2026 Holiday Reading Challenge | The Running Bibliophile

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Who doesn’t love a good challenge, especially when it pushes you to read outside your comfort zone or discover a new author? I’ve always wanted to join a reading challenge or reading bingo, but so many of them feel repetitive. So, I decided to create something a little different. It doesn’t mean a challenge like this isn’t out there; I just haven’t come across one myself. Introducing The Running Bibliophile’s 2026 Holiday Reading Challenge, a fun and unique way to expand your reading list while celebrating the spirit of the year. This challenge features 14 books of your choice, with one key twist: each book’s plot must revolve around the specific holiday mentioned. The challenge runs for January 1 through January 31, 2026. To keep things exciting, you may not duplicate any books on the list. By the time you've completed the challenge, you will have read 14 new books to diversify your reading list. To kick things off, the first prompt is simple: choose any holiday-themed book as l...
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Book Review: Berry the Evidence (Cranberry Cove, #7) by Peg Cochran

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book review berry the evidence cranberry cove peg cochran

Berry the Evidence (Cranberry Cove, #7) by Peg Cochran takes place in Cranberry Cove, where it's autumn.  Things start to get toasty when Monica's stepmom, Gina, arrives at her house and is frantic.  Gina had fallen asleep in her realtor's car.  When she woke up, Rip was dead from a gunshot, and Gina refuses to go to the police.  Monica decides to investigate in hopes of keeping her stepmom safe.

A big thank you goes out to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for the Advanced Readers Copy of Berry the Evidence (Cranberry Cove, #7) by Peg Cochran.  I was happy to receive this ebook for free in exchange for my honest review.

I wasn't familiar with the author, Peg Cochran, prior to reading Berry the Evidence, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  The novel was well written and paced perfectly.  I felt like I was right there in the town as I read the book.  Although it's the seventh book in the series, Berry the Evidence can be read as a stand alone.

The majority of the characters were extremely likable.  The only exception to that was Janice who was overbearing with her know it all attitude and pregnancy myths.  With that being said, the people that lived in Cranberry Cove seemed to have such a great community, and I'd love to live there and be friends with several of the characters.

There really isn't anything negative I can say about Berry the Evidence except that it seemed like Monica was constantly taking her dog for a walk.  I kept expecting a plot twist on one of these walks, but there wasn't any.

Overall, I really enjoyed Berry the Evidence (Cranberry Cove, #7) by Peg Cochran.  It was exactly what I needed to read . . . light and fun.  I give it four out of five stars, and I look forward to reading all the books that came before this one in the series.


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