Chapter Adventure Reading Challenges (Formerly GXO) discussion

This month's challenge is to Read a book from the Fantasy, Fairytale, Mythology, or Folklore Sub Genres.

--- Comment below with ---
(1) The name and author of the book you're reading for the challenge,
(2) CHALLENGE COMPLETE if you've finished reading the book.
(3) Did you like the book? What did you love (or not love) about it?! Let's help each other find great books to read!

Recommendations:

* Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
* The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
* Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I loved The Bear and the Nightingale last year so this year I'm going to read the second in the series. The Girl in the Tower

Going to aim to finish The Winter of the Witch this month. I am only a few chapters in, so works for me.

I've chosen The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Fantasy is not my genre, so not stepping way outside my comfort zone, but looking forward to it.

I chose Magical Midlife Dating by K. F. Breene. Challenge complete. I thought this book was great. It was a quick, light, and easy read. It kept my attention the entire time and was a great second book in the series. Now to start book 3

Challenge Complete - I listened to the audiobook of Snow White and Rose Red by Ed McBain. This book stretched a bit in the comparison to any fairytale - but it was an OK mystery novel and I wouldn't mind reading more from this author. It didn't stand out, but it's fast paced and a quick, interesting read.

Chose Library of Souls, third in the "Miss Peregrine's Home..." series. Have to read them fairly close together, so I don't forget the overarching plot line!

Reading The House in the Cerulean Sea for January. Only a few chapters in but I’m really enjoying it so far.

Just finished The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh. It was captivating and I can’t wait to read the next books in this series.

Cat wrote: "Going to aim to finish The Winter of the Witch this month. I am only a few chapters in, so works for me."

So much gushing for this book. I can't wait to get to it.

Sheila wrote: "I've chosen The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Fantasy is not my genre, so not stepping way outside my comfort zone, but looking forward to it."

I'm really excited to read this one this year.

Simon wrote: "Reading The House in the Cerulean Sea for January. Only a few chapters in but I’m really enjoying it so far."

Awww yes! This book gave me all the feels.

I'm going to read Goddess of Love by P.C. Cast

Challenge complete! I reread A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. I wanted to reread them before the new book comes out next month and so it was easy to make that my challenge book! I think I loved this first book more the first time I read it, probably because I was new to the world and characters. Now I think I know the next books are even better that the first one didn’t blow me away like it did last time. But I really love this series and I missed these characters!

Read "The wind in the willows" for this prompt.

You may read about it here:
https://bookishjyo.blogspot.com/2021/...

I chose The Princess Game: A Reimagining of Sleeping Beauty. Challenge complete. This is the first time I read a retold fairy tale and liked it.

rn I'm reading thru the Harry Potter books for the first time (I'm on #3) but for this challenge I'll b reading 'Bookish and the Beast' by Ashley Poston - so excited! :D

City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster
CHALLENGE COMPLETE
Really enjoyed it - review is here - https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...

Tanya Patrice wrote: "Challenge Complete - I listened to the audiobook of Snow White and Rose Red by Ed McBain. This book stretched a bit in the comparison to any fairytale - but it was an O..."

Nice! This has been on my radar so now it goes on the TBR list :-)

Kimberly wrote: "Simon wrote: "Reading The House in the Cerulean Sea for January. Only a few chapters in but I’m really enjoying it so far."

Awww yes! This book gave me all the feels."

Well now I must check this one out too :-)

Cecil wrote: "Chose Library of Souls, third in the "Miss Peregrine's Home..." series. Have to read them fairly close together, so I don't forget the overarching plot line!"

Change of plan! Going to reread Fire by Kristin Cashore. I meant to read Bitterblue, but it's been so long since I read Fire, figured I need to be up to speed on the series first!

Cecil wrote: "Cecil wrote: "Change of plan! Going to reread Fire ..."

I loved that series so much!

challenge complete. I read Scarlet by Marissa Meyer because I had read Cinder last year and liked it

I looked for a fairytale retelling because I so enjoyed Marissa Meyer’s entire Lunar Chronicles last year... particularly Scarlet’s story (no spoilers, I promise), and went looking for another Red Riding Hood story.

I picked up The Girl in Red by Christina Henry. Definitely not Red Riding Hood of my youth!

Elizabeth wrote: "I looked for a fairytale retelling because I so enjoyed Marissa Meyer’s entire Lunar Chronicles last year... particularly Scarlet’s story (no spoilers, I promise), and went looking for another Red ..."

Elizibeth - that's so true! I red The Girl in Red too and agree!

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien; (Narr.) An Ensemble Cast
I gave it 5 stars. I enjoyed listening to it so much that I’ve continued on with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, also audiobooks. (The American dramatization as broadcast on National Public Radio.)

CHALLENGE COMPLETE: The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

I could not stop! My gut feels a little like I cheated because it didn’t feel like a fantasy at all! Lol This is not the kind of story I would normally pick up; the fairytale retelling is the only reason this was on my radar, but I’m very glad for that.

What I enjoyed most was picking out the elements and themes of the Red Riding Hood fairytale from among the otherwise non-fairytale story. It’s Red Riding Hood meets Resident Evil/Fear the Walking Dead meets Carriers/The 5th Wave. Let’s throw a little bit of Aliens in the background while we’re at it. Again, not tales I would pick up on my own, although right up my husband’s alley of watching so I’m aware. Lol

The story progression was at times hard to follow with Before and After portions but the writing method also kept the Need to Know! desire very high throughout.

I’m so looking forward to picking up more of her books.

Elizabeth wrote: "CHALLENGE COMPLETE: The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

I could not stop! My gut feels a little like I cheated because it didn’t feel like a fantasy at all! Lol This is not the kind of story I woul..."

I absolutely love fairy tale retellings. The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favorites! I also love Christina Henry, my favorite by her is Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook. I HIGHLY recommend this book, it is amazing!!! Better than The Girl in Red, although I enjoyed that one too.

CHALLENGE COMPLETE: Hirana's War by Britta Jensen

A coming of age, teen angst, magical teen saves world, love story set on a remote planet but oh the world building in this book! Such imagery especially for a novelist who has only just published her second full length novel. And there are two worlds in this book! Perhaps the two most fascinating twists are Leanora (our heroine) was visually impaired and her magic is based on music. In all the books I have read with a magic system, I don't recall one based on music! Ms. Jensen doesn't forget the importance of our animals companions. Gwynbees and ulsos fill key roles. Ms. Jensen give us all the feels - love, betrayal, joy, sorrow, despair, hate - and leaves us contemplating how far we would go to save those we love.

DeeDee wrote: "challenge complete. I read Scarlet by Marissa Meyer because I had read Cinder last year and liked it"

Oh, this series is so fantastic!!

Yalonda wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Simon wrote: "Reading The House in the Cerulean Sea for January. Only a few chapters in but I’m really enjoying it so far."

Awww yes! This book gave me all the feels."

Well now I..."

Yes! Do! It's well worth it.

Challenge complete.
I read Straight On Till Morning - a young adult twisted tale - by Liz Braswell.
Wasn't blown away by it, I think you would have to be a big Peter Pan or Tinker Bell fan (or determined to finish a challenge) to really be excited to stick with this one.

Challenge compete. Just finished The House in the Cerulean Sea and absolutely loved it. Yes, the ending may have been a little obvious but the whole thing was so beautifully written and the characters so interesting that really doesn't matter. I could see it making a brilliant animated Pixar style movie and I'm definitely going to add more TJ Klune to my reading list.

I read Pandora's jar, a non-fiction book about Greek mythology from the women's point of view. I found it very interesting to read about the original stories in Greek and how they were altered in translations and retellings, making us view the women differently. Reading this book made me aware of lots of nuances I wasn't familiar with in the stories I thought I knew so well. Also, it's made want to look into reading some ancient Greek texts in translation. Challenge complete

Elizabeth wrote: "CHALLENGE COMPLETE: The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

I could not stop! My gut feels a little like I cheated because it didn’t feel like a fantasy at all! Lol This is not the kind of story I woul..."

I read this for the motif prompt last February. It is...weird, but also really good. A very interesting reimagining of the Red Riding Hood story.

(For anyone who hasn't read it, I do not recommend reading during a pandemic, though.)

Challenge complete!

Book: Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland

I LOVED this book! I've actually read several fantasy novels this month so far, but I chose to list this one here because it seems to be the most "under-hyped" of the ones I've read this month. I went into it thinking it would just be ok, but I ended up giving it 4.5 stars and read it in a single day.

This book is about a girl who is a soulwalker - she can explore the souls of others while they are sleeping. Our main character, however, is the only soulwalker that has a mysterious black door following her around into the souls of others, and it seems to be begging her to open it although her mother told her to never, ever do so.

This book is first and foremost a fantasy, but also has elements of mystery, political intrigue, and commentary on sexuality (specifically asexuality) woven seamlessly into the plot.

Cecil wrote: "Cecil wrote: "Chose Library of Souls, third in the "Miss Peregrine's Home..." series. Have to read them fairly close together, so I don't forget the overarching plot line!"

Change ..."

Good idea! Plus, the fourth book just came out. It's called Winterkeep.

Erica wrote: "Challenge complete!

Book: Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland

I LOVED this book! I've actually read several fantasy novels this month so far, but I chose to list this one here because it see..."

This sounds really cool!

Simon wrote: "Challenge compete. Just finished The House in the Cerulean Sea and absolutely loved it. Yes, the ending may have been a little obvious but the whole thing was so beautifully written and the charact..."

Ooh! I agree. It would make a great film.

Yalonda wrote: "CHALLENGE COMPLETE: Hirana's War by Britta Jensen

A coming of age, teen angst, magical teen saves world, love story set on a remote planet but oh the world building in this book! Such imagery espe..."

Definitely going to have to check this one out.

I chose the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue for my January read. This is not my genre, but I am trying, but finding it difficult. Tell me the book gets better.

CHALLENGE COMPLETE : Myths from Mesopotamia

Translations of some of the oldest cuneiform writings of myths from the Mesopotamia. I have had this on my TBR list for a while and this gave me the excuse to buckle down and read it. It is a bit dense to read (think Beowolf) but seeing the art of storytelling from thousands of years B.C.E. was enjoyable for me.

I completed the January challenge with Mikhail Baryshnikov's Stories From My Childhood: Beloved Fairy Tales from the Queen to Cinderella

Challenge complete! Finished Fire by Kristin Cashore. See my review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've lined up to read Bitterblue later in the challenges, but wondering if I need to reread Graceling first. (Just gotta have things in order, ya know!)
Off to my next book in the January Keyword challenge!

Erica wrote: "Challenge complete!

Book: Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland

I LOVED this book! I've actually read several fantasy novels this month so far, but I chose to list this one here because it see..."

This sounds intriguing, I'm adding it to my TBR list!

Challenge Completed - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Glad I read it, equally glad I can now move on to February's Challenge!

Sheila wrote: "Challenge Completed - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Glad I read it, equally glad I can now move on to February's Challenge!"

I've been dying to read this one!

Nikki wrote: "CHALLENGE COMPLETE : Myths from Mesopotamia

Translations of some of the oldest cuneiform writings of myths from the Mesopotamia. I have had this on my TBR list for a while and this gave me the exc..."

A great idea! This one looks really interesting.

Joosje wrote: " I read Pandora's jar, a non-fiction book about Greek mythology from the women's point of view. I found it very interesting to read about..."

Love Greek mythology.