Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Weird Set-up, Great Story

Below the Salt by Thomas B. Costain

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cbr14 lion I was so sure this had been made into a movie (starring Walter Pigeon, I was guessing) back in the 50s, but no. apparently not.  But it has such an odd plot structure I suspect Costain had his hopes. So we have elderly retired Senator Richard O’Rawn, Lion of the West, summoning young John Foraday to his vast Wyoming ranch on mysterious business.  John is a promising writer, and apparently indirectly connected with the Senator.  Turns out the Senator wants to take him […]

Getaway Short Story Collection

Uncharted Waters by Sally Hepworth

His Happy Place by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Stockholm by Catherine Steadman

Belle Mar by Luanne Rice

Catch Her in a Lie by Jess Lourey

Shell Game by Rumaan Alam

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So I read through all of the “Getaway” collection the other day and thought some stories hit harder than others. Per usual, here’s my rating per story in the collection. “Uncharted Waters” by Sally Hepworth (3 stars)-Yeah this one shocked me too. Probably because I have pretty much loved most of Hepworth’s mystery novels set in Australia. This one is also set in Australia, but follows a married woman named Ella who is going on a cruise without her husband Mac. While on the cruise […]

If Enemy Pie, Casper the friendly ghost, and Dr. Doolittle made a book

Batcat by Meggie Ramm

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Batcat by Meggie Ramm is a cute story about not being just one thing, but a mix of things that makes you, you and special. Batcat has a problem. It is called a Ghost. A very annoying, obnoxious ghost. You see, Batcat wants to be alone. Drink their hot chocolate alone. Sleep alone. Eat alone. Watch tv alone. Play video games alone. And most importantly, when they have an ice cream craving, they want to go to the freezer and find their ice cream not eaten […]

The Influencer

The Influencer by Joyce Maynard

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I don’t even know what to say about this one. It was a lot. I think the biggest thing is that the family of Gabby Petito may read this and have some qualms about it. This was a really great short story showing all sides to the murder of a young woman who dreamed about becoming an influencer. I loved the little twist at the end and thought it was quite good. But for those who are True Crime fans who followed Petito’s missing case […]

The Bookstore Sisters

The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman

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What a great short story by Hoffman. I love her anthology books for a reason. I have never really been able to get into her novels because I feel like they lose a lot along the way. But she always shines in her short stories. This one follows Isabel Gibson who now in her early 30s is alone and living in New York City. She fled her small town of Maine decades earlier after grieving the loss of her mother and father. She and her […]

A New York lit professor and a playboy European aristocrat fall in love in a romance with not one, but two Christmases

Duke, Actually by Jenny Holiday

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CBR14 Bingo: Holiday (a Christmas romance written by an author called Holiday – boom!) Maximillian “Max” von Hansburg, popularly known in the tabloids worldwide as “the Depraved Duke”, is in fact, merely a baron. He is the eldest son and heir to the Duke of Aquilla, however, and he doesn’t really mind his playboy reputation very much. While in New York to fulfill family obligations and meet a prospective bride that his parents might approve of, he decides to have some fun instead and contacts […]



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