#TBRChallenge 2021: One Cowboy, One Christmas

The Book: One Cowboy, One Christmas by Kathleen Eagle

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Silhouette Special Edition #2011, Book 2 in series, 2009, out of print, available digitally

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR: It's a Christmas Harlequin - that's really about it. To elaborate, Eagle is a solid writer and I like Special Editions. My print copy indicates I likely bought this used while visiting my family in Michigan (the Meijer price tag on the front cover is kind of a dead giveaway).

The Review: Oh reader expectations. We all have them but when it comes to category romance readers, they're amplified. I have a very different set of expectations with category romance than I do single titles. I expect the stories to adhere to line specifications and given the shorter word counts I expect a hyper-aware focus on the romance. Special Editions usually land around 220 pages - that's not a lot - and it's a problem for this story that Eagle chose to write. Honestly? This read like a women's fiction novel that she trimmed down to fit Special Edition guidelines and for that reason it missed the romance mark for me.

Zach Beaudry is a broken down rodeo cowboy (more parts ache than not) making his way to Texas. Where he currently is is driving a neglected pick-up truck through a South Dakota snowstorm. Naturally the pick-up truck quits on him and he finds himself walking to the nearest shelter - which turns out to be Ann Drexler's front porch.  He's near delirium by this point and spies her from the front window decorating for Christmas. Naturally he thinks she's an angel.  Lucky for him she opens the front door, recognizes him, and hauls his near frozen butt inside.

Ann recognizes Zach because she had a one-night stand with him when she was a shy, plumper 19-year-old college student.  She met him at a party through her older sister Sally, who used to supply bulls to the rodeo circuit.  Anyway Ann looks different now - she's lost weight, less make-up and her hair is styled drastically different.  Still, she'd be lying if she didn't say it pricks her pride that Zach doesn't recognize her or even recall their one-night together.

Zach's truck needs repairs requiring parts, so he agrees to help out at the Drexler horse rescue ranch in exchange parts and labor. Beside Ann and Sally, there's a "like family" older ranch hand and a teenager student of Ann's (she's a teacher) who lands on the wrong side of the law and his sentence is community service at the ranch.  Zach is pure itchy feet cowboy and Ann is guarded, reticent and is fully expecting him to take off the moment he can. That's basically it for conflict folks.

Back to expectations, there's a lot of homespun banter and a lot of secondary characters (three of them) vying for page time. When I first started this book I checked the back cover to make sure Ann was the heroine because Sally (who has MS) spends JUST as much time on the page in Zach's orbit.  There's also an annoying neighbor who shows up halfway through to (I think?) juice up the conflict but it's a plot thread that doesn't really go anywhere.  There's other books after this one in the series, maybe he shows up in later books to cause trouble?  Who knows.

What we've got is basically a story about found family with a romance relegated to secondary plot line. This is fine for women's fiction. It's great in fact! I've loved books like this.  But this is a Silhouette Special Edition. It's category romance. Hence, I don't think it's fine. The romance should be front and center, dominating the bulk of the story.  Instead it feels like an afterthought.

Normally I would ding a book with this sort of execution mightily but, and here's the thing, Eagle can write. She's a wiz at setting, atmosphere and characters. It fails on nearly every level of 217 page category romance, but all that other stuff I just mentioned?  Really good. Very solid. It just shouldn't have been published or marketed as a category romance.  Says Wendy.

Final Grade = C-

#TBRChallenge 2021: Signed Over To Santino

The Book: Signed Over to Santino by Maya Blake

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Harlequin Presents #3439, book 2 in duet, 2016, out of print, available digitally.

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I have a signed copy, which means I scored this at an RWA Conference. If you're new here, Harlequins are nearly the only books I snag at conferences. It's my last bastion of impulse reading.

The Review: There are two types of readers in Romancelandia. Those who love Presents and those who think that those who love Presents have lost their damn minds. My affinity for the line, problematic elements and all, feeds the Feral Id part of my brain that gobbled up soap operas when I was younger.  This book by Blake is a prime example. The heroine gets figuratively run over (a lot) and the hero is a Grade A possessive jealous jackass.  Can I recommend it? No. Did I inhale every glorious minute of it in less than 24 hours?  You bet your sweet bippy I did!

 

Carla Nardozzi is the #1 ranked figure skater in the world and she's slowly having her soul crushed by her manager father.  Abandoned by her mother, training her entire life, she grasps for one small moment of freedom when she turns 21-years-old and has a sizzling one night stand with self-made bazillionaire Javier Santino.  Naturally she was a virgin (hello, Presents) and naturally Javier blows her doors off.  Of course in the cold light of the morning after she has a mini-freak-out and bungles things....badly.  How badly?  Using true Presents Hero Logic, our hero is a big man baby who gets his fee-fees hurt.  He's a notorious playboy who changes women like he changes socks, but when a woman turns around and practically runs away from his bed the morning after?  Yeah, the shoe being on the other foot enrages him.  Also, some other Spoiler Territory stuff happens and naturally our guy is now hell-bent on revenge.

 

The moment arrives 3 years later.  Carla's Evil Daddy has frittered away her entire fortune and to keep the family villa in Tuscany she has to sell her soul to an endorsement deal with Javier's company.  Surely this will be OK. Maybe?  I mean, he can't still be upset about three years ago, can he?  Oh you poor, dumb bunny.  This is a Presents.  Of course our guy is out for your blood, assumes the absolute worst about you, and for added fun is jealousy possessive at every turn, even as he tells you how much he loathes you.  Ah, Twu Wuv.

 

I think had I read this book back in 2016 (when a normal person would have) I probably would have loathed it. But in post-COVID, constant state of mental and emotional exhaustion world?  I really felt for Carla early on.  She's just over it.  She's over Javier looking at her like she murders infants in her spare time.  She's over her father controlling the air she breathes.  She sends out some verbal volleys early on, but mostly she's past done and just doesn't want to deal.  Our girl has a serious case of ennui.

Javier is just a jackass. He's Stereotypical Presents Hero right out of central casting. He's possessive. He's jealous. He's a flaming asshole.  And of course this is all explained away because his mother was his father's mistress, he's the unloved bastard, yada yada yada.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

But I fell into this book and didn't want to come up for air.  It's a hot mess, but it's an entertaining hot mess.  Then, big sigh, it all falls apart at the end.  Javier's confrontation with his asshole father, and Carla's confrontation with her asshole father, both take place OFF PAGE, sucking out 85% of the angst from the plot with no payoff.  The third act separation (typical with Presents) is basically Carla running away because she won't talk to Javier.  Granted he's such a flaming asshole you can't entirely blame her.  But these aren't the biggest issues.  It's the fact that this is a romance and Javier and Carla are the couple.

The author does soften Javier in the final chapter, when they reunite after Carla runs away for three weeks.  But it doesn't help.  Why? Because the previous 180 pages is jackass jealous and possessive Javier.  Carla has had her entire life controlled by figure skating and her father.  She trades Daddy's dominance for Javier's dominance.  OK sure, Javier's got the gilded cage and gives her incredible orgasms, but a cage is a cage.  What should our happy ending be?  Carla getting a damn life.  Carla breaking free.  Carla kicking Javier and her Evil Daddy in the giblets so hard they settle in their sinus cavities, then running away to a tropical beach somewhere to get serviced by hunky cabana boys.  The "romance" is super problematic, super uncomfortable and doesn't hold up (at all!) to even the slightest sliver of scrutiny.

So there you have it.  Problematic Presents with a heroine who needs therapy, a jackass hero with revenge in his heart (and loins), two Evil Daddys and two Absent Ineffectual Mothers.  I don't recommend it and yet I still read the hell out of it with gleeful abandon. So maybe that is a recommendation?  Albeit in a very backhanded sort of way...

Final Grade = D+

#TBRChallenge 2021: House of Shadows

The Book: House of Shadows by Darcy Coates

The Particulars: Romantic Gothic Horror Suspense, Book 1 in series, Black Owl Books, 2015, In Print (Poison Pen Press 2020), Available digitally and for free with Amazon Prime (at time of this posting)

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: Before the entire world shutdown thanks to The 'Rona, my last hurrah was attending the Public Library Association conference in Nashville in February 2020. An ARC of this was in the Sourcebooks booth and I was drawn to that creeptastic cover. 

 

Minor Spoilers

The Review: Buckle in kiddies, it's a damning with faint praise review. Words like "serviceable" and "workman-like" ran through my brain while reading this relatively short Gothic (my ARC copy clocks in at 259 pages). The kind of book that could have been really good if a bit more depth had been thrown into it.  Let me explain...

Sophie is attending the opera with her doting uncle when she meets Mr. Joseph Argenton, a wealthy, handsome stranger who slightly unnerves her even as he fascinates.  He has business dealings with her father and promises to call on their home the next day.  Which he does. Just after dear Papa learns that the ship-load of silks he invested in (all by himself) has been lost at sea, two of the crew members killed.  Papa breaks the news to Sophie just as Mr. Argenton arrives and bingo-bango, soon Sophie is accepting the man's proposal in order to save her family from financial ruin (there are three younger siblings).

They marry with great expediency and Joseph soon takes Sophie to his isolated family estate in the north (called, conveniently enough, Northwood). In residence are his Aunt Rose, Uncle Garrett, younger cousin Elise (around 12) and a host of silent, downcast servants.  If you've read even one Gothic you'll know that Aunt Rose is the evil one in this scenario, but cousin Elise has problems yo.  Anyway, Joseph is occasionally around but has to leave Sophie alone at times in a creepy house that she continually gets lost in, with Aunt Rose who hates her guts and strangeness starts happening right away.  And by strangeness I mean horror.  The walls have a tendency to drip blood, mysterious piano music plays in the night, and Elise is drawing a creepy shadow-like creature in a near trance.

 

If you've ever wondered what the term Wallpaper Historical means, well - this book.  When does it take place? Where does it take place?  Lord, who knows.  It's vaguely English and vaguely Victorian-y.  The back cover blurb for the second book specifically calls out Kensington - and that's all I've got.

Like all true Gothics this one has romance, horror and suspense, plus features a suitably creepy house - so it checks all the boxes.  The one box it doesn't necessarily check is with our hero.  While he's mysterious early on, that's dispatched right away and he takes on a "protector' role of the heroine. Well, sort of.  She's "known" the guy for a matter of days prior to the wedding but sets the land speed record for realizing she's in love with him. How? Why? When did this happen? Who knows! If you've ever wondered what the term Insta-Love means, well - this book.

And that's the problem - the heroine falling in love with a hero who essentially latches on to her in the beginning as a sacrificial lamb.  Then when he starts to feel all gooey about her - HE STILL LEAVES HER ALONE IN THE CREEPY HAUNTED HOUSE WITH HIS CREEPY AUNT EVEN AFTER SHE'S TRAPPED IN A ROOM AND BUCKETS OF BLOOD RAIN DOWN ON HER AND HE HAS TO BREAK DOWN THE DOOR TO RESCUE HER!  YES, HE LEAVES HER AFTER THAT EXPERIENCE TO GO INTO TOWN, LIKE WTF DUDE?!

And the heroine, bless her heart, never gets angry at him.  There's a brief glimmer of a moment when she gets angry that he seems to care about the house more than her but it's gone in a blink and we're back to her wanting to rescue him and he's the only one I trust and blah, blah, blah.

Which makes it sound like I hated this book. I didn't. Basically what this book was for me was Brain Candy. It was a book I could pick up, easily read, and not expend too much brain energy.  And after the last couple of weeks I've had at work? There's a lot to be said for Brain Candy. It was readable and undemanding. How's that for damning with faint praise?  

 

However, it also read fairly cinematic.  What it lacked in detail "on the page" I think would play very well as a screenplay and make a decent period horror piece.

Does it end happily? Sort of. The hero and heroine do ride off into the sunset. Does it end on a cliffhanger?  Sort of. There's an epilogue that definitely leads the reader to the next book in the duology, House of Secrets. Honestly it's series like this that tempt me to pony up for Kindle Unlimited. I might be curious enough to read it, but I'm not so sure I'm curious enough to buy my own copy. How's that for damning with faint praise?

Final Grade = C

#TBRChallenge Review: Whiteout

The Book: Whiteout by Adriana Anders

The Particulars: Contemporary romantic suspense, Book 1 in series, Sourcebooks, 2020, In Print, Available digitally (free on Amazon Prime at time of this posting).

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: It's set in Antarctica and has a whole "us against the elements survivalist" vibe thing going on.  I LOVE that in romance. It's a big reason why the grittier historical westerns are my favorite. Will the characters survive winter AND fall in love?  Gimme, gimme, gimme.

Minor Spoilers Ahead!

The Review: So I actually had a languishing ARC of this in my TBR and normally I don't read ARCs (no matter how old) for this challenge.  But yeah, here's the thing.  I finished this book on Sunday and the book I picked for the challenge I'm still reading and I suspect I may end up DNF'ing it - so I'm "cheating" a wee bit.  Hopefully y'all will let that slide.

Anyway, literally everybody and their dead grandmother in my corner of Romancelandia loved this book when they read it last year and here waltzes in Wendy with a "Meh, it was fine" review.  But I'm a big enough person to acknowledge that most of what left me going a big rubbery one with this story is very much personal preference.  Let's dive in, shall we?

Angel Smith is a chef who took a job cooking for a crew of scientists on Antarctica after her boyfriend did her wrong (oh whoa doggie, did that guy do her dirty!).  Basically she ran away, not that you can really blame her once her back-story comes fully to light.  Anyway, her assignment is up tomorrow and she's flying out, which has her a bit at loose ends, but also relieved since it means she'll get away from the distracting Ford Cooper.  She's hot for him but he's so insufferable she's basically filed him away in her "What am I, nuts?!" never, ever box.

Ford is a gorgeous glaciologist whose nickname "Ice Man" is well earned.  He wants to be alone darling.  Honestly he reads a bit like he's somewhere on the spectrum but Anders kind of tap-dances around that.  Anyway, he's also warm for Angel's form, but being a socially distant grump she hasn't exactly picked up on that.

The wrinkle is that some months prior Ford makes a discovery when pulling some ice core samples.  And being the collaborative community that they are, Ford freely shares and discusses his discovery.  That gets the attention of the bad guys who show up just as the summer crew is leaving.  In the process of trying to steal the cores they kill two men, nearly capture Angel, and she misses the last flight out.  Ford is out on the ice during this time and comes back to camp to discover the whole mess.  Now it's just Angel, Ford and the ice cores those bad guys so desperately want.  They know the bad guys will be back and formulate a plan to trek 300 miles across the ice to get to the next nearest camp - an abandoned Russian site.

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of this book.  The bad guys running amok, Angel out-smarting them, Ford and Angel (who are uncomfortable around each other) banding together and having to ski across 300 miles of Antarctica to get to help - gimme, gimme, gimme!  As I mentioned, I really dig all this survivalist, Couple vs The Elements stuff in romance.  The romance feels a bit Insta-Lust at times, but it largely worked for me given the extreme circumstances and fight for their lives the couple were in.  So where did it run south for me?  Well, the ending.  Or more specifically, the rescue and series set-up.

Ford has an older brother who is somehow fabulously wealthy and runs his own Super Seeeeekrit Paramilitary Group.  Because of course he does.  Because it's a romantic suspense novel and all these guys are in Super Seeeeeekrit Paramilitary Groups.  Confession time, not a fan. I'm aware that I'm a girl who will read about Amnesiac Cowboys with Secret Babies, but this trope has always felt too "out there" for me. I just can't go there.  Sorry, can't.  Anyway, so now of course there's all these series baiting characters showing up and of course Angel and Ford end up signing on, but not before they take on new names and identities and everyone keeps almost accidentally calling them by their old names!  I mean, how good are you at your job if you can't keep new names and identities straight?  The whole thing kind of smells like an old school Bond movie - with the group stationed off the California coast, working to track down a conspiracy, and then you have couples making gooey heart eyes at each other.

And long.  Have I mentioned how long and never-ending this aspect of this story is?  From the time of the rescue on it just never seems to end.

You know what would have worked way better for me?  Two normal people who somehow thwart a conspiracy and return to "normal lives."  Normal people in extraordinary situations stuff.  Not paramilitary who-ha.  Sigh.

But I'm a mature enough person to recognize that this is personal preference.  Lots of Romancelandia likes this paramilitary "stuff."  Yes, I recognize that paramilitary groups exist in Real Life.  There are authors who have built amazing, successful careers on this trope.  I'm just....not a fan.  

So first half of this book?  Probably a solid B.  The rest of the book?  How many ways can I say meh?  For that reason, while I have a minor itch to pick up Book 2, I'm just not sure I ever will.  Your mileage may vary.

Grade = C+

#TBRChallenge Review: The Innocent and the Outlaw

The Book: The Innocent and the Outlaw by Harper St. George

The Particulars: Historical western romance, Harlequin Historical #1287, Book 1 in trilogy, 2016, out of print, available in digital

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: It's a historical western and it's a Harlequin Historical. That was enough

The Review: I've enjoyed Harper St. George's books in the past so having more than one languishing in the TBR, it fit this month's challenge theme. I also was in the mood for a western. What could possibly go wrong? Turns out, quite a bit.  This book is a hot mess of old school tropes that were annoying "back then" and have only aged to be more annoying.

Emmaline Drake is the stepdaughter of an outlaw. She works in a saloon. She was born in a brothel. She lives with said outlaw step-daddy who constantly brings members of his gang around the house. So yes, of course she has some education because Mom was a schoolteacher before a whore and naturally she's still somehow, miraculously, a virgin.

Hunter Jameson has a wealthy father who is never around and a socialite mother who took herself back to Boston the minute she could. So of course when the half-brother he never knew he had shows up one day Hunter decides to ride with him and his gang. But don't worry - they're somehow not "bad outlaws."  Anyway, the fly in the ointment is that Emmaline's step-daddy has taken the half-brother's half-brother (got that?) hostage. So the gang decides to take Emmaline hostage and do a swap.

What Hunter doesn't know is that Emmaline is desperate to get back to the rundown farm where she lives because she has two younger half-sisters. Before she can Hunter and his gang kidnap her, take her to a shack, hang her hands above her head tied to rafters with her feet barely touching the floor to demand answers.  Instead this idiot child starts getting tingly in her girly bits.

Of course the attraction is a two way street and of course the Stockholm Syndrome shows up in record time.  Eventually Emmaline drugs Hunter with some sleeping powders she keeps secreted in a locket she wears and heads to the brothel where her mother worked. The madam tries to talk her out of it, but Emmaline decides she's going to auction off her virginity to the highest bidder, take the money, collect her sisters, and run as far and as fast as she can.  Naturally Hunter catches up to her at the convenient moment when oily dudes are bidding on her charms.  Use your imagination, but if you've read more than one romance novel you know what happens next.

Hunter has the temerity to be angry with Emmaline that she ran away. For the first time the girl actually shows some gumption and basically tells him, "Hey, moron - you kidnapped me. The whole running away thing surprises you why exactly?!" But in case you're under the illusion that she snaps out of her Stockholm Syndrome and this gumption sticks?  Of course not.

Even the night they'd met he'd been such a contradiction. When he'd released her from hanging from the rafters, he'd made sure that the rope at her wrists was loose enough that she wasn't chafed. He'd never harmed her, never really even frightened her. He wasn't evil.

Well give the man a damn cookie /end sarcasm.

The whole thing is a mess of sloppy power dynamics and characters mucking around on the wrong side of the law.  None of it worked.  Well, except for that madam at the brothel. That women is amazing, and even dresses down Hunter with a fantastic speech about privilege, power and what it means to be a women operating in a man's world.  She's the heroine in book 3 and Lord help me, I want to read her book.  Yes, even feeling the way I did about this one.

Final Grade = D

#TBRChallenge 2021: The Secret Wife

The Book: The Secret Wife by Carrie Weaver

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Book 1 in duet, Harlequin SuperRomance #1274, 2005, out of print, available digitally

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: It's a SuperRomance (I loved that line before Harlequin killed it) and the back cover blurb intrigued.  Other than that, I got nothing. While I have autobuy authors in my Harlequin TBR it's also chock-full of impulse grabs from conferences, used bookstores etc.

The Review: So it turns out that I read the second book in this duet for the 2012 TBR Challenge, a little factoid I had completely forgotten about until GoodReads reminded me. How time flies...and the memory fades.  Both books were published in 2005 - so it's only taken me 16 years to complete the series. Go Team Wendy!

Maggie McGuire is desperate. Her religious family disowned her when she moved in with Eric and even though they're married, they put the cart before the horse when son David was born. Eric is a race car driver working the circuit and Maggie is pinching pennies to raise their son and stay in school (to become a mortician - she has ambition to be a funeral home director some day....).  Worse still, Eric has been incommunicado. So Maggie does something rash - she packs her close-to-death Toyota and drives from Arizona to Arkansas with little David in tow. She's going to confront (OK, reunite) with Eric at a planned family reunion.

This book is honestly worth reading for the moment when Maggie charges into the family reunion.  Of course Eric isn't there (he's at the race track).  Instead it's his grandmother Edna, his half-brother, J.D. and....wait for it....Eric's wife, Nancy.  Yeah.  Turns out Eric is a bigamist.

J.D. is a fixer. He's not a McGuire by blood. His father died young and his mother ended up marrying Edna's son.  Eric was a product of that union.  For complicated reasons J.D. has been cleaning up after Eric since the kid was old enough to cause trouble.  Maggie isn't the first Other Woman to show up.  But she's so not Eric's usual type and she seems so....honest.  All J.D. knows is he has to defuse the situation until they can bring Eric to heel and sort out the mess.  Too bad Eric is found murdered before he can be confronted with his crimes.  Naturally Maggie is a prime suspect.

While there is a suspense thread moving the story forward, I wouldn't necessarily categorize this as  romantic suspense.  The focus on the crime isn't as dominant as the focus on the internal character baggage and the fallout of Eric's bigamy.  While Maggie was definitely naïve, falling for a silver-tongued devil, you can understand how it happened given her upbringing and past.  Nancy kind of gets the shaft early on in the story, but eventually the author brings her on page a bit more during the second half to pave the way for her future romance.

This story features a lot of things that can annoy me in contemporary romance, but somehow Weaver makes it work.  It's definitely a Biology Above All story - with J.D. feeling "less than" because he's "not a true McGuire."  Edna helped raise him, but she never reassures him, nor does she allow him to forget that Eric is the golden boy - never mind he's a colossal screw-up.  Honestly where Weaver dropped the ball a bit for me was the lack of scorched Earth on the part of J.D., Nancy and Maggie when it comes to Eric.  I get that being murdered is pretty final and the ultimate punishment but they were still way too forgiving in my opinion.  I'd be digging up his body to murder him all over again - but that's me.

Also, David is, of course, a miracle baby.  The question of paternity comes into play because it was believed Eric could not, medically speaking, father a child. As the reader, of course, we know Eric is the Daddy. Like, it's never a question. Maggie doesn't have it in her to lie about something like that!  Certainly it's a different spin on the typical Miracle Baby nonsense (it doesn't involve the perceived inability of the hero or heroine) but it's still a frackin' Miracle Baby.

The suspense thread is pretty decent until Weaver makes the mistake of tipping her hand too early.  As the reader we know Maggie and J.D. are innocent - so that leaves the list of suspects to about 3 people, or a random jilted lover / irate husband/boyfriend to do the deed.  But once that hand is tipped?  It's all over.  It was up to the romance to keep me invested - which, for the most part, it does.  Maggie grows a lot during this story, having had the wool pulled from her eyes, and having to reluctantly accept charity from J.D. with her pride in tatters. She's hung-up on making everyone see she's a good mother stemming from a niece who landed in the social services system and a troubled older sister who committed suicide.  This aspect of her past definitely could have been fleshed out more and feels more like a prop to explain Maggie's reaction to drama that comes into play later in the story than anything else.  J.D. has a White Knight Complex, but he's a good guy at heart who wants to do the right thing, and is conflicted over his attraction to Maggie.

It's been a while since I've unearthed a SuperRomance from my stash and while this one wasn't great, it was a good, solid read that kept me entertained.  I'm even half-tempted to go back and reread Nancy's story....

Final Grade = B-

#TBRChallenge 2021: Fragile

The Book: Fragile by Shiloh Walker

The Particulars: Romantic suspense, 2009, Book 1 in Rafferty Brothers duet, out of print, available in digital

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: The back cover blurb intrigued. The SoCal Bloggers used to have these epic book swaps when we'd get together (back when we all were still reading print on the regular) and I suspect that's how this book landed in my TBR.

Spoilers Ahoy! Content Warnings: murdered dog, childhood sexual abuse, rape, drug use (in the past).

The Review: Walker predominantly writes paranormal (which isn't really "my thing") and I suspect I picked this up because it's billed as straight-up romantic suspense.  While I was certainly pulled in from the first chapter, it ended up being an uneven read for me - mainly due to the plot structure and the fact that the heroine is put through the wringer.

Devon Manning had a rough childhood. Orphaned, sexually abused starting at 11 by her aunt's husband, a drug addict and living on the streets by 12.  A social worker and her adoptive parents pulled her back from the brink and now Devon is a social worker herself.  

Luke Rafferty is a former Army Ranger who worked in Special Ops alongside his long-lost twin brother (they were reunited when they were 11).  After he nearly loses a leg he decides it's time to get out and find some semblance of "a normal life."  He's now a doctor working in a hospital ER, which is how he meets Devon. He's attracted to her, but how to ask a woman out on a date when she's in the ER because she's bringing in abused children?  It's not exactly "meet cute" material.

Eventually though they do start dating and this is basically the first 40% of the book.  In fact, by that point they are clearly "a couple" and Luke has decided he's in love with her.  The suspense part of this story doesn't ramp up until then.  Prior there are a few minor incidents, but nothing that seems "sinister" to Devon at first.  A missing day planner. A flat tire. A dead skunk in her back yard.  It's not until a butchered dead dog is found on her kitchen counter that her and Luke realize someone is stalking her.

This sends Luke into full-blown protective mode, even at one point hacking into Devon's email (like, seriously?!), him moving in with her, and Devon pushing back at Luke, as well as the cops working her case.  I get that Devon has a messy past but dude if I had some crazy psycho stalker I'd be an open book to the point of over-sharing. 

Anyhoodle, our bad guy is caught around 75%.  This gem of a human being ends up breaking into a neighbor's house, raping and beating that poor woman near death, and that lays the trap for Devon.  Devon, naturally, escapes his clutches - which kicks off a bunch of guilt for Luke because he wasn't there to protect her.  But we're at 75%.  You know what this means, right? Yeah, we need to put the heroine in more danger!  So our gal doesn't just have one psycho stalker - she has two.  Bad guy #2 starts screwing with her head and he's dispatched with at the end of the story.  I was still stuck on this poor neighbor woman who gets the major short-shift - but your mileage may vary.

In between there's a bunch of sex scenes.  This read a bit like a hybrid between hot contemporary and romantic suspense and it didn't really mesh well for me.When I read a romantic suspense I kinda want that to be a big focus of the story - and it just wasn't here.  The pacing didn't really work for me, although I was engaged by the characters and the story itself.  It boiled down to execution.

Also, to be frank, this is pretty dark.  I mean, the heroine has a TON of baggage and on top of that a bunch of tragedy is heaped on her over the course of the story (her BFF neighbor being violently assaulted, two crazy stalkers....).  It's a lot.  

I wasn't in love with it, but I'm half-tempted to pick up the second book about Luke's brother, Quinn, who, boy howdy, is a hot mess. It would necessitate a library check-out since it's not in my TBR and we'll see if I eventually follow through or not....

Final Grade = C+

#TBRChallenge 2021: Alison's Wonderland

The Book: Alison's Wonderland edited by Alison Tyler

The Particulars: Erotica anthology, Harlequin Spice, 2010, out of print, available digitally

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I like erotic short stories, plus Tyler and a few of the featured authors are known to me.  That's pretty much it.

The Review: There was a wave several years ago of publishers starting erotic imprints (Harlequin Spice, Avon Red etc.) and with it came the blurring of the lines between erotica and erotic romance.  No, they aren't interchangeable. So for the sake of clarity let me state this anthology which utilizes a fairy tale / folk tale theme, is most definitely erotica. They're too short (the stories average around 8-10 pages) to make compelling "romances," but as happy-for-now, let's have a good time together?  They're fine.  For readers familiar with the various Cleis Press anthologies, this collection is in a similar vein.

The Red Shoes (Redux) by Nikki Magennis features a heroine obsessed with a pair of shoes in a shop window. The store's owner sees her, asks her out, and brings the shoes. Naturally the shoes and the man have strings attached.

Fool's Gold by Shanna Germain finds our heroine having a spirited discussion at a bar with a man in her peripheral circle of friends about BDSM and naturally it's a conversation that continues to take up residence in her brain. They reconnect and what happens, happens.

The Three Billys by Sommer Marsden is about three gruff brothers who ruffle the feathers of a very proper librarian just trying to get through her work day. 

David by Kristina Lloyd is a twist on a vampire story featuring a submissive female vampire (!) who finds her perfect match.

Managers and Mermen by Donna George Storey finds our bored heroine fantasizing about a mermaid and spanking (yes, really) only to have her husband come home unexpectedly early from work. Gee, wonder what will happen next?

The Clean-Shaven Type by N.T. Morely might have been my favorite story in this collection. Belle, who has spent her life in servitude (yes, that kind...) to men finds herself now living with "The Beast" where she flips the switch to Domme and avails herself of him, and the hired help.

The Midas F*ck by Erica DeQuaya finds our heroine suddenly, magically, irresistible to men. They ALL want her. The spell is broken when she hooks up with the hunky bartender at her favorite watering hole.

Sleeping with Beauty by Allison Wonderland is an F/F story about two women who work as princesses at a theme park.

Unveiling His Muse by Portia Da Costa finds our artist hero obsessed with one of his recent commissions - the art work, not the patron. 

Always Break the Spines by Lana Fox is about a heroine who likes fairy tales and old books drawing the attention (and ire) of a cranky bookstore owner.

An Uphill Battle by Benjamin Eliot is about a musician hero who takes a job as a building supervisor to pay the bills and finds himself answering calls at all hours of the day from a female resident with a faulty toilet - which necessitates climbing a lot of stairs since the elevator is on the fritz.

Moonset by A.D.R. Forte features a couple who enters a pact to get "kinky" every full moon.

Mastering Their Dungeons by Bryn Haniver was one of the more problematic stories for me since I didn't "like" the heroine. Bored popular college girl crashes a Dungeons & Dragons game and blows the mind of three nerds.

A Taste for Treasure by T.C. Calligari was a weird story about a heroine obsessed with magic who takes magical objects from three brothers.  She eventually settles down with the youngest.

The Broken Fiddle by Andrea Dare finds the heroine and her gay BFF traveling Ireland working on a photo book about pub signage. The heroine ends up having a grand time with local musician who tells her the story of one interesting sign.

The Cougar of Cobble Hill by Sophia Valenti finds our divorced heroine taking in two college-age male roommates. Naturally close proximity leads to shenanigans.

Wolff's Tavern by Bella Dean spins Little Red Riding Hood when the heroine's car breaks down outside a bar and the owner giving her a ride to Grandma's house.

Slutty Cinderella by Jacqueline Applebee is a gender-bending story with the heroine and her partner getting ready to attend a fetish ball. He's the one wearing the dress...

Kiss It by Saskia Walker finds the heroine on a tour of Ireland where a stop at the Blarney Stone finds her rolling around in the forest with a mystery man.

Let Down Your Libido by Rachel Kramer Bussel features an out of work heroine who signs up for a study that asks her to be celibate for two months. That's a tall order, especially when a mystery man starts slipping dirty notes underneath her door.

Dancing Shoes by Tsaurah Litzky features an older heroine who getting back her groove thanks to a local shoe repairman.

Gold, On Snow by Janine Ashbless was another high point for me, a twisted take on Snow White. Snow White isn't so pure or innocent and the "evil queen," her stepmother ends up spying on her with the seven dwarfs.

After the Happily Ever After by Heidi Champa answers the question of what happens when Cinderella marries Prince Charming, only to find out that the Prince is a neglectful husband. No matter, the Prince's wastrel brother is availing himself of the swimming pool...

Cupid Has Signed Off by Thomas S. Roche spins a Psyche / Cupid story if Psyche were a kinky college student who likes online fetish chat rooms.

The Walking Wheel by Georgia E. Jones is a 15th century story where the spinning maiden has to pay for her father's debts, hopefully will get to marry a nobleman as a result, but not before our friend Rumpelstiltskin shows up with a proposal.

Rings on my Fingers by Alison Tyler finds the heroine fielding concerns from well-meaning married friends, but it's the hunky tattoo artist next door who is getting her motor revving.

The Princess by Elspeth Potter is a story that is literally one paragraph long about a princess rescuing another princess.

Like most anthologies this one was definitely a mixed bag. There was only one story I outright disliked, but the "meh, OK" definitely outweighed the stories that really stuck with me.  Nothing inspiring but it's been in my TBR forever and now it's not.

Final Grade = C

#TBRChallenge 2021: A Place Called Home

The Book: A Place Called Home by Elizabeth Grayson

The Particulars: Historical western romance, Avon, 1995, out of print, available in self-published eBook edition (99 cents at time of this review posting!). Grayson's backlist is now being "marketed" as The Women's West Series - but trust me, this one is a stand-alone.

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: It's a historical western so why wouldn't it be in Wendy's TBR?!  Seriously, no clue now - that's how long I've owned a print copy of this book.  I picked it up in a used bookstore (remember those?) over 15 years ago.  Fun fact: my used print copy has a handwritten notation from Beverly who wrote "11-95 Keep! Terrific!"  And yet I bought it in a used bookstore....

Major Spoilers Ahead! Content Warnings: lots of death (secondary characters), raiding Indian warriors, a dead dog (family pet).

The Review: They don't write 'em like this anymore. In fact, if this book were published today it would not be labelled romance.  It would be marketed as historical fiction. Or possibly as a historical saga.  Not a romance.  But more on that in a bit.

It's 1782 and as part of his service in the Colonial Army, Livi Talbot's husband David secures land in the wilds of Kentucky. Against her wishes, they leave behind Lynchburg, Virginia to chase her husband's dream of a better life for him, Livi and their two young children (12-year-old Tad and 4-year-old Cissy). Tragedy in the form of Indian raiders strike as they're leaving Virginia though and David ends up dead.  Livi is now alone in the wilderness with two children and a family she cannot go to for help.  She essentially eloped with David, marrying well-below her class.  She's on her own and she presses on to Kentucky.

Waiting for them in Kentucky is Reid Campbell, part Creek Indian (by way of his paternal grandmother), and David's best friend who never approved of Livi.  He pegged her as pampered, spoiled, and not the sort of wife his friend "needs."  There's a lot of animosity between these two - essentially boiling down to rivalry and jealousy. David was Reid's "found family," the only one who ever, purely, accepted him. Livi loved David and she saw Reid as a threat to that love, he was always filling David's heads with dreams and nonsense, always trying to undermine Livi.  And you know what?  Livi ain't wrong.  Now David is dead, both Livi and Reid feel guilt over that for various reasons, and they're in the untamed Kentucky frontier.  The British are still making trouble and Indian raiding parties are the norm.

This book would never be published as a romance today mainly because Reid and Livi aren't on page together until the 40% mark plus there's a couple of flashback chapters for David's and Livi's courtship and newlywed years. David dies in chapter one, and it takes 40% for Livi and the kids to get to the homestead in Kentucky. It's all vital set-up though because it kicks Livi's growth arc into high gear. Our heroine goes through A LOT on the trail and by the time she's face to face with Reid you can feel her anger radiating off her in waves. She breaks the news of David's death in a callous way, but damn, you totally get where she's coming from.

The mistrust and dislike for each other is, of course, hiding a simmering attraction and naturally given this animosity neither is forthcoming about, well, much of anything. Reid about his past. Livi about her journey and experiences just getting to Kentucky.

Original Cover 1995

I got sucked in. I love historical westerns that are essentially survival stories, plus I love westerns set in this era - when the "untamed frontier" was Kentucky.  I was up until 2AM reading this book.  Once started I could not put it down.  But it's not without problems and if you have a low tolerance for Old School, there are things in this book that will likely grate on you.  The Indians featured in this story (the Shawnee and Creek) are conflict for the story, raiding and killing settlers. Then there's the Black couple that arrives on the scene towards the end of Livi's journey to Kentucky.  Eustace and Violet are a couple, slaves whose master was killed by Indians.  They come into Livi's camp to scrounge for supplies because they've been lost in the woods for days.  She strikes a bargain with them - come with her to Kentucky, help her plant and bring in the first harvest, and she'll pay them with their own plot of land from David's claim - which they jump on.  Their dialogue has an unfortunate habit of being written in dialect (we get "Miz" and "Marse" for example) and Livi (who grew up on a plantation) is smacked with the reality while speaking with Eustace that the slaves her parents owned may not have been all that pleased with being property, stripped of free will (imagine that!).  This occurs after Livi saves them from slave catchers (only by sheer luck since the catchers are illiterate!) and she tells Eustace that in order to protect them she needs to forge ownership papers.  Eustace is, understandably, not keen on the idea.

It's not great, but I've also read much worse in romances from this era - although it's not the most problematic element of this storyline to say the least.  Violet ends up murdered by raiding Indians, as the result of Livi thinking danger had past and putting the group back into harm's way.  I haven't been this heartbroken over a character's death in a long while and then I got angry.  That decision to kill the one Black woman was, well it was something.  Eustace lives, but his love is gone and well, now I'm angry all over again just typing out this massive spoiler.

This leaves me with a very conflicted feeling over my final grade for this story.  Given that I'm a sucker for a big, sweeping saga, that Livi's growth arc is dynamite and I started and finished this book in one day (at 2AM no less!) I'm sticking with the highest grade I can give a book.  But oh man, it's got problems.  I will never forgive Grayson for Violet's end, oh and Indians killing Tad's dog.  For all those reasons, this book will be an automatic nope for some readers - but for those who like to dip their toes into Old School Frontier Romancelandia?  This was a riveting read.

Final Grade = A

#TBRChallenge 2021: The Petrov Proposal

The Book: The Petrov Proposal by Maisey Yates

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Harlequin Presents #3046, 2012, Out of print, available in digital, Book 2 in Forrester Siblings duet

Why Was It in Wendy's TBR?: As is wont to happen, Wendy falls for category romance author and then goes scurrying off to snap up an entire backlist. Inevitably it always seems to be an author with eleventy billion books, like Yates. However at this point I've read enough of a sample size to discover that Presents Yates is my favorite Yates.  So for Favorite Author month this was a natural pick from the depths of the print TBR.

The Review: When Yates is firing on all cylinders nobody spins the Presents brand of glitzy, glamorous fairy tale better.  Also, this is a rare boss/secretary romance where the characters actually stop to think about how messy, unwise and inconvenient their mutual attraction/lust is because of power dynamics and their working relationship.

Maddy Forrester is more event planner than secretary, taking orders from her boss, famous and obscenely talented jewelry designer Aleksei Petrov. Happily they conduct most of their business over the phone and through emails, because she recognizes she's very attracted to him - and throwing herself at her boss is so not an option.  See, Maddy spent her formative years as an afterthought, dismissed and neglected by her socialite parents until she finally ends up living with her much other brother.  She craves love and affection - which means she's ripe pickins' when she takes an internship out of college and falls for her boss.  A boss that turns out is married.  To a semi-famous model/actress so Maddy is splashed all over the tabloids once the model/actress files for divorce.  Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt - not sleeping with Aleksei.

For his part Aleksei is your standard Presents hero who will NEVER LOVE AGAIN, having loved and lost once.  No, our guy instead takes a series of mistresses, never promising them more than mutual sexual gratification and occasional business-related nights out.  It's all so very Presents, and frankly annoying.  As is typical, every other woman not Maddy gets dismissed out of hand.  Seriously, I kind of feel sorry for Mistress Olivia who we never meet, but who is name dropped early on for effect.

Anyway, what happens happens.  These two can't stay away from each other, they have a fair amount of steamy sex, messy feelings get involved, and Maddy finds her voice:

“You’re right, Aleksei. I…I am selling myself short. I deserve to be loved, not to just give it. I’ve given it all of my life, and the only person who ever really gave it back was my brother. Everyone else just took what I would offer and used it against me. And I always thought that meant there was something wrong with me. I never thought I deserved more. I do now.”

Honestly, this is the pay-off.  For the first half of the story I feel like the author was spinning her wheels, covering the same ground over and over again. Once she gets Aleksei and Maddy out of the office, out of the bedroom and doing "couple things" (I mean, other than the sex....), things pick up. Because as the reader you're seeing it happen - the falling in the love.  These two dumb bunnies, they have no idea what's about to hit them upside their foolish, silly heads.

Yates has been magic in Presents format, and while this is pretty good, it's not magic (IMHO).  Honestly, it was kind of ho-hum for me early on with the second half showing up in time to save the day.  Good, not great - but now I'm curious about Maddy's brother's book which is, of course, in my TBR.  Because, of course.

Final Grade = B-

#TBRChallenge 2021: The Drifter's Proposal

The Book: The Drifter's Proposal by Kristin Holt

The Particulars: Historical western romance novella, #4 in Holiday in Mountain Home series, Self-published, 2015, Kindle Unlimited (at time of this posting)

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I picked this up at the only Romantic Times Convention I ever attended (2016). I went to a western-themed gathering and recognized exactly two authors in the room - so being the western fan that I am, I went around and snapped up some freebies to try from the unknowns.  Holt was one of those.

The Review: I'm in the midst of "obligation reading" at the moment, so for new-to-you-author month I decided to scrounge up a novella. Novellas are tricky to write and I like trying new authors in this format because it's sink or swim as far as how well their "voice" is going to work for me.  Also, if the story ends up being a dud I'm not slogging through 300+ pages.  

Adaline Whipple's father succumbed to a massive heart attack three months ago, leaving Adaline in charge of the family bakery in small town Mountain Home, Colorado.  Her 10-year-old twin sisters are a help, but her mother has basically been catatonically depressed since her husband passed - so it's up to Adaline. She's become distracted by frequent customer, Malloy (just Malloy), who is a cowboy who drifts in and out of town. He's handsome to distraction but plain, plump Adaline - firmly "on the shelf" at 25 - knows that a man like that would never give her a first glance, let alone a second.  

Then one day a slick big city banker from Denver shows up presenting a signed copy of a mortgage her father signed before he died. Neither Adaline nor her mother knew a blessed thing about any mortgage and now it's past due, the bank demanding payment in full - an astronomical amount of $700.  The bakery is doing OK, but they don't have $700 just lying around!

Malloy overhears this exchange and something smells rotten in Denmark. Malloy is no mere drifter cowboy.  Our guy has accounting skills and has traveled around the country helping law enforcement nail down fraud convictions.  Give this guy another 30 years on the planet and he would have caught Al Capone.  Anyway, he's obviously smitten with Adaline (like, duh) and has a white knight complex - so we're off the races.

This story firmly falls into Rescue Fantasy category, but Holt makes it work for me by keeping this short and giving Adaline (and her mother!) some gumption as things develop.  The mystery of the mortgage the family is clueless about keeps the plot humming along, and held my interest to the end.  It does get a bit melodramatic towards the end and our villain is fairly one-dimension, but honestly after living through 2020 it's amazing how much I'm no longer finding a certain brand of mustache-twirling villain as "over the top."

The romance here is firmly in "just kisses" territory and the courtship follows a very fast timeline, but largely worked for me given that the main couple has been circling each other for months.  Some series baggage naturally creeps in, but it's nothing that confuses the reader and doesn't interfere with this particular romance. 

For readers looking for "just kisses" and who enjoy small town romances, this particular novella is very solid and a good introduction to the author.  I liked it and would definitely try another book by Holt in the future.

Final Grade = B

#TBRChallenge 2021: Roping in the Cowgirl

 The Book: Roping in the Cowgirl by Judy Duarte

The Particulars: Harlequin Special Edition #2505, 2016, book 1 in series, out of print, available in digital.

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: Duarte is a local author for me. I have an autographed copy which means I picked this up at a conference - likely RWA 2016 (San Diego) given the publication date.

The Review: 

CW: domestic violence

There is magic in a well-executed category romance, which makes them ideal comfort reading for me.  After a so-fast-your-head-will-spin DNF on my first choice, I randomly picked up this book which, conveniently enough, is the first book in a series.  It wasn't perfect, but I read this in one sitting.

Blake Darnell is a workaholic who has made partner at a prestigious Beverly Hills law firm and he's just gotten a letter from his Uncle Sam firing him as overseer of the family trust. After his wife died, Sam fell into a tail-spin, nearly dying himself - until he landed in a retirement home catering to retired cowboys and ranchers.  It's also a working ranch and Sam was named foreman.  He's thriving and has found love again with a younger woman.  Blake is concerned and frankly, projecting.  He recently got burned by a gold-digger ex, so naturally given his "firing" he suspects that's what's going on with Uncle Sam.  So he has his assistant clear his calendar and buy him a one-way ticket to Texas to sort it all out.

Things get off on the wrong foot when he arrives and meets the temporary head nurse, Shannon Cramer - who just so happens to be the niece of the woman Sam has fallen in love with.  Joy (who is 60) and Sam (who is 80) are genuinely happy and in love.  Shannon thinks anybody with eyeballs should be able to see that, but Blake - with his slick city polish and pessimism thinks shenanigans are afoot.  Naturally sparks fly between Blake and Shannon and even after Blake comes around on the old folks' relationship, his attraction to Shannon remains complicated. Shannon is country girl through and through, with no desire to leave Texas - and Blake's life is in California.

I loved the concept of this book, a retirement home for cowboys, and there's several secondary characters who liven up the proceedings. The romance between Sam and Joy and Blake and Shannon are also nice. That said....

Both Sam and Blake are pretty dense at times.  Blake assumes the worst in everybody and of course one gold-digger ex has shaded his opinion of Joy before having even met her.  But Sam is no better.  He's pissed at Blake mainly because he's a workaholic who has neglected his Texas family.  Um, HE'S TRYING TO MAKE PARTNER IN A BEVERLY HILLS LAW FIRM!  Should Blake get a free pass for being unable to balance his work life with everything else?  No.  But I did think the old coot could have cut his nephew a little slack.

This isn't perfect, but it's a largely pleasant read until an unexpected Very Dark Moment comes in out of left field towards the end.  I'm going to spoil it because I think it's worth spoiling.  Towards the end a severely battered, and pregnant, woman shows up at the ranch looking for one of the ranch hands.  She ends up delivering her baby prematurely and slips into a coma - not expected to live.  She doesn't die on page - but she will die, because this is all set-up for the second book in the series (I looked it up).  It's upsetting, with absolutely no foreshadowing.  I had the reaction of "wow, this came out of left field...." - I can only imagine how jarring it would be for a reader who 1) wasn't expecting it and 2) has a history with domestic violence.  I normally do my best to avoid spoilers in my reviews - but I'm making an exception here.

The romance turns out right as rain in the end, and while the men annoyed me from time to time, I did largely enjoy this story.  I also really liked the world and will likely continue on with the series. Out of nowhere domestic violence aside, it was a pleasant read.

Final Grade = B-

Sign-Up for the 2021 #TBRChallenge

Thank you everyone who recently took the time to fill out my Google Form soliciting theme suggestions for the 2021 TBR Challenge.  2020 has been...difficult. What little creativity I had fled the scene months ago, with reading and blogging continuing to be a struggle. But I'm nothing if not stubborn, which means hanging on to this Challenge and looking at my blog with fresh eyes.  But that's for a later post.  For now - Let's. Talk. TBR Challenge!

But first, the "rules:"

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: once a month pull a dormant book out of your TBR pile and read it.  On the 3rd Wednesday of the month, talk about that book.

Participation is as easy as being on social media!

• If you're on social media all you need to do is use the #TBRChallenge hashtag - there's no need to sign-up and your participation can vary throughout the year.
• You can use this hashtag on any day, at any time - but we're still going to concentrate on the 3rd Wednesday of every month to kick our commentary into high gear.  
• The idea is to have at least one day a month where we can always count on there being book chatter.

Want to let your blogging freak flag fly?  If you have a blog and want to post TBR commentary there, drop me a comment on this post with a link to your blog or hit me up on Twitter.  I like to post links to the various blogs on my TBR Challenge page so those who follow along can start following you.

Sound good?  Of course it does!  So what are the themes for 2021?  So glad you asked!

January 20 - Comfort Read
February 17 - New-To-You Author
March 17 - Book by a Favorite Author
April 21 - Old School
May 19 - Fairytale / Folktale
June 16 - Book with One Word Title
July 21 - Secrets and Lies
August 18 - Author with More Than One Book in TBR
September 15 - Unusual (Time/Location/Profession etc.)
October 20 - Gothic
November 17 - Competition
December 15 - Festive

All of these themes, save one (yes, it's December's Festive theme....) were suggestions culled from the survey - and yes, some of these were suggested more than once.  Some of these are going to require a bit of planning on my part (for a change!), but remember - if it all seems like too much bother - the themes are always optional. The goal of this challenge isn't so much what you read, so long as you're reading something (anything!) out of your TBR.

My hope is always for this Challenge to be low-key, stress-free and fun!  So I hope you'll consider joining this year. Be like me - use this Challenge to delude yourself into thinking you're actually making some progress on your book hording 😉.  

Edited to Add: YOU GUYS! OMG! Look at this amazing graphic that @ardentlyaarya made!  If you're participating on social media, feel free to use this graphic.