Here it is - the OFFICIAL 2014 READING GOAL CHALLENGE THREAD

Blood Magicked by Nora Roberts
This is the last installment of The O'Dwire Cousins installment. It was predictable and exactly what I expected, but I still enjoyed it. If you are a Nora Roberts fan, you will enjoy.

This is why I love this thread-I AM a Nora Roberts fan, so thanks to your comments, I went to the on-line library for my kindle and ordered the first in the series. I assumed that it's probably best to read all 3 books in order, or can this third one be a "stand-alone"?
 
This is why I love this thread-I AM a Nora Roberts fan, so thanks to your comments, I went to the on-line library for my kindle and ordered the first in the series. I assumed that it's probably best to read all 3 books in order, or can this third one be a "stand-alone"?

It will make more sense if you read in order. As often the case with her trilogy's, the stories build on each other.
 
Finished book #84 - Fear Nothing by Lisa Gardner

This is a good murder mystery.

They were daughters of a monster—a father who slaughtered eight prostitutes before dying himself. Dr. Adeline Glen left the nightmare behind, and now she specializes in pain management. Her sister, Shana Day, followed in her father’s violent footsteps, first killing at age fourteen and being incarcerated for more than twenty-five years.
After a brutal attack, Boston Detective D. D. Warren needs Adeline’s professional help to recover physically. But when a new psychopath known as the Rose Killer begins a reign of terror, D.D. must also consult the insane Shana—who claims she can help catch the madman.
D.D. may not yet be back on the job, but she is back on the hunt. Because the Rose Killer isn’t just targeting lone women; he is targeting D.D. And D.D. knows there is only one way to take him down.…


Next book: The Perfect Husband

Love Lisa Gardner! Wish she would hurry up and release a new one, lol.
If you like Lisa's books, you will like Karin Slaughter also.
 
Goal 72

#77 Until You're Mine by Samantha Hayes

After reading a summary of this book and all the raves on the book jacket, I couldn't wait to read this 'psychological thriller'!
"Riveting from its very first pages, Until You're Mine is a multilayered masterwork of twisted, psychological suspense with a shocking finale that will have readers everywhere talking."
Mmmm, not so much. Too many inconsistencies, the characters were not likable. I had pretty much figured out the 'twist' way before the end.
The two main detectives are a married couple and the author is going to continue with a series of books featuring them.......well, I won't be reading them, lol.
 

Finished book #85 - The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner

Husband turns out to be a psychotic serial killer & breaks out of jail to kill his wife & kidnap his daughter. This book wasn't as good as her other books. The plot made for a good book, but I really didn't like the characters at all. The author focused too much on the messed up mercenary she goes to for help & his screwed up sister.

What would you do if the man of your dreams hides the soul of a killer?
Jim Beckett was everything she'd ever dreamed of...But two years after Tess married the decorated cop and bore his child, she helped put him behind bars for savagely murdering ten women. Even locked up in a maximum security prison, he vowed he would come after her and make her pay. Now the cunning killer has escaped—and the most dangerous game of all begins....
After a lifetime of fear, Tess will do something she's never done before. She's going to learn to protect her daughter and fight back, with the help of a burned-out ex-marine. As the largest manhunt four states have ever seen mobilizes to catch Beckett, the clock winds down to the terrifying reunion between husband and wife. And Tess knows that this time, her only choices are to kill—or be killed.


I MET MY GOAL OF 85 BOOKS!!!

NEXT BOOK: If I Stay
 
Have long since passed my goal! :cool1:

Just finished Outlander over the weekend. This is my second time reading it, and oh my word, I love it even MORE the second time through!

Patiently waiting for Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) to become available - hold list says Thursday - tempted to just buy it because I'm dying to get back to Claire and Jamie Fraser :lovestruc:lovestruc:lovestruc

If you haven't read Outlander, run to your nearest library, lol. Best love story of all times!

Also finished Lucid, but probably shouldn't count it since I skipped the entire middle of the book, LOL! I just couldn't get into it... but yet I also needed to find out how it ended. So yeah, I cheated. :)

Reading You while waiting for Outlander #2, but not liking this one either. Skimming through it just because I'm bored and don't want to be without a book. It's just weird - maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised though.
 
#95 Homeward by Melody Carlson-wouldn't recommend

#96 Wigs on the Green by Nancy Mitford

#97 Heartburn by Nora Ephron-liked this

#98 Aunt Dimity Digs In by Nancy Atherton-thank you to the DIS-ers that put me on to these.

#99 Outlander by Diana Gabaldon-finally finished this. I stared once years ago and couldn't get into it, I slogged through it again and really didn't enjoy it until the last quarter of the book. I did start the second one and I am enjoying that a little more. I have persisted with these because so many people love them. I think they are ok but I don't get the hype. (I am probably going to be drummed out of this thread for that!).

Going away on a 12 night cruise tomorrow so have a lovely lot of books on my kindle ready to read. May be more excited about the reading than the trip :rotfl:
 
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Finished book #86 - If I Stay by Gayle Forman

A friend from my book club recommended this. A movie from this book is currently in theaters or will be soon. This is a good, not great, YA book about a family who are in a car accident. The teen daughter, hospitalized in grave condition, must decide whether it's worth surviving.

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen *year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, this will change the way you look at life, love, and family.
 
#40/40: The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

I loved this book! I couldn't put it down and read it in three sittings. This has to be one of my top reads for the year!
5/5

Totally agree, loved the book :thumbsup2
 
I'm too busy to post here and keep up with noting what I've read but I do still read here occasionally. Anyway, I am almost 75% through with Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult and I LOVE it! I can't wait to see how it all ends.

And I just got from the library Me Before You because of someone's review on here. (3boysmom?)

And although I haven't kept track, I'm pretty sure I've read around 20 books this year. I'll have to count them all soon. (I have a really long commute so I have a lot of time to read on the bus and metro.)

Anyway, I hope to join and be active in 2015. :)
 
Book #52 - The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell

When a tragedy breaks a family apart, what can bring it back together?

The Birds seem to be the perfect family: mother, father, four children, a picture-book cottage in the country.

But when something happens one Easter weekend, it is so unexpected, so devastating, that no one can talk about it.

The family shatters, seemingly for ever.

Until they are forced to return to the house they grew up in. And to confront what really took place all those years ago.


When I first started this book, it appeared to be a fairly boring read about a family with a slightly eccentric Mother, who turns out to be something of a hoarder. Boy, was I wrong! It took a while but the book really grew on me, to the point where I am propping my eyelids open with matchsticks this morning, after staying awake until the early hours trying to get it finished :rotfl: It is so much more than just a book about a family and a house, you get to know and understand the characters and what makes them tick and understand why they are how they are. This is probably one of my favourite reads of the year.
 
Goal 72

#78 The River by Beverly Lewis

Typical Amish story. Altho I loved the Amish type books years ago, this one seemed pretty tame and not very interesting.
The story was of 2 sisters who had left the amish life years before but went home for an anniversary celebration for their parents who wanted them to return to the amish lifestyle. Secrets were revealed, all in all a happy ending.
 
Book #52 - The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell

When a tragedy breaks a family apart, what can bring it back together?

The Birds seem to be the perfect family: mother, father, four children, a picture-book cottage in the country.

But when something happens one Easter weekend, it is so unexpected, so devastating, that no one can talk about it.

The family shatters, seemingly for ever.

Until they are forced to return to the house they grew up in. And to confront what really took place all those years ago.


When I first started this book, it appeared to be a fairly boring read about a family with a slightly eccentric Mother, who turns out to be something of a hoarder. Boy, was I wrong! It took a while but the book really grew on me, to the point where I am propping my eyelids open with matchsticks this morning, after staying awake until the early hours trying to get it finished :rotfl: It is so much more than just a book about a family and a house, you get to know and understand the characters and what makes them tick and understand why they are how they are. This is probably one of my favourite reads of the year.

Sounds like one I would like!
Your last sentence tho made me remember to pick my top 3 from this year like we did last time! So now I've got to go back over my list and decide.
 
Book #52 - The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell

When a tragedy breaks a family apart, what can bring it back together?

The Birds seem to be the perfect family: mother, father, four children, a picture-book cottage in the country.

But when something happens one Easter weekend, it is so unexpected, so devastating, that no one can talk about it.

The family shatters, seemingly for ever.

Until they are forced to return to the house they grew up in. And to confront what really took place all those years ago.


When I first started this book, it appeared to be a fairly boring read about a family with a slightly eccentric Mother, who turns out to be something of a hoarder. Boy, was I wrong! It took a while but the book really grew on me, to the point where I am propping my eyelids open with matchsticks this morning, after staying awake until the early hours trying to get it finished :rotfl: It is so much more than just a book about a family and a house, you get to know and understand the characters and what makes them tick and understand why they are how they are. This is probably one of my favourite reads of the year.

Sounds like one I would like!
Your last sentence tho made me remember to pick my top 3 from this year like we did last time! So now I've got to go back over my list and decide.

Agree! This one sounds like my kind of book too! Adding it now to my "never-gets-any-smaller-because-of-the-DIS" to-read list! :p
 
Book #64 of 74

Invisible by James Patterson

From Goodreads:
Everyone thinks Emmy Dockery is crazy. Obsessed with finding the link between hundreds of unsolved cases, Emmy has taken leave from her job as an FBI researcher. Now all she has are the newspaper clippings that wallpaper her bedroom, and her recurring nightmares of an all-consuming fire.

Not even Emmy's ex-boyfriend, field agent Harrison "Books" Bookman, will believe her that hundreds of kidnappings, rapes, and murders are all connected. That is, until Emmy finds a piece of evidence he can't afford to ignore. More murders are reported by the day--and they're all inexplicable. No motives, no murder weapons, no suspects. Could one person really be responsible for these unthinkable crimes?
 
The Chase
Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, New York Times bestselling authors of The Heist, return in this action-packed, exciting adventure featuring master con artist Nicolas Fox and die-hard FBI agent Kate O’Hare. And this time around, things go from hot to nuclear when government secrets are on the line. Internationally renowned thief and con artist Nicolas Fox is famous for running elaborate and daring scams. His greatest con of all: convincing the FBI to team him up with the only person who has ever caught him, and the only woman to ever capture his attention, Special Agent Kate O’Hare. Together they’ll go undercover to swindle and catch the world’s most wanted—and untouchable—criminals. Their newest target is Carter Grove, a former White House chief of staff and the ruthless leader of a private security agency. Grove has stolen a rare Chinese artifact from the Smithsonian, a crime that will torpedo U.S. relations with China if it ever becomes public. Nick and Kate must work under the radar—and against the clock—to devise a plan to steal the piece back. Confronting Grove’s elite assassins, Nick and Kate rely on the skills f their ragtag crew, including a flamboyant actor, a Geek Squad techie, and a band of AARP-card-carrying mercenaries led by none other than Kate’s dad. A daring heist and a deadly chase lead Nick and Kate from Washington, D.C., to Shanghai, from the highlands of Scotland to the underbelly of Montreal. But it’ll take more than death threats, trained henchmen, sleepless nights, and the fate of a dynasty’s priceless heirloom to outsmart Fox and O’Hare.


This one isn't as good as the first in the series IMO. The quirky characters aren't around as much and it just lacks the sense of humor the first one had.
 
Goal - 70 Books

Book #53 - "Lionheart" by Sharon Kay Penman

From Goodreads: They were called "The Devil's Brood," though never to their faces. They were the four surviving sons of Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor of Aquitaine. With two such extraordinary parents, much was expected of them.
But the eldest-charming yet mercurial-would turn on his father and, like his brother Geoffrey, meet an early death. When Henry died, Richard would take the throne and, almost immediately, set off for the Holy Land. This was the Third Crusade, and it would be characterized by internecine warfare among the Christians and extraordinary campaigns against the Saracens. And, back in England, by the conniving of Richard's youngest brother, John, to steal his crown.

My review: One of my favorites of the year! If you love historical fiction, especially anything to do with England, this is the book/author for you! She is meticulous in her research, so everything is very authentic! I loved reading this book, and can't wait to pick up the sequel!

Next up: "Light Between Oceans"
 
I am hanging my head in shame! I don't think I will make my goal, this year! I'm trying, but between dealing with my 5 kids, going to graduate school, and starting a new job, I'm falling behind! I'm still going to try, because I can't imagine not finishing a goal I set, but I have doubts that I'll get to 70. Maybe I should pick shorter books???

Oh well. At least my new job is in a library, so I get to be surrounded by books. Maybe I can do some reading while I'm shelving!
 
#13 Arraigning Gershwin by R. Bañagale

Happened to be around to read. Interesting, and I now know a lot more than I did before about Rhapsody in Blue. Did not know there was so much controversy about whom created the majority of the composition for certain instruments. Apparently it was rushed as Gershwin forgot or was not fully aware that he agreed to write to piece for a new jazz experimental concert. Also interesting to see how Leonard Bernstein came to arrange it the way he did. Nice read though at times so far over my head.

As always anyone interested in reading any of my works just PM me.
 
Book #87 Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Book *88 Legend of Sleepy Hallow by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Book #89 Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

Book #90 The Forgotten Sister by Jennifer Paytner

Book #91 Shopaholic takes Manhatten by Sophie Kinsella

Book #92 Shopaholic Ties the Knot By Sophie Sinsella

Book #93 Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella

Book #94 Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella

Book #95 Mini-Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
 














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