Cannonball Read 18

No wonder Haiti has some many issues.

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende

May 12, 2026 by elderberrywine Leave a Comment

A sprawling tale of the complex and extremely bloody history of the melting pot that was early 17th century Haiti. It’s a seething brew of the indigenous people of Haiti, slaves brought from Africa to work the sugar plantations, and the various European settlers from Spain, England, and especially … [Read more]

elderberrywine's CBR18 Review No:11 · Genres: Fiction, History, Romance · Tags: Colonial politics, Haiti history, Haiti to New Orleans, Isabel Allende, Like wow, Race relations, Sprawling story, Women centric ·

Sorority Madness

Finlay Donovan Crosses The Line by Elle Cosimano

May 12, 2026 by finnyfinfinn Leave a Comment

The problem with Vero’s advice not to go looking for chin hairs where there aren’t any is that there’s always a seven foot long chin hair to be found. She’s so young, she’ll learn mwuhahahaha… Also don’t go borrowing trouble is pretty good advice. But trouble is what Finlay Donovan is best at! In … [Read more]

finnyfinfinn's CBR18 Review No:9 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Elle Cosimano, found family, mystery, sorority mystery ·

Murder in a Made-Up State

Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford

May 11, 2026 by jeverett15 1 Comment

In Francis Spufford's imaginative Cahokia Jazz, life in the United States in 1922 is not as we remember it from the history books. The "Cahokia" of the title refers to a state run largely by and for Native Americans, as a partial monarchy informed by Catholic teachings. As a thriving state, Cahokia … [Read more]

jeverett15's CBR18 Review No:29 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Francis Spufford ·

Rethinking Assumptions About Adoption

The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking, and the New Gospel of Adoption by Kathryn Joyce

Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood by Gretchen Sisson

May 11, 2026 by Ellesfena 5 Comments

I grew up in a small town in the Midwest. It's in a very religious area (the nearby city is literally nicknamed "City of Churches"), and one thing I noticed after I left was how many of my former classmates, after marrying and settling down, had adopted children from other countries. Offhand, I can … [Read more]

Ellesfena's CBR18 Review No:10 · Genres: Featured, Non-Fiction · Tags: adoption, domestic adoption, Gretchen Sisson, international adoption, Kathryn Joyce ·

Fooled me twice, shame on me

The Shippers by Katherine Center

May 11, 2026 by Malin Leave a Comment

2.5 stars Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. My opinions are my own. This book will be out on May 19th. Josephine "JoJo" Burton runs away from her own wedding, after her childhood best friend, Cooper Watts, shows up unexpectedly from London just as she's about to walk … [Read more]

Malin's CBR18 Review No:27 · Genres: Fiction, Romance · Tags: ARC, boats, cbr18, childhood abuse, Contemporary Romance, friends to lovers, Katherine Center, NetGalley, The Shippers, weddings ·

Oh God, I’m Discoursing (Mac Barnett’s MAKE BELIEVE)

Make Believe by Mac Barnett

May 11, 2026 by cosbrarian 11 Comments

Mac Barnett is one of my favorite picture book authors. My favorite book of his, The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown, is one of my favorite picture books period. I reviewed it here for this very reading challenge! So I eagerly preordered my copy of Make Believe, his first book for … [Read more]

cosbrarian's CBR18 Review No:11 · Genres: Featured, Fiction · Tags: Mac Barnett ·

esmemoria
on Painfully Unfunny
You got that right!
BlackRaven
on Painfully Unfunny
Sounds like this book was 167 pages too long
BlackRaven
on The Joke’s On You
Sounds like The Stench was all the title needed
esmemoria
on The Joke’s On You
Practically every sentence is a joke omg, I recently finished a book like this. Hated it.
esmemoria
on Eat the Rich
and the recognition that love isn’t going to cure trauma This is a perspective that is unusual to find. Sounds...

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