Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge 2012 Finished

Thank you Missie from The Unread Reader for hosting.

This has been a fun challenge and I think I now have tons of free books on my Kindle. Several times a week my husband will say "You have bought more books" and yes I have but the great thing is they were mostly free. I check Books on The Knob nearly every day.
Most of my free books are from Amazon but I also got a lot from Smashwords.
As expected there are a lot of books which are not great but there are also a lot of free books that have made me pay for and read more books from some of the authors.

My goal was to read 12 books for this challenge and that goal I reached with Awakening by Karice Bolton on the 31st of July. At the end of December I have now read 28 books.

My Posts are HERE
THIS is the list of the 28 books I have read.

Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge 2012 List

This is the list of the 28 books I have read for this challenge.

1. LightMasters: Number 13 by M.G. Wells (the book was free on Amazon.com on the 12th of January 2012)
2. The Penal Colony by Richard Herley (this book is free on Amazon)
3. Sojourner by Maria Rachel Hooley (this book is free on Amazon)
4. Convergence 2012 by Robert R. Ricks (this book was free on Smashword the 10th of March 2012) 
5. Summoned by Susan Leigh Noble (this book was free on Smashword the 10th of March 2012)
6. Indigo by Ophelia Keys (this book was free on Smashword the 9th of April 2012)
7. Turner by Karl Drinkwater (this book was free on Smashword the 9th of April 2012)
8. Ivory by Steve Merrifield (this book was free on Smashword the 9th of April 2012)
9. Darkhouse by Karina Halle  (this book was free on Amazon.uk the 3rd of May 2012)
10. Always the Baker Never the Bride by Sandra D. Bricker (this book was free on Amazon.uk the 13th of July 2012)
11. Fierce Dawn by Amber Scott (the book Yearnings was free on Amazon.uk the 16th of March 2012)
12. Awakening by Karice Bolton (this book was free on Amazon.uk the 7th of July 2012)  
13. Secrets by Lynne Barrett-Lee (this book was free on Amazon.uk the 23rd of August 2012)
14. The Brides Baby by Liz Fielding (this book was free on Amazon.uk the 30th of January 2011)  
15. Jewels by Lakisha Spletzer (this book was free on Smashword the 10th of March 2012)
16. The Vampire's Warden by S.J. Wright (this book was free on Amazon.com on the 20th of October 2012)
17. No Hand to Hold & No Legs to Dance on: A Thalidomide Survivor's Story by Louise Medus 
    (this book was free on Amazon.com on the 26th of October 2012)
18. Christmas Eve at Swamp's End by Norman Duncan (this book was free on Amazon.com on the 27th of December 2011)
19. The Christmas Bake-Off by Abby Clements (this book was free on Amazon.com on the 3rd of November 2012)
20. One Imperfect Christmas by Myra Johnson (this book was free on Amazon.com on the 15th of October 2012)
21. The Search by Susan Leigh Noble (this book was free on Amazon.com on the 30th of November 2012) 
22. Bah, Humbug! A Romantic Comedy Novella by Heather Horrocks (this book was free on Amazon.com on the 3rd of November 2012)
23. Embers of the Raven: a Christmas Story from Greenland by Chris Paton (this book was free on Amazon.com on the 22nd of November 2012)
24. The Christmas Angel by Abbie Farwell Brown (this book was free on Amazon.com on the 3rd of November 2012)
25. A Little Book For Christmas by Cyrus Townsend Brady (this book was free on Amazon.com on the 1st of December 2012)
26. Christmas with Grandma Elsie by Martha Finley (this book was free on Amazon.com on the 3rd of November 2012)
27. A Simple Amish Christmas by Vannetta Chapman (this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 23rd of August 2012) 
28. Ravenmind: a Christmas Story from Greenland by Chris Paton ( this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 22nd of December 2012) 
    

Ravenmind: a Christmas Story from Greenland by Chris Paton

The Greenlanders cannot rest, for after the troll comes the wolf. Discover more of the drama under dark winter skies when Tulugaq the shaman and Nissimaaq the great hunter must defeat the shapeshifting Aarluuk.
Inspired by Greenlandic mythical beings, this short Christmas story continues the journey begun in Embers of the Raven. Return once more to the dramatic winter landscape of Greenland with a festive twist for the holidays. From Goodreads

Another enjoyable short story set in Greenland. This time with a vocabulary before the story starts.  The new foe the shape shifting Aarluuk is very strong but again all ends to a certain extent reasonably well. I am looking forward to read more about Paninguak.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2012, 
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 22nd of December 2012)

A Simple Amish Christmas by Vannetta Chapman

Annie Weaver always planned to return home, but the 20-year old RN has lived in Philadelphia for three years now. Her time of rumschpringe is about to come to an abrupt end, bringing for Annie an overwhelming sense of loneliness. She returns home and finds herself face-to-face with a budding romance with an Amish farmer and Annie has several important choices to make. From Goodreads

This book is a romance but it is also about what kind of job is for you and coming to terms with what kind of person you want to be. There is of course a religious part as it is set in an Amish community but it is just showing their way of life.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2012, 
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 23rd of August 2012)

Christmas with Grandma Elsie by Martha Finley

When Elsie welcomes her extended family to Ion for Christmas, Harold and Herbert Travilla decide to dedicate themselves to the Christian mission, and Lulu surprises a pair of burglars. From Goodreads

I have to change my one Polar bear rating to just bad as it is extremely seldom that I do not finish books, and I did finish this one but it was not easy. This book is very religious, and it kept pointing out how good they as Christians are. They have to be missionaries and save the heathens and Mormons. Read this book only if you are very religious. I will not read any more of her books.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2012, 
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 3rd of November 2012)

A Little Book For Christmas by Cyrus Townsend Brady

Containing a Greeting, a Word of Advice, Some Personal Adventures, a Carol, a Meditation, and Three Christmas Stories for All Age.

Well, Cyrus Townsend Brady was a also priest so it was to be expected that there were some Bible related quotes and stories in it. I liked the Christmas stories in the book.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2012, 
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 1st of December 2012)

The Christmas Angel by Abbie Farwell Brown

What would people do if they found her childhood toys lying in the street? Act selfishly? Miss Terry tossed each toy one by one to the snowy sidewalk in front of her house. But her heart is moved when she sees the Christmas Angel kicked aside. Remembering all the years it graced her family mantel, she rushes to rescue it. Back inside, the Christmas Angel comes to life, and reveals the actual destiny for each toy, and for Miss Terry, that she could have never imagined.  From Goodreads.

Miss Terry wants nothing to do with Christmas and decides she wants to burn a box of toys from her and her brother's childhood. Suddenly she decides to put them one by one out on the side walk and see what people will do. She sees people fighting over them, throwing them out in the street and steals one that she wrapped which makes her believe there is no Christmas spirit. This is where the Christmas Angel comes in, after she has rescued it back into the house it comes alive and tells her the story of what happened to each item after she turned away from the window. A heart-warming cosy Christmas read and of course it ends happily.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2012, 
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 3rd of November 2012)

Embers of the Raven: a Christmas Story from Greenland by Chris Paton

Beneath the dark polar night sky the troll lopes across the Arctic landscape collecting children for a feast. Nissimaaq, the hunter, enlists the help of a northern dwarf and his raven to return the children to their family before the turn of winter.
Inspired by Greenlandic mythical beings, this short Christmas story captures the dramatic winter landscape of Greenland with a festive twist for the holidays. From Goodreads.

This was a very enjoyable short read. I do like fantasy so this was right for me with both a troll, a dwarf and mythical beings. I also like that even though it has a happy ending, it does not end well for everyone.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2012, 
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 22nd of November 2012)

Bah, Humbug! A Romantic Comedy Novella by Heather Horrocks

Lexi Anderson is an up-and-coming, Martha Stewart-type TV hostess whose two kids love the Jared Strong adventure novels, which happen to be written by their new neighbor, Kyle Miller. For the first time in his writing career, Kyle has writer’s block--until he sees the snowman on his lawn and realizes it’s the perfect solution to his plot problem. He digs in and discovers two things: one, his villain’s weapon will fit inside a snowman's body, and two, this particular snowman was supposed to be the backdrop for Lexi’s next show. From this improbable beginning comes friendship, but can there be a happy ending for a woman who is afraid to get close again and a man who has shadows from his childhood? Families join together and hearts are healed as this couple goes walking in a winter wonderland. From Goodreads.

A cute Christmas Story with a very fast romance, they met and got engaged in 6 days! But it was nice and entertaining.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2012, 
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 3rd of November 2012)

One Imperfect Christmas by Myra Johnson

Graphic designer Natalie Pearce faces the most difficult Christmas of her life. For almost a year, her mother has lain in a nursing home, the victim of a massive stroke, and Natalie blames herself for not being there when it happened. Worse, she’s allowed the monstrous load of guilt to drive a wedge between her and everyone she loves—most of all her husband, Daniel. Her marriage is on the verge of dissolving, her prayer life is suffering, and she’s one Christmas away from hitting rock bottom.
Junior-high basketball coach Daniel Pearce is at his wit’s end. Nothing he’s done has been able to break through the wall Natalie has erected between them. And their daughter Lissa’s adolescent rebellion isn’t helping matters. As Daniel’s hope reaches its lowest ebb, he wonders if this Christmas will spell the end of his marriage and the loss of everything he holds dear. From Goodreads.




An okay book but no more than that. It did make me cry in parts but that is not actually difficult! A family falls apart because the wife feels guilty of her mother's stroke. It all ends happily, actually the mother dies on Christmas Day but as everybody has forgiven each other it is a happy ending. Not an author I will look for again.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2012, 
Scavenger Hunt 2012 Reading Challenge,
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 15th of October 2012) 

The Christmas Bake-Off by Abby Clements

With Christmas just around the corner, the residents of Skipley village are gearing up for the annual bake off, and tensions are high.
Winning means a lot to everyone involved - talented cake-shop owner Katie dreams of baking stardom, Rachel wants to prove she's more than a stay-at-home mum, and John hopes his culinary skills will impress the woman he loves.
But when the judges discover that some cakes have been tampered with, the villagers' loyalties are called into question - whose ambition would stretch to sabotage, and why? From Goodreads.

A very short cute love story, only 25 pages. All the villagers have their reasons for wanting to win the Bake-Off. As always in a cute story like this it all ends well.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2012, 

Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 3rd of November 2012) 

Christmas Eve at Swamp's End by Norman Duncan

A Christmas short story from before 1923. Pattie Batch a young woman from Swamp's End up North near the Canadian border who has recently lost her mother is desperately wanting a baby.
This 32 page short story was okay but no more than that. Her wish comes through on Christmas Eve.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge 2012, 
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 27th of December 2011) 

No Hand to Hold & No Legs to Dance on: A Thalidomide Survivor's Story by Louise Medus

While the battle for the compensation of Thalidomide victims was raging in the 1970s, former Labour MP Jack Ashley asked in a parliamentary debate how Louise, then 11 years old, could look forward to 'laughing and loving with no hand to hold and no legs to dance on'.Louise was born Louise Mason, a victim of the devastating drug Thalidomide. Born without arms and legs, she is the daughter of David Mason, who single-handedly held out against the drug company, the legal establishment and all the other parents of Thalidomide victims in the high-profile fight for proper compensation for the victims. As she was photographed with her family and appeared on television meeting celebrities during the battle, few people realised that she did not live with her wealthy parents and three siblings at their spacious North London home but was being brought up in an institution, Chailey Heritage in Sussex. In fact, Louise had never gone home from hospital and, for the first five weeks of her life, her mother didn't even see her. This is a survivor's story, a triumph of the human spirit over adversity. Louise married John, a partially sighted man, and had two beautiful children. She was devastated when she discovered that he was having an affair with their carer. She also had to undergo a kidney transplant, the first Thalidomide victim to do so. She has worked, been an active disability rights campaigner and has now found new love, with Darren, a fellow Thalidomide victim who was born without arms. From Goodreads.

This book is the life story of Louise, a Thalidomide victim/survivor. This is a gripping book about growing up in an institution and learning to do things despite having a disability. I am actually surprised how much I liked this book, I didn't expect to but Louise Medus and her co-writer Gill Swain have written a very good book. It took a lot of strength and determination to  fight for her own independence and it makes me think of the ones that might not have had the strength to go against the authorities and parents and ended up living most of their life in an institution. This book is of course written from her point of view and not everybody would agree with her but that is always the case with a life story and I think she has done it well. I would like to read her father's book, to read about his fight for a proper compensation when not many others would or could fight.
Definitely a book worth reading.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
Scavenger Hunt 2012 Reading Challenge,  
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.co.uk the 26th of October 2012) 

The Vampire's Warden by S.J. Wright

He moved. It was a flash in the moonlight, a blur of motion like I'd never witnessed before. No human had the capacity to move like that. When I found myself face-to-face with him there in the meadow, I knew without a doubt that the journal was authentic. I knew that my grandfather hadn't been crazy at all.
Because a foot away from me stood a vampire.
What do you do when you find out the people you trust have been hiding a terrible secret? When Sarah Wood's father passes away and hands over to her the responsibility of running the family's inn, she finds put things are far more complicated than she first imagined. She's not just responsible for running the inn. She's become the Vampire's Warden. From Goodreads

This was okay. I found the concept of a vampire warden interesting and, as this is called a paranormal romance, it is easy to guess that something romantic is going to happen between the main character and a vampire. It doesn't come to much in this first book / novella but I am sure things will develop further in the next books in the series. I think there was meant to be 3 but there is at least 4 now. I might read more later but it is not so interesting that I need to in the near future.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.com the 20th of October 2012)

Jewels by Lakisha Spletzer

Special Lieutenant Jewels Enbran, a human telepath unable to shield her mind from thoughts, uses telepathic anchors who protect her vulnerable mind. Her current anchor, Colonel Jeremy Lingley, is nearing burnout. An alien race is seeking an alliance with Earth and the pair are assigned the mission of discovering the aliens' secrets.
Crown Prince Dex LoudRoar is a Gatoan warrior and a royal with a terrible secret. His people wage a constant war against their enemy, the Lupinious empire. But the tide of battle is turning and his people seek help from a new source: the humans of Earth.
With an interstellar war looming, Jewels and Dex seek salvation for their planets and find their destinies changed forever. From Goodreads.

This was okay. The story is about humans meeting a new alien race. They are, of course, not being quite honest with each other and there are a lot of telepathic abilities thrown in the mix, and love between a human and an alien. I might look for more of her books at a later date.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Smashwords the 10th of March 2012)

The Brides Baby by Liz Fielding

It’s the wedding planner’s worst nightmare and when the bride elopes with one of her staff three days before the wedding, it isn’t only the groom’s heart that has a debit balance. Sylvie Smith has bills to pay. The jilted groom has his own way of settling debts, however.
Six months on, wedding organiser to the seriously rich, Sylvie Smith is organising a glittering fundraising event: a fantasy wedding at a wedding show, held in a stately home that will be featured in a lifestyle magazine. Not just any fantasy wedding. They want her fantasy…
It should be every woman’s dream, designing her own dream wedding with no expense spared, but for Sylvie it was her worst nightmare.
One, she’s pregnant. Two, Longbourne Court was her ancestral home and she’s just discovered that the new owner is Tom McFarlane: her baby’s secret father.
Now Tom’s standing in front of her, looking at her bump… From Goodreads.



A romance with the usual misunderstandings and of course a happy end. Again happy I didn't pay for it.

This book qualifies for:  
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
2012 Where are you reading Challenge,
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.uk the 30th of January 2011)

Secrets by Lynne Barrett-Lee

Sisters Megan and Ffion have never had secrets, so when Megan goes to flat-sit all she's expecting is a rest and a change. When a stranger called Jack phones, Megan wonders who he is. Ffion behaves like she's just seen a ghost, and refuses to say any more. So is Jack a ghost? Ffion's not telling and when she disappears too, and the mystery deepens. Megan begins to fear for the future. She's always been the one who's looked after her little sister. Is this going to be the one time she can't? From Amazon.uk

A short romance. Megan is flat-sitting for her sister and suddenly finds out that her thinking that her and her sister never had secrets for each other was a lie. Her sister has a major secret that she has kept for many years.
Okay but not very good. The mystery is all about how the sister cheated in her marriage and made her husband the scapegoat. Glad I didn't pay for it.

This book qualifies for:  
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.uk the 23rd of August 2012)

Awakening by Karice Bolton

Alone in snowy, remote Whistler village, Ana tries to build a new life since losing her parents. With a cozy condo, a sweet-faced bulldog and an evening job to leave the days free for the slopes, life slips into a great routine. If only she could shake the guilt for not remembering anything about her parents and banish the night terrors that haunt her every dream. On a whim, Ana goes out with Athen, a guy she’s just met in the Grizzly Pub... The only problem is that she feels like she already knows him. Within 48 hours of meeting Athen and his family, Ana’s world implodes. She falls for Athen quickly and before she knows it, a past life begins to resurface. As thrilling as the revelations appear at first, she fights against the chilling information that Athen is from the underworld. Soon she begins to struggle as her own supernatural gifts are slowly unveiled, and she realizes that the nightmares she’s been having might be premonitions and not dreams at all. It is up to Ana to decipher between fact and fiction before it is too late, and her new love, Athen, follows in her same fate - one that is lost between two worlds. From Amazon.

Another good versus evil paranormal romance. A interesting book with a twist in the end. I already own the next 2 in the trilogy and I will definitely read them at some point.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
2012 Where are you reading Challenge,
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.uk the 7th of July 2012)

Fierce Dawn by Amber Scott

Snarling teeth, glowing eyes. Someone--something--is after her. The man who haunts her dreams enters her reality, claiming she's transforming into a changeling--not quite immortal but no longer human.
Battle lines are drawn and blood spills as the two fight not only for her life, but for mankind's as well. Conspiracy, vampires, human changelings? From Goodreads

I read Fierce Dawn from the Yearnings box-set. I liked the idea of the changeling, from human to immortal. But it was just not to my taste. I am not going to continue this box-set at this time and I won't be actively searching for books from this author.

This book qualifies for:
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012,
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge,
2012 Ebook Challenge,  
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.uk the 16th of March 2012)

Always the Baker Never the Bride by Sandra D. Bricker

Just ask Emma Rae Travis about that. She's a baker of confections who is diabetic and can't enjoy them. When Emma meets Jackson Drake, the escapee from Corporate America who is starting a wedding destination hotel to fulfill a dream that belonged to someone else, this twosome and their crazy family ties bring new meaning to the term "family circus." The Atlanta social scene will never be the same! From Goodreads

A nice cosy romance story with no surprises. Often, with this type of book, I actually like one of the side characters more than the 2 main characters. In this one it is aunt Sophie.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.uk the 13th of July 2012)