Book Club & Co. Summer Reading Challenge · 2026

Read 10 romance novels. Log each one with us in store as you finish it. Complete your tracker card by August 22 and win your seat at our VIP Pizza Party, opening night of the BC&C Adult Scholastic Book Fair.

Cards are free. Any romance counts. Any format or copy counts.

The Big Rule: Log As You Go

To have a book count toward your challenge, it has to be logged in person as you finish it.

That means: finish a book, bring your tracker card into the shop, we initial your pizza slice, record the title and author, and then you keep reading.

Books cannot be saved up and logged all at once at the end, so please don’t wait until August with a stack of finished books. This challenge is meant to be a little summer ritual: read, visit, stamp, repeat 🍕📚

HOW IT WORKS

1. Pick up your free tracker card in store starting June 1.
Write your name on it, and you’re enrolled! No sign-up form, no purchase required.

2. Read any romance novel.
Any subgenre counts: contemporary, historical, romantasy, spicy, sweet, paranormal, rom-com, and beyond. If there’s a central love story and a happy ending, it counts. Not sure where to start? We have a summer reading list below.

3. Log each book with us in store as you finish it.
After you finish a book, bring your tracker card into the shop. We’ll initial your pizza slice and record your title and author.

Books must be logged one at a time, as you finish them. They can’t all be added at the end.

4. Use your wildcard slots, if you want!
Up to 2 of your 10 books can be BC&C mystery, nonfiction, or cinema club picks, as long as you read and log them between June 1 and August 22.

5. Submit your completed card by August 22.
Any format or copy counts: purchased at BC&C, purchased through Bookshop.org or Libro.fm, borrowed from a friend, gifted, or checked out from the library.

6. Win your seat at the VIP Pizza Party.
Everyone who completes their card earns a Reading Honor Diploma and a personal invitation to our VIP Pizza Party, opening night of the Adult Scholastic Book Fair, Friday, August 28.

The Prize

VIP Pizza Party
Friday, August 28 · 6 PM · Book Club & Co.

Pizza. Cocktails. Bonne Vie Macarons. First look at the Adult Scholastic Book Fair catalogue and pre-orders before the public opening on Saturday morning.

Purchases from BC&C, Bookshop.org, and Libro.fm directly support your local bookstore!

OUR SUMMER READING LIST

Read any romance you love, or start here! All 10 of these titles are available in store.

1. The Bodyguard — Katherine Center Hannah is an elite protection agent who could kill you with a dinner napkin. Her new client is Jack Stapleton, glistening movie star, has a stalker, recently dropped off the grid. Her job: protect him and pretend to be his girlfriend. Sweet, swoony, and set on a Texas ranch. 🌶 sweet

2. Late Bloomer — Mazey Eddings Opal wins the lottery, buys a flower farm in Asheville to escape everyone who wants her money, and discovers the farm already has a tenant: Pepper, prickly and gorgeous and absolutely not leaving. Sapphic opposites-attract with cottagecore vibes, neurodivergent rep, and a grumpy/sunshine dynamic that earns its ending. 🌶🌶 warm

3. Rules for the Summer — Meghan Quinn Theo is a hungover future British lord who accidentally proposed to a stranger online. Renley is the stubborn candy shop owner in a New England coastal town who turned him down... and now he's her neighbor all summer. He's posh and persistent. She's practical and covered in paint. 🌶🌶🌶 spicy

4. It Had to Be You — Georgia Clark When a beloved Brooklyn wedding planner dies, he leaves half the business to his wife... and the other half to his secret mistress. What unfolds is a Love Actually-style ensemble of linked love stories set inside New York's wedding industry. Queer, diverse, funny, and genuinely hard to put down. 🌶🌶 warm

5. Exit Lane — Erika Veurink After a post-graduation road trip from Iowa to New York, Teddy and Marin want nothing to do with each other ever again. But eight years later... Transatlantic visits, chance encounters, and the kind of slow-burning tension that makes you want to scream at fictional people. Reads in one sitting. 🌶🌶 warm

6. Set Piece — Lana Schwartz A year ago no one knew Jack Felgate's name. Now he's famous... and the bartender who gave him a perfect, uncomplicated night five years ago is the set designer on his new film. She remembers. He never forgot. Second-chance celebrity romance for fans of Notting Hill. Short, spicy, and absolutely worth your afternoon. 🌶🌶🌶 spicy

7. Beautiful Villain — Rebecca F. Kenney A Great Gatsby retelling where Gatsby made his millions selling immortality, and Daisy is about to discover every dangerous secret he's been hiding. Gothic, spicy, and addictive. Perfect for readers who finished Twilight and immediately wanted something darker. 🌶🌶🌶🌶 very spicy

8. Isn't It Obvious? — Rachel Runya Katz Yael runs a secret library podcast. Ravi is her producer and her nemesis in real life. Neither knows they've been falling for each other through email for months. Queer, Jewish, funny, and emotionally devastating. 🌶🌶🌶 spicy

9. Female Fantasy — Iman Hariri-Kia Joonie is a fanfic writer obsessed with a fictional merman hero named Ryke. When she learns his author based him on a real person, she does the only reasonable thing: road trip to find him. Her brother's skeptical best friend Nico insists on coming along. A love letter to fandom, book boyfriends, and the skills you can pick up as a reader! Note: this was our BC&C Romance Book Club pick for January 2026! 🌶🌶 warm

10. The Breakup Vacation — Anna Gracia Grace's ex just dumped her. Her best friends take her to Cancun to help her heal. Small problem: she may not have mentioned Josh is also there. Bigger problem: she's lying to everyone to get him back. Biggest problem: she keeps running into Daniel, a gorgeous, easygoing soccer player who gets her in ways Josh never did. This one is chaotic, funny, and sun-drenched. 🌶🌶🌶 spicy

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Questions?

Can I read any romance, or does it have to be from the list?
Any romance counts. The list above is just where we’d start, but your TBR is fair game.

Does the book have to be purchased at BC&C?
No. Any copy or format counts: in store, Bookshop.org, Libro.fm, library, borrowed, or gifted. Purchases from BC&C, Bookshop.org, and Libro.fm do directly support us though, and we appreciate it more than we can say.

Do I have to come in after every book?
Yes. This is the big one! Each book has to be logged in person as you finish it. Finish a book, bring your tracker card into the shop, and we’ll initial that pizza slice and record your title and author.

Can I save up my books and log them all at once?
No. Books cannot be saved up and logged all at once at the end. They have to be logged one at a time, as you finish them.

What if I finish two books before I can make it back in?
We totally get that summer gets busy. The goal is to log as you go, so come in as soon as you can. But don’t wait until the end of the challenge with a full stack. Books are meant to be logged throughout the summer, not all at once in August.

Do I need my tracker card with me every time?
Yes! Bring your tracker card each time you come in to log a book.

Can I count a book I finished before picking up my card?
No. The challenge starts once you pick up your tracker card.

What are the wildcard slots?
Up to 2 of your 10 books can be BC&C mystery, nonfiction, or cinema club picks read between June 1 and August 22, including Circe by Madeline Miller from our July Cinema Club. For our in-store author event in July, you do have to read the book, not just attend the event, and log it before August 22 for it to count toward your goal.

Can I sign up after June 1?
Yes, cards are available all summer while supplies last. You’ll just have less time to hit 10 books before August 22.

What if I lose my card?
Come in and we’ll get you sorted. We log every book in store, so we can backfill your progress. Your reads are never lost. Replacement cards have a small fee, as the first card is complimentary.

Can I participate if I’m not local?
The Book It, Babe Pizza Party and Reading Honor Diploma are currently available to in-store participants only. We’d love to bring a remote track to future summers, so stay tuned. In the meantime, grab our reading list, read along with us, and tag us in your progress. We want to hear about every book!

What exactly happens at the pizza party?
VIP night of the Adult Scholastic Book Fair, Friday, August 28 at 6 PM. Pizza, cocktails, Bonne Vie Macarons, and first access to the catalogue and pre-orders before Saturday’s public opening. It’s an evening for our best summer readers.

Book It, Babe runs June 1 through August 22, 2026. Cards are available free in store while supplies last. BC&C reserves the right to update program details. Check this page for the most current information!