summer reading

Summer of Stories Reading Challenge

/ Ev Bishop / Leave a comment

Hello and happy Summer Solstice dear readers!

It’s been a long time since I ran a summer reading challenge, so I was super excited when ideas for Summer of Stories jumped into my mind! I hope you’ll join in the fun.

You can take part completely on your own and email me your results at the end, or you can post your process on Facebook and tag me, or (my favourite option! 😁) consider joining The Cabin, my private reader group, and enjoy book lover chat, sharing the books you read for each prompt, and other fun things.

Summer of Stories will run June 21 – August 31, 2025.  I’ve even created a printable checklist for you to keep track of your reads.

Summer_of_Stories_Reading_TrackerDownload

Here are all the fun details!

🌞 Ev Bishop’s Summer of Stories Reading Challenge 🌻

Grab your favorite bevvy, curl up in your comfiest reading chair or outdoor reading space, and enjoy every leisurely, sun-warmed minute of summer reading!  

Add to the fun by chatting about progress at The Cabin or sharing about it on Facebook using #EvBishopSummerofStories

📚 How It Works

  • Choose books that match the prompts below.
  • Read in any order, at your own pace.
  • Optional: Share your progress at The Cabin or on Facebook using #EvBishopSummerofStories 

🍓 Reading Prompts (1–20)

  1. Visit River’s Sigh B & B
    Read or revisit any book in Ev Bishop’s River’s Sigh B & B series.
  1. Second Chances and Fresh Starts
    A story about starting over or returning home.
  1. Small-town Shenanigans
    Set in a cozy or quirky small town.
  1. It’s a mystery!
    But it’s not a mystery what this prompt is. Read a mystery! 
  1. Women Supporting Women
    Female friendships or multi-generational bonds shine.
  1. Heatwave Romance
    A steamy (or sweet!) romance that blooms in the summer.
  1. Family Ties and Tangled Truths
    A story with family drama, long-held secrets, or emotional healing.
  1. Ev’s Pick
    Read a stand-alone or novella by Ev Bishop that’s new to you.
  1. Bookstore, Bakery, or B&B Bonus
    A cozy business is central to the plot.
  1. Under the Stars
    Read a book entirely outdoors (all at one go or in sessions)
  1. Step into the Second Chance Shop
    Read any book Ev Bishop’s Second Chance Shop series—where preloved treasures lead to new beginnings. (If you’ve already read Something Old and Something New, record them. They count!) 
  1. Christmas in July
    Dive into a holiday-themed read—or revisit Silver Bells at River’s Sigh B & B for midyear festive magic.
  1. Loyal & True
    Read Loyal & True by Ev Bishop—a heartfelt story of healing and connection.
  1. Animal Lovers Unite! 
    A book where an animal of any kind plays a prominent role in the plot.
  1. First Love, Lasting Love
    A romance about rekindled or long-enduring love.
  1. Judge a book by its cover! 
    Pick the prettiest book you see at your favorite place to buy or borrow books and enjoy it cover to cover.
  1. Page-to-Plate
    A story that inspires you to cook or bake something delicious. 
  1. Heartbreak and Healing
    A book centered around grief, resilience, and emotional rebirth.
  1. Book You’ve Been Meaning to Read
    Finally crack open that one you’ve been putting off!
  1. Beach Buddy
    Read a book set near the lake or the ocean.

🎉 Bonus Fun

  • Create a summer-inspired bookmark or fridge magnet
  • Share your favorite quote from one of your reads
  • Make a recipe inspired by one of the books you read.
  • Post your reading nook or picnic reading spot

Achievement Tiers

Celebrate your reading with these fun rankings! 

🥉 Bronze Tier – Story Sampler

Complete 5 prompts
You’ve dipped your toes into summer reading and had some bookish adventures!

🥈 Silver Tier – Small-Town Explorer

Complete 10 prompts
You’re soaking in the stories and scenery now! Friendships, romance, and second chances are blooming all around you.

🥇 Gold Tier – Reading Hero

Complete 15 or more prompts (including at least 1 Ev Bishop book)
You’ve fully embraced the spirit of the challenge! Your heart’s been mended, your spirit recharged, and you’re practically a resident of River’s Sigh B & B.

🌟 Super Reader Bonus

Complete all 20 prompts + 2 bonus fun activities
You’re the ultimate summer story adventurer! You’ve laughed, cried, cooked, connected, and lived through every cozy chapter.

🎉 Prizes: E-mail your results, tier, and mailing address to Ev at evbishop@evbishop.com before September 5, 2025, to receive fun book lover participation prizes, plus a chance to win two signed books by Ev Bishop of your choice!

Email: evbishop@evbishop.com

Subject line: Summer of Stories Reading Challenge

I hope you’ll play and that you have a blast. Happy summer and HAPPY READING!

😊💕 Ev

Your Package Will Arrive in the Mail

/ Ev Bishop / 7 Comments

When I was a kid I was addicted to Scholastic Book Orders. Remember when your teacher would walk desk row to desk row, peeling off six or seven brightly-coloured multiple-page flyers at a time, handing each set to the person at the head of the row, instructing them to please take one and pass the rest back?

I was tall for my age Grades 3 through 7 so inevitably I was near the back and had to wait, wait, wait as head of the row enjoyed the power of having all the book orders, person number 2 had the co-ordination of a stone and fumbled trying to separate just one order from the next, person number 3 or 4 was somewhere else entirely and had to be yelled at ten times before finally—FINALLY!—saying, “Huh? What? Oh!” and passing the remainders on.

I don’t know what I enjoyed more: the hours (literally) scanning and rescanning each offering, then carefully checking off the appropriate boxes and tallying the price making sure it fit the amount my mom had given me permission to spend or the weeks of heady anticipation. Someday not soon enough the teacher would walk in with a large box and distribute plastic bags with the books each student had ordered!

I tried book clubs for adults as I got older, but they weren’t the same (I don’t like being automatically sent selections of anything. I like to choose, darn it!). But hello—then came Amazon and the like. Ordering books online is pretty fantastic. I love, love, love having books on order and checking the mailbox all too frequently for my latest parcel.

In the quest for perfect summer reads, I’m currently I’m waiting for two short story collections, 100 Stories for Queensland and Nothing But Flowers: tales of post-apocalyptic love  and Leigh Russell’s latest novel Dead End.

I’ve yammered on about Leigh (and her previous novels, Cut Short and Road Closed) and interviewed her before, so imagine my extreme delight when she contacted me and asked if I wanted a review copy of Dead End. Did I!

Dead End has been receiving rave reviews, as evidenced here, and her publisher (No Exit Press) sums the story up, thus: “When the corpse of Abigail Kirby is discovered, police are shocked to learn that the victim’s tongue was cut out while she lay dying. Shortly after coming forward, a witness is blinded and murdered. Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel’s flirtation with the pathologist on the case helps her to cope with the distress of finding out she was adopted at birth. Abigail Kirby’s teenage daughter runs away from home to meet a girl who befriended her online. Too late, she realises she has made a dreadful mistake – a mistake that may cost her life. Detective Sergeant Ian Peterson uncovers a shocking secret about the serial killer who has been mutilating his murder victims. Does the sergeant’s discovery come too late to save Geraldine Steel from a similar dreadful fate?”

I’ll give my thoughts on Dead End, especially whether I feel it lives up to all the high praises (heh heh), once I’ve read it, but if you want to beat me to the punch and read it first, you can snap it up for your e-reader. For Kindle readers in the States and the UK, it’s part of a summer promotion, selling so inexpensively you should grab it now, even if you plan to read Cut Short and Road Closed first. For us Canadians, it still hasn’t been officially released so pre-order it or put it on your wish list and get cracking on the first two novels (that’s if you’re a crime fiction fan, of course).

I love bookstores, but I’m stoked to have two parcels to fanatically watch for in the mail. What about you? Do you buy primarily through shops or online? What are you waiting for in the book department for this summer’s reading?

p.s. And for all you blossoming Leigh Russell fans and/or writers who adore listening to other authors talk about writing, check out Leigh’s author channel on youtube. She has about five posts up now, sharing on topics like the inspiration for the Geraldine Steel series, the importance of research, and how to get published, with more to come.