Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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A gorgeous exploration of family, grief and love

Love at First by Kate Clayborn

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Kate Clayborn’s spectacular Love Lettering was the first book I read in 2020. Now, while the rest of the year didn’t work out so well, I can’t deny that it was an amazing reading year for me, and now Love at First looks like it’s continuing that tradition. I am an absolute sucker for a found family story, and this is an expert exploration of that trope and its power. It’s also got a bit of a Romeo & Juliet feel, and since that’s literally […]

The stories we tell ourselves

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

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Conversations with Friends has earned the (dubious) honor of receiving my first 5-star review of the year. For the first 3-4 chapters in the book, I didn’t think it would, but it ended up being a compulsive read that kept popping up in my mind when I was doing other things. Conversations is a tight story about a young student, Frances, and her best friend (and ex-girlfriend) Bobbi, who meet and befriend Melissa, a journalist married to a handsome actor, Nick. As Frances is drawn into Melissa […]

Lower animal content, higher angst for this sequel

Best Laid Plans by Roan Parrish

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I was intensely curious about Jack’s brother Charlie after reading Better Than People, so I was very pleased to see that this book would be about him. Alas, the animal content of this book isn’t quite as high as the previous one in the series – only two cats. But gosh, Jane and Marmot are pretty amazing cats. When Rye inherits a house from a grandfather he never met, it seems too good to be true. But given he’s been couchsurfing in Seattle, he makes […]

These murder club meetings are becoming a regular thing. We need a new name, though.

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

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The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide. The five students who land in detention for breaking the “no cellphone” rule are: Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of […]

Looking for a great debut fiction novel? Look no further! (Belated Bingo – Book Club)

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

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Well hello there. I am well beyond in my reading goal AND with my reviews AND missed my chance to bingo (insert dramatic sigh). But I’m going to keep on truckin’ for my own personal benefit with my bingo board (because it’s fun!) and will chalk it up to the nightmare that is 2020 collateral damage. ONWARD! (I’m not tagging the reviews, just including what my Belated Bingo category was in the title). This book is in the Book Club category for me because a […]



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