This blog is for Missouri State Library staff members to record their books read for the annual Missouri Book Challenge.
Welcome to the MOSL Book Challenge
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
Cursed by Marissa Meyer
Marissa are you referencing Marie Lu.....
We stan our trickster Gild.
Marissa how dare you make me cry.....
The way that the world was expanded, and like--the lore of the world.
496 Pages
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Gilded by Marissa Meyer
Also like.....all the Hocus Pocus vibes
Gild my baby. I'll protect you with my life.
512 Pages
Monday, November 21, 2022
Shipwrecked by Olivia Dade
The slow burn. The pining. The long-term pining.
Can y'all just communicate everything directly. Like....you hinting and you should be listening.....but like....y'all just gotta say how your trauma affects you and your fears and your insecurities....

Alex in the background being the shenanigan Cupid that he is.
Hey look. It's sexism and fatphobia in the tv/movie industry.
I keep mixing up Peter and Ian in the chat, even though I know Peter is the main character and he's not Ian....like....why brain...
*laughs uncomfortably at Peter's character arc about being secure vs being happy.
I really need to know how Maria manages to pull a jar of fish out of nowhere......
The dolphin. Iconic.
Did I keep thinking about Outlander because rainy island....yes....
Ok but like....you can't drop that ship and not make a book about it...but also...saw it coming....
416 Pages
Friday, November 18, 2022
Heart and Seoul by Jen Frederick
What Hara finds there has all the makings of a classic K-drama: a tall, mysterious stranger who greets her at the airport, spontaneous adventures across the city, and a mess of familial ties, along with a red string of destiny that winds its way around her heart and soul. Hara goes to Korea looking for answers, but what she gets instead is love—a forbidden love that will either welcome Hara home…or destroy her chance of finding one."
A book with Iowa and South Korea as settings? Sign me up!
dimples, you say?!
make this as an actual k-drama NOW. With Kim Seon Ho as Yujun.
330 pages
The Rehearsals by Annette Christie
I am uncomfortable and anxious, and it's like being with the family for the holidays all over again.
don't mind me over here....screaming about boundaries and therapy and stuff.
sfjkldsfjkldsfjkldsfdjkl mostly because I love Tom. he's great. he's a boy which means he....you know is a guy, but he's cool. he's doing his best.
Can we just all hug Tom please.
"blankets were grandad's love language" same.
336 Pages
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
Me: iced coffee. iced coffee. iced coffee.
I love the little baker.
Also everything is so soft....like it's basically a Coffee Shop AU fanfic, but with original characters.
The kitty cat. (It makes me think of the Seattle cat cafe)
304 Pages
Daughters of Eville Series by Chanda Hahn
Xander being a beast is just jkldssfjklda
Also Rosalie using fear to her benefit so she can sneak around, and dying the veil black. Iconic.
The goblin.
The moral of the story: don't listen to what other people tell you.
310 PagesAaaaand this country's name is Candor...like...honesty....
It's the house elves.
The way that cinders are tied into the story. fdsjklsfjkldasfjkld
It's the princess diaries + ella enchanted.
I want a nickname...someone call me sparrow.
310 PagesDo I love it when a female character has to pretend to be a guy on a ship....yes....
It just means that there's shenanigans and it's my favorite.
310 PagesFinally a soft boi....like...
Me relating to not doing well in large groups of people and being able to feel other peoples emotions and stuff, and anxiety...and having a person that grounds you.
332 Pages
We get to see Aspen. fjkdsfjkldsfjkld
And we get to see more of Xander....which is like....my jam...I love him....
I feel like this is a.....I don't know....Swan Lake retelling?
Violet. Violet. Violet.
360 Pages
The three different blades that work for the king.
For some reason whenever Kash leaves for the day, my mind thinks about it being like Snow White...but this is obviously a Rumpelstiltskin retelling
350 Pages
Rumple being iconic.
I love Percy. don't act surprised.
WHAT DOES THE EPILOGUE MEAN?!
350 Pages
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Me watching all this high school drama:
So Rose is immature--but she's a teenager, so like....I have to cut her some slack.
*remembers how toxic I was in high school and college and cringes
Dimitri and Rose:
So Lissa is Rapunzel but different.
Me knowing all of the tropes
352 Pages
Thursday, November 17, 2022
Vow of Thieves by Mary E Pearson
Me understanding the weird chapters now because I actually understood the lore, even though I've like...re-read parts of the book over and over.
the cameos.
I continue to love Jase and Kazi with literally everything I own. I would die for them. I would kill for them. They are literally goals. And I just....I love them.
Me (and Jase) to Kazy throughout this entire book:

496 Pages
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston
Yes my ship....... I knew it.
It's marketed as Carvaval + Buffy the Vampire Slayer....Accurate.
Also it's like....fantasy-esque, but it's in California and in modern times.... like...wut.
Minor commentary on the foster system!
512 Pages
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
Dance of Thieves by Mary E Pearson
Jase is such a soft boy, and I just want to protect him.
The. yearning. Just.... chef's kiss....I could survive on that and the cute scenes. The absolute fluff.

This refers both to their love sustaining me, and like....the actual ship and stuff.....
The cameo. sfdjklsfjkld;jklsfd (Goes and re-reads that series too)
528 Pages
Monday, November 14, 2022
Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake
So I hate half of the characters..... And I really hope the third book doesn't make me hate all of them....because like....the characters that I still like are like...cool.... Yes it's Callum, Nico, Gideon, and Tristan.
When a character is shocked that most people are actually selfish, like not even in a big way, but like....prioritizes themselves and their well-being.
Also characters doing bad things in the hopes of a good outcome....like...that's not how it works..... Do I want to start a soap box speech about morality....yes.
416 Pages
Sacred Hospitality by Olivie Blake (prequel novella)
The short story that was like... the pre-order incentive if you bought Atlas Six--but it came with the Atlas Paradox audiobook
I loved the entire game that was being played during the attempt to write a paper.
31 Pages
Friday, November 11, 2022
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
sfjkldfjkldsfjkld
I stilll....like...my ship....
528 Pages
Thursday, November 10, 2022
A Restless Truth by Freya Marske
Do I keep thinking of Titanic. Yes.
Is that a reference to Gaston Leroux Phantom of the Opera.
Cough. Ok so there are....three chapters that are NSFW.....
I really wanted more Edwin and Robin......
400 Pages
The Ruins by Scott Smith
Trapped in the Mexican jungle, a group of friends stumble upon a creeping horror unlike anything they could ever imagine. Two young couples are on a lazy Mexican vacation–sun-drenched days, drunken nights, making friends with fellow tourists. When the brother of one of those friends disappears, they decide to venture into the jungle to look for him. What started out as a fun day-trip slowly spirals into a nightmare when they find an ancient ruins site . . . and the terrifying presence that lurks there.
Dumb college students, man vs. man and man vs. nature, slow burn terror. It was awesome.
Pages: 369
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling
Baby witches.
They call her Glinda.
Also a man who wears waistcoats.....
320 Pages
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Also yes. Now I own the audiobook.
The pining. Just like...... The slow burn. The everyone knows that they're meant to be together except for them,
Also Sean being a specific brand of focused and devoted to Corr and just. fjkldsfjkldsa
Corr being an idiot for Dove. fjkldsasfjkld
I still want an epilogue or something....because I love more content and yes the book ends in a good spot, but like......more....
448 Pages
Monday, November 7, 2022
The Blood Traitor by Lynette Noni
Just. gahhhhhhh everything.
my ship. Like... there are so many of the tropes that just give me life.
And my other ship.
It's the being honest because you have to be and saying more than you mean to, and lying to protect a person....
Healing from traumaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
And the magic.
Mountain scene mountain scene.
And the plot twist I should have called.
It just has the Dance of Thieves/Vow of Thieves vibes and I'm like. this is fantastic.
The last chapter. Me cackling.

464 Pages
Friday, November 4, 2022
Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle
Wesley throws aways a box of books. (mean girls ow gif)
I need everybody to like me so much.
Hey I'm an INFP
"my inner raccoon sulks"
inserts the gif of phineas and ferb letting nessy go
"I'm part cactus"
fjkdslsfjkdl soft and fluffy.
336 Pages
Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
Pages: 699
"Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn’t just forbidden—it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides? Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina; and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and “unsuitable” Nephilim. They’ll do anything in their power to expose Julian’s secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own."
I don't have words. The ending has ripped by heart out and run all over it. I want to throttle so many side characters. The Blackthorns don't deserve this. I am scared for Ty and how he will react in the next book but I am going to read it anyway cause I have so many questions and no answers!
Thursday, November 3, 2022
Tears of the Moon by Nora Roberts
Shawn Gallagher is content with his life in Ardmore, helping his siblings run the family pub and writing music in his spare time. The village gossips about why he doesn't put his talents to good use and make a profit. Brenna O'Toole, an independent tomboy and long-time family friend of the Gallaghers, has been especially vocal ... but she hasn't been so vocal about the love she's harbored for Shawn for years. Shawn hasn't so much as looked twice at her, but perhaps it was time Brenna take drastic action to get his attention.
346 pages. Book #2 in the Gallaghers of Ardmore trilogy.
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Also I'm sure this is how Dickens ends it, but like....hi I would appreciate a little more content at the end....for reasons...
560 Pages


























