Chapter Adventure Reading Challenges (Formerly GXO) discussion

The Key Words for March are:

Deep, Clever, Sand, Little, Happy, Date, Guest, Over

Share with us! Which key word did you pick? What book did you read and what did you think of it

I might read “Little Siberia” by Antti Tuomainen for March Key World challenge.

Or I might read “The Deep Sky” by Yume Kitasei for March Key Word.

Keyword: little
Middle Grade
Each Little Bird that Sings

Challenge complete!
Key Words: Little & Over

I read both The Light Over London by Julia Kelly and Ten Little Words by Leah Mercer while on vacation and both were decent reads that kept me entertained.

• Dark and Deepest Red - Anna-Marie McLemore
- Fantasy/Retelling/YA/Historical Fiction/Romance/LGBTQA+
- Finished: March 15th.
- 4 stars on Goodreads.
This book is full of whimsy, and delight…but also full of darkness and intolerance. Every time I read anything in regards to how “witches” were accused and snuffed out, I can’t help feeling a flickering ember of rage. I’ve been a fan of Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tales since I was a child, and I really enjoyed this retelling of The Red Shoes.

Key Word: Guest
The Guest by Emma Cline.
5 stars
As people say, you see the train wreck and you can't look away. That's what the main character's life is like. She's a grifter, on her times, and she's trying desperately to find a way out, but she's also delusional and not one to dwell on how bad things are.

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - Ken Kesey
- Classics/Contemporary
- Finished: March 24th.
- 4 stars on Goodreads
I don’t know what sort of an ending I was expecting, but that definitely wasn’t it. I’m too tired to write a comprehensive review…maybe I’ll come back to it at some point.

Key word: Happy
I read Happy Place by Emily Henry

Challenge Complete: Key Word Over

All Over The Town by R. F. Delderfield

The book starts show, as we are introduced to Nat and his fellow workers at the local newspaper. Time seems to go along, not much happening, to the point that Nat seriously thinks of leaving town. But then there’s a dramatic turn of events, and everything changes.

It’s at this point where the story shines. Circumstances force Nat, as well as his fellow town members, to take a good hard look at what exactly is going on in their town and to pick sides.

Written in 1947, it’s amazing how little has changed over the last eighty year. Those who crave money and power are still trying to hide what they’re doing; those whose lives will be altered by it still often remain ignorant as to what’s going on. But one person can make a difference. It’s often sheer luck that that person is there to do so.

A good solid book that I found well worth reading.

Everyone seems so excited about these books - just okay for me

These are the books read in March with the following key words: Deep, Clever, Sand, Little, Happy, Date, Guest, Over

Deep: The Deep by Rivers Solomon3 stars; The Deep by Nick Cutter 3 stars; Deep Down by Lee Child 2 stars; Deep Storm by Lincoln Child 3 stars; Deep Fathom by James Rollins 3 stars; The Deepest of Secrets by Kelley Armstrong 3 stars; Into the Deep by Samantha Young 3 stars; Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant 3 stars; In too Deep by Lee Child 3 stars; Deep Down Dark by Héctor Tobar 4 stars; Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore 3 stars; Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant 3 stars

Read in January: Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan - 3 stars


Clever: Clever Little Thing by Helena Echlin 3 stars; The Clever Gut Diet by Michael Mosley 4 stars


Sand: Picture in the Sand by Peter Blauner 3 stars; Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar 3 stars: Bound by Blood and Sand by Becky Allen 3 stars; House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III 3 stars; Beyond the Sand and Sea by Ty McCormick 4 stars


Little: Clever Little Thing by Helena Echlin 3 stars; The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson 4 stars; All Her Little Secrets by 4 stars; With A Little Help from my Friends by John Lennon-a children's book 4 stars

Read in May: Little Girl Lost by Wendy Corsi Staub - 3 stars

Read in July: Sweet Little Lies by Caz Frear - 3 stars


Happy: The Happy Ever After by Abby Jimenez 3 stars; Pretty Happy by Kate Hudson 4 stars; Happy Endings by Thien-Kim Lam 3 stars; Happy Gut by Vincent Pedre 4 stars; The Happy Traveler by Jaime L. Kurtz 4 stars; Happy Place by Emily Henry 3 stars


Date: Double Date by R.L. Stine 4 stars; The Wedding Date Disaster by Avery Flynn 3 stars; First Date by R.L. Stine 4 stars


Guest: The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir 3 stars; The Wedding Guest by Jonathan Kellerman 3 stars; The Guest Room by Tasha Sylva 3 stars; The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan 3 stars; Last Minute Guest by Drew Strickland 3 stars; The Other Guest by Helen Cooper 3 stars; The Winter Guest by W.C. Ryan 3 stars; The Party Guest by Amanda Robson 3 stars; Guest by Mary Downing Hahn 3 stars

Read in May: The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian 4 stars


Over: The Do-Over by Bethany Turner 3 stars; Moon Over SoHo by Ben Aaronovitch 3 stars; Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes 3 stars; Not Quite Over You by Susan Mallery 3 stars; The Light Over London by Julia Kelly 3 stars; All Over the Map by Laura Fraser 3 stars; The Last Light Over Oslo by Alix Rickloff 4 stars; Over the Top and Back by Tom Jones 3 stars; The Overnight by R.L. Stine 4 stars; Talking it Over by Julian Barnes 4 stars

Read in April & in May: Overseas by Beatriz Williams 4 stars; Stars Over Clear Lake by Loretta Ellsworth - 4 stars

Read in January: After the War is Over -3 stars and Moonlight Over Paris -3 stars by Jennifer Robson

The Guest List by Lucy Foley.
had been on my TBR since it came out.

1. Starting Over Scottish, by Tricia O'Malley

A short book about a girl who goes to Scotland on a vacation adventure to run a bar. When she gets there, nothing goes to plan, and she ends up meeting and falling for the owner. Anyway, it was a short, easy read and I enjoyed it. I also learned it was the first book in a series, and I will be looking into the other books as well.

2. Five Little Peppers in the Little Brown House, by Maragaret Sidney

A child's book, yes. I loved the Five Little Peppers when I was a child, and when I learned there are 12 books, I have been reading them. I will say they are dated, and some themes and situations are questionable for today's standards.

My key word was Deep. I read Deep Cover by Traci Hunter Abramson. It was a pretty good story, and it kept me turning pages well past my bedtime 😬😁 The ending was a little predictable and cheesy, but there were some seriously good action sequences in it! 4 solid stars!

Key Word: Little
Book read: Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark
A great suspense/mystery. I have never been disappointed by MCH!
My review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Key Words: Deep, Clever, Sand, Little, Happy, Date, Guest, Over



Deep Freeze by Lisa Jackson

Clever Hans: The True Story of the Counting, Adding, and Time-Telling Horse by Kerri Kokias

White Sand Blues by Vicki Delany

Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark

The Happy Hollisters by Jerry West

Dying for a Date by Cindy Sample

The Substitute Guest by Grace Livingston Hill

Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout

Catching up on posting.

Challenge complete! The third (and last) month in a row I read more than two books with applicable keywords.

Keywords: deep and little (small)

- Only Skin Deep by Cathleen Galitz
- The Little Book of Mary Queen of Scots by Mickey Mayhew
- The Suspect: Murder in a Small Town by L.R. Wright (ebook) - read after watching the new series on Fox this past year but enjoyed the show more than the book, which is rare for me.