Chapter Adventure Reading Challenges (Formerly GXO) discussion

The May Key Words are...

Lost, City, Wind, Hide, Lie, Fan, Room, Clear

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

Challenge complete!
Key Word: Lie

My pick for this month was a twofer, fitting they key word challenge as well as the motif challenge: Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera.
It picked up rather slowly and it took a while to get a feel for the characters. The whodunit layers get peeled away little by little, until the whole case unravels in the last few pages ... to a conclusion that was unexpected, though not totally out of left field. I enjoyed it.

I still want to read this! Good idea with the 2 for 1 pick.

Challenge Complete.: Keyword Lost

Lost and Found by Marilyn Harris

The book has a lot going for it. An intriguing plot, some interesting characters, and the background of a changing America.

Martha and R. C. are especially appealing. Their lives are often hard, but they manage to overcome adversity and carry on. They enjoy what they have, yet always in the background is Belle, the lost child.

Unfortunately, that’s where things go off the rails. Belle is too perfect. She’s beautiful, and has a voice like an angel. She’s brilliant, but her naivety, which I suppose is supposed to show the pureness of her heart, can be a bit much sometimes. She overlooks, and I guess the reader is supposed to, too, the manipulative and insensitive nature of her boyfriend’s father. What would happen next was pretty obvious. And kind of creepy.

I think the book could have done without the last ten years. At that point the story started to get redundant, as they almost find each other, their paths almost crossing.

The ending left me wondering if there was going to be more to Belle and R.C.’s relationship. Not sure how I would have felt about that.

Now I’ve finished my April keyword. The titles I’m considering for May Keyword 2025 challenge are: What lies between us by John Marrs (Lies); What the wind knows by Amy Harmon (Wind) or The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods (Lost).

Challenge complete
Keyword:Lie
I read: Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena
I really enjoyed it

Challenge Complete
Keyword: City

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Really good!

The book I chose was Beyond the Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz. It is a continuation of the Descendants series. This book takes place in Wonderland and is about the Queen of Hearts daughter. It is nothing like the movie, Rise of Red. The book is about Red trying to defy her mom and have a party, a real party, and not the un-party's her mom throws. She befriends the son of the Mad Hatter and the son of one of the cards. I would recommend this book if you like the other Descendant stories.

Here are the books read in the month of MAY that have the following key words: Lost, City, Wind, Hide, Lie, Fan, Room, Clear
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Lost: Who Cries for the Lost by C.S. Harris 3 stars; The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave 4 stars; The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams 3 stars; Little Girl Lost by Wendy Corsi Staub 3 stars; How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents by Julia Alvarez 3 stars; When We Were Lost by Kevin Wignall 3 stars; Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova 4 stars; The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner 4 stars; The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron 4 stars; The Lost Boys by Faye Kellerman 3 stars; Things we Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez 3 stars; The Lost Girl by R.L. Stine 4 stars; The Lost Girl by D.H. Lawrence 3 stars; Lost Girls by Robert Kolker 4 stars; Lost by James Patterson 3 stars; The Lost Tomb by Douglas Preston 3 stars; Trail of the Lost by Andrea Lankford 3 stars

To be read in June: The Secrets of the Lost Ledgers by C.J. Archer 3 stars; The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs 3 stars

Read in July: The Lost Story byMeg Shaffer 3 stars


City: City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim 3 stars; Summer in the City by Alex Aster 3 stars; Baby City by Freida McFadden 3 stars; City of the Dead by Jonathan Kellerman 3 stars; Devil in the White City by Erik Larson 3 stars; Maximum City by Suketu Mehta started in May & completed in July 5 stars... a gem of a novel --good to read at a slower pace.

Read in June: Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan 3 stars


Wind: A Leaf on the Wind of all Hallows by Diana Gabaldon 3 stars; A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers 4 stars


Hide: You can't Hide by Emily Shiner 3 stars; A Place to Hide by Ronald H. Balson 4 stars; Just Hide by Blake Pierce 3 stars


Lie: The Widow's Husband's Secret Lie by Freida McFadden 4 stars: Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera 3 stars; Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown 3 stars; When Blood Lies by C.S. Harris 4 stars; All the Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson; First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston 3 stars; Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger 4 stars; Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain 3 stars; Count My Lies by Sophie Stava 3 stars; Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan 3 stars

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


Fan: Number One Fan by Meg Elison 3 stars; Her Biggest Fan by Nora Valters 4 stars


Room: Room by Emma Donoghue 4 stars; Homeroom Diaries by James Patterson 3 stars; The Forgotten Room by Lincoln Child 3 stars; Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin 4 stars; The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass 3 stars; The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth 3 stars; The Escape Room by Megan Goldin 3 stars; The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian 4 stars

Read in June: The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas 4 stars

Read in July: The Last Room on the Left by Leah Konen 4 stars


Clear: Clear by Carys Davies 3 stars; Stars over Clear Lake by Loretta Ellsworth 4 stars

Word - Lie (used Lying)
Book - The Lying Room by Nicci French

How to lose your mind in 30 days should have been the title. From bad to worse to “Holy Crap!” Poor lady could do nothing right, and if she had any luck it all, it was only the bad kind. A wild ride for sure!

Key Words: Wind, Hide, Lie, Fan, Room, Clear



Black Wind by Clive Cussler
Hide & Seek by James Patterson
Lemon Yellow Lies by Emily Oberton
When the Grits Hit the Fan by Maddie Day
Death in Room 7 by K.J. Emrick
Midnight Clear by Autumn Macarthur

May 2025 Key Word: Lie - I’ve decided to pick “What lies between us” by John Marrs! Finally catching up!

Challenge complete!

Keyword: lost

The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan

Story told in letters about a found book manuscript and the attempts to find it's authors. I wasn't sure I'd like a story told entirely by letters, but I actually enjoyed it.