Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

“But maybe let’s set the low bar of just not dying”

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren

by 3 Comments

I’ve read and liked several Christina Lauren novels before, and this second-chance romance featuring a treasure hunt, all set in the wilds of Utah, sounded like a perfect summer read. While it does live up to some of those expectations, there was one major con that didn’t work for me at all. “I guess I’m looking for adventure. My day-to-day life is pretty routine.” He turned his baseball cap over in his hands and seemed to note that the mood had grown solemn. “But maybe […]

“I realize your default energy level is Cardboard Cutout, but I can’t get to know you if you don’t speak.”

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

by Leave a Comment

Can genetics help you find love? Consider me unconvinced. Plot: Jess has had a rough time of it in the love department and between work and raising her kid solo, she doesn’t really have time to date. But there’s a new app on the market that promises genetic compatibility and her best friend convinces her to send in a sample. When it comes back, she’s matched at 98% with the founder, which, like, sus, right? But the company really, really wants to use this as a photo […]

Match.com meets Theranos but with less nefariousness and more (maybe? I don’t know) sex

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

by 2 Comments

Last year (I think it was last year?), I read a book by Christina Lauren that involved the two romantic leads being the only two characters in the story who didn’t participate in the opening scene’s vomit-mania. It was actually pretty decent, despite the mass puking, and I knew the name sounded familiar when I downloaded The Soulmate Equation from the library, but I didn’t connect the two until I went to write my review. I’m not sure what the point here is, other than […]

“It never occurred to me that you might be mine.”

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

by 3 Comments

One of the prevailing bits of wisdom running around if you happen to find yourself with COVID (which I probably do – not to worry, I’m not feeling too poorly, have plenty of supplies, and have a test scheduled) is to avoid screens. With that in mind, and cognizant that my brain does not want to focus on anything weighty (which is seriously impinging on my ability to finish So You Want to Talk About Race and Eva Luna) I settled in on the couch […]

Okay, it is a lot cheesy, but also a cute love story

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

by Leave a Comment

Note: all images shamelessly stolen from the internet as I really got into the Simon & Schuster free online books this month.   I was on the fence about Autoboyography by Christina Lauren (or Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings). I was not sure I was reading for another GLBTQ book so soon after the others I had read, and frankly thought the cover too cute. And when I got into the book, the “meet cute” romance tone of the story explained the cover. And yes, […]

Christina Lauren goes full Nicholas Sparks

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

by Leave a Comment

Christina Lauren is hit and miss for me. Lauren’s novels are always well written and edited and have a strong emotional core. If you like *intensely* angsty stories, plot and character consistency be damned (no shade), I think you may really enjoy this book. Plot: Macey’s mom died, so her dad bought them a vacation home to give her a place to relax when she was overwhelmed by life. Next door lives Elliot, a kid who really loves to read. Macey also loves reading. They […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo