Hi everyone! We are continuing to gear up for the start of our Seventh Annual Reading Challenge Month! Woo hoo! Hopefully you guys saw our initial post last week, but in just in case, let me catch you up. Reading Challenge Month starts on September 5th and, as always, we will have four, week-long reading challenges. Each week, the folks at Joyfully Jay will be reading books that fit the weekly challenge. As readers, you guys can get involved two ways and not only have some fun, but win some fabulous prizes! First, you can earn a contest entry every time you leave a comment on a challenge review. You can also earn TEN additional entries each week by reading along with your own challenge book and writing a mini review at the end of the week. If you need more information, you can check out our Coming Soon post for overall information and look for our Prize Preview post next Sunday for more specifics on the prizes.

So, today we are going to talk about what we are reading, and help provide some direction for those of you still choosing your own books to read. Just to be clear, you can read one of the books we are reading, or you can pick your own challenge book. Either is totally fine. We just encourage you to play along by taking on the challenges along with us, with whatever book catches your eye. Honestly, it doesn’t even need to be a romance, so have fun with your choices! Every year I find some great books I may never have tried, so it can be a lot of fun. Hopefully this list will help provide you all with some inspiration! (P.S. This is our reading list as of now, but it is possible things may change slightly as we get everything finalized.)

Week 1: New-to-Me Author Week  (read a book by an author you have never before read)

• Save Me by Beck Grey (Jay)
• Impacted by Benji Carr (Jovan)
• Life, Love, and Other Inequalities by Argentine Ryder (Veronica)
• Scoring with Him by Lauren Blakely (Michelle)
• Avoiding Aiden by Chris Cole (Camille)
• A Touch of Fever by Nazri Noor (Kris)
• A Scheme of Sorcery by Ennis Rook Bash (Elizabeth)
• Holding on to a Hero by Bix Barrow (Jay)

If you are looking for your own New-to-Me Author book, check out our monthly Favorite Books posts! You’ll see the things we loved and maybe find a book you want to try! You can also look at our Favorites lists with some of our top picks in a variety of tropes, like rock stars, road trips, pirate stories, and more!

Week 2:TBR Pile Week (pick a book that has been on your To Be Read pile for a year — or that is at least a year old)

• Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger (Jovan)
• The Long Past and Other Stories by Ginn Hale (Jay)
• Made for You by Anyta Sunday (Veronica)
• Slow Heat (audio) by Leta Blake (Jay)
• Magic’s Pawn by Mercedes Lackey (Elizabeth)
• The Temple Road by Kirby Crow (Camille)
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Michelle)
• Snapshots by Addison Albright (Kris)

If you want some ideas for older books, go to our Site Map and click the Monthly Archives drop-down in the right column to pull up reviews from previous years.

Week 3: Under the Rainbow Week (choose a book that features a part of the LGBTQIA umbrella that you don’t read as often)

• The Fog of War by A.L. Lester (Jay)
• Far Patrol by Alex Powell (Camille)
• Various Persuasions by A.E. Lister (Jovan)
• Diamond Heat by Alex Washoe (Michelle)
• Border CTRL+ ESC by Ivy L. James (Veronica)
• A Fiend in the Fog by Jess Faraday (Elizabeth)
• Comfort by Chace Verity (Kris)
• Remedy by Alex Hall (Sue)

If you are looking for books beyond gay/bi and cis men, check out some of our reviews featuring characters who are lesbian, nonbinary, asexual, transgender, genderfluid, demisexual, or that feature MMF pairings.

Week 4: Judge a Book By Its Cover Week (pick a book because you love the cover!)

• The Bachelor’s Valet by Arden Powell (Jay)
• One Trick Pony by Eli Easton (Veronica)
• Queen of Teeth by Hailey Piper (Jovan)
• The Depths of Time by Lori Fayre (Camille)
• Descent of Ravens by A.C. Andrews (Kris)
• How Not to Kidnap a Prince by S.M. Quill (Elizabeth)
• Not What it Seems by Nicky James (Michelle)
• Chrysalis by S.E. Harmon (Jay)
• All the Stars by Duckie Mack (Michelle)

If you want some ideas for books with great covers, check out our Monthly Favorite Covers posts for some inspiration! .

Hope you find some great books to read and will join us in having fun this month! If you know what you are reading and want to share, feel free to let us know in the comments!