Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion
Pass The Parcel (Team Challenge)
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PtP R25 - The Prose/Pros (7)
1. Introduce yourself to your team. Let your team members know where you are from. This is a 'nice to know' when categories are announced and when team-mates can expect other members to post their book choices.2. Linguist (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, come up with a fun name. Given 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 6 November
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. (It will also help with one of the categories in this round!)
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 links 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 in 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, etc.
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 | Announcements 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 Option 2 has altered and I will be allocating each team another team from which their book selection must be chosen :)
Key selection and completion post information. You must have ALL elements in your book posts.For selection post Option 1 you must have:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Page numbers
How the book qualifies - please note which qualifying bookshelf/list you are using or the tags that justifies that it works.
If the theme is based off the bookcover, post the cover. If there is a letter count in the title, publication date etc, please note these details.
For selection post Option 2 you must have:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Page numbers
Name of the team-member, their star rating, the date they read the book.
For selection post Option 3 you must have:
Week #
PASS
For the completion post you must have:
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.
IF YOU NEED TO CORRECT A POST FOR MISSING INFORMATION or because the didn't qualify etc, please REPOST this information in a NEW post, particularly when the request is more than a day old. Its difficult to find older posts when going backwards in the threads.
Themes1. Sea | See - read a book with glasses or sunglasses on the cover.
2. Bear | Bare - read a book where the cover model is half-naked.
3. Hear | Here - read a book available in audio.
4. Birth | Berth - read a book with kids or pregnancy in the story.
5. Mail | Male - read a book with a male cover model.
6. Canon | Cannon - read a book with MPG Military or Suspense.
7. Creak | Creek - read a book with ghosts per the precis or with tags 'ghost' or 'spook', or MPG Horror.
8. Hole | Whole - read a book from a series that is complete. For this to count, there must be NO unpublished books on the series list.
9. Incite | Insight - go to My Books. Scroll down to My Year In Books and click. Record the avg page length. Read a book that is +/-50 pages of that page length. Eg avg page length is 240. Read a book that has a page length between 190 and 290 (inclusive). Please note - the minimum page number requirement of 100 pages must still be met.
10. Week | Weak - read a book with a non-alpha MC.
11. Eight | Ate - read a book with at least one 8 in the publication date.
12. Blew | Blue - read a book with blue on the cover.
13. Cell | Sell - read a book tagged 'crime', 'prison', 'lawman' 'law enforcement', 'LEO'. These words are the ONLY tags that will work. They may appear in combination with another word but it must complement that word, not contradict the meaning.
14. Knows | Nose - read a book where the nose of the cover models is shown. This can be in profile or front on, but the whatever the angle, the nose must be completely included.
15. Won | One - read a standalone book.
16. Hour | Our - read a book that is found on one of the RRRC Moderator's shelves.
17. To | Too | Two - read a book written by two authors or a book with an audio version that utilises two narrators.
18. New | Knew - read a book first published in 2025.
19. Rain | Reign - read a book with MPG historical.
20. Tail | Tale - read a shifter book or a book with a pet (must be stated in the precis or on the GR book page eg MPG shapeshifter).
Pass Tracking
Selection PostsWeek 1
(view spoiler)
Week 2
Bailey: Option # | Book | Pages | Qualification | Link
🎆Catsalive: Option #1 | To Die For | 624 pgs. | mpg/tag crime |https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
CB: Option # | Book | Pages | Qualification | Link
🎆Grace: Option #2 | The Neighbor Favor | 416 pgs. | Read by Shan on Oct. 28, 2025, 4 stars | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Michelle's EN: Option #1 | Her Every Fear | 384 pgs. | tagged CRIME 81 times {also MPG CRIME}| https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Montse: Option # | Book | Pages | Qualification | Link
🎆Shan A: Option #1 | The Surgeon | 416 pgs. | MPG Crime | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
(view spoiler)
Completion PostsRating: ★★★★★
Week 1
🎆Bailey: Option #1 | Kryxis | ★★★ | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Catsalive: Option #1 | Your Friend and Mine | ★★★★ | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆CB: Option #1 | Blackthorn |★★★.5 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Grace: Option #1 | Secret Haven | ★★★★★ | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Michelle's EN: Option #1 | The Lake Escape | ★★★ | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Shan A: Option #1 | Shield of Sparrows | ★★★★ | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Montse: Option #1 | I'll Be Home for Christmas | Rating | Link
Week 2
Bailey: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
🎆Catsalive: Option #1 | To Die For | ★★★★ | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
CB: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Grace: Option #2 | The Neighbor Favor | Rating | Link
Michelle's EN: Option #1 | Her Every Fear | Rating | Link
Montse: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Shan A: Option #1 | The Surgeon | Rating | Link
(view spoiler)
Hi Team! I'm Shan. In case we haven't "meet" before, I'm from Louisiana, wife, mother, grandma, sister, and aunt. I've participated in this challenge several times. We're all here because we love to read, however I primarily read romance with memoirs, horror, mystery, thriller, and suspense thrown in for good measure or at least when the mood strikes.
Does anyone have any ideas for team names?
Hi Team. I'm in Australia. I read most things but I tend to avoid horror when I can.I'm not feeling inspired for names...
The Homophonicas?
Hello! My name is Bailey and I always look forward to this challenge. I’m close to D.C. with my husband and our 2 fur babies. I love reading a little bit of everything (but mostly romance). I usually gravitate toward sci-fi or paranormal romance these days. Excited to start reading with you all! Some team name ideas:
The Prose/Pros
I’ll Be There/Their/they’re For You
Third Act Break/Brake up
Cereal/Serial Readers
Hey, team! I'm Michelle from Georgia. I read a little of everything, but historical fiction and mystery/thriller/suspense are my favorites. Oddly enough, romance doesn't rank at the top, but I do enjoy this challenge, so there's that. 😀We have 3 grown sons, but our oldest passed away last December. It's been a rough year to say the least! We also have a Yorkie, 2 Siamese cats, and 6 chickens (who are like pets).
I look forward to getting started on this one!
I like these 2 names best from the list so far: The Prose/Pros and
I’ll Be There/Their/They’re For You.
Michelle— I am so sorry to hear about your son. I’m sure this has been a difficult time for your family.
A rough time ahead, too, with the anniversary pending. My condolences, Michelle.
Shan ~A~ wrote: "I vote for The Prose/Pros"Sounds good.
Hi Team! Nice to meet you all. Hello again to Shan A! She’s been my leader in the past and is a great captain! I’ve played this game a few times and some of the other games in this group. In the past 3 years or so I’ve only been reading romance but I do like thriller/suspense novels as well. I just can’t seem to stray away from the romance recently haha. I read all sub genres in the romance category.
I’m in Louisiana too, like Shan A!
Michelle, my sincere condolences for your loss.i hope you and your family are able to find some joy in this upcoming holiday season and remember some past happy ones with all 3 sons 💕.
Hi Team! I'm Grace and live in San Diego area. I read primarily romance and jump around genres. In October I was on a monster romance kick for Halloween, but have been reading a lot of contemporary prior to that. I tend to read multiple books at once (usually am listening to a book and reading a different one). I'm good with The Prose/Pros
Hi all! We're almost all checked in, which was a pretty fast turnaround.
Go ahead and work out your name, and hopefully Montse will turn up soon :)
Is everyone good with The Prose/ProsWe also have a mention for I’ll Be There/Their/They’re For You, which I liked as well, because it makes me think of Friends, but voted for my other fav due to length.
I’ll put a vote in for Prose/Pros! I think it’s cute and short.
Hi team! I'm Montse and am based in Switzerland, but I'm originally Spanish. I try to read as many genres as I can, but I gravitate towards romance (historical, romantasy, rom-coms), thrillers and memoirs most of the time. This is my first reading challenge and am very excited to share it with you all :) BTW I love the name, great brainstorming Bailey!
@Michelle, I cannot fathom what you must have endured the past year. I have a 19 month old and cannot even process anything happening to her, let alone losing her. I hope you're surrounded by good humans and love. From mom to mom, I'm sending you a virtual bear hug.
And I think I added all of you as friends. Apologies if I forgot anyone!
Welcome, Monste!! Thank you for allowing us to pop your challenge cherry. Now I'm wondering who came up with "popping cherries" as a phrase.
Anyway, we are all checked and waiting for the first call. Selection and completion posts will be tracked above, but I'll also post updates periodically in new posts during the challenge.
Week 1Option 1
18. New | Knew - read a book first published in 2025.
Please use the date on the main book page. If there are a few editions, click on 'Show all xx editions' to work out the first date of publication to ensure it fits the task.
Option 2
Key date: 2 May 2025
Team mate read on or after this date and rated at least 3 stars
Option 3
Pass
Week 1 Selection PostOption 1
Book: Secret Haven
Page #: 420 pages
Qualification: First Published on October 21. 2025
Thanks for posting the call, Grace! I didn't see the notification and I honestly thought it wouldn't be called until tomorrow.
Selection Post Week 1: Option 1
Book/Author: Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
# of pgs: 528
How it fits: First published May 6, 2025
Week 1 selection - option 1
Book: Your Friend and Mine by Jessica Dettmann
Pages: 384
Qualification: first pub. July 1, 2025
Week 1 completion
Book: Your Friend and Mine by Jessica Dettmann
Date: 7/11 4★
Review:
An enjoyable read. I was very happy that the relationship resolution didn't go in the usual way - oh, if only Margo & Johnny had talked to each other properly years ago, or that Margot hadn't made up a scenario in her head & acted on it without evidence. Communication, people!
I like the idea of those letters from the grave, following Tess's wishes for the scattering of her ashes in places of special meaning, but I do wonder about the commitment to the cause - Margot & Tess had a 6-month relationship 20 years ago, after all. Of course, it's a very good excuse to get away & reflect on ones life choices, so why not take the punt.
I wasn't thrilled by the two pieces of petty revenge, they seemed childish to me & to no purpose. My one thought at Michael's ingestion of ashes in his coffee was that his digestive system would take good care of them & they'd end up as sewerage. Is that what Tess would have liked? Hmm?
At any rate, I had fun reading it & the characters are entertaining: nearly all of them are believably human.
added in case you want this [*book:Your Friend and Mine|235325077]
Week 1 Selection PostWeek 1; Option 1
Book/Author: The Lake Escape by Jamie Day
Pages: 356
Qualification: first published 7-15-2025
Option 1 Selection Post: Week #: 1
Bookcover/link: Blackthorn
Page numbers: 336
How the book qualifies: Book was published 11/4/2025
Week 1 ~ Selection Post🎆Catsalive: Option #1 | Your Friend and Mine | 384 pgs. | Pub. July 1, 2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆CB: Option #1 | Blackthorn | 336 pgs. | Published 11/4/2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Grace: Option #1 | Secret Haven | 420 pgs. | Published on October 21. 2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Michelle's EN: Option #1 | The Lake Escape | 356 | Published 7-15-2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Shan A: Option #1 | Shield of Sparrows | 528 pgs | Published May 6, 2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Montse: Option #1 | I'll Be Home for Christmas | 448 pgs. | Published on September 23, 2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Week 1 ~ Completion Post
Bailey: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
🎆Catsalive: Option #1 | Your Friend and Mine | ★★★★ | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
CB: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Grace: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Michelle's EN: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Montse: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Shan A: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Montse: Option # | Book | Pages | Qualification | Link
Completions Needed ~ Week 1
Bailey: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
CB: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Grace: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Michelle's EN: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Montse: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Shan A: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Shan ~A~ wrote: "Week 1 ~ Selection Post🎆Catsalive: Option #1 | Your Friend and Mine | 384 pgs. | Pub. July 1, 2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/......"
You've put the wrong book down for my completion, Shan.
Option 1 Selection Post:Week #: 1
Bookcover/link: I'll Be Home for ChristmasI'll Be Home for Christmas
Page numbers: 448 pages
How the book qualifies: Book was published on September 23, 2025
Catsalive wrote: "Shan ~A~ wrote: "Week 1 ~ Selection Post🎆Catsalive: Option #1 | Your Friend and Mine | 384 pgs. | Pub. July 1, 2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...-..."
Thanks for catching that. Your girl had taken a sleep aid due to insomnia, and it was catching up to me.
Week 1 ~ Selection Post🎆Catsalive: Option #1 | Your Friend and Mine | 384 pgs. | Pub. July 1, 2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆CB: Option #1 | Blackthorn | 336 pgs. | Published 11/4/2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Grace: Option #1 | Secret Haven | 420 pgs. | Published on October 21. 2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Michelle's EN: Option #1 | The Lake Escape | 356 | Published 7-15-2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Shan A: Option #1 | Shield of Sparrows | 528 pgs | Published May 6, 2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🎆Montse: Option #1 | I'll Be Home for Christmas | 448 pgs. | Published on September 23, 2025 | https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Completions Needed ~ Week 1
Bailey: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
CB: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Grace: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Michelle's EN: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Montse: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Shan A: Option # | Book | Rating | Link
Selection Post: Week 1, Option 1
Book: Kryxis by Olivia Riley
Pages: 236
Qualification: Published March 28, 2025
[*book:Kryxis|227262372]
Thanks, Bailey! I completely missed you in my Selection Post update. I apologize for that.
Completion Post: Week 1, Option 1
Book: Kryxis by Olivia Riley
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars
Review:
I enjoyed this a lot! Like every Riley book, there was a lot of action and adventure with some stellar world building. Dani, the FMC, was a bad ass captain who really cared for her team and Kryxis was a lonely soul trapped on a desolate planet. The romance was sweet but I felt it needed more development… hence the 3 star rating. It could have been great with another 100 pages devoted to the building of an emotional connection between the two. Still a fun read, though!
(Edited bc I put the wrong rating…oops!)
[*book:Kryxis|227262372]
Week 1 Completion PostWeek 1; Option 1
Book/Author: The Lake Escape by Jamie Day
Pages: 356
Rating: 3⭐️
Review: The Lake Escape is a compelling summer thriller wrapped in nostalgia and secrecy. Three childhood friends—Julia, David, and Erika—return to their Vermont lake retreat, only for old resentments, hidden agendas, and a decades-old disappearance to resurface. Day does an excellent job crafting atmosphere: the lake, the cottages, the glasshouse that blocks the view—it all pulses with tension. The dual POV of Julia and the nanny Izzy adds depth and a fresh perspective.
On the flip side, the large cast and some plot threads feel over-ambitious, and the ending has a few moments where you have to suspend disbelief. But overall, it’s a satisfying read for fans of domestic suspense and slow-burn mysteries.
Week 1 Completion Post Week #: 1
Bookcover/link: Blackthorn
Rating (1-5): 3.5/5
Review:
So shockingly this is my first JT Geissinger book! I have a ton of her books on my TBR but for some reason I haven’t read any until now. I was immediately interested when I saw it was a gothic!
What seriously made me get whiplash was how Paranormal the book is! Which thank goodness I like paranormal romances but I can see if someone doesn’t and they pick this book up not realizing just how paranormal heavy the book is, they would definitely DNF this.
I liked the banter between the MCs and the addition of a child to the story wasn’t as bad as I sometimes feel regarding that. It found me in the right mood.
There are tons of moments that you’ll be believing one thing and then the next paragraphs makes you change your mind then something else happens and you’re back to being extremely confused. It had me enthralled and on the edge of my seat! I was confused up until the last 6%!
Where the book fell flat for me was how it felt some things were left unresolved that felt like they mattered (??) and how the ending was. The ending was the most disappointing. It was very rushed and the book has a terrible epilogue. I really hate when epilogues have nothing to do with the couple when it’s a romance book.
This is not a reread for me but I will absolutely keep reading books by this author!
Romance Readers Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
Death du Jour (other topics)She Didn't See It Coming (other topics)
The Neighbor Favor (other topics)
Unwanted (other topics)
Her Every Fear (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Kathy Reichs (other topics)Shari Lapena (other topics)
Peter Swanson (other topics)
Tess Gerritsen (other topics)
David Baldacci (other topics)
More...
Linguist
🎤Shan A
Listeners
🎧Montse
🎧Catsalive
🎧CB
🎧Grace
🎧Bailey
🎧Michelle's EN