Chapter Adventure Reading Challenges (Formerly GXO) discussion

The June Key Words are...

Great, Wander, Child, Mine, Book, Watch, Heart, Save

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

I don’t know if this counts for June as the author’s surname is “child” of this book: The American Frugal House Wife by Lydia Child. I will read something else.

Challenge Complete - Key word: Book

Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde

As with the first book in the series, I felt there were perhaps a few too many plot lines to keep straight. Actually, there seemed to be even more with this book, which is probably why I didn’t enjoy it as much. I think the 400 pages would have done better at 350. Maybe even 300, because I found myself jumping ahead, skipping paragraphs, not at all concerned at what I might be missing. Turns out, usually I didn’t miss a thing.

Thursday jumps from book to book, trying to retrieve Hades from Poe’s The Raven, trying to outwit the Goliath Corporation, as well as staying one step ahead of her own people, all the while hoping to keep the Earth from ending in a covering of pink sludge. Oh, and trying to get her husband back, keep her flat, and watch out for her dodo and the bird’s egg. All while being pregnant, herself. That’s an awfully lot to keep straight. Or, unfortunately, to stay interested in. And I’m sure I’ve left out some things.

I’m pretty sure I won’t be reading the third book. Just the thought of reading another book like this one is exhausting!

Challenge complete!
Key Word: Heart

I read Meet Me When My Heart Stops by Becky Hunter. The premise seemed so intriguing - and then it ended up being extremely slow. Yes, the timeline covers decades, but the pace of the story still felt sluggish. I liked the MMC and the FMC was on par, but I felt I was missing something in the side character department. All in all it was a nice read, but not the page turner I was expecting.

If time allows, I might read a second book for this challenge...

Key word: Book, Heart



Murder in the Book Lover's Loft by Ellery Adams

The Four of Hearts by Ellery Queen

Keyword: Great
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Key word: Great


The Great Catsby by B.K. Baxter

For June 2025 Key Word: Wanderers by Chuck Wendig (Wander)

I read The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. It was a sci-fi historical fiction book, and I really enjoyed it! You don’t often come across historical fiction about the plague, but that’s exactly what this was! It kept me hooked. I gave it 4 stars because a lot of the dialogue was really repetitive. But I would recommend it!

I’ve started reading “Save Our Species: Endangered Animals and How You Can Save Them” by Dominic Couzens for June keyword “Save”.

Challenge complete!
Word: Child
Book: The Child by Fiona Barton
A good twist mystery, with switching perspectives keeping things moving. I have not read the first in the series, “The Widow”, but might check it out. Did not see the final twist coming, but was getting suspicious. More than one crime involved here, and it seems everyone has a secret. Good read!

Watch out for her - Samantha M. Bailey.

• Someone Is Always Watching - Kelley Armstong
- Mystery/Thriller/Horror/Romance/YA
- Finished: June 25th
- 4 stars on Goodreads *SPOILER*

This was an enjoyable read. My only complaint is that Blythe’s past “crime” wasn’t as drastic as it should have been. The storyline would have had much more impact to find out that perfect, quiet, Blythe had done something completely heinous.

challenge complete: Keyword book

I read The Summer Book Club by Susan Mallery. Here's the review.

Wow. This was so much fun to read. It completely ensconces you in the story.

Laurel is a single mother struggling to teach her oldest daughter that not all men are bad ones that will leave their families behind; like Laurel's ex-husband, and the girls' father, did. In order to do this, she enlists her best friend, Paris, and her new friend, Cassie.

Meanwhile, Paris is dealing with her own issues. After a domestically violent childhood, Paris had severe anger issues. So much so that her anger caused her ex-husband to end their marriage. Ten years later, Paris has learned how to control her anger and does so very well; but she still can't forgive herself for treating her ex-husband like she did.

Cassie is a Maine native who has recently moved to the small California town where Paris and Laurel live. The friends invite Cassie to join their summer book club. She does and finds some of the best friends she's ever had.

In the course of the developing friendship, Laurel gets another new friend named Colton who's willing to help Laurel show her daughters that good men exist. Adding to this mix is Colton's adoring family and developing feelings. Paris's world is rocked when her ex-husband, Jonah (whom she still loves), moves back to town for the summer with his eight-year-old son, Danny in tow. Cassie, on the other hand, has recently moved to the area after being kicked out of her family by her older siblings. While they haven't really kicked her out of the family; that's the way Cassie looks at it. All they were trying to do is force Cassie to stand on her own for once in her life. Panic and chaos ensue when Cassie continually gets in her own way of doing just that. Added to this mix is god-like Raphael who has taken an interest in Cassie.

Through the discoveries each woman makes; she brings a new level of awareness not only to her own life; but to that of her friends, family and the book club itself.

Just finished this - it's a cute series

I read the following books in June with the following keywords: Great, Wander, Child, Mine, Book, Watch, Heart, Save
⁠
Great: Great and Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros 3 stars; The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez 3 stars


Wander: Virgil Wander by Leif Enger 3 stars; Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange 3 stars

Read in July: Where the Wandering Ends by Yvette Manessis Corporon 3 stars


Child: Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie 3 stars; Athena's Child by Hannah M. Lynn 3 stars; Shadow Child by Rahna Reiko Rizzuto 3 stars; Enemy Child by Andrea Warren 3 stars; Child of the Dark Prophecy by T.A. Barron 3 stars

Read in July: Dracula's Child by J.S. Barnes 3 stars


Mine: You'd be Mine Erin Hahn 3 stars; Vengeance is Mine by Mickey Spillane 4 stars; What was Mine by Helen Klein Ross 4 stars; Because You're Mine by Colleen Coble 3 stars; Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville 3 stars


Book: The Black Book by James Patterson 3 stars; The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin 3 stars; The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs 3 stars; The Book of Witching by C.J. Cooke 4 stars; The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher 3 stars; The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown 4 stars; The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean 4 stars; The Book that Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence 3 stars; The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman 3 stars; Book of Night by Holly Black 3 stars; The Bookshop Sisterhood by Michelle Lindo-Rice 3 stars; The Summer Book Club by Susan Mallery 3 stars; The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry 4 stars

Read in July: The Bookseller's Secret by Michelle Gable 3 stars


Watch: When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole 4 stars; Watch your back by Terri Parlato 4 stars; The Midnight Watch by David Dyer 4 stars

Read in July: The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning 3 stars; The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden 4 stars


Heart: Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown 5 stars; Olive the Lionheart by Brad Ricca 3 stars; Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown 4 stars; Into the Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer 3 stars; Shark Heart by Emily Habeck 3 stars; The Girl with a Clock for a Heart by Peter Swanson 3 stars; Written in my Own's Heart Blood by Diana Gabaldon 3 stars; Heartbroken by Lisa Unger 3 stars: Heartbreak Hotel by Jonathan Kellerman 3 stars; She has a Broken Thing where her Heart Should Be by J.D. Barker 4 stars; Heartless by Marissa Meyer 3 stars

Read in July: The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett 4 stars

Read in August: Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King 3 stars; Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl 5 stars;


Save: The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson 3 stars; Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry 4 stars; Saving the World by Julia Alvarez 3 stars; Save the Date by Allison Raskin 4 stars; Save our Souls by Matthew Pearl 3 stars; Saving Meghan by D.J. Palmer 4 stars

Read in July: Save what's Left by Elizabeth Castellano 3 stars

The book I chose for June was Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon. This book is about a group of pioneers, specifically a man and woman and her family, who make the trek from Missouri to California during the 1800s. It's about the wagon train and the struggles on the plains, including sickness, weather and Indians. I recommend this for anyone who loves historical fiction.

Challenge complete!
Word: Book (which I stretched to bookstore)

I read the three book/novella series by Alice Hoffman:
The Bookstore Family
The Bookstore Wedding
The Bookstore Keepers