Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham

by 1 Comment

My first Elin Hilderbrand novel. This sounds defensive, like “Don’t tell anyone I picked up a beach read.”  Well, to be an illogical book snob is to be human. I’m not advocating highbrow “capital L” literature, bloated dirges of atmosphere and no plot. For me thrillers and mysteries are respectable. Throw in as much historical fiction as you want. It’s time to admit that these genres are just as formulaic as a fun novel by a best-selling author marketed with a pastel book cover. In other […]

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

by Leave a Comment

I will visit the library (old school) with a list. Books I’ve heard about, authors I like and intent to browse a little. This novel I think I chose from a display of award winning novels. The Vignes twin sisters grow up in a southern black community where there might as well be a sign “light skin only” The size and remote location serve as an enclave from most cultural clashes. Yet racism, division and violence are still real threats. The sisters are inseparable until […]

Botany, Bears and Beaver Ponds

Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey

by 2 Comments

This is a lovely, sad, beautifully written book. I feel bad for everyone who rated it one star on Goodreads just because it wasn’t a faithful retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Because if you read it for what it is, instead of what it isn’t, it’s really quite wonderful. Ivey touches on themes of motherhood, love, personal freedom, mental health and the natural world, all in a dark fairy tale setting. Single mom Birdie does the best that she can for her daughter, Emaleen, […]

Grief and romance

The Hope Once Lost by Ambar Cordova

by 3 Comments

Ambar Cordova’s The Hope Once Lost is an angsty, grief fueled romance, and yet I found myself smiling many times. I really do love romances that dive into grief. Some of the best romances start with the way grief changes us. The Hope Once Lost is part of Cordova’s Baker Oaks series. Technically, it can be read as a stand alone, but I spent too much time trying to keep characters straight to recommend it. After an aborted attempt to visit the father who abandoned […]

Supporting Women’s Wrongs

The Children of Gods and Fighting Men by Shauna Lawless

by 2 Comments

  The Children of Gods and Fighting Men (the first book in Shauna Lawless’ Gael Song trilogy) has been on my TBR for a while now. I’ve gone on a bit of a historical/fae kick during January (I also recently finished Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel), so I figured this was a good time to read it. The book is a (mostly) true narrative of Irish history at the end of the 10th century, with some fantastical elements sprinkled in. I didn’t know […]

Fake Flame revisited with my ears

Fake Flame by Adele Buck

by Leave a Comment

I read and reviewed Adele Buck’s Fake Flame in April, 2024. When I saw an advance listener copy narrated by Moniqua Plante available on NetGalley I smashed the request button. I love being able to revisit books as audiobooks because I will notice different things, and plot points will hit differently in different formats. Moniqua Plante’s narration is warm and friendly, perfect for this lowish stakes, thoroughly adult romance. My favorite thing about Fake Flame, in any format, is that it’s romance for grownups. Eva […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo