My new reading project is to read as much of Beverly Cleary's work as I can get my hands on to celebrate her 100th birthday this month.I am participating in the Dewey Read-A-Thon on April 23rd.

Courtney Milan Challenge

1. A Governess Affair (Brothers Sinister #0.5)

2. The Duchess War (Brothers Sinister #1)

Regency Box Set

3. The Love List (Half-Moon House #1) by Deb Marlowe

Classic Challenge/John Steinbeck Reader

4. The Red Pony

5. Tortilla Flat

Women in the Military Challenge

6. A Few Good Women: America's Military Women from World War I to the War in Iraq and Afghanistan by Evelyn Monahan and Rosemary Greenlee

Non-Fiction Challenge

7. In the Midst of Life by Jennifer Worth

8. Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 by Stephen Puleo

9. Self-Inflicted Wounds by Aisha Tyler

10. Londonistan by Melanie Phillips

11. Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison

12. Yes, My Accent is Real by Kunal Nayyar

Beverly Cleary at 100

13. Beezus and Ramona (Ramona Quimby #1)

14. Ramona the Pest (Ramona Quimby #2)

15. Ramona the Brave (Ramona Quimby #3)

The Great and Powerful TBR Pile:

16. What a Westmoreland Wants by Brenda Jackson

17. To Wed the Widow (The Reluctant Bride Collection #3) by Megan Bryce

18. Hearts in Flight by Patty Smith Hall

19. Hearts in Hiding by Patty Smith Hall

20. Hearts Rekindled by Patty Smith Hall

Happy Reading!

This was a rough book to slog through. I won't be reading anything else by this author, although her books have really pretty covers. The words are really ugly on the inside.

I say this a lot, but damn I hate it when New Adult characters/tropes make their way into my historical romance books. This is a grade A example; the heroine is TSTL and if you put a tattoo and beard on the hero, he would be your contemporary romance "bad boy." Not a redeeming quality amongst these two would be lovers (and very little brain cells to boot).

Heroine (Aurora) - selfish, whiny, constantly crying/drama queen, horny, but mostly the biggest DUMBASS in all of London. And the part about her trying to play matchmaker towards the last 25% of the book? A complete failure. She is also a pretty horrible friend to the one person who is still on her side/talking to her after she makes one dumb move after another. Rebecca needed to bitch slap Aurora.

Hero (Quin) is an asshat that didn't deal with his issues stemming from childhood. Once he squared that away, he was okay. But by then I could not care about either hero or heroine. At least he wasn't an idiot like Aurora and was also a better friend to Jonas than she was to Rebecca.

There was a lot of sex scenes in this book and a not a whole lot of character development or change. #.5 stars for me getting to the end of the book without throwing my e-reader at the wall.

 I am behind on some of the personal challenges for the year, so my focus will be on getting back on track. I decided to pull out from the bottom of the TBR pile a book about the Irish uprising of 1916 since this month is the 100th anniversary. Happy Reading!

Courtney Milan Challenge:

1. Proof by Seduction (Carhart Series #1) - catch up from last month.

2. Trial by Desire (Carhart Series #2) - get done so I stay on course with challenge

Regency Box Set:

3. More Than a Gentleman (The Wetherbys #1) by Jerrica Knight-Catania - so this was a NOOK freebie that I haven't gotten to read yet, when I looked to see that the second book in the regency box set is book two in the series. I hate reading out of order if it is avoidable. So even though this book isn't in the series, I am reading it first.

4. More Than a Governess (The Wetherbys #2) by Jerrica Knight-Catania - catch up from last month

5. Third book in series - get done so I stay on course with completing the set

Sinatra at 100 Challenge:

6. Sinatra: The Photographs by Andrew Howick and Barbara Sinatra

7. Frank: The Voice by James Kaplan

Women in Military Challenge:

8. The Lonely Soldier by Helen Benedict

Non-fiction Challenge:

9. Hijacking the Runway: How Celebrities Are Stealing the Spotlight from Fashion Designers by Teri Agins

10. I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot By the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai

11. The Birth of The Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution by Jonathan Eig

12. March: Book One by Rep John Lewis (graphic novel)

13. Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion by Charles Townshend

14. The Irish Americans: A History by Jay P. Dolan

Great and Powerful TBR Pile:

15. The Major's Faux Fiancee (Dukes of War #3 or #4) by Erica Ridley