The Pack in Illinois by Zoey Glasgow

Blue Rivers defines a typical teenager of the 21st century. Her parents are split, she suffers from severe anxiety and is known as a loner after breaking up with her obsessive ex-boyfriend. When one of the few people she trusts dies of cancer, she finds herself leaning towards an old friend who betrayed her awhile ago. As the relationship revives, she finds herself introduced to a whole new kind of world that is both intoxicating and deadly. The only thing keeping her from running is Rider Hayde, the alpha of the Illinois wolf pack. From Goodreads.

I started off thinking this was okay, apart from the fact that Blue living alone with her dad was being kind of Twilight. I also liked that some chapters were from other people's point of view. My problem with this book was the editing or the lack of it. I am normally not sensitive about this but it was bad in this book. Lots of missing words, changes of names and wrong words.
Another huge problem was that I did not anywhere see this was part of a series but it ends on a cliffhanger, or if it is just this book it has a really bad ending.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: The Great American Road Trip
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach

Fearless by Cornelia Funke

After saving his brother, Jacob Reckless faces death from the fairy's curse burning in his heart. In search of a cure he returns to the Mirrorworld, where he is reunited with Fox, a beautiful shape-shifting girl. He has one more chance: a golden crossbow, with the power to both save and destroy life, buried in a dead king's tomb beneath an invisible palace. Jacob must cross continents, face monsters and men - including a dangerous rival - and learn what it means to stay alive. From Goodreads.

Interesting to be back in mirrorworld with Jacob and Fox. This time Jacob is searching for something to save his life from the Red Fairy's curse. I am looking forward to the next book.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: The Great American Road Trip
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Getting Acquainted
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe

The Adventures of Augustus Fuller by James Rickon

The Adventures of Augustus Fuller, classic action adventure fiction from the pen of James Rickon, contains the three stories:
Casus Belli:
The arrival of a misdirected cryptic letter plunges Augustus Fuller, gentleman, into the dangerous intrigues of the anarchist underworld of Edwardian London. With Scotland Yard baffled and reliant on him for information, will Fuller be able to unmask the identity of the anarchist mastermind and discover their plans? Or will his high stakes game end in nothing less than Fuller’s demise in the cruellest of manner?
The Aldbury Devil:
Fear stalks the snow laden landscape of East Kent as the tormented mind of an old man haunts the residents of Aldbury Hall. Can Fuller uncover what lies behind a spate of disturbing killings on the estate? Or will the nightmare stepping out of the cold winter’s night claim his life too?
The Terror Weapons:
With tensions across Europe rising in the hot summer heat of 1905, the British public is held in rapture by newspaper headlines of mysterious explosions lighting up the night skies above cities across the country. Are these nothing more than natural phenomena or does the recovery of a burnt corpse at Portsmouth point to a more insidious and calculating menace at work? From Goodreads.

Three different adventures set in 1905. Augustus Fuller seems to be a gentleman who works under cover both for the police and the Foreign Office. He is nearly killed in all three adventures but of course just manages to get away and ends up kind of solving the cases. Not completely solving as the main bad guys always get away. Not for me.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: The Great American Road Trip
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach
Rawk-A-Tiers: Rhyme Time

The Cornish Affair by Laura Lockington

Fin thinks she's finished with love.
A dedicated food lover, she potters around her country kitchen with Nelson the bad tempered parrot, Baxter the dog and her delightfully vague Aunt, Nancy.
Her days are spent creating ambitious recipes and gazing out onto the Cornish coast from her cliff top home - The House of Dolphins.
But this summer something is about to change.
At the annual Port Charles beach party the glamorous TV chef Oliver Dean is making an appearance
Rich, worldly, and successful he couldn't be more different from Fin.
And yet sometimes opposites attract.
And suddenly Fin realises that romance is on the menu.
But does she still know the ingredients for a a 'Cornish Affair'?
Or is this a recipe for heartbreak? From Goodreads.



On the cover it says it is a laugh out loud foodie romance. I didn't think it was quite that funny but it was still an okay romance.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: The Great American Road Trip
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Rhyme Time
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe

Deep in My Heart by Patricia W. Fischer

Dr. Jocelyn Promise had no long-term plans to stay in Tuscany, Texas, but she saved the daughter of Caleb Davis, her high school crush, and became a hero. Will she allow herself to fall for him again?
Widower and Air Force Veteran, Caleb Davis, never wanted to fall in love again... until he saw Jocelyn. Now someone from his past has arrived to even a score.
Can he protect his family, Jocelyn, and his heart?
Things are about to get interesting in Tuscany, Texas. From Goodreads.

A suspense romance. I like Jocelyn who seems to have turned from an insecure teenager into a strong caring adult. Luke lost his wife and is now a single parent with four kids, 3 year old Riley is of course extremely cute.
It is a romance and therefore has a happy ending. A little too happy as even the woman who is the mean bitch of the story and has been since high school turns into a nice person in the end.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: The Great American Road Trip
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Rhyme Time
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: Getting Acquainted
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery

Into the Deep End by Leesa Freeman

Before doesn't exist—not for Luke Stevenson—not anymore.
He once dreamt of winning Olympic gold and escaping his crappy little New Mexico town, but that dream shattered the night a drunk driver took his twin sister and confined him to a wheelchair. Mourning Bethany and struggling to cope with his new paraplegic life, Luke is blind with rage at everyone and everything.
Adriana Toomey, the only other survivor of the crash, can barely crawl out of bed after burying her fiancé, Luke’s best friend. But what haunts her most, she has no memory of that fatal night.
An old friend who manages a camp for special needs kids, strong-arms the broken pair to act as counselors for three weeks. Seeing each other again is painful. Luke reminds Adriana too much of the man she was going to marry. Luke, who secretly loves his best friend's girl, has no idea how to be the kind of man any woman would want. Disabled and destroyed, what could he possibly have to offer now?
Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. From Goodreads

This was a very emotional book, dealing with the loss of loved ones and the loss of possibilities. Both Luke and Adriana are having a difficult time getting through the time after the accident where they lost his sister and her boyfriend. But this book is about dealing with it and moving on, not forgetting but moving on and accepting a new kind of life.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: The Great American Road Trip
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: House Games
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe

First Year by J. P. Howards

Lauren Gillan is starting medical school. The last thing she needs in her life is a distraction. When an opportunity arises to learn the identity of her sperm donor father, Lauren gets more than she bargained for. Led by a series of puzzles, she embarks on a journey to discover the truth of her birth and the story behind the professor who is guiding her.
Written by medical school anatomy professor, J. P. Howards, First Year captures the first few weeks of medical school through Lauren’s eyes, and the eyes of her professor, in a humorous and touching way.  From Goodreads.

This was interesting, it was about Loren's first year of medical school. As it is a short book it is not detailed. At the same time it is about her search for her father, the man who was the sperm donor for her mother. It is about friends and family.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: The Great American Road Trip
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

A foundling, an old book of dark fairy tales, a secret garden, an aristocratic family, a love denied, and a mystery. The Forgotten Garden is a captivating, atmospheric and compulsively readable story of the past, secrets, family and memory from the international best-selling author Kate Morton.
Cassandra is lost, alone and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident ten years ago, feels like she has lost everything dear to her. But an unexpected and mysterious bequest from Nell turns Cassandra's life upside down and ends up challenging everything she thought she knew about herself and her family.
Inheriting a book of dark and intriguing fairytales written by Eliza Makepeace - the Victorian authoress who disappeared mysteriously in the early twentieth century - Cassandra takes her courage in both hands to follow in the footsteps of Nell on a quest to find out the truth about their history, their family and their past; little knowing that in the process, she will also discover a new life for herself. From Goodreads.

A bit confusing in the start with all the jumping back and forth in time but really intriguing. I kept thinking I knew how it all happened but I kept being wrong! I like that kind of book.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: The Great American Road Trip
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Getting Acquainted
Rawk-A-Tiers: Big Books Bonus Club
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: House Games
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Pick Your Fate Adventure Challenge
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe
Crazy Challenge Connection: Monopoly 

Down and Out in Beverly Heels by Kathryn Leigh Scott

From brunch in Bel Air to homeless in Hollywood…
Former actress Meg Barnes used to have it all: tony Beverly Hills address, Amex Black card, Manolos for every day of the month. Not to mention a career as a popular TV detective that made her glittering life possible. But her lifestyle of the rich and famous has turned into a reality show for d-listed starlets. Lost in her Louboutins, she has one man to thank: her con man of a husband.
Handsome FBI agent Jack Mitchell knows a suspect when he sees one—even if she’s as beautiful and gutsy as Meg. Meg’s ex “made off” with half of Hollywood’s wealth in an epic real estate scam. And Jack thinks Meg may have been involved.
Determined to prove her innocence Meg teams up with her quirky, movie-mad best friend to track down her fugitive husband and exact justice. But getting her life, and her career, back on track is harder than auditioning for Spielberg. Especially when her life is threatened. Meg has to trust Jack, the man who may want her behind bars…or as his leading lady for life. From Goodreads.

This was slow starting and I had trouble getting into it. But luckily it picked up and it got interesting. Meg's new friend was a bit clingy but her husband and friends were scary.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Word Hunt 2015
The Challenge Factory: Scavenger Hunt Part XV
Rawk-A-Tiers: The Great American Road Trip
Rawk-A-Tiers: Summer At The Beach
Rawk-A-Tiers: Words With ... Myself!
Rawk-A-Tiers: Getting Acquainted
Rawk-A-Tiers: Scavenger Hunt
Rawk-A-Tiers: House Games
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Dragon Nursery
A Million More Pages Hogwarts: Backpacking Around The Globe

Rawk: The Great American Road Trip

The Great American Road Trip hosted by Rawk-A-Tiers on Goodreads.

I am a RR-level player (3-4 books a week) but have decided to play this challenge as PR-level (at least 5 books a week) as I am going on holiday and always read a lot on holiday.
I will start this in California and head eastward.

Great American Road Trip was a reality television competition series that aired on NBC in 2009. It followed seven families as they went on a road trip and competed against each other at different landmarks in and around U.S. Route 66 in the United States. The families were given recreational vehicles for use throughout the competition. They drove from place to place to compete in various challenges.

For this challenge, you'll be going on your own Great American Road Trip.

☯ Because it's a road trip, you may choose either endpoint as your starting location, but from there, the tasks must be completed in the order they appear . If you start in California, you'll be traveling eastward. If you start in Illinois, you'll work your way to the west.

☯ CR and RR levels may start at any point along the route and skip any tasks you wish, but your tasks must still follow an east to west or west to east progression. NO backtracking!



☯ You have one month to complete your level for 9 points.
CR Level = 3 locations
RR Level = 6 locations
PR Level = 9 locations

☯ If you run out of gas before you finish the challenge, you may score your points as follows
CR = # of tasks x 3
RR = # of tasks x 1.5
PR = # of tasks x 1

☯ BONUS +1 point if any of the mentioned locations appear in any of your book tasks for this challenge. Specify it by book, page number, and quote the sentence in which it appears.

SELECT 1 TASK FROM EACH LOCATION.

Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
~ Read a book set in Illinois.
The Pack in Illinois by Zoey Glasgow
~ Read a book that features baseball.
~ Read a book with an ivy covered wall or building on the cover.

Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri
~ Read a book set in Missouri.
~ Read a book with a gateway theme or structure of some kind - either literal or figurative.
Fearless by Cornelia Funke (Jacob goes through a mirror to another world)
~ Read a book with a river prominently featured on the cover.

Red Buffalo Ranch, Sedan, Kansas
~ Read a book set in Kansas.
~ Read a book about a hunt of some kind.
~ Read a book with a red cover.
The Adventures of Augustus Fuller by James Rickon

The Blue Whale, Catoosa, Oklahoma
~ Read a book set in Oklahoma.
~ Read a book that takes place in or around a large body of water.
The Cornish Affair by Laura Lockington 
~ Read a book with a whale or other sea creature on the cover.

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas
~ Read a book set in Texas.
Deep in My Heart by Patricia W. Fischer
~ Read a book that features graveyard of some sort.
~ Read a book with a car on the cover.

Kewa Pueblo, Santo Domingo, New Mexico
~ Read a book set in New Mexico.
Into the Deep End by Leesa Freeman
~ Read a book written by a Native American author.
~ Read a book with a American Southwest style cover. (Tony Hillerman's books are good examples)

Grand Canyon National Park, Fredonia, Arizona
~ Read a book set in Arizona.
First Year by J. P. Howards (set in Central Arizona Medical University)
~ Read a book where most of the setting is wilderness.
~ Read a book with the word Grand or Canyon in the title.

Hoover Dam, Boulder City, Nevada
~ Read a book set in Nevada.
~ Read a book with a double letter word in the title.
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (forgotten)
~ Read a book with a large, man-made landmark on the cover.

Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, California
~ Read a book set in California.
~ Rad a book about someone in the entertainment industry.
Down and Out in Beverly Heels by Kathryn Leigh Scott (MC is an actress)
~ Read a book with an ocean coastline on the cover.