Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Join the Yay for YA Discussion About YA Books Now  

She’d worked so hard to deserve the goodness of her life now, but accepting it was something else entirely.

Single Dads Club by Therese Beharrie

May 24, 2023 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

Therese Beharrie’s Single Dads Club is a messy (in a good way) slow burn romance with two people trying to build new lives for themselves and be better than their parents, while prioritizing Rowan’s new born son. Delilah and Rowan have each ended up in Sugarbush Bay after significant upheaval in their personal lives. A few years earlier, Delilah’s mother was convicted of bilking her middle class clients out of their life savings. Delilah fled to her older brother in Sugarbush Bay and has been […]

Filed Under: Romance Tagged With: advance reader copy, Black romance, NetGalley, Single Dads Club, south africa, Therese Beharrie

Emmalita's CBR15 Review No:45 · Genres: Romance · Tags: advance reader copy, Black romance, NetGalley, Single Dads Club, south africa, Therese Beharrie ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Three more reasons you should be reading Katrina Jackson

Sabbatical by Katrina Jackson

Layover by Katrina Jackson

Back in the Day by Katrina Jackson

December 9, 2022 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

I’m always frustrated with my own inadequacies when I try to describe why you should be reading Katrina Jackson’s books. Good authors have a voice and that voice brings the reader into their story and characters in a way that is unique to them. Jackson’s voice put me into her characters and worlds in a way that is very her and so satisfying. One of Jackson’s primary concerns is the interior life of her main characters, usually the woman at the center of the story. […]

Filed Under: Romance Tagged With: academic romance, Back in the Day, Black romance, interracial romance, Katrina Jackson, Layover, Sabbatical

Emmalita's CBR14 Review No:140 · Genres: Romance · Tags: academic romance, Back in the Day, Black romance, interracial romance, Katrina Jackson, Layover, Sabbatical ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin book cover featuring illustrated Black couple kissing in front of a half moon with starry Black backgroud

He looked at her with wonder, as if he’d seen an undiscovered ocean meant only for him to explore.

Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin

September 19, 2022 by Emmalita 3 Comments

A couple of years ago I read a charming witchy Yuletide short story in the first Love All Year anthology. The author was Celestine Martin and I kept an eye for her name. When Witchful Thinking popped up on NetGalley, I snatched it up. This is Martin’s debut novel and it is charming. It’s imperfect, it dragged a bit in the middle, and it took Alex an annoyingly long time to get himself together. That said, it was a lovely read with pluses that outweigh […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Romance Tagged With: advance reader copy, Black romance, Celestine Martin, NetGalley, small town paranormal, witches and mermen, Witchful Thinking

Emmalita's CBR14 Review No:101 · Genres: Fantasy, Romance · Tags: advance reader copy, Black romance, Celestine Martin, NetGalley, small town paranormal, witches and mermen, Witchful Thinking ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments

Probably my Favorite Beverly Jenkins book!

To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins

August 23, 2022 by LB Leave a Comment

Gosh, this book is a delight. I love Beverly Jenkins’ books more with each one I read, and this one is especially good. Raven is part of a family of grifters who are very skilled at what they do. When her mom, Hazel’s ex returns to town with Pinkerton detective Ruth Welch, she gets coerced into going to South Carolina to pose as a domestic and find a stolen copy of the Declaration of Independence. While playing the role of domestic, Raven is also playing […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History, Romance Tagged With: Beverly Jenkins, Black romance, historical romance, post civil war, Reconstruction Era, Romance, to catch a Raven

LB's CBR14 Review No:10 · Genres: Fiction, History, Romance · Tags: Beverly Jenkins, Black romance, historical romance, post civil war, Reconstruction Era, Romance, to catch a Raven ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Fantastic historical heist!

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

August 10, 2022 by LB 2 Comments

I love a good historical fantasy, and this was an utter delight. Set in the early 1920s, Clara Johnson is able to see spirits and other entities from Over There, and because of a deal she made with an Enigma whenever someone asks for help, she is compelled to assist in their own deals with Enigmas. Folks think the Charm is worth the Trick, but Clara is all too aware the cost a Trick actually demands. When she is asked for help figuring out why […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, History, Romance Tagged With: #fantasy, Black romance, historical, historical fantasy, L Penelope, Leslye Penelope, the monsters we defy, Washington DC

LB's CBR14 Review No:17 · Genres: Fantasy, History, Romance · Tags: #fantasy, Black romance, historical, historical fantasy, L Penelope, Leslye Penelope, the monsters we defy, Washington DC ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

I Loved This Book

A Thorn in the Saddle by Rebekah Weatherspoon

October 11, 2021 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

I loved this book so much. I have enjoyed Rebekah Weatherspoon’s Cowboy’s of California series. I wasn’t at all sure how she was going to top the amazing middle book, If the Boot Fits, but she did. A Thorn in the Saddle is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It has a man with a temper, a daughter defending her father, and a couple who face their fears to be brave for one another. Jesse has been the brother hanging out in his younger brothers’ […]

Filed Under: Romance Tagged With: A Thorn In the Saddle, advance reader copy, Beauty an the Beast, Black romance, fairytale retelling, NetGalley, Rebekah Weatherspoon

Emmalita's CBR13 Review No:96 · Genres: Romance · Tags: A Thorn In the Saddle, advance reader copy, Beauty an the Beast, Black romance, fairytale retelling, NetGalley, Rebekah Weatherspoon ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Chris Paul Rainbows
    on For Pride Month and any month
    Thank you so much for reviewing my book. I really appreciate. Wishing you a happy Pride Month! 💜
  • jomidi
    on CBR Diversion – YAY for YA – Genre Discussion
    When my daughter was in middle school and high school it was one depressing book after another (both assigned classroom...
  • BlackRaven
    on CBR Diversion – YAY for YA – Genre Discussion
    I can understand why people do not like the depressing stories, but I can appreciate the realism to them. And...
  • Jen K
    on “Age would have taken her if they’d just had the sense to leave well enough alone.”
    I have Red Sister - I picked it up on sale ages when I kept confusing/conflating Lawrence and Abercrombie. So...
  • LittlePlat
    on “Age would have taken her if they’d just had the sense to leave well enough alone.”
    I'll confess, I was sort of the same; I really did like the first installment, but by the time we...
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