Wrap-Up of the 2024 Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge

The Cloak and Dagger mystery reading challenge is a top favorite of mine.  I have participated in it for many years.  One year ago I signed up for the challenge at the Special Agent level of participation which required me to read between 36 and 55 books. My book count for 2024 is 55 books so I successfully finished the challenge. The links to the books I read are below:

Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke

Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Pink Lemonade Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Agony in Amethyst by A. M. Stuart

Such a Loving Couple by Hayley Smith

The Blue Monsoon by Dimyanti Biswas

Salt House Place by Jamie Sogn

Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble

The Amish Wife by Gregg Olson

Darling by Rachel Edwards

Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke

Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson

The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson

The Waitress by Emily Shiner

One Day Gone by Luana Ehrlich

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

The Last Patient of the Night by Gary Gerlacher

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Two Days in Caracas by Luana Ehrlich

Girl in the Dark by J. M. Cannon

Public Anchovy #1 by Mindy Quigley

The Woman Inside by Anna-Lou Weatherly 

Murder in the Tea Leaves by Laura Childs

Peach Tea Smash by Laura Childs

Three Weeks in Washington by Luana Ehrlich

The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry

You Only Call When You're in Trouble by Stephen McCauley

An American in Scotland by Lucy Connelly

Death at a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly

Four Steps Missed by Luana Ehrlich

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

Manner of Death by Robin Cook

The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak

The Butcher Game by Alaina Urquhart

The Merchant's Tale  by PK Adams

Five Days in Yemen by Luana Ehrlich

Six Days Spent by Luana Ehrlich

Under Water by Rachel Callaghan

A Nest of Vipers by Harini Nagendra

Bellevue by Robin Cook

The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear

Knee High by the Fourth of July by Jess Lourey

Forget Me Never by Susan Wittig Albert

Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead

Seven Up by Janet Evanovich

Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich

Red Sky Mourning by Jack Carr

Shadow of Doubt by Brad Thor

A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva

Twice on Christmas by McGarvey Black

The Girl in Apartment 9 by AJ Rivers

My Husband's Affair by Ruth Heald

Pike Island by Tony Wirt

The Body in the Boot by Patrick Walsh

Capture or Kill by Vince Flynn

Favorite Book:  Twice on Christmas 

Second Favorite Book:  Such a Loving Couple

Least Favorite Book:  The Last Patient of the Night

Wrap Up of the 2024 Net Galley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge

2024 was the first time I participated in this challenge. I was lucky to receive books from authors that I love and knew straightaway that I would enjoy them. There were three new, to me, authors whose books I enjoyed: Kate McIntosh, Diana Chambers and Leslie Gould. The challenge was successful and I am looking forward to participating in the challenge in 2025. Links to my reviews are below.

Letters of Wisdom by Wanda Brunstetter

Where the Body Was by Ed Brubaker

The Amish Quiltmaker's Unlikely Match by Jennifer Strickland 

Seoul Before Sunrise by Samir Dahmani 

The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry

Museum of Lost Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini

The Protector by Wanda Brunstetter

Bellevue by Robin Cook

The Champagne Letters by Kate McIntosh

Songs for the Broken Hearted by Ayelet Dabari

The Secret War of Julia Child by

Diana Chambers

By Evening's Light by Leslie Gould

Favorite Book:  The Champagne Letters

Second Favorite Book:  Letters of Wisdom

Least Favorite Book:  Songs for the Brokenhearted

Wrap-Up of the 2024 Cruisin' Through the Cozies Challenge

I read fourteen books for this cozy reading challenge. I liked all of them except those by Janet Evanovich.  She has a huge readership but just isn't my cup of tea. There were new, to me, authors whose series I enjoyed. Judy Leigh, Mindy Quigley and Lucy Connelly are now on my radar and I look forward to reading their books in the future. Links to my reviews are below.

The Vintage Village Bake-Off by Judy Leigh

Public Anchovy #1 by Mindy Quigley

Murder in the Tea Leaves by Laura Childs

The Museum of Lost Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini

An American in Scotland by Lucy Connelly

Knee High by the Fourth of July by Jess Lourey

Forget Me Never by Susan Witting Albert

Pink Lemonade Murder by Joanne Fluke

Peach Tea Smash by Laura Childs

Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Death at a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly

Cinnamon Roll Murder - Joanne Fluke

Seven Up - Janet Evanovich

Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich

Agony in Amethyst by A. M. Stuart

Favorite Book:  Agony in Amethyst 

Second Favorite Book:  Death at a Scottish Christmas

Least Favorite Book:  Hard Eight

Wrap-Up of the 2024 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge

The Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge is another priority for me when selecting reading challenges. I have found new authors that I enjoy through the challenge so it is always a success for me. Below are the links to the reviews that I posted for it.

Salt House Place by Jamie Sohn

The Last Patient of the Night by Jason Rekulak

Woman Inside by Anna Lou Weatherly

You Only Call When You're in Trouble by Stephen McCauley

Darling by Rachel Edwards

Girl in the Dark by J. M. Cannon

Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble

The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson

Red Sky Mourning by Jack Carr

Twice on Christmas by McGarvey Black

Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead

Such a Loving Couple by Hayley Smith

Ice by Kevin Tinto. After reading 65 pages with no action or even a hint of the plot I decided to stop reading.  The book is advertised for kids 12 - 18 but I can't believe they would be interested.  It is probably the first book that I DNF'd in about 5 years.

Favorite Book:  Such a Loving Couple

Second Favorite Book:  Twice on Christmas 

Least Favorite Book:  Ice

Wrap-Up of the 2024 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge

When I saw the numbers for this challenge I was surprised at how many books I read from Luana Ehrlich.  All of them were read for the Clock Reading Challenge.  While they were OK reads, the plots were similar. I decided to switch to books written by Janet Evanovich but liked them less. My favorite books were new installments to series that I have been reading for years. The links to those are below.

The Blue Monsoon by Dimyanti Biswas 

The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry 

A Nest of Vipers by Harini Nagendra 

Peach Tea Smash - Laura Childs

Shadow of Doubt - Brad Thor

A Death in Cornwall - Daniel Silva

Capture or Kill - Vince Flynn

Murder in the Tea Leaves by Laura Childs

Luana Ehrlich

One Day Gone

Two Days in Caracas

Three Weeks in Washington

Four Steps Missed

Five Years in Yemen

Six Days Spent

Janet Evanovich

Seven Up

Hard Eight 

Robin Cook
Manner of Death
Bellevue

Joanne Fluke

Pink Lemonade Murder

Key Lime Pie Murder

Cinnamon Roll Murder

Favorite Book: The Blue Monsoon

Second Favorite Book:  Peach Tea Smash

Least Favorite Book:  Capture or Kill

Wrap Up of the 2024 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge Author Edition

I missed a couple of letters but just ran out of steam in the past few months. I wanted to spend more time on creating collages and needlepoint. It was hard to give myself permission to not complete the challenge. However, I gave myself that grace in a few reading challenges including this one. Below are links to the reviews that I posted.

A:  PK Adams, The Merchant's Tale

B:  Steve Berry, The Atlas Maneuver

C.  Matt Caplan, Open Borders

D:  Rebecca D'Harlingue, The Map Colorist

E:  John Elcik, Ancestry Standazrds for Data Integrity 

F:  Joanne Fluke, Pink Lemonade Cake Murder

G:  Gary Gerlacker, The Last Patient of the Night

H:  Julia Hutt, Japanese Fans

I:  

J:  

K:  Angie Kim, Happiness Falls

L:  Jess Lourey, Knee High by the Fourth of July

M:  Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

N:  Harini Nagendra, A Nest of Vipers

O:  Gregg Olson, The Amish Wife

P:  Alan Scott Pate, Japanese Dolls

Q:  Mandy Quigley, Public Anchovy #1

R:  Jennifer Ryan, The Kitchen Front

S:  Peter Swanson, The Kind Worth Saving

T:  Kate Thompson, The Wartime Book Club

U:  

V:  Jody Vorra, The Sins of the Fathers

W:  Eric Weintraub, South of Sepharad

X: 

Y:  Gene Luen Yang, Lunar New Year Love Story

Z:  

Favorite Book:  The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides 

Second Favorite Book:  Happiness Falls by Angie Kim 

Least Favorite Book:  The Sins of the Fathers by Jody Vorra 

Wrap-Up of the 2024 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge

I had every intention of completing the challenge but missed books beginning with Q, X and Z. My month long vacation in October put me behind in my reading and it was hard to catch up with all of my reading challenges. There’s always hope for a full finish next year. Follow the below links to reviews of the books that I read for this challenge.

A:  The Amish Wife by Gregg Olson

B:  The Blue Monsoon by Dimyanti Biswas

C:  Cool Japan Guide by Abby Denton

D:  Darling by Rachel Edwards

E:  Enlighten Me by Minh Le

F:  Four Steps Missed by Luana Ehrlich

G:  A Geek in Japan by Hector Garcia

H:  Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson

I:  The Importance of Sons by Kiera Morgan

J:  Japanese Dolls by Alan Scott Pate

K:  The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

L:   Letters of Wisdom by Wanda Brunstetter

M:  Manner of Death by Robin Cook

N:  A Nest of Vipers by Harindi Nagendra

O:  Oath and Honor by Elizabeth Cheney

P:  Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter 

Q:  Quarry Girls by  Jess Lourey ( DNF)

R:  Red Sky Mourning by Jack Carr

S:  Salt House Place by Jamie Lee Sogn

T:  Two Days in Caracas by Luana Ehrlich

U:  Uniquely Japan by Abby Denson

V:  Vintage Village Bake Off by Judy Leigh

W:  Where the Body Was by Ed Brubacker

X: 

Y:  You Only Call When You're in Trouble by Steve McCauley

Z:  

Favorite Book:  The Blue Monsoon

Second Favorite Book:  Manner of Death

Least Favorite Book:  Salt House Place

Wrap-Up of the 2024 Color Coded Reading Challenge

I have enjoyed participating in the Color Coded Reading Challenge over the years. It's getting harder to find books with a color in the title. At this point I need to be selecting new releases. Fortunately, the 2025 challenge allows books with covers that have a majority of a color. That makes it easier! 

The challenge requires participants to read books with these colors in the title:  blue, red, green, yellow, brown, white, black, and any other color. Below are links to the books that I read in 2024.

Blue:  The Blue Monsoon - Dimyanti Biswas

Yellow:  Yellowface - R. F. Huang

Red:  Red Sky Mourning - Jack Carr

Red:  Pink Lemonade Cake Murder - Joanne Fluke

Any other color:  Peach Tea Smash - Laura Childs

Green:  Key Lime Pie Murder - Joanne Fluke

Brown:  The Cinnamon Roll Murder - Joanne Fluke

Black:  The Black Ghost - Alex Segura

White:  White Mulberry - Rosa Kwon Easton

Favorite Book:  Peach Tea Smash

Second Favorite Book: Blue Monsoon

Least Favorite Book: Pink Lemonade Cake Murder 

Wrap-Up of the 2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge

One year ago I joined the challenge at the Nonfiction Nibbler level. Nonfiction Nibbler requires that 6 books should be read. I completed the challenge with 11 books. However, most of the books I read, with the exception of the Japanese art books, were so-so.  Perhaps I should reduce the number of them that I read but make sure the topics I select are exciting to me.  Links to my 2024 reads are below:

The Amish Wife by Gregg Olson

And There Was Light - Jon Meacham

Oath and Honor - Elizabeth Cheney

Ancestry Standards for Data Integrity - John Elcik

A History of Japan in Manga - Shunichiro Kanaya

The Psychology of Secrets - Andrew Gold

Meghan and Harry - Lady Colin Campbell

The Real Watergate Scandal - Geoff Shepard

Japanese Kokeshi Dolls - Alan Scott Pate

The History of the Japanese Fan - Julia Hutt

The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

Favorite Book:  Japanese Kokeshi Dolls 

Second Favorite Book:  The History of the Japanese Fan 

Least Favorite Book:  The Psychology of Secrets 

Wrap Up of then 2024 What's In a Name Challenge

Six Books are all that participants are required to read for this challenge. You get to choose books from the following categories. 

double letters:  The Blue Monsoon by Dimyanti Bissau

an  NFL team: The Raven's Widow by Adrienne Dillard

a virtue:  Oath and Honor by Elizabeth Cheney

a shape:  The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan

footwear:  The Body in the Boot:  Patrick Walsh

a natural disaster:  The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

Favorite Book:  The Body in the Boot 

Second Favorite Book:  The Blue Monsoon

Least Favorite Book:  The Johnstown Flood