Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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About Emmalita

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Lives in Austin, Texas. She/her. Loves reading books, writing about books and talking about books. On the CBR Board. May send you an email. Thinking about new challenges. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Emmalita's Quick Questions interview.)

Emmalita's Reviews:

Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous

It was the nicest shirt they owned…which wasn’t saying much, considering their wardrobe had consisted exclusively of black cult robes until recently.

A Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous by Autumn K. England

May 28, 2026 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

Autumn K. England’s A Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous is a lovely fantasy in the vein of a Becky Chambers or Travis Baldree. It’s cozy with a focus on community and healing. Growing up, I read a lot of fantasy books about the farm boy who goes off on adventure and saves the kingdom. Oaklin is the farm person who left the farm for a big adventure that went very badly and now they have to live the rest of their life with those scars. […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: Autumn K. England

Emmalita's CBR18 Review No:36 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: Autumn K. England ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
Shrunkation by Janine Amesta

This was how Trey was going to die, a speck of a man flung from a cardboard box flap like a booger.

Shrunkation by Janine Amesta

May 23, 2026 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

Oh no! Shrunkation awakened my inner nerd. Let me do a quick tldr before I dive into my appreciation for Janine Amesta’s craft. Shrunkation is fun and funny. One of my favorite things in romance is when an author takes a bananas plot and uses it to dive into very real relationship dynamics. This is a marriage in trouble romance in which a desperate attempt at a romantic getaway turns into a desperate attempt to survive. On to the nerdery! This review is a bit […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Romance Tagged With: Janine Amesta, Shrunkation

Emmalita's CBR18 Review No:35 · Genres: Fiction, Romance · Tags: Janine Amesta, Shrunkation ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
The tricky business of faerie bargains

“The fun is in the taking. Why haven’t you killed the Hunter?”

The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty

May 18, 2026 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

In one of my online groups, folks started talking about Reena McCarty’s The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains. Being currently poor, I put it on hold at my library. I had some expectations based on the title, but I quickly learned that Faerie Bargains is more than faerie adventures but with lawyers and insurance companies. For one thing, the writing is gorgeously descriptive making the reading experience feel lush. I could see the world around Poppy. The tree’s roots arched up over the water, an […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction Tagged With: Reena McCarty

Emmalita's CBR18 Review No:34 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction · Tags: Reena McCarty ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
The Scoring Secret

“You know, Kiley Forge, most people like me.” “I’m not most people.” “Oh, I’m aware.“

The Scoring Secret by Ainsley Booth

May 13, 2026 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

One of the reasons I like duet narration is because the way many men voice women grates on my nerves. In duet narration, that’s not an issue. This very much increased my enjoyment of The Scoring Secret. In general, I like Ainsley Booth/Zoe York’s books. They are very readable, and satisfying. The first book in the series, The Playing Game, is one of her best books. The Scoring Secret is a good read, not quite as good as its predecessor, but still good. The narrators, […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fiction, Romance Tagged With: Ainsley Booth, duet narration, Rob Hatchet, Stella Hunter, The Playing Game

Emmalita's CBR18 Review No:33 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fiction, Romance · Tags: Ainsley Booth, duet narration, Rob Hatchet, Stella Hunter, The Playing Game ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
Pot Shot

Tl:dr – Cannabis turns anxious, uptight ER doc into anxious hoochie daddy who listens to his patients.

Pot Shot by Laura Piper Lee

May 11, 2026 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

For a book I ended up loving, I struggled at a couple of points early in the book. First of all, there is a medical emergency in the first chapter that brings Nomi and Julian back together. That had me putting the book down for a week. The other challenge I had was Julian for the first quarter or so of the book. He is an anxious, uptight, know-it-all and he stressed me out so much I put the book down and almost didn’t pick […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Romance Tagged With: Laura Piper Lee, Pot Shot

Emmalita's CBR18 Review No:32 · Genres: Fiction, Romance · Tags: Laura Piper Lee, Pot Shot ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
Green City Wars

Life, uhh, finds a way. – The Divine Jeff

Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky

May 5, 2026 by Emmalita 4 Comments

I requested Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Green City Wars because I was intrigued by the premise – Philip Marlow meets Redwall with a raccoon private investigator. This is not an inaccurate description. BUT! It’s Phillip Marlow meets Redwall written by Adrian Tchaikovsky. When I understood the premise of the world in Green City Wars, I had to lie down for a bit. It is so deeply dystopian. The humans have created what may be a utopia for themselves, and to achieve it, they’ve bio-engineered small animals, amphibians, […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fiction, Science Fiction Tagged With: Adrian Tchaikovsky, dystopia, Green City Wars, John Pirhalla

Emmalita's CBR18 Review No:31 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fiction, Science Fiction · Tags: Adrian Tchaikovsky, dystopia, Green City Wars, John Pirhalla ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Malin
    on If it first you don’t succeed brush yourself off and try again, try again
    I love how clearly I can imagine "he is like if Chalamet from Ladybird were more goal-oriented." And her second...
  • Stego Lily
    on “What is a river but an open throat; what is water but a voice?”
    I've read it, but I haven't listened to the audiobook. I'll have to check that out!
  • Stego Lily
    on “What is a river but an open throat; what is water but a voice?”
    No, but now I'm wishing I had! The print version has really lovely illustrations though.
  • Emmalita
    on “What is a river but an open throat; what is water but a voice?”
    Ooooo, have you read This is How You Lose the Time War? If not I recommend it, and recommend the...
  • Malin
    on “What is a river but an open throat; what is water but a voice?”
    Did you listen to the audio? The singing is almost magical. I loved this a lot, I just wanted it...
See More Recent Comments »

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