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: Smokin' Seventeen (Stepanie Plum, #17) by Janet Evanovich

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Smokin' Seventeen (Stephanie Plum, #17) written by Janet Evanovich has the usual cast of characters. With the bail bonds office in the process of being rebuilt, it has become a dumping ground for a murderer who has Stephanie Plum on his list. On top of that, Stephanie's mom is back to fixing her up with different men due to Stephanie not making a commitment with either of the men in her life . . . Joseph Morelli and Ricardo Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger. Enter Dave Brewer, former football star and classmate from Stephanie and Joe's high school.

smokin seventeen janet evanovich
smokin seventeen janet evanovichLet me first begin by saying that I really enjoyed this book . . . well enough that I gave it five out five stars because it was a little different from some of the other books in the series, even though it did follow the same exact formula that all the rest of the books did. However, Evanovich did freshen it up a little with a skip that thought he was a vampire, more curses from Grandma Bella (Joe Morelli's grandmother), and Stephanie's sister and her family are mentioned for the first time in several books.

The one thing that had me laughing throughout the book was the Vordo curse that Grandma Bella put on Stephanie. While in the middle of being intimate with one of the characters, Stephanie kept screaming out "vordo". The whole situation was quite comical in my opinion and one of the reasons why I ranked it so high.

Things I disliked about Smokin' Seventeen was Stephanie's mom fixing her up with Dave Brewer. I wish her mother would just calm the eff down on that front. I also disliked Dave Brewer throughout the entire book, but I think he was written that way purposely. Even though I thought there were a ton of comical moments because of the vordo curse, I didn't like Stephanie's character sleeping around. I desperately want her to choose Morelli or Ranger and finally make a commitment. The last thing I disliked about the book was I figured out who the killer was pretty early on, even with there being a red herring. 

Have you read Smokin' Seventeen? If so, what did you think about it? Let us know in the comments.


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