Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Kidnapping is Not the Only Solution

Prisoner of Desire by Jennifer Blake

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Anya has hated duels ever since her fiance was killed in one. Now Ravel, the man who did it, is set to duel her sister’s own betrothed, and Anya will stop at nothing to prevent it – even if it means taking Ravel prisoner. The plot itself is somewhat middle of the road – if I weren’t already pretty familiar with the institution of dueling from Hamilton, I’m sure the in-depth exploration here would have been more interesting to me. But there was plenty to enjoy […]

The Logical Conclusion to Gingers Lacking Souls

Promise Me the Dawn by Jill Gregory

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CBR18 Bingo: Clown – Justin is an utter clown for believing that Belinda should have unconditional trust in him when she’s known him for like two weeks. When orphaned Belinda comes to Salem to stay with her cousin, she little imagines that she will forced to work as a servant, will be swept up into the ongoing witch hysteria, or that she will fall in love with a mysterious stranger. I picked up this particular bodice ripper because of its setting during the Salem witch trials. […]

A Book to Read with One Eye Shut

Dynasty of Desire by Elizabeth Zachary

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CBR18 Bingo: Wealth – The hope of massive wealth leads many people, including the main characters, to invest their money in the construction of the Panama Canal, and much of the action is driven by those trying to recoup that investment. Sisters Darcie and Petra are only two years apart in age, but they go down vastly different paths after a horrible crime turns their lives upside-down. Despite their differences, though, they will both end up deeply involved in the construction of the Panama Canal. […]

Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Abduct

Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers

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July 18, 2021 Ginny Brandon, a senator’s daughter, is sent to nominally ride a wagon train to California, but is actually smuggling gold to Mexico to support the Emperor’s cause. She is relentlessly drawn to the wagon train guide, Steve Morgan. But unbeknownst to her, Steve is actually a spy intent on thwarting her father’s plans. What can I say about this book? It’s a wild ride, but one I never wanted to get off of. Ginny and Steve are a quintessential, swashbuckling romance hero […]

Your Confederate Sympathies May Vary

The Outlaw Hearts by Rebecca Brandewyne

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When schoolteacher Jenny Colter takes the train into the little Ozarks town of Tumbling Creek, she’s hoping to leave behind the violence which destroyed her family in post-Civil War Atlanta. But when she catches sight of the uncovered face of Luke Morgan when he’s robbing the train, he’s determined to keep her quiet by any means necessary… Rebecca Brandewyne is another of those writers of big off-the-wall 80s bodice rippers which I love, though her work doesn’t reach for the soaring heights of WTF-ery that […]

Not That Kind of Oven

Skye O'Malley by Bertrice Small

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Beautiful Skye O’Malley falls in love with Niall Burke on the eve of her marriage to another man, but even someone as adventurous as she cannot imagine the twists and turns her life will take on her way back to him. Sometimes you just want to lay back, turn off your brain, and enjoy a rollicking adventure full of romance, drama, and a surprising amount of politics. Bertrice Small’s work fits the bill perfectly, and in the life of Skye O’Malley, her best known heroine, […]



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