The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Here is the Review Raffle thread for Spring 2025.

We will draw a random name from anyone who posts a review in this thread and they will be given the opportunity to create a task in the Summer 2025 season - the more reviews that you post, the more chance of being drawn!

Reviews must be for books read within the current challenge period. You may link to your review on Goodreads, or type the review in the thread. (Please do not link to a review on a site outside of Goodreads).

Your review does not have to be positive but it should be at least a couple of sentences long - "loved it" or "not for me" is not helpful to other readers!

Please remember to include your Readerboard name when posting your review.

Mods, I noticed that the Rewards of the Challenge post needs to be updated - it still has this info about the Best Review format, rather than the raffle:
20.3 BEST REVIEW CONTEST – Each player may submit one review for a book read to fulfill a current challenge task. Reviews must be submitted by the posted dates in the appropriate Review Contest thread. A poll will be created and the person whose review earns the most votes will get to design a task. To be eligible the player must have scored 100 points on the Readerboard by the review submission deadline.

Kelly L

*Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.*

That's What She Said is a silly, sex-positive account of best friends navigating their sexuality and relationships. I enjoyed the perspective of the main character, Beth, as a demisexual woman who feels like she hasn't gotten her life together and doesn't know how to have a relationship. Contrasted with her best friend and roommate, Serena, she feels like she's behind the curve and might never figure out what she wants romantically. Serena may appear confident and sex-positive, but she has yet to figure out how to have a relationship beyond the physical.

This book reminded me of a Broad City-style friendship, with two quirky women trying to figure out what they want, launch careers, resolve familial wounds, and find love. I would recommend for fans of The L Word: Generation Q (the reboot!), and Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams (the book or the tv series!)

US release: April 15

trishhartuk

Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, Doris Pilkington - 4*

I found this when I was looking for a book with people walking on the cover, and remembered that it was made into a film some years ago. It hadn't really registered before I read it that Austrilia had a similar practise to the US regarding taking Indigenous children from their homes and educating them elsewhere.

This is the fascinating story of three young girls who were removed from their families under that policy, and taken over a thousand miles away to the Moore River Native Settlement. Within days of arriving, they decided to leave, and set off walking home. Incredibly, all three survived the journey, against the odds, to reunite with their families.

The book was written by the daughter of Molly, the oldest of the three girls, who kept them going, and was based on stories told by both her and her sister Daisy. It also has a very useful historical context section in the first few chapers.

Quite a quick read, and quite simply written, but it tells an important story about a dark chapter of Austrialian history.

Kelly L

When I see a "book about books" with a historical setting and strong female characters, I'm immediately excited to read it. The Book Club for Troublesome Women checked all these boxes and more for me! I found the four main characters delightfully unique from each other and interesting to spend time with. Maggie, Charlotte, Viv and Bitsy are northern Virginia housewives who form a book club in the 1960s, beginning with Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, and along the way become close friends who empower each other to strive for more than the roles of wife and mother that society wishes to limit them to. I thought the characters' struggles with career, ambition, balancing priorities, and independence were realistic and relatable. I was also impressed by how funny some of the dialogue was, even as they dealt with serious issues (infidelity, suicide, alcoholism, pregnancy, and more). I would recommend this to fans of Natalie Jenner's Bloomsbury Girls, and Jennifer Chiaverini's Canary Girls. 3.75/5 stars.

Kelly L

I am on a Western kick! Tough Luck follows a pair of kids who trek across the wild, intimidating frontier in hopes of finding their father after the death of their mother. Haidie and Boots were lovable, whip-smart, and easy to root for. They displayed both naivete and bravery in their quest, and the supporting cast of characters they encountered were very well-developed. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a high-stakes adventure and a heroine with heart.

Kelly wrote: "Mods, I noticed that the Rewards of the Challenge post needs to be updated - it still has this info about the Best Review format, rather than the raffle:
20.3 BEST REVIEW CONTEST – Each player may..."

Will get this updated ! thanks