Romance Reading Bingo Challenge 2014

Three of three. I was inspired to create my own romance-themed reading bingo challenge after finding and committing to the young adult challenge and fiction challenge that I talked about about in my previous round-up posts of last week. While the two challenges were interesting and exciting, I knew that there was a good chance that I would get bored easily, simply because there was another genre that is the love of my life and that takes up the bulk of my reading: romance. And there my third and most ambitious reading challenge was born.

Given that this was my own curated RBC challenge, I wanted something that I could own. The categories in the YA and fiction RBC lists are fairly random, but I sat down and came up with a list of challenges of certain 'types', as explained in my original post. You had the challenges defined by character (A book with a writer heroine, A book with a cop/PI hero), challenges by genre (A new-adult book, A non-Regency historical), by trope (A book with a 'marriage of convenience', A cabin/road romance), as well as by characteristics of the physical book (A book with more than 500 pages, A book with a green cover) to name just a few. It made for what I knew would be varied and entertaining reading, though as the year came to a close, it started becoming very frustrating when trying to fill in the last of the gaps.

2014 Reading Challenge(s)

I discovered these beauties from Random House Canada on Pinterest at the end of last year and immediately committed myself to doing them - in my head. Of course, merely mentally agreeing to something is a sure sign that I won't actually get round to doing it - something I've learnt from experience.

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

200th post! RMMR seems to be hitting a lot of milestones lately - let's hope it continues!

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905) (Modern Library Inc)
Baroness Orczy
Grade: A+
Genre: adventure / romance
Source: own
Sir Percy Blakeney: (1) The Scarlet Pimpernel

The year is 1792 and across the Channel in France, the French aristocracy are fast losing their heads in the name of ‘Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité.’ To their rescue is The Scarlet Pimpernel, a dashing English gentleman (so it is said) and his band of equally dashing men, who are saving aristocrats left, right and centre and getting them safe passage to England with the most ingenious of disguises and ruses.

The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts

The Last Boyfriend (2012) (Piatkus)

Nora Roberts

Grade: C

Genre: contemporary romance

Sex scenes: mild

Source: library
Inn Boonsboro: (1) The Last Goodbye, (2) The Last Boyfriend, (3) The Perfect Hope

Only the last finishing touches are left on the construction side of things at the Inn Boonsboro and the Montgomery brothers are almost ready to step back and allow the women in with the furniture to make the inn start to look like the finished article. With Beckett handling the plans, Ryder the main design work and Owen making sure that all the tiny details are seen to, the Montgomery brothers - under the watchful eye of their mother, Justine - make a formidable team. The Inn had been in a derelict state for years before the Montgomerys added it to their portfolio and soon the building will be fully restored to its former glory, much to the excitement of everyone in the town.

The most awesome thing about Inn Boonsboro is that the rooms are named after famous literary couples. Guests have a choice between Elizabeth and Darcy, Titania and Oberon, Nick and Nora, Marguerite and Percy, Jane and Rochester, Westley and Buttercup, Eve and Roarke and The Penthouse. Each is decorated in its own unique style to match the relevant time period and it sounds lush. Even better is that Inn Boonsboro is an actual place in NR’s actual hometown, making it that tiny bit awesome. I admit to being rather disappointed by the photos of the real thing (Titania and Oberon and Westley and Buttercup look the best) as my imagination had gone rather wild at all the brilliant descriptions in the books, but nevertheless, it’s a great concept for a hotel.

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

My Name is Memory (2010) (Hodder & Stoughton)

Ann Brashares

Grade: A-

Genre: YA romance

Sex scenes: fade out

Source: library

Re-incarnation can be boiled down pretty simply to the idea that when you die, you get born again in a new body. Daniel is pretty familiar with the concept: he's only done it dozens of times, again and again for the single purpose of finding the girl he loves - Sophia.

Daniel isn't your average re-incarnate. Unlike 99.9%* of the population, he has the unique ability to remember every single one of his past lives. Not only that, but he can recognise souls: people who were part of his past lives, which is how he manages to find Sophia every time. The names 'Daniel' and 'Sophia' are their names from their very first lives when they met and though they've changed time and time again, Daniel hangs onto the comfort of their familiarity. He's been filthily rich and dirt poor across several continents; some lives were substantially shorter than others but not in a single one of them has he managed to get Sophia (on the times he's managed to find her) to remember her past lives with him so they can have their happy ending.