Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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A promising debut cozy fantasy romance that didn’t quite fully hit.

Letters from the Last Apothecary by Bita Behzadi

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Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House | Hay House LLC for the Audio ARC. It hasn’t affected the contents of my review. This is a promising debut by Bita Behzadi, and I will be reading further books from her, but this one had some issues that mean I can’t give it a full four stars. Mostly, I had a really hard time both getting in to the story, and caring about the characters. It took about 33% for the first, and about 60% for […]

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

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I really wanted to love this one, but it ended up not working out for me. That does not mean I won’t be reading this author again in the future. This book showed a lot of promise, it just kept hampered I think by Mandanna not breaking this up into two novels. I really wanted to know more about Sera’s upbringing by her aunt and the Guild and spells she learned. Instead we in essence start the book mid-scene with people and places that don’t […]

The wildlife is something else in this one.

Shrunkation by Janine Amesta

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This is a great example of trusting an author you know you enjoy even when the concept doesn’t initially grab your attention. I’m on Janine Amesta’s advanced reader list having loved Love at First Flight and The Wedding Con (The Love Feud is currently sitting on my end table waiting for me). Initially the description of Shrunkation didn’t grab me, but I know I like Amesta’s way of building characters and I’m always a least a little intrigued by a marriage in trouble romance, so I went in hoping for the best.   What I think Amesta nailed here is that a […]

Loner Gardener and Extroverted (former) Librarian Get Feelings. That’s mostly it.

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

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The Enchanted Greenhouse has made me wonder whether cozy romantasy is mostly just about at least a couple of characters working through their issues together is a somewhat healthy way, and catching feelings along with way. No plot necessary. Which might be why The Enchanted Greenhouse barely has one, a plot that is. The central figure is Terlu Perna who spent The Spellshop being mentioned briefly as Caz the sentient spider-plant’s creator who got turned into a statue for illegal magic use. Somehow Terlu gets […]

“The night without stars”, he said finally. “I beg your pardon?” “Your face without freckles,” he explained.

Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long

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4.5 stars Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for this ARC. My opinions are my own. This book is out on June 3rd, 2026. Genevieve “Ginny” Woodville travels alone and unchaperoned to London to confront the man known as “The Reaper”, Gabriel Marchand, owner of one of the most exclusive gentlemen’s clubs/gaming hells in the city. Her newly come of age younger brother, who also recently became the Earl of Highgrove after the death of a cousin, got drunk one evening and gambled away not […]

Not the Alphabet book I grew up on

Queer History A to Z: 100 Years of LGBTQ+ Activism b by Robin Stevenson and Vivian Rosas

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Queer History A to Z: 100 Years of LGBTQ+ Activism by Robin Stevenson and illustrated by Vivian Rosas is a middle grade alphabet book that is also a landmine of wonder tidbits. The version I found was from 2024 and was still an online copy. However, it was not complete so I hope to find a finished copy sometime. The list of letters and definitions are not just A is for Activist, or M is for Marsha P (though they do make an appearance) but […]



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