My Sweet Valentine by Jill Sanders

Sara Lander was back in town. She had big plans for her inheritance along with her freshly printed business degree and years of experience in some of Seattle’s finest bakeries, she has a rich idea for Pride. Sara's Nook is going to be the next biggest thing to hit town. All she needs now is to steer clear of the hunky ex-Navy SEAL who is hell bent on taking all her focus away from starting her own business.
Allen Masters has been living in Pride for several years. Setting up a new branch of the Coastguard and training all the new recruits took years of skill and all his patience. But when he sees the black-haired beauty, who had come back into town, he realized she was the one he'd been searching for. Taking one taste of her sweets, he knew he'd be in for a sinful time, but losing his focus while flying into the eye of a storm was the last thing he could afford. From Goodreads.





An okay romance. It starts very fast as they meet and that is it. There are never any doubts about their relationship. The suspense in the book is about who is stalking her and attempts to kill her.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Build a House
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (L-jellyfish)
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong

Ex-cop Nadia Stafford has a dark secret. After taking the law into her own hands she was kicked off the force... and entered the shadowy world of guns for hire. She has her own strict code - works only for one crime family, only kills the really bad guys. But when a hit goes tragically wrong, Nadia is devastated. Is it time to leave the business for good?
Before she has time to decide, Nadia discovers that her own life is under threat. And worse - that terrifying events from her past may have triggered the attacks. With the help of Jack, her enigmatic mentor, Nadia is forced to upon a dark path - towards the truth and towards her final destiny. From Goodreads.

Another excellent book from Kelley Armstrong. I remember not liking the first book in this series so much but it might have been the missing paranormal aspect in it. Now having gotten used to that I really like Nadia, an ex-cop turned lodge owner and assassin. In this book it all goes back to when she was 13 and horrible things happened to her and her cousin. Nadia is a strong likeable heroine. I hope Kelley Armstrong writes more of this series.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Chinese New Year Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Sequel Spring Reading Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (A-polarbear)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Skin Game by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, is about to have a very bad day….
Because as Winter Knight to the Queen of Air and Darkness, Harry never knows what the scheming Mab might want him to do. Usually, it’s something awful.
He doesn’t know the half of it….
Mab has just traded Harry’s skills to pay off one of her debts. And now he must help a group of supernatural villains—led by one of Harry’s most dreaded and despised enemies, Nicodemus Archleone—to break into the highest-security vault in town so that they can then access the highest-security vault in the Nevernever.
It’s a smash-and-grab job to recover the literal Holy Grail from the vaults of the greatest treasure hoard in the supernatural world—which belongs to the one and only Hades, Lord of the freaking Underworld and generally unpleasant character. Worse, Dresden suspects that there is another game afoot that no one is talking about. And he’s dead certain that Nicodemus has no intention of allowing any of his crew to survive the experience. Especially Harry.
Dresden’s always been tricky, but he’s going to have to up his backstabbing game to survive this mess—assuming his own allies don’t end up killing him before his enemies get the chance…. From Goodreads.

I have been waiting for this book and it did not disappoint. It is quite difficult for Harry being the winter knight as it often works against his own ethics and now he also has a psychic parasite in his head that will kill him. 
Mab, the winter Queen, threatens him to work for a fallen angel to pay of a debt she owns him.
I like that Karrin, Michael and Butters are back, all with quite important roles to play. 

This is a fabulous series that I recommend to anyone who likes fantasy or paranormal books.  

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge 
2014 Full House Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Sequel Spring Reading Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon 

Crazy Challenge Connection - 1000 Member Celebration!

1000 Member Celebration hosted by Crazy Challenge Connection on Goodreads.

A challenge to celebrate that the group Crazy Challenge Connection on Goodreads have reached 1000 members, I couldn't keep away.

This is a very mixed challenge. Some spell it out and a lot of using Goodreads to sort through different shelves and members to find books.

I think this is going to be fun

1000-MEMBER CELEBRATION CHALLENGE
DURATION: June 12 - December 14

1 – Southpaw was the group’s founder and very first member, but she has since left the group. Since then, Barb, Angie, Suzanne, Chaitra and Connie N. do their best to keep the group fun and running smoothly. Read one book from any of their Goodreads shelves. Tell us who you chose, and which shelf the book is on.
NOTE: There's one Barb, one Connie N. and one Chaitra in the group, but there are two Angies and three Suzannes. If you're using their shelves for any of the tasks in this challenge, make sure you're looking at the member who's a mod :)

2 – Read a book whose number of pages is evenly divisible by 10 or has a 10 somewhere in the total pages (610, 1038) OR read TWO books between 100-110 pages long. Tell us how many pages are in the book/s

3 – Read a book with a single-digit number in the title. The number can be spelled out or represented as a digit, but cardinal numbers only -- 3, 4, 5 -- not third, fourth, fifth.
NOTE: Stand-alone numbers only! Compound numbers (203, 84, 1776) will NOT be accepted.

4 – In the upper right corner of our group’s main page, click on Members. Sort by “num comments.” Read one book from any shelf of any member (other than the mod you chose for task #1!) who has posted more than 1000 comments. Tell us which member you chose, how many comments they've made in the group, and which shelf the book is on.

5 – Maureen was member #600, ღ εїз ќατιε εїз ღ (Katie) was #700, Michele was #800, Liora was #900, and Courtney was #1000. Read a book in which the first letter of EVERY WORD (ALL words count!) can be found in one of their names: MAUREEN, KATIE, MICHELE, LIORA or COURTNEY (minimum two-word title).
NOTE: Choose ONE name for this task, not a combination of names

6 – Read a book originally published in a year that has a 10 in it (must include both numbers, in order -- only "10" will be accepted). Tell us when the book was originally published.

7 – Go to your To-Read list on Goodreads. Sort by author, A-Z , then read the 10th book on your list.
If the 10th book is in the middle of a series that you're reading, you can read the next book in the series instead of this specific title. Also, if the 10th book is shorter than 150 pages, read book #9 or #11 on the list instead.

8 – Go to your To-Read list on Goodreads. Sort by title, Z-A, then read the 10th book on your list.
If the 10th book is in the middle of a series that you're reading, you can read the next book in the series instead of this specific title. Also, if the 10th book is shorter than 150 pages, read book #9 or #11 on the list instead.

9 – Go to your To-read list on Goodreads, set it to show 100 books per page. Sort by Random, then read book #10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or 100 on that list. 

10 – Read a book by an author whose first AND last initials can be found in ONETHOUSAND.

11 – Read a book by an author who has written 10 or more books. Tell us how many books the author has written

Spell out THOUSAND. Use the first letter of the first word of the book’s title (do NOT count A, An or The), or the author's first or last initial (NO middle names/initials).
12 – T –
13 – H –
14 – O –
15 – U –
16 – S –
17 – A –
18 – N –
19 – D –

Read ten books from a series (do NOT have to be from the same series, nor do they have to be consecutively numbered).
NOTE: For those who absolutely do not read ANY series, read ten books recommended by friends/family or co-workers. Tell us who recommended each book.
20 –
21 –
22 –
23 –
24 –
25 –
26 –
27 –
28 –
29 –

30 – Read a book that has more than 1,000 ratings on its main Goodreads page. Tell us how many ratings it had on the day you started reading it.

CHALLENGE RULES: :
♦ If you want to participate in this challenge, please sign up by posting at least a partial list of the challenge requirements. This gives us a post to link you to, which you can use to update your books as the challenge progresses.

♦ Unless otherwise noted, books must be at least 150 pages long. Books may only be used for one task in this challenge, but cross-challenge posting is encouraged :) Re-reads are allowed, as long as you read the entire book and not simply skim through it.

♦ For each book you read, please post a link to the title, and indicate the author and the date you finished reading it. If a challenge task gives several options, please make it clear which option you’ve chosen. If the task calls for an item on the cover, include a link to the book cover.* If it’s not obvious from the book title or cover, be sure to explain how your book fits the task. If you don’t, you won’t get credit for completing that task.
    * If you don’t know how to post a link to the book title, cover or author, see the instructions here: Add a link to the book title, book cover and/or author

♦ If you use books that are in a language other than English, please translate those titles into English for the purposes of our challenges, unless you plan to use that language for the entire challenge. If you do use another language for the whole challenge, please remember that the translations of exempt words/phrases -- for example, A, An and The in most spelling challenges -- would be exempt as well.

♦ When you complete the challenge, please post your entire list as a new message to make it easier for everyone to see what you’ve read :) If you do this while you still have the Edit window open, it will copy all of your formatting, etc. too. If you don’t repost your list, your name will not be added to the list of those who have completed the challenge.  

Books:

✔ 1 – Southpaw was the group’s founder and very first member, but she has since left the group. Since then, Barb, Angie, Suzanne, Chaitra and Connie N. do their best to keep the group fun and running smoothly. Read one book from any of their Goodreads shelves. Tell us who you chose, and which shelf the book is on.
NOTE: There's one Barb, one Connie N. and one Chaitra in the group, but there are two Angies and three Suzannes. If you're using their shelves for any of the tasks in this challenge, make sure you're looking at the member who's a mod :)
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is on Angie's to-read bookshelf

✔ 2 – Read a book whose number of pages is evenly divisible by 10 or has a 10 somewhere in the total pages (610, 1038) OR read TWO books between 100-110 pages long. Tell us how many pages are in the book/s:
The Tiger Princess by Sarah Renee (340 pages)

✔ 3 – Read a book with a single-digit number in the title. The number can be spelled out or represented as a digit, but cardinal numbers only -- 3, 4, 5 -- not third, fourth, fifth.
NOTE: Stand-alone numbers only! Compound numbers (203, 84, 1776) will NOT be accepted.
Rise of The Seven by Melissa Wright

✔ 4  – In the upper right corner of our group’s main page, click on Members. Sort by “num comments.” Read one book from any shelf of any member (other than the mod you chose for task #1!) who has posted more than 1000 comments. Tell us which member you chose, how many comments they've made in the group, and which shelf the book is on. 
The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien - Amalia, 1171 comments, on her to-read (among others) bookshelf.

✔ 5 – Maureen was member #600, ღ εїз ќατιε εїз ღ (Katie) was #700, Michele was #800, Liora was #900, and Courtney was #1000. Read a book in which the first letter of EVERY WORD (ALL words count!) can be found in one of their names: MAUREEN, KATIE, MICHELE, LIORA or COURTNEY (minimum two-word title).
NOTE: Choose ONE name for this task, not a combination of names: MICHELE: 
Illicit Magic by Camilla Chafer 

✔ 6  – Read a book originally published in a year that has a 10 in it (must include both numbers, in order -- only "10" will be accepted). Tell us when the book was originally published.
Angel by L.A. Weatherly (published 2010)

✔ 7  – Go to your To-Read list on Goodreads. Sort by author, A-Z , then read the 10th book on your list.
If the 10th book is in the middle of a series that you're reading, you can read the next book in the series instead of this specific title. Also, if the 10th book is shorter than 150 pages, read book #9 or #11 on the list instead.
Legions by Karice Bolton 

8 – Go to your To-Read list on Goodreads. Sort by title, Z-A, then read the 10th book on your list.
If the 10th book is in the middle of a series that you're reading, you can read the next book in the series instead of this specific title. Also, if the 10th book is shorter than 150 pages, read book #9 or #11 on the list instead.
As I can't get hold of Tomorrow, the Stars by Robert A. Heinlein I will read #9 and #11 on my list 
The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison 
andToby Streams the Universe by Maya Lassiter

 ✔  9 – Go to your To-read list on Goodreads, set it to show 100 books per page. Sort by Random, then read book #10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or 100 on that list. 
✔ #10 Elfhunter by C.S. Marks
✔ #20 My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
✔ #30 The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
✔ #40 Altered Soul by Karice Bolton
✔ #50 Mother Nature's Man by Mary Jo Burke
✔ #60 Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter
✔ #70 Promise by Kristie Cook (#1) (Devotion (#3) okay to read #1 instead)
✔ #80 Madman's Dance by Jana Oliver
✔ #90 Family Magic by Patti Larsen
✔ #100 Reckless by Cornelia Funke 

✔ 10 – Read a book by an author whose first AND last initials can be found in ONETHOUSAND.
The Keepers by Donna Augustine 

✔ 11 – Read a book by an author who has written 10 or more books. Tell us how many books the author has written: 
Made to Be Broken by Kelley Armstrong (at least 26 + a lot of short stories)

Spell out THOUSAND. Use the first letter of the first word of the book’s title (do NOT count A, An or The), or the author's first or last initial (NO middle names/initials).  
✔ 12 – T – Every Woman For Herself by Trisha Ashley
✔ 13 – H –  Macaron Murder by Harper Lin
✔ 14 – O – Champagne and Lemon Drops by Jean Oram 
✔ 15 – U – Untouched by Robert J. Crane
✔ 16 – S –  Drip Drop Teardrop by Samantha Young
✔ 17 – A –  After the Storm by M. Stratton
✔ 18 – N –  Neanderthal Seeks Human: A Smart Romance by Penny Reid
✔ 19 – D –  Drifting Home by Pierre Berton 

Read ten books from a series (do NOT have to be from the same series, nor do they have to be consecutively numbered).
NOTE: For those who absolutely do not read ANY series, read ten books recommended by friends/family or co-workers. Tell us who recommended each book. 
✔ 20 – The Way They Were by Mary Campisi (That Second Chance #2)
✔ 21 – Skin Game by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files #15)
✔ 22 – Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong (Nadia Stafford #3)
✔ 23 – My Sweet Valentine by Jill Sanders (The Pride #6)
✔ 24 – Ever After by Kim Harrison (The Hollows #11)
✔ 25 – Magic to the Bone by Devon Monk (Allie Beckstrom #1)
✔ 26 – Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (The Broken Empire #1)
✔ 27 –  If the Shoe Fits by Laurie LeClair (Once Upon A Romance #1)
✔ 28 – Your Guardian Angel by Skyla Madi (Guardian Angel #1)
✔ 29 –  Reckless Nights in Rome by C.C. MacKenzie (Ludlow Hall #1)

✔ 30 – Read a book that has more than 1,000 ratings on its main Goodreads page. Tell us how many ratings it had on the day you started reading it:
Evergreen by Brenda Pandos(1077 ratings)

Made to Be Broken by Kelley Armstrong

The author of the acclaimed Women of the Otherworld series returns with her latest novel featuring an exciting heroine with a lethal hidden talent. This time she's hot on the trail of a young woman no one else cares about--and a killer who's bound to strike again.
Nadia Stafford isn't your typical nature lodge owner. An ex-cop with a legal code all her own, she's known only as "Dee" to her current employer: a New York crime family that pays her handsomely to bump off traitors. But when Nadia discovers that a troubled teenage employee and her baby have vanished in the Canadian woods, the memory of a past loss comes back with a vengeance and her old instincts go into overdrive.
With her enigmatic mentor, Jack, covering her back, Nadia unearths sinister clues that point to an increasingly darker and deadlier mystery. Now, with her obsession over the case deepening, the only way Nadia can right the wrongs of the present is to face her own painful ghosts--and either bury them for good, or die trying. Because in her book everyone deserves a chance. And everyone deserves justice. From Goodreads.

It is a few years ago since I read the first book in this series and it was interesting how easy it was to get back into it. Nadia is a very likeable heroine. She is an ex-cop turned assassin, still struggling with how far she will go. 
One of her employee's has gone missing and nobody cares, so she starts looking. Without giving anything away the "bad guy" wasn't who I expected, I didn't actually have any suspects and I like that in a mystery book.
I will definitely be reading the next book in this series.   

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Sequel Spring Reading Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (N-narwhal)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

I am Legend by Richard Matheson

It seems strange to find a 1954 vampire novel in Millennium's "SF Masterworks" classic reprints series. I Am Legend, though, was a trailblazing and later much imitated story that reinvented the vampire myth as SF. Without losing the horror, it presents vampirism as a disease whose secrets can be unlocked by scientific tools. The hero Robert Neville, perhaps the last uninfected man on Earth, finds himself in a paranoid nightmare. By night, the bloodthirsty undead of small-town America besiege his barricaded house: their repeated cry "Come out, Neville!" is a famous SF catchphrase. By day, when they hide in shadow and become comatose, Neville gets out his wooden stakes for an orgy of slaughter. He also discovers pseudoscientific explanations, some rather strained, for vampires' fear of light, vulnerability to stakes though not bullets, loathing of garlic, and so on. What gives the story its uneasy power is the gradual perspective shift which shows that by fighting monsters Neville is himself becoming monstrous--not a vampire but something to terrify vampires and haunt their dreams as a dreadful legend from the bad old days. From Goodreads.

I think I might repeat myself here from my review in 2012. 
Read the book, it is so much better than the film with Will Smith and the film is nothing like the book. In a scary way I like the ending in the book and find it more possible than the film version.
I am sure I will either read or listen to this book again. 

This book qualifies for:
2014 Audio Book Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014

The Way They Were by Mary Campisi

He hasn’t spoken her name in fourteen years. She keeps a journal hidden in the back of her closet and permits herself to write about him once a year—on the anniversary of the first and only time they made love. They promised to love one another forever, but tragedy tore them apart. Now, destiny may just bring them back together.
At eighteen, Rourke Flannigan and Kate Redmond thought they’d spend the rest of their lives together—until a family tragedy tore them apart. Fourteen years have passed and they’ve both carved out separate lives hundreds of miles apart—hers as a wife and mother, his as a successful, driven businessman. But once a year, on the anniversary of her daughter’s birth, Kate pulls out a red velvet journal and writes a letter, which she’ll never send, to the man who still owns her heart. Once a year, on the anniversary of the first and only time they made love, Rourke permits himself to read the annual investigative report detailing an ordinary day in Kate’s life.
When a subcontractor at one of Rourke’s holding companies is killed, Rourke decides to pay the widow a visit and offer condolences, never dreaming the widow will be Kate. As they embark on a cautious journey of rediscovery, one far greater than they could have imagined, secrets and lies threaten to destroy their new-found closeness—forever. From Goodreads.

This was an okay read. A quick read that is very predictable with a few twists and lots of secrets.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (R-polarbear)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

A Place Beyond The Map by Samuel Thews

Once in a very long while, betwixt and between the humdrum of everydayness, something magical happens: life gives us a fairy tale. Sometimes it begins with a door; sometimes by following a peculiar cottontail down his hole. For Phinnegan Qwyk, it begins with a chilly November night, two wet footprints and Periwinkle Lark.
A flamboyant and cunning Faë with a penchant for mischief, Periwinkle is also a bit of a thief. When he snatches Phinnegan away to a Place-Beyond-the-Map, Phinnegan discovers that fairy tales aren’t all they’re cracked up to be: at least, not when you are being attacked by the wild wolves of the Faolchú, being hunted by a gholem that lurks unseen in the shadows, or bargaining for your very life with a troll—even if she is beautiful.
When all seems lost, Phinnegan finds hope in the form of a shy pixie and a jolly, if rather messy, old man. His journey is not a mistake.
Evocative, purposeful and winsome, A Place Beyond the Map is what children’s dreams are made of. A simplistic tale spun within the world of fairy tales and myth, it is a story for children, and for those of us that are finally old enough to read fairy tales again. From Goodreads.

I enjoyed this book though I found the start quite slow going. After that it was a real fairy tale full of all sorts of creatures and not all looking as expected.
Phinnegan has to find his way home with the help of the not too trustworthy fae Periwinkle but he also gets involved in the local affairs.
My biggest problem with the story was that the ending is no ending but more of a setting the scene for the next book - but there is no sequel.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge
2014 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge
CCC A-Z Authors 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R2: Team Challenge SS?
Nothing but Reading Challenges - UnCover It
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (Q-quail)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge - Finished

2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge hosted by Bookish.

My goal for this challenge was to read level A Friendly Hug: 11-20 books and if I reached this level early in the year I would move up a level.

I have reached my goal of 20 books and have completed the challenge. I will not move up a level and continue as the host of the challenge actually hasn't posted anything about this challenge since March.

My list of books is at the bottom of this post.

All posts for this challenge are HERE.

Welcome to 2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge!

We all have those books. We buy them, win them, they're gifted to us.. Then we put them up on a bookshelf and there they stay, collecting dust, waiting for the time when we'll finally decide to pick them up..

Join us on a quest to dust off your TBR Pile and read all the books you've been telling yourself you'll read next time you'll get a chance.. This is your chance! And we've got PRIZES!!! :D

Challenge Guidelines:

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014. 
2. Anyone can enter! You don't have to be a blogger, as long as you review the book you've read! (On your blog, Amazon, Random Buzzers or Goodreads/Shelfari!)
3. Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that's been sitting on your shelf for some time now. Short stories and novellas are OK, too! Only books released in 2013 and earlier! NO  2014 ARCs and 2014 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed!
4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
5. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the 2013 TBRPILE Reading Challenge. (If you don't have a blog, post about it on Facebook or Tweet!) 
6. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
7. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2014, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
8. On the 20th of each month we will post a wrap-up post, here, on BOOKISH. Every wrap-up will have it's unique theme, a mini-challenge, a giveaway and place for you to link up your reviews from this month. For each review you link up, you will get one entry in a drawing of one book of choice from Book Depository. It's open to INTERNATIONALS. The giveaway will be open until the next wrap up post goes up! (i.e. the entire month)
9. If you miss a wrap-up post + giveaway, you can link up your reviews next month. Do not, however, try to link up one review twice - we will be checking ;) 
10. December is a wrap-up for the whole year. All the book reviews you linked up January-November + the ones you'll link up in December will be entered into a GRAND PRIZE giveaway.  
11. You don't have to follow Bookish Blog to join the challenge, but you do have to follow us to be entered in giveaways!

Levels: 
(how many books you're planning to read for this challenge in 2014)

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - First Kiss
31-40 - Sweet Summer Fling
41-50 - Could this be love?
50+ - Married With Children

What's New: 

1. 2014's edition of the TBR Pile Reading Challenge will be hosted EXCLUSIVELY on Bookish. Co-hosting with other awesome bloggers was fun, but due to too many hiccups along the way, our Bookish Team has decided to take over to ensure that everything goes smoothly this time. 
2. For your convenience and to ensure you won't miss any important posts / wrap-ups / updates / contests, we have created a mailing list! We invite you to sign up to receive all the important news in the mail (no more searching the web for wrap-up posts and missing out on all the fun!). You can sign up here: !! JOIN 2014 TBR PILE READING CHALLENGE MAILING LIST!! !!
3. To help you tackle your TBR Piles, we will also be hosting monthly Read-A-Longs with prizes! And this time, you'll get to VOTE on the book we'll read together! Join the mailing list mentioned above to never miss out on the fun! Please note: You don't have to take part in our read-a-longs to participate in the TBR Pile challenge - or you can just take part in some of them, and skip the rest - participation is optional, tho we would certainly love to discuss the books with you! 
4. We have sponsors! Which of course means more fun prizes!! YAY!

My list of books:

1. A little Christmas Magic by Sylvie Kurtz (bought on Amazon.co.uk 9th of January 2013) 
2. Deep Blue Secret by Christie Anderson (bought on Amazon.co.uk 28th of August 2013) 
3. Saltwater Witch by Chris Howard (bought on Amazon.co.uk 2nd of May 2012) 
4. The Rising by Kelley Armstrong   (bought on Amazon.co.uk 20th of April 2013)
5. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch (bought on Amazon.co.uk 24th of August 2013)
6. What Stays in Vegas by Beth Labonte (bought on Amazon.co.uk 15th of July 2013)
7. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (bought on Amazon.co.uk 26th of May 2012)
8. Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer (bought on Amazon.com 10th of September 2013)
9. Speechless by Hannah Harrington (bought on Amazon.co.uk 28th of July 2013)
10. Forever Fae by L.P. Dover (bought on Amazon.co.uk 4th of June 2013)
11. Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs   (bought on Amazon.co.uk 28th of July 2013)
12. The Dreaming Place by Charles De Lint (bought on Amazon.co.uk 19th of October 2013)
13. Death on the Aegean Queen By Maria Hudgins (bought on Amazon.co.uk 6th of October 2012)
14. Boneland by Alan Garner (bought on Audible 28th of November 2012)
15. Pieces of Eight by Melissa Wright (bought on Amazon.co.uk 30th of July 2013)
16. The Breeders by Katie French (bought on Amazon.co.uk 31st of May 2013)
17. Along Came A Demon by Linda Welch (bought on Amazon.co.uk 21st of August 2013)
18. Prince of Hazel and Oak by John Lenahan (bought on Amazon.co.uk 14th of July 2011)
19. It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet by James Herriot (bought on Amazon.co.uk 4th of November 2012)
20. Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson (bought on Audible 13th of August 2013)

Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson

One night while the moon gleamed out of the clouds in the east, a young female otter gave birth to three cubs in a hollow oak by a woodland river. The pride of the litter was Tarka, "Little Water Wanderer," the name the ancients gave otters in Britain's long-vanished tribal past.
First published in 1927, this classic story of Tarka's life in the country of the Two Rivers has charmed generations of readers. It pictures a never-to-be-forgotten rural England and, through the character of Tarka, lets us experience nature in her infinite variety. Narrated By Michael Maloney. From Goodreads.

This is a long description of the English country side. Sometimes quite long winded. There was some interesting otter hunting sequences when Tarka was being hunted by the hounds.
The best part of this book was that I was listening to it while going for walks in the Danish countryside. I was watching birds of prey, hares and lots of different birds on these walks. I even got spooked by a pheasant that was hiding in the long grass right next to the road.
I can recommend this book to people who like very long and detailed descriptions of nature.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Audio Book Challenge
2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (W-owl)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #5

Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #5 Finished

Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #5 hosted by Crazy Challenge Connection on Goodreads.

June is just around the corner, and that means it's time for another CCC Read-a-Thon :) Our next RaT will begin at 12:01am on Thursday, May 29, and end at midnight on Tuesday, June 3, a total of six days. (Use your local time for start/end times.) We're hoping that this will help you finish your May reading lists/challenges and get a head start on next month's reading!
Again, our goals for this RaT will be to:
(1) complete any challenges ending in May that you haven't finished yet and start on June's challenges (when appropriate) and/or
(2) work on that pile of library or borrowed books that's waiting for your attention and/or
(3) read anything you want to read, just because!
If none of these goals suit your reading this month, create your own goal and let us know what you hope to accomplish :) As you read, be sure to check in here and let us know what you've read, what you think of the book, and anything else you want to tell us about it!
What do you "need" to read? And what do you *want to read? If you want to set a goal -- books finished, pages read, time spent reading -- you can do that too :)  

My goal for this RaT was 1000 pages read. Unfortunately I did not meet my goal as I only managed to finish 806 pages.

It did help with challenges though as one book helped me in a challenge and another actually completed a challenge.

Books read:

1. Along Came A Demon by Linda Welch (205 pages)
2. Prince of Hazel and Oak by John Lenahan  (288 pages)
3. It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet by James Herriot  (240 pages)
4. Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson (listened to 73 pages of 225)

The Challenge Factory Spell It Out - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Finished

Spell It Out - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious hosted by The Challenge Factory on Goodreads.

Who doesn't love a good spell it out challenge? And what better word is there to spell than supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? So let's do it. There are 34 letters in the word so this will be a year long challenge that'll start January 1st. You can use author name (first, last and middle), series name or book title. A, An and The do not count.

I have now finished this challenge and it was "I" that was the most problematic. Maybe because there were 7 of them. I have enjoyed this challenge.

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious:

✔ S: Whitstable by Stephen Volk
✔ U: An Unlikely Witch by Debora Geary
✔ P: Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch (Peter Grant #2)
✔ E: Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison
✔ R: The Rising by Kelley Armstrong 
✔ C: Deep Blue Secret by Christie Anderson
✔ A: Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews 
✔ L: A Little Christmas Magic by Sylvie Kurtz
✔ I: Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews 
✔ F: A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison
✔ R: Steel and Other Stories by Richard Matheson
✔ A: Brazen by Kelley Armstrong
✔ G: The Good, the Bad, and the Undead by Kim Harrison
✔ I: Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews
✔ L: What Stays in Vegas by Beth Labonte
✔ I: Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews
✔ S: Saltwater Witch by Chris Howard
✔ T: Two Weeks with a SEAL by Theresa Marguerite Hewitt
✔ I: The Inconvenient Duchess by Christine Merrill
✔ C: The Highlander's Hope by Cali MacKay
✔ E: WitchHunt by Emma Mills
✔ X: Himmelbegravelsen (Sky Burial) by Xinran
✔ P: Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch (Peter Grant #3)
✔ I: Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews
✔ A: Aurora Sky by Nikki Jefford
✔ L: Forever Fae by L.P. Dover
✔ I: Into the Woods: Tales from the Hollows and Beyond by Kim Harrison
✔ D: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
✔ O: One Sweet Moment by Maggie Craig
✔ C: Honeymoon For One by Chris Keniston
✔ I: It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet by James Herriot
✔ O: The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison
✔ U: Unexpected Gifts by Elena Aitken
✔ S:  Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh

It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet by James Herriot

How on earth did James Herriot come to be sitting on a high Yorkshire moor, smelling vaguely of cows? James isn't sure, but he knows that he loves it. This second hilarious volume of memoirs contains more tales of James' unpredictable boss Siegfried Farnon, his charming student brother Tristan, animal mayhem galore and his first encounters with a beautiful girl called Helen. 'He can tell a good story against himself, and his pleasure in the beauty of the countryside in which he works is infectious' - "Daily Telegraph". 'Full of warmth, wisdom and wit' - "The Field". 'It is a pleasure to be in James Herriot's company' - "Observer". From Goodreads.

This is a very humorous book. I remember watching All Creatures Great and Small - the TV-series adapted from the books James Herriot ( pen name for James Alfred Wight).
It was very clearly not an easy job but the stories he tells make it seem worth all the trouble.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and might read more in this series at a later date.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Read Scotland 2014
2014 Full House Reading Challenge
2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory Spell It Out - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Build a House
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Setting Alphabet Reading Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (I-quail)
CCC-Read your age
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #5

Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #5 Update

Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #5 hosted by Crazy Challenge Connection on Goodreads.

Thursday 29th of May: Read Along came a Demon by Linda Welch as I needed to
Friday 30th of May: Didn't get around to do any reading.
Saturday 31th of May: Still not reading. This isn't going well.
Sunday 1st of June: Finally reading again. Finished Prince of Hazel and Oak by John Lenahan
Monday 2nd of June: Again a day of non-reading
Tuesday 3rd of June: started It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet by James Herriot 
Wednesday 4th of June: Finished It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet by James Herriot and listened to a bit of Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson

Pages Read:
Thursday: 205 pages  ➜ In total 205 pages
Friday: 0 pages  ➜ In total 205 pages
Saturday: 0 pages  ➜ In total 205 pages
Sunday: 288 pages ➜ In total 493 pages
Monday: 0 pages  ➜ In total 493 pages
Tuesday: 144 pages:  ➜ In total 637 pages
Wednesday: 169 pages: ➜ In total 806 pages

Prince of Hazel and Oak by John Lenahan

Having returned to the real world from Tir Na Nog at the end of the last book, our hero Conor finds himself arrested for the murder of his father.
When he explains to the cops that his dad is safe and well and enjoying life as king of a land of elves, imps and banshees they understandably think he is a nutcase.
That is until he is rescued by Celtic warriors on horseback and taken back to Tir Na Nog, accidentally bringing a policeman with him.
Once safely back in The Land, Conor finds that all is not well. His father is dying, the girl he loves is betrothed to another and a rather confused American cop is wandering around causing havoc.
It falls to our young hero, and his band of friends, to find a cure for the king. On their epic journey they encounter one of the most mystical and dangerous races in The Land, the shapeshifting Pooka, and find their fates linked in ways they could never have imagined.
The Prince of Hazel and Oak is a stunning fantasy adventure that takes fans of Shadowmagic further in to the land and brings back many of the favourite characters from the first book. From Goodreads.

It took me 1½ years from buying Shadowmagic, the first book in the series, before reading it and now another 1½ years later I finally got around to reading the second book.
I really enjoyed this book. Conor has come back to the real world but it is just not the same to him any longer and after being accused of his father's murder and arrested he is saved by his mother and brought back to Tir Na Nog. This time his quest is to find a cure for his father who is dying. Conor is just a teenager and quite often behaves as such but the book is humorous with him also trying to tell jokes that nobody understands.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Sequel Spring Reading Challenge
The Challenge Factory - R2: Team Challenge SS?
Nothing but Reading Challenges - UnCover It
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (P-polarbear)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #5