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: A Parting Shot (An Allie Cobb Mystery, #6) by J.C. Kenney

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book review a parting shot an allie cobb mystery jc kenney

Kickboxing Crusader and Literary Agent Allie Cobb is getting married and has decided to stop sleuthing. However, when a local police officer is shot and killed, Allie decides she has to investigate one more case. Thinking the shooter has a connection to one of the officer's previous cases, Allie is beginning to think that there is another possibility that is much closer to her than she realizes in A Parting Shot (An Allie Cobb Mystery, #6) by J.C. Kenney.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for a digital version of an Advanced Readers Copy of  A Parting Shot by J.C. Kenney. I was beyond excited to read this book and give my honest review.

This particular cozy mystery is written extremely well and is a lot better than some of the others in this genre. I loved that there wasn't a lot of gore or violence. Sometimes, I just want a lighter mystery to read, and A Parting Shot fit that description for me. Such an engaging and fun read, I couldn't wait to see what would happen. I had no idea who the murderer was, but I didn't try too hard to figure it out because I just wanted to get lost in the story, which I did. 

I hope A Parting Shot (An Allie Cobb Mystery, #6) by J.C. Kenney isn't the last book in the series as I would like to read many more. With that being said, I will go back and read the other books that came before this one. Five out of five stars.


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