during part of the book. He got better in the last ten to twenty pages. I can’t wait to start book 3.

Eric wrote: "Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (finished today) - a new all -time favorite five star book.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros - finished today 3 1/2 stars. A propulsive “romantasy” with interest..."

Cutting for Stone is a wonderful novel, Eric - glad you enjoyed it. I still need to read The Covenant of Water, his newer release - that was the "it" book of Big Book Summer 2023! I don't read much fantasy, but I know people have been loving Fourth Wing.

Allie wrote: "Just finished Terms And Conditions (Dreamland Billionaires #2. Five stars! I read it in three days on my kindle. I loved Iris! Seeing Rowan and Zarah back in book 2. Rowan was a jerk during part of..."

Wonderful, Allie - wow, you are just tearing through the Big Books! Glad you enjoy this series so much :)

Just finished listening to The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just finished The Women by Kristin Hannah. I appreciated her writing about the women in the Vietnam War, as they seem to have been totally overlooked. However, I didn’t like the book that much. It was a bit repetitive. And there were some things about it that I didn’t like in terms of the character. And it was a tad unbelievable in my opinion. I won’t go into detail as I don’t want to provide spoilers. I am glad that I read it. I was a child through this period of time and we never really learned about it in school which is unfortunate as I feel like it’s something that we should all know more about. I remember how vets were treated after they came home and I always thought that was a terrible thing to do to them. I’m sure it added to the trauma they suffered.

Does it take time for our comment to show up? I finished The Women and posted my review, but looks like it disappeared.

Gerri wrote: "Does it take time for our comment to show up? I finished The Women and posted my review, but looks like it disappeared."

I see it

Linda wrote: "Just finished listening to The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Sounds like an interesting book, Linda.

Gerri wrote: "I just finished The Women by Kristin Hannah. I appreciated her writing about the women in the Vietnam War, as they seem to have been totally overlooked. However, I didn’t like the book that much. I..."

I;m listening to it on audio now, Gerri. Amazing so far - really powerful story, and I agree - one that needs to be told.

I finished Anna of Kleve (the 4th book in the Six Tudor Queens series by Alison Weir) today and I thought it was really good. If you enjoy historical fiction and you love reading about the Tudors, I highly recommend this series! Four queens down, two to go! 😂

Well here's a good start. Just can't bring myself to finish The Fourth Wing.....read it all before. Found it actually cringeworthy in places. I realise that half the know universe thinks it's wonderful, but I just don't like it. So...Will carry on with Miss Austen Investigates and will add The Women to replace the Fourth Wing. picking up The Women from Waterstones on Friday. I have the Ferryman by Justin Cronin on my pile and that will be my last fantasy. Started reading fantasy (amongst other genres) in the 1960s, perhaps enough is enough!

I read Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez this week and, since I was doing audio, didn't realize that it qualified for this challenge at 432 pages. If you like her other books, you'll probably like this one too - romance with a nice balance of humor and difficult topics.

Just finished One Summer in Savannah., 460 pages. A 5 star read for me

Just started Once Upon a River on audio

Lu wrote: "I finished Anna of Kleve (the 4th book in the Six Tudor Queens series by Alison Weir) today and I thought it was really good. If you enjoy historical fiction and you love reading about the Tudors, ..."

Congrats on your first Big Book of the summer, Lu! Sounds like a fascinating series - enjoy the other two queens!

Julie wrote: "Well here's a good start. Just can't bring myself to finish The Fourth Wing.....read it all before. Found it actually cringeworthy in places. I realise that half the know universe thinks it's wonde..."

No worries, Julie - everyone has different tastes! In spite of all the hype, I haven't even attempted Fourth Wing just because I'm not a big fan of fantasy like that (though I sometimes enjoy elements of fantasy set in a real world, like TJ Klune's or Peng Shepherd's novels or Kelly Link's short stories (also she's such an amazing writer!). I'm listening to The Women on audio, and it's just a stunning novel - completely engrossing and powerful. And The Ferryman is on my stack, too! Love Justin Cronin.

Jayne wrote: "I read Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez this week and, since I was doing audio, didn't realize that it qualified for this challenge at 432 pages. If you like her other books, you'll probably lik..."

Wonderful, Jayne! A surprise Big Book is always fun :)

Norma wrote: "Just finished One Summer in Savannah., 460 pages. A 5 star read for me

Just started Once Upon a River on audio"

Congrats, Norma! And thanks for the rec - sounds great!

Finished my first book last night - The Awakening by Nora Roberts (435 pages)…enjoyed it and have put the second in the series on my TBR. It is also over 400 pages so may shuffle my mental list around to include it for this challenge.

Started listening to Legendborn today (by Tracy Deonn, 12+ hours , 502 pages); and will start The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab (448 pages) tonight.

A good first week of summer reading!

I finished At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon about 11:30 last night. Not sure what big book I’m picking up next. I started the Mitford book on the 25th of May. I really enjoyed it. It was just a sweet and comforting read.

Just finished my first big book for the challenge. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai. (435 pages). Despite mixed reviews, I thought I was all in until the end. There was no real ending to the book which frustrated me. However, she’s a good writer and I would read other books by her.

Finished "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith last night, now have to decide what's next from my PoP

Kim wrote: "Finished my first book last night - The Awakening by Nora Roberts (435 pages)…enjoyed it and have put the second in the series on my TBR. It is also over 400 pages so may shuffle my mental list aro..."

What a great start, Kim! I enjoyed Addie LaRue on audio a few summers ago. And I also listen to Big Books on audio during the summer :) Enjoy them both!

Elizabeth wrote: "I finished At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon about 11:30 last night. Not sure what big book I’m picking up next. I started the Mitford book on the 25th of May. I really enjoyed it. It was just a swee..."

That sounds great, Elizabeth - glad you enjoyed it. I haven't tried the Mitford books yet, but my MIL enjoyed them. Picking your nest book is half the fun!

Abby wrote: "Just finished my first big book for the challenge. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai. (435 pages). Despite mixed reviews, I thought I was all in until the end. There was no real endin..."

I still haven't read anything by Makkai, though I've heard good things. Thanks for the heads up about the ending - that sounds disappointing.

Heidi wrote: "Finished "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith last night, now have to decide what's next from my PoP"

Wonderful, Heidi! That book has been on my want-to-read list for SO long!

I finished my first big book today, Message from Nam by Danielle Steele (436 pages). I had read that it was the same subject matter as The Women and got it on my kindle first. I gave it 3 stars because as you would expect, it’s mostly a romance novel. All of the historical events from those years were mentioned but not too much in depth.

Kim wrote: "I finished my first big book today, Message from Nam by Danielle Steele (436 pages). I had read that it was the same subject matter as The Women and got it on my kindle first. I gave it 3 stars bec..."

Congrats on your first Big Book read, Kim! I hadn't heard of that one yet, but I'm really enjoying The Women on audio - totally engrossing and so powerful.

Heidi wrote: "Finished "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith last night, now have to decide what's next from my PoP"

Oh, I loved that book! Hope you enjoyed it.

I just finished my first book of 2024 Big Book Summer Challenge ! Yeah!
The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory. 433 pages. I decided on this book in anticipation of my upcoming trip to Scotland. Mary Queen of Scots was a tragic figure in Tudor history. This was a fascinating story, as are all the Tudor books this author writes. The Other Boleyn Girl is a favorite!

Ive just finished The Women by Kristin Hannah and i think it is an extremely important book . I feel very traumatised by reading it as i knew nothing about the women who went to Vietnam. So i learnt an awful lot. It made me sob in places, something i havent done because of a book in a long while. I live in the uk, and left school in 1968 aged 17. I watched the reports from the US about Vietnam every evening and was appalled. There were protests here, i met people with loved ones missing, guys trying to get to Canada from the USA via Britain. But on the whole we were incredibly ignorant of what was really happening in Vietnam or in America. I listened to all the music mentioned in the book. There was just so much in this book that i will remember forever. The people in it were my generation. I felt guilty reading this, and ashamed that i didnt know about these amazingly brave women. So not to give any spoilers, the chapters on pstd etc i found very harrowing, especially with the lack of general support. Beautifully written, i read it in three days. Another member said she didnt particularly like the romance running through, im not sure i did either. But thats a small thing. Im givinbg my copy to soneone i believe should know the truth.

I finished Look on the Bright Side by Kristan Higgins (431 pages) on Friday, May 31st. It was amazing like most of her books are but it dealt with grief and loss so there were parts that were really hard to read.

Heidi wrote: "Finished "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith last night, now have to decide what's next from my PoP"
Hi Heidi--I was given 'I Capture the Castle' years ago (many years ago) and for some reason haven't read it. Would love to hear a few of your thoughts about it!

I also own "I Capture the Castle", but haven't picked it up yet. Would love to know what you thought.

Karen wrote: "I just finished my first book of 2024 Big Book Summer Challenge ! Yeah!
The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory. 433 pages. I decided on this book in anticipation of my upcoming trip to Scotland. Mary ..."

Sounds great, Karen. I still haven't read anything by Gregory! Everyone says her books are so good. Enjoy Scotland - that sounds amazing!

Julie wrote: "Ive just finished The Women by Kristin Hannah and i think it is an extremely important book . I feel very traumatised by reading it as i knew nothing about the women who went to Vietnam. So i learn..."

I'm not quite finished with The Women yet (listening on audio), Karen, but I agree with everything you said - such a powerful novel and so important. I was a bit younger but had close family members who went to Vietnam and were forever changed by the experience. I also didn't know much about the women there, though I keep thinking about MASH (TV show) and the brave nurses depicted there (in the Korean War).

Manda wrote: "I finished Look on the Bright Side by Kristan Higgins (431 pages) on Friday, May 31st. It was amazing like most of her books are but it dealt with grief and loss so there were parts that were reall..."

Sounds like a good read, Manda.

For all those asking, I did enjoy I Capture the Castle very much. I ended up giving it 3 stars as the events seemed a bit too perfect for the times(hope that makes sense without giving any spoilers). Having said that though the writing style itself was very well done! For reference I give 4 stars to books I just cannot put down and 5 stars for something completely epic, so 3 stars would be a good enjoyable book.

I finished Four Weddings and a Sixpence today. It is an anthology of four stories written by four different authors headlined by Julia Quinn of Bridgerton fame. My trade paperback was 407 pages long.

It was good, for the most part. I rate books the way I grade papers: A-5, B-4, C-3, D-2, F-1.

I finished my first big book, paperback 435 pages, The Assassins Blade by Sarah J Maas earlier today—it was an easy read. This evening I started One For The Blackbird, One For the Crow by Olivia Hawker.

I finally finished Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. 461 pages! I enjoyed the book very much and will continue the series. Now reading Death Mask #5, Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.

Heidi wrote: "For all those asking, I did enjoy I Capture the Castle very much. I ended up giving it 3 stars as the events seemed a bit too perfect for the times(hope that makes sense without giving any spoilers..."

Thank you Heidi! This is how I rate my books as well. I hope to read this soon.

Finished Blessing Bentley. 400 pages. It was a fast and interesting read. Here is my review of it: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished A court of wings and ruin by Sarah J Maas, 700 pages! It was fantastic and probably my favorite in the series so far! Highly recommend the whole series! Will be starting the next book in the ACOTAR series tomorrow, A court of frost and starlight! Can’t wait!!

Just finished The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (448 pages) and gave it a 5 star. I stink at reviews but will try - characters were very realistic for the time period, strong woman figure at the center, beautiful relationship between main character and her husband.

Finished A Little Ray of Sunshine by Kristan Higgins 496 pages
Will link review in a bit