#TheReadingQuest Sign Up!

Hi all!

It’s time for another challenge as I haven’t participated in one since January! Luckily, Aentee @ Read at Midnight has created this awesome video-game based reading challenge.

#TheReadingQuest is a reading adventure based on a video-game quest, and in the challenge, we’ll be embarking on a journey to conquer your TBR pile through a series of stages. We’ll read new stories, gain experience, and level up a character of our choosing.

The quest will take place between Sunday 13th August to Sunday 10th September, 2017. The signup form is open until Sunday 13th August! 

A massive shoutout to CW of Read, Think, Ponder, the artist behind all of the character illustrations. HOW CUTE ARE THESE CHARACTERS?! I can’t even begin to explain how hard it was to choose just one! You can find CW on Instagram, Twitter, and her blog.

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I have chosen the character of the Mage because he’s the cutest because I am a sorcerer at heart! Look at my little guy!

So The Mages are ‘wielders of spells and witchcraft, [and] these players will conjure and summon their way through the First Down path on the quest. Their tomes contain magic and whispers of alternate lands.’

Along with the separate Character Class quest levels (Purple Squares), the centre of the Quest Board is a conglomeration of Side Quests (Blue Squares)! Complete these challenges to earn extra points and bonus experience for your character.

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#TheReadingQuest TBR

Some recently added books to my tbr, and some that I’ve had on there for years –
(subject to change, maybe, idk)

A book with a one word title:

Nick Melnikov doesn’t know where he belongs. He was just a kid when his Russian-Jewish family immigrated to Michigan. Now he’s in London for university, overwhelmed by unexpected memories. Socially anxious, intensely private, and closeted, Nick doesn’t expect to fall in so quickly with a tight-knit group of students from his college, and it’s both exhilarating and scary. Hanging out with them is a roller coaster of serious awkward and incredible longing, especially when the most intimidating of the group, Dex, looks his way.

Dex Cartwell knows exactly who he is: a black queer guy who doesn’t give a toss what anybody thinks of him. He is absolutely, one-hundred-percent, totally in control of his life. Apart, maybe, from the stress of his family’s abrupt move to an affluent, largely white town. And worrying about his younger brother feeling increasingly isolated as a result. And the persistent broken heart he’s been nursing for a while . . .

When Nick and Dex meet, both find themselves intrigued. Countless late-night conversations only sharpen their attraction. But the last thing Nick wants is to face his deepest secret, and the last thing Dex needs is another heartache. Dex has had to fight too hard for his right to be where he is. Nick isn’t even sure where he’s from. So how can either of them tell where this is going?

A book that contains magic: 

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love – a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

A book based on mythology:

Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to a newcomer…

Katerina must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But she doesn’t account for her first love…

Jacob will go to unthinkable lengths to win Katerina, even if it means having to compete for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince.

And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet betrothed, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.

A book set in a different world:

The battle for the Crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail?

With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.

In this enthralling sequel to Kendare Blake’s New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns, Fennbirn’s deadliest queens must face the one thing standing in their way of the crown: each other.

The first book in a series: 

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

Side Quests:

Potions – A book concocted by 2+ authors: Manic Pixie Dream Boy by K.A. Merikan.
Time Warp – A book set either in the past or in the future: Alex and Eliza by Melissa De La Cruz.
Expansion – Read a companion novel or a short story: Blind Fate by Regine Abel.
Multiplayer – Buddy read a book: 
Open world – Read whatever you want: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
Mini-game – Read a graphic novel, novella, or poem collection: Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu.
Grind – A book with 500+ pages: The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera.
Respawn – Read a book you previously DNF’d: Girl Hearts Girl by Lucy Sutcliffe.
Animal companion – Book referencing an animal in the title: The Tiger’s Watch by Julia Ember.

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EXPERIENCE POINTS

• All characters will start off with 10 Experience Points (EXP), and each book (in any format: physical, eBook, or audiobook) they complete for the Quest Board will add another +10 EXP. The exception are graphic novels/manga, which will give +5 EXP.
• The exception is for books written by marginalised authors. These books will earn your characters bonus EXP.  For each book completed for the Quest, you will gain +20 EXP.
• Adventurers who complete their character’s quest before the challenge period will earn a +50 EXP. You will earn an additional +30 EXP for any additional character quest you complete after that.
• Because I am not interested in employing polynomials or convoluted equations for a reading challenge, I’m going to go ahead and say your character will level up with every +50 EXP. They all start at Level 1.

HEALTH POINTS

• All characters begin with 10 Health Points (HP). Every 10 pages you read during the Quest will give you +1HP. The exception are graphic novels/manga, which will give you +1HP every 20 pages.
• Tweeting on #TheReadingQuest hashtag (with meaningful tweets about your current reads, roleplay with your current character, book recommendations) will earn you +1HP each. You can have a maximum of +20HP from Social Media interactions.
• Photos of your #TheReadingQuest books or TBR pile will earn you 1HPeach. This contributes towards the maximum of +20HP from Social Media interactions mentioned above.
• We will catalogue the points at the end via a masterpost, and find out who The Quest Champion is! This requires all participants interested in the prizes to link up in the Masterpost at the conclusion of the Quest!

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I’m so excited to begin this quest! August 13 can’t come soon enough 😆

-Laura 💕