Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Concussed Heroine for the Loss

Brooklynaire by Sarina Bowen

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Brooklynaire was my first DNF of 2019. The story angered me enough that I  both jumped ahead and checked with a friend to see if its glaring blind spot was addressed. It wasn’t and I gave up. Long Version: Sarina Bowen is a strong romance writer whose work can be uneven and, more importantly, problematic, but I keep reading her books. The Ivy Years series is truly excellent and includes a classic novella, Blonde Date; however, the last novel (The Fifteenth Minute) is, at best, tone-deaf. Co-written with […]

Time to move Sarina Bowen back on hiatus

Pipe Dreams by Sarina Bowen

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Lauren Williams used to love hockey, but after Brooklyn Bruisers goalie Mike Beacon suddenly dumped her without warning, she stays far away from the game, and is very grateful that her boss, Nate Kattenberger, has her running his office in Manhattan, so she can focus on moving on and building a life for herself on her own. She’s about to graduate from college, with a lot of bright career prospects in her future and she’s planning on having a baby, by herself. She’s none too […]

My first review of the year!

Brooklynaire by Sarina Bowen

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3.5 stars Rebecca “Becca” Rowley has worked for tech billionaire Nate Kattenberger for more than seven years. She managed his office while he and a few friends were still an optimistic start up. For the last few years, she’s gone from being his personal assistant to managing the hockey team he bought, the Brooklyn Bruisers. Foolishly walking onto the ice to personally deliver a message, Rebecca falls and gets a concussion. Several weeks later, she’s still not well and fretting terribly about her inability to […]

I just could not stop reading this hockey romance series (almost)

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As if I could stop after reading only two of Bowen’s Bruisers novels. As soon as I finished Rookie Move, I picked up Hard Hitter (2017) by Sarina Bowen–the second book in the Brooklyn Bruisers series. By this time, I was back at home and ready to get back to my normal life. I also rarely read books by the same author all in a row, but I got sucked in and couldn’t resist. This one focuses on the captain and enforcer of the hockey team, Patrick O’Doul, […]

More romance, more hockey

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As soon as I finished Brooklynaire, I bought another Brooklyn Bruisers’ novel by Sarina Bowen. I simply had not gotten my fill of professional hockey players and romance. Rookie Move (2016) is technically the first of Bowen’s Bruisers series, and was also a very fun, enjoyable read. Leo Trevi has just been called up from his minor league team to play in the NHL for the Brooklyn Bruisers. He is excited about finally getting his chance, and he’s under a lot of pressure to perform so that he […]

A romance and a professional hockey team: some of my favorite things

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I was in Yosemite. I’d just finished my backpacking trip and had a couple of days to decompress and explore the park before I went home. I was looking for something fun to read in my downtime when I was browsing books on my phone and found Brooklynaire (2018) by Sarina Bowen. The cheesy, hunky picture, the hilarious title, an author I already liked, and the fact that my brother and sister-in-law live in Brooklyn all had me immediately interested. But even better, the story takes place […]



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