Monday, December 31, 2018

TBR Challenge 2018: summary

Another years ending and with it, another TBR Challenge complete.
For me, this challenge isn't difficult to accomplish because I have many books and I'm always looking for to finish them for the challenge. As expected, some picks are better than others but the fun part is to prove a book has been in the pile for good reasons. If it ends up being a bad choice, then we can just rant about it.
Here follows a little summary of each of my twelve picks for the challenge of 2018. I also have a small comment about the challenge in my challenge's page.
By the way, happy reading year for those who will do the challenge again, like me 😊😊

January: One Part Human by Viola Grace (shorter read) 
I liked this one. It's the second of a trilogy and in terms of plot and execution it isn't that great but for a shot read, I think it provided enough elements to be appreciated. Basically, a supernatural community has problems and the four protagonists must deal with them while becoming a good partnership.

February: Eidolon by Grace Draven ( backlist glom) 
This is romantic fantasy and it was good but not as addictive as other readers said. The relationship of two different beings makes their marriage rocky but the real affection and love between them makes everything easier.  

March: Protecting What's His by Tessa Bailey (spice romance)
This is a contemporary described as erotic but for me it wasn't as amazing or as spricy as intended. I think the relationship between the main couple wasn't as special as I imagined by the description, especially when I expected their falling in love to have been better done and longer in happening.
 
April: Something Wonderful by Judith McNaught (kicking it old school) 
An oldie, as some readers would say, this romance is very special although a little dated in some situations comparing with some styles of nowadays. However, the drama is only another element and the end compensated immensely.
 
May: Manwhore by Katy Evans (Contemporary)
I'm not even going to describe it. I didn't like this one and my grade wasn't lower because of one or two elements. Terrible plot for me.
 
June: Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt (comfort read) 
I confess I expected more of this one since I'm a fan of the long series it is a part of. Nevertheless, the general feeling of seeing beloved characters and situations fit the bill for the theme and of course  liked the romance, overall.
 
July: Heroes Are My Weakness by SEP (Favorite Trope)
I liked this one, prey much as I have almost all the books of this author. Again, her plots are a little over the top and the execution slightly unlikely but the effect is amazing and I did like how the couple bonded and the dynamics of their relationship.
 
August: Immortal Ever After by Lynsay Sands (Series)
The Argeneau vampite series is a very long one and I'm constantly behind but this installment met all the usual criteria of the "mate" trope. It wasn't as funny as the early books were, but for me the heroine made me consider this one a winner.
 
September: Slightly Shady by Amanda Quick (historical) 
The author has a very unique style of writing, sometimes bordering on the too simple, too predictable but I like reading her novels. This story about the sort of enemies-to-lovers trope made me have a great time and that was almost perfect for my taste. 

October: Death Is Not Enough by Karen Rose (romantic suspense) 
The books by this author have become way long, way detailed, way focused on situations sometimes difficult to believe in. The relationships between protagonists less and less romantic (we don't see much development on the page considering the amount of time dedicated to the crime solving) but still I can't just ignore them and all are addictive. 

November: The Chateau on the Lake by Charlotte Betts (beautiful cover) 
I expected more of this book, considering the premise and the beautiful cover but the first person narrator and the too dramatic storyline for such a "childish" style of narrating made this book feel a little unbalanced. Still entertaining, though, to read about the heroine's adventures.

December: Anthology A Victorian Christmas by several authors (holidays) 
Five stories where Christmas is around the corner or center stage, two were great, another not really and the other two meh. It was nice to have smaller stories focusing on specific themes but of course some suffered from the small page count vs plot development issues.

Happy reading, everyone, and happy new year!

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