Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Twitter
  3. Follow us on Instagram
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • About CBR
    • Getting Started
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Event Calendar
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • CBR Interviews
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • How You Can Donate
    • Book Sale
    • CBR Merchandise
    • Supporters and Friends of CBR
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Follow Us
> FAQ Home
> Genre: Romance > I have read this book three times back to back in 4 days

I have read this book three times back to back in 4 days

Cinnamon Roll by Anna Zabo

April 5, 2021 by Emmalita 5 Comments

I am on a streak of extraordinarily good books. Anna Zabo is a phenomenally good writer. I know kinky queer romance isn’t everyone’s bag, but Zabo is such a good writer I want everybody to read them. They write so beautifully I have been unable to review their novella, Weave the Dark, Weave the Light because it is beyond my ability to describe. I can only say the language cuts you like a knife and then you say thank you.

Maxime and Tom have circled each other for years, part of the same queer kink community, but making sure to never interact. Tom is a sub who likes pain and sex. Max is a Dom and a sadist who believes in love and boundaries. Their shared circle of acquaintances has been collectively scratching their heads about why they have never gotten together.

I keep coming back to the first chapter of Cinnamon Roll because it is perfect. It sets up the rest of the book and hooked me so hard I was completely invested in Tom and Max’s relationship long before they ever kissed. All of the elements to their relationship are laid out in this first meeting: the attraction, the flirting, the common ground, the pathos, and the insecurities that will be the road blocks to their relationship. Zabo also uses my love language – food and drink. Max opens the door for Tom to engage by sending him a cappuccino dusted with cinnamon sugar. All of their major conversations are around a meal or a beverage. I find this enormously relatable.

One of the common themes in the books I’ve read lately is getting to a point where a character feels safe enough to ask for what they want. Max wants to show Tom that consent, respect and care taking goes both ways in a power exchange relationship, and for himself he wants Tom as his long term partner. Tom has experienced where toxic masculinity will take power exchange (no place good) and now he has to get to a place where he believes that what he wants is important. The nature of power exchange means that Max has to be very careful about when and how he asks for what he wants. Cinnamon Roll is about two men creating a safe space for each other, not overcoming an outside force.

What I’m saying is, in far too many words, Anna Zabo continues to write beautiful queer romances with consensual kink. I love the way they use words to build rich characters and living worlds. If you have never read a queer romance and want to start on a high note, check them out.

I received this as an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Filed Under: Romance Tagged With: Anna Zabo, Bold Brew series, Cinnamon Roll, kink, queer romance

Emmalita's CBR13 Review No:27 · Genres: Romance · Tags: Anna Zabo, Bold Brew series, Cinnamon Roll, kink, queer romance ·
Rating:
· 5 Comments

About Emmalita

CBR13 participantCBR13 CommentsCBR12 participantCBR11 participantCBR10 participantCBR  9CBR 8CBR 7CBR 6CBR 5

Lives in Austin, Texas. She/her. Loves reading books, writing about books and talking about books. Formerly a monster to the world's greatest dog. Aspiring mini-dinosaur wrangler. Book bingo enthusiast. View Emmalita's reviews»

Comments

  1. narfna says

    April 6, 2021 at 1:52 pm

    I mean, you’ve sold me.

    Reply
    • Emmalita says

      April 6, 2021 at 3:13 pm

      One thing I always forget to mention is the explicitness of the sex. This is not a closed door kink book.

      Reply
      • narfna says

        April 6, 2021 at 4:35 pm

        A great thing about fanfic is that I have gotten a great education in kink. Explicitly. Even if the kinks are ones I’m not into it’s usually at least interesting!

        Reply
        • Emmalita says

          April 6, 2021 at 5:11 pm

          Ok, good. I’m coming to realize that I don’t differentiate between high heat and low heat as long as the sex scenes make sense and move the story or the characters forward. But then I realize someone might be bother by an intense impact play scene.

          Reply
          • narfna says

            April 6, 2021 at 8:54 pm

            I have the same problem! You read enough explicit scenes, they just seem normal after a while. Which I think is a good thing. Which then makes you out of step with a lot of people who think verrry differently.

            But I agree with you about the type of scene. An odd effect of reading so much of it is that you get very picky and you see very quickly what works and what doesn’t, and if the scenes are just smut for smut’s sake, I find them boring. Good sex scenes are all about character development.

            Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Recent Comments

  • Bothari43 on CBR Diversions – April is a Poetry RageMy nerdy high school clique of three started our own chapter of the Dead Poets Society. We actually ended up learning a lot and reading...
  • Bothari43 on CBR Diversions – April is a Poetry RageThis is amazing. As someone who was also once referred to the guidance counselor after turning in an assignment, I feel like we could have...
  • Ale on “Those Words You Want to Say Right Now? Don’t Say Them.”OMG, I had to put it down for a few days after the cabin scene. It was too much. Important and relevant, but wow....
  • Ale on Old Wives Tales Vs. ScienceThank you! Honestly, I think I would have enjoyed it even if I wasn't knocked up :)
  • Ale on Old Wives Tales Vs. Sciencethank you!
See More Recent Comments »

Want to Help Out?

CBR has a great crew of volunteers, and we're always looking for more people to help out. If you have a specialty or are willing to learn, drop MsWas a line.

  • How You Can Donate
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo
© 2021 Cannonball Read | Log in