Last year we killed it when it came to our reading challenges. We're hoping to have a repeat year here at the Goldilox blog. We've signed up for some awesome challenges and we have clean slates for ones we participated in last year. We're going to try something different and do a monthly reading challenge recap at the end of the month to keep you all updated on our progress. Wish us luck! This is how we did in January (aka the Month Gretl Killed It at BTB Bingo!).
Romanceopoly
Gretl
I completed 8 squares on my Romanceopoly board this month! I usually roll three times for each month and had to roll two extra times. I'm off to a great start, though it helped that most of my January ARCs fit my prompts. That doesn't always work out so well. I'm hoping that I'll have some cushion for when one of those slumpy months comes up later.
Completed:
✔️Courtship Row - Historical with Wallflower MC
My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid
✔️Farmer’s Market - MC is farmer/rancher/cowboy
Cowboy Wolf Trouble by Kait Ballenger
✔️Action Avenue - Urban Fantasy with a dark cover
Don’t Tempt Me by Jackie May
✔️The Office - Non-contemporary where the couple meet at their workplace
Never Kiss a Duke by Megan Frampton
✔️BFF’s House - Friends to Lovers romance/ Best Friend’s Sibling
Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
(I think the Moon prompt fits a little better for this book, but both are accurate.)
✔️Passion Place - Erotic BDSM romance
Tamed by Rebekah Weatherspoon
✔️Library - Free Choice
Malfunction by Nina Croft
✔️Winter - White, blue, silver or snow on the cover
Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross
Coming Up:
➖Rainbow Row - F/F romance
➖City Lane - The Sun prompt is to read a book from the UF rec list and I’ve read almost all of them so I may do the Moon prompt, UF published in the last 5 years
➖Library - Free Choice
➖Amour Avenue - Contemporary Age Gap Romance
Rose Red
I was originally going to try to complete my Romanceopoly board using just the Moon pack but I was scrolling through the hashtag on Instagram and noticed that several people were switching back and forth between the two. I think I'm going to do this for some of the challenges but I'm going to try to use the Moon pack for the majority of the squares. I did start with the first square (I was entertaining the thought of reading the squares in order for a bit) and then rolled from there.
Completed:
✔️Sleuth Street (Moon)- Mystery with an Amateur Sleuth MC
Loose Ends by Morgan Brice
✔️The Bar (Moon)- Read a Book Where You and the Author Share at Least One Initial
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
✔️Winter (Moon)- Read a Book with Snow on the Cover
Stormsong by C.L. Polk
✔️Courtship Row (Moon)- Historical Where the H/H is a Spy or Soldier
Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian
✔️The Office (Moon)- Read a Romance Where the Couple Meet at their Place of Work
The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren
Coming Up:
➖Farmer's Market- Read a Romance Where the H/H is a Chef or Works in the Food Industry, Owns a Bakery/Restaurant/Food Establishment
➖Library- Free Choice
➖Post Office- Read an Epistolary Romance
Beat the Backlist
Gretl
My goal is to read 50% backlist this year. For January I read 9 backlist out 15 total books so I'm on track.
I’m also playing Beat the Backlist Bingo and filled 9 squares this month:
Author who writes in multiple genres - Sweet Revenge by Zoe Archer
Main character with a disability- My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid
Set in a place you want to visit - Unexplored by Anna Hackett
Book with less than 200 pages - Her Insatiable Scot by Melissa Blue
Author with a middle initial - Crimson Sin by Trina M Lee
Author you’ve read 5+ books from - Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
Main Character has a pet - Fit by Rebekah Weatherspoon
One Word Title - Tamed by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Rose Red
I'm doing pretty good at reading backlist books but not so good with filling in my Bingo card. I ended up filling 3 squares.
Beat the Backlist Bingo
Indie Book- Loose Ends by Morgan Brice
Book by International (To You) Author- Witchmark by C.L. Polk
Author You Want to Meet- Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian
Non-Bingo Backlist Books
Finder Deluxe Edition: Target in Sight, Vol. 1 by Ayano Yamane
Finder Deluxe Edition: Caught in a Cage, Vol. 2 by Ayano Yamane
Finder Deluxe Edition: On One Wing, Vol. 3 by Ayano Yamane
Finder Deluxe Edition: In Captivity, Vol. 4 by Ayano Yamane
Finder Deluxe Edition: Naked Truth, Vol. 5 by Ayano Yamane
Finder Deluxe Edition: You're My Desire, Vol. 6 by Ayano Yamane
Finder Deluxe Edition: Longing For You, Vol. 7 by Ayano Yamane
Finder Deluxe Edition: Secret Vow, Vol. 8 by Ayano Yamane
Finder Deluxe Edition: Beating of My Heart, Vol. 9 by Ayano Yamane
Our Dining Table by Mita Ori
Library Love Challenge
Gretl
My goal for the year is 36 books for Overdrive Junkie level.
This month I read:
Sweet Revenge by Zoe Archer
Unexplored by Anna Hackett
Fit by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Tamed by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Rose Red
My goal for the year is 12 Books I Own for the Safety level but I'm going to aim to hit the First Down (25-36) level. I would love to achieve the Field Goal (37-48) level but that might be a tad too ambitious.
This month I read:
Loose Ends by Morgan Brice (also counted for the monthly challenge prompt Published in 2019)
Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian
How did you all do with your reading challenges in January?
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