Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon Team Challenge - Finished

Wheel-A-Thon Team Challenge hosted by Nothing but Reading Challenges on Goodreads.

This challenge has now finished and though we did not win the challenge our team (Team Hook) did really well. We started in 20th place but finished in 9th. The challenge was meant to finish when one team reached 2000 points but it was extended to end of August instead. I enjoyed this challenge and will most likely take part again if it comes back.

About this Challenge
◈ Starts on 13th July, 2014
◈ The first team to reach 2000 points wins (If more than one team reaches 1000 points in the same week, then the team with the highest points is the winner)
◈ Each week the mods will "spin the wheel" and assign each team a genre name
◈ The team's task is to read books to spell out the genre name for 10 points per letter
◈ The team will get an extra 15 bonus points if all the letters in the genre name are part of their spell-it-out
◈ The team will get an additional 20 bonus points if at least one person in the group reads a book of that genre (the book must be "shelved" by at least 10 users on Goodreads for that genre)
◈ Once teams have read their genre name for the week they can "re-read" the genre name to gain more points (10 points per letter, but no bonus points)
◈ Books must be more than 160 pages in length and Children's books and Graphic Novels can not be used unless by word count they can be verified as more than 160 pages

How a "spell it out" works
Spell out the word(s) using the first letter in the book's title, the first letter in the author's first or last name, the first letter in the series name, or the first letter of a character's first, last, or nick-name. As always, if the first letter of a title starts with an indefinite or definite article ('A', 'An', 'The', etc.), you may use the first letter of the second word in the title to spell out your chosen word. If your book starts with a number (e.g. 24 Bones) use the number to determine the first letter (in this example, it would be T)

Challenge requirements

To be a part of this challenge you need to be able to:
◈ Read at least one book per week
◈ Create a special shelf for the challenge for the books you are reading
◈ Check-in on your team's discussion thread at least once per week
◈ Have fun!

The books I read for this challenge:

Week 1: Horror:
I was not part of the challenge yet

Week 2: Horror:
A Croft in the Hills by Katharine Stewart ( H for character Helen)
Neanderthal Seeks Human: A Smart Romance by Penny Reid  (R for author)
Reckless Nights in Rome by C.C. MacKenzie (R for title)
One Sweet Summer by Cali MacKay (O for title)

Week 3: Chick lit:
Texas Secrets: The Gallaghers of Morning Star by Jean Brashear (C for character Maddie Collins)
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (H for character Hazel)
Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter (I for title)

Week 4: Crime
Illicit Magic by Camilla Chafer (I for title)
Macaron Murder by Harper Lin (M for title)
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (I for author)
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered by Kerry Barrett (E for character Esme)
Casino Royale: James Bond 007 by Ian Fleming (I for author) (also used as genre of the week book)
Winter's End by Clarissa Cartharn (C for author)
Hot Summer by Judy Powell (M for character Lance Monroe)

Week 5: Contemporary
Gnome on the Range by Jennifer Zane (T for character Ty Strickland)
Blessings by Anna Quindlen  (A for author)
Dragonsblood by Todd J. McCaffrey (T for author)
Forliset Og Andre Skrøner by Jørn Riel  (R for author)

Week 6: Suspence
Unruly Magic by Camilla Chafer (U for title)
Kept by Elle Field (E for author)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky  (P for title)
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (E for character Elrond)

Week 7: Dystopian
The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (Y for title)

The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Ships fly, cabbages turn men into donkeys, a childless couple is sent a baby boy the size of a hazelnut, and a dog, a cat and a mouse join forces to retrieve a magic ring. Amongst the 48 stories in The Yellow Fairy Book are much loved classics such as 'Thumbelina' and 'The Steadfast Tin Soldier', but in this volume Lang also included wonderfully exotic tales from Russia, Hungary, Iceland and America. From Goodreads.

I love fairy tales. I remember being on holiday at my grandparents, probably soon after I had learned to read. They had 3 books with collected fairy tales and I think I have read the 3 books at least a hundred times.
This book has both tales that are well known to me and also a few I had not read before. Also it had several versions of the same tales which was quite interesting, especially the ones I thought I knew and then they suddenly had a very different ending to the one I expected.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Read Scotland 2014
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (Y-jellyfish)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

From the land of Mordor, an evil darkness creeps across Middle-earth. Armies of men and elves and dwarves have been raised in futile efforts to combat this evil. Great wizards have been unable to check it. But in the peaceful, far-off Shire, a hobbit named Frodo Baggins holds a ring that may be the key to defeating Mordor. This stirring saga of epic evil and heroic courage begins with a fellowship joined in a desperate quest that may be the only hope for restoring goodness and light to the land. From Goodreads.

Not much to say. The Lord of The Rings is one of the best fantasy books out there. I have read this at least twice before and it was quite interesting to listen to it. I am of course continuing to listen to the next two books. If you have just the slightest interest in fantasy and have not read these books yet, you are missing out. Best to start with The Hobbit as that book is before The Lord of The Rings trilogy.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Audio Book Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (F-wolf)
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Charlie is a freshman.
And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his year yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.
Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sidelines forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. From Goodreads.



This wasn't as good as I had hoped. It touches a lot of difficult issues like rape, abuse, abortion, suicide, drugs and more but some of the topics are just mentioned and it does not seem to have influenced the people it happened to very much. I am not sure I will read more from this author.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Chinese New Year Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Kept by Elle Field

Life hasn't quite worked out how Arielle Lockley planned. Becoming the next Coco Chanel, not shopping at Chanel, was always her childhood dream but somehow she's ended up as a kept woman, living the jet set lifestyle with boyfriend Piers.
When the recession hits, it's not just the economy that takes a tumble. Broke and homeless with zero job prospects, can Arielle find her way again in time or will she always have to be a kept woman? From Goodreads.

This was only just okay. I am not sure there is a single character in this book I actually like. Arielle is a shopoholic selfish woman, she does redeem herself in the end of the book but it still didn't make me like her. I am extremely glad this book was free.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (E-raven)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Unruly Magic by Camilla Chafer

The sequel to Illicit Magic...
A witch on the run.
A quiet little town where everything is far from normal.
A fractured witch council threatening to tear the supernatural world apart.
Life hasn't been easy for novice witch Stella but small town life seems to be agreeing with her. When a seemingly innocent girl begs for her protection, Stella is pulled into a dangerous game of unruly magic.
With bewitching friends and two super-sexy mysterious men by her side, Stella is plunged into a mystery where she must uncover dangerous secrets before she ends up paying the ultimate price. From Goodreads.

This book continues right after number one. She is hiding in her parents house. New nice neighbours that are not what they seem. It is still a good paranormal story with lots of romance.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (U-umbrillabird)
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly

Forliset Og Andre Skrøner by Jørn Riel

Jørn Riels tiende og uigenkaldeligt sidste skrønesamling, i hvert fald fra Nordøstgrønland, fortæller de barske, sørgelige og ikke mindst skønt fornøjelige og i høj grad sandfærdige historier om afviklingen af fangststationerne.
Meget skal ikke røbes her, men kaptain Olsen og Bjørkens store styrkeprøve, Valfreds bryllup og den legendariske cykeltur over indlandsisen er blot nogle få af de mange højdepunkter.
Ingen af dem, der gennem nogle af de ni tidligere samlinger har mødt det farvestrålende, featlige og praktisk-filosofiske folkefærd fra Nordøstgrønland, kan undvære disse sidste beretninger, der byder på ekstraordinære overraskelser og næsten overnaturlige hændelser. From Backcover.






I always enjoy the tall tales from Jørn Riel. This is his tenth book of tall tales from Northeast Greenland. I have read some of the previous ones but not all of them, the fun part is that it is the same people you hear new stories about which meant I recognised several of the characters in this book.
I spent seven years on the west coast of Greenland and it is fun to actually know the places that are mentioned in the book.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (R-umbrillabird)
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Dragonsblood by Todd J. McCaffrey

Never in the dramatic history of Pern has there been a more dire emergency than that which faces the young dragonrider Lorana. A mysterious fatal illness is striking dragons. The epidemic is spreading like wildfire . . . and the next deadly cycle of Threadfall is only days away. Somehow, Lorana must find a cure before the dragons-including her own beloved Arith-succumb to the sickness, leaving Pern undefended.
The lyrics of an all-but-forgotten song seem to point toward an answer from nearly five hundred years in the past, when Kitti Ping and her daughter Wind Blossom bred the first dragons from their smaller cousins, the fire-lizards. No doubt the first colonists possessed the advanced technology to find the cure for which Lorana seeks, but over the centuries, that knowledge has been lost.
Or has it?
For in the distant past, an aged Wind Blossom worries that the germs that affect the fire-lizards may one day turn on larger prey-and unleash a plague that will destroy the dragons, Pern's only defenders against Thread. But as her people struggle to survive, Wind Blossom has neither the time nor the resources to expend on a future that may never arrive-until suddenly she uncovers evidence that her worst fears will come true.
Now two brave women, separated by hundreds of years but joined by bonds transcending time, will become unknowing allies in a desperate race against sickness and Threadfall, with nothing less than the survival of all life on Pern at stake. From Goodreads.

I really like the Dragonriders of Pern series. Originally written by Anne McCaffrey but the later ones written by her son Todd.
I enjoyed this, it was interesting how the present was tied in with the past. Lorana was a perfect heroine and Wind Blossom an interesting person.
I will continue reading this series.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: 2014 Chubby Chunkster
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Barnet på Blessings (Blessings) by Anna Quindlen

Late one night, a teenage couple drives up to the big white clapboard home on the Blessing estate and leaves a box. In that instant, the lives of those who live and work there are changed forever. Skip Cuddy, the caretaker, finds a baby girl asleep in that box and decides he wants to keep the child . . . while Lydia Blessing, the matriarch of the estate, for her own reasons, agrees to help him. "Blessings" explores how the secrets of the past affect decisions and lives in the present; what makes a person or a life legitimate or illegitimate and who decides; and the unique resources people find in themselves and in a community. This is a powerful novel of love, redemption, and personal change by the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer about whom "The Washington Post Book World" said, "Quindlen knows that all the things we ever will be can be found in some forgotten fragment of family."  From Goodreads.




This was really good and I enjoyed it. Lydia Blessing goes from being a not likeable person  to a very likeable person and as we look back at her life we discover the reasons for being the person she is. Skip finds his purpose in life. This book doesn't have a typical happy ending but in its own way it is not particularly sad either.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
CCC A-Z Authors 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Author Alphabet Reading Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Gnome on the Range by Jennifer Zane

Once you get the zing you can't go back.
Jane West has everything a woman could want. A job in a small Montana town's only adult store, two busy young boys and one dead husband. Everything except a little excitement--a little zing. But that changes one summer morning at a garage sale when her kids buy some garden gnomes.
Now someone wants those gnomes and will let nothing get in their way. Including Jane. This new excitement for Jane spells trouble for a relationship with new neighbor--and hot fireman--Ty Strickland. Can Jane and Ty handle a relationship meddling mother-in-law, crazy kids, and stay alive while trying to solve the mystery of the garden gnomes? From Goodreads.

This wasn't great but it was funny in parts and that pulled it up to three Polar bears. Jane is okay but it is the mother-in-law that is funny. No, I don't think I will read more by this author.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
CCC A-Z Authors 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Author Alphabet Reading Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (Z-zorrilla)
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Hot Summer by Judy Powell

A hot-tempered spitfire and a sexy, arrogant man - put them together and sparks fly!
After her first embarrassing encounter Summer Jones vows to stay away from suave record producer, Lance Munroe. But then she ends up working for the man. Her quick temper and sharp tongue keep landing her in hot water with him but no matter how hard she tries she can't deny her growing attraction for him. Then they go on a business trip to Jamaica - and her world is turned upside down.
Lance is intrigued by the feisty woman who practically tells him off the first time they meet. When they begin working together he realizes how much he enjoys the challenge of taming the little tigress. But, before he knows it, he's the one caught in the snare of passion. The tables are turned - the tigress has tamed the lion.
If you love the sizzle of a romance between two strong-willed individuals, follow Summer and Lance from Chicago to Jamaica and be swept away in the thrill of their hot summer. From Goodreads.

This was an okay romance. Nothing special, predictable but okay. There is a very strong loyalty to family in both main characters.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Winter's End by Clarissa Cartharn

When young widow, Emma Winston leaves her life in London with her two children for the quieter Breakish in the Isle of Skye, all she wants is a simple life. And for a while, she thinks she has it.
That is until she meets the mysterious Mrs Kinnaird who suddenly feels that Emma might make the ideal bride for her wealthy playboy grandson, Chris Cameron- a man who holds his own dark secrets.
Further still, when Emma's brother-in-law, Richard Winston follows her to Skye to tell her he loves her, Mrs Kinnaird manipulates all her power to keep Richard away from Emma.
Will Emma finally let go of her past and learn to follow her heart? From Goodreads.

I liked this, it was a quick cosy read. Emma seems to be a bit of a pushover but that could be because of her previous marriage that wasn't that happy. I liked the manipulative Mrs. Kinnaird and her two servants. Neither the brother-in-law Richard or Mrs. Kinnaird's grandson Chris were very nice. Of course it all ends happily. It got the fourth Polar bear because the setting was the Isle of Skye.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Read Scotland 2014
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Casino Royale: James Bond 007 by Ian Fleming

'Surround yourself with human beings, my dear James. They are easier to fight for than principles'
In Casino Royale, the first of Fleming's 007 adventures, a game of cards is James Bond's only chance to bring down the desperate SMERSH agent Le Chiffre. But Bond soon discovers that there is far more at stake than money. From Goodreads.

Classic James Bond. The beautiful woman who has to be his partner of course dies. It was okay and a fun read.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (I-yeti)
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered by Kerry Barrett

A Kind of Magic Part-time witch, full-time glamorous high-flyer Esme Mcleod rubs shoulders with celebrities for a living, has a sort-of-boyfriend ...and just enough magic in her fingertips to solve life's little irritations; why shouldn't she cast a little spell to catch the busy barman's attention, or to summon a latte to aid her all-nighters? Called back to her small Scottish home town and meddling family, stiletto-clad Esme is way out of her comfort zone... But Esme must embrace her abilities as a witch, or watch her family lose their beloved cafe. Except Esme has never claimed to be a whizz at witchcraft, and her charms are starting to go awry - she certainly never meant to cast a love spell on her ex-boyfriend Jamie! It's time for urgent lessons in magic as well as love - it seems there's only so much that muttering a few words over cupcake batter will fix... From Goodreads.





A cute read. Also a bit of suspense but not too much. I like witches, I like Scotland (though apart from being told it is set in Scotland, it doesn't feel very Scottish) and I liked this story. I will most likely pick up the second book in the series and hope the author shows us a bit of Edinburgh.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Read Scotland 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

As a child, Kathy – now thirty-one years old – lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory.
And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed – even comforted – by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now.
A tale of deceptive simplicity, Never Let Me Go slowly reveals an extraordinary emotional depth and resonance – and takes its place among Kazuo Ishiguro’s finest work. From Goodreads.

This is dystopian though it is set in the past. I won't say why these kids are special as that would be a spoiler but to me the scary part is that I fear this could actually happen in the future. I hope not but I wouldn't put it past human nature that it could.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge
Eclectic Reader Challenge 2014
2014 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge
2014 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (N-toucan)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Macaron Murder by Harper Lin

French native Clémence Damour returns to Paris after traveling around the world for two years. She’s dog-sitting for her parents in the posh 16th arrondissement and overseeing the family patisserie, a famous franchise known for their delectable gourmet pastries and sweets in Paris and around the world.
To get off on the right foot with la gardienne, the caretaker of the apartment building, Clémence gives her a box of their luxury macarons. The next morning however, the half-eaten box of macarons is found near la gardienne's dead body. An incompetent inspector accuses Clémence of being the killer, which prompts her to clear her name and solve the case herself.
Join Clémence and her friends as they solve murder cases, bake macarons and other treats, and fall in love in The City of Lights. From Goodreads.




This was okay, a light cosy mystery. It was a very short book and only took a few hours to read. If I found more of this series for free I would read them.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Chinese New Year Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Play Jeopardy!
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (L-seal)
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Illicit Magic by Camilla Chafer

More than three hundred years after the most terrifying witch hunts the world has ever known, it's happening again.
When an attack by ruthless witch hunters forces twenty-four-year-old Stella from her home in London into the protection of the powerful Witch Council in New York, she has to put her faith in strangers just to stay alive, yet she might not be any safer in their midst than the danger she escaped.
Hidden from the Brotherhood in an extraordinary safe house by the sea where she is sent to learn her craft, Stella finds there is more than one dark secret in her new family: Étoile’s sister is spoken of in fear and sadness; Marc is supposed to be a powerful warlock but is missing his magic; where does the owner of their safe house vanish to every day and why does Evan have the eyes of someone not quite human?
One secret is important enough to kill for and it's a secret so powerful it could destroy the fragile threads of Stella's new world. From Goodreads.


I really liked this. I always like when things are not what they seem and most of what happens in this book is like that. And then I of course nearly always enjoy books about witches. I will definitely continue this series and as my sister likes it too I already have all 5 books.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Jumble Your Genres Reading Challenge 2014
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (I-xoni)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter

HE INHERITED A WATCHMAKER'S STORE - AND A WHOLE HEAP OF TROUBLE. But idle sometime-musician George has little talent for clockwork. And when a shadowy figure tries to steal an old device from the premises, George finds himself embroiled in a mystery of time travel, music and sexual intrigue. A genuine lost classic, a steampunk original whose time has come. From Goodreads.

This is a classic steampunk and the author K.W. Jeter is supposed to be the one who came up with the genre steampunk. This unfortunately doesn't mean it is a great book.
I have read other steampunk books and this book of course has all the elements of that genre being one of the originals but to me it was boring.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Read Scotland 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (I-umbrellabird)
CCC-Read your age
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten. From Goodreads.

I have had this book on my TBR list for a while but felt I had to be in the right mood to read it. Well I don't know if I was in the right mood but as I am going to the cinema to see the film in two days time and there was no way I was going to go without having read it first, I just had to read it.

This is a beautiful book. It is a YA book about teenagers living with and dying of cancer. There is no happy ending to this book. It is of course incredibly emotional as it is about loss but also being able to love at deaths door.
The characters around Hazel and Augustus are also very interesting and I liked that to some of them there was more to them than what it seemed liked in the beginning.
This book had me crying but also smiling when the young people were using morbid humour.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (L-quail)
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Scrabble, anyone?
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon

Texas Secrets: The Gallaghers of Morning Star by Jean Brashear

Up-and-coming chef Maddie Collins finds out that her father’s life was a lie when she is bequeathed a family homeplace she never knew existed–by the husband of the only woman her father ever loved.
Rugged horseman Boone Gallagher arrives back in Texas to discover that the father who drove him away has struck one last blow. The only place he’s ever thought of as home now belongs to a woman who doesn’t want it, and he must keep her there for thirty days–or it will be lost to them both. From Goodreads.

I enjoyed this more than I expected. I really liked Maddie. It was a quick, easy, predictable read.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection Chinese New Year Challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (M-umbrellabird)
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Nothing but Reading Challenges Wheel-A-Thon