Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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“We consider it cruel,” Maia said. “And we do not think that cruelty is ever just.”

The Goblin Emperor (The Chronicles of Osreth #1) by Katherine Addison

April 12, 2026 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

It was the first time in his life Maia had been surrounded by people who were like him instead of only snow-white elves with their pale eyes, and he missed several names in the effort not to faint or hyperventilate or burst into tears. ― Katherine Addison, The Goblin Emperor The memories of a thousand separate cruelties mocked him, but no one save Maia himself had ever counted those as wrongs, and it was unjust to have them declared wrongs now, merely because he could. […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Mystery Tagged With: betrayal, child abuse, coming of age novel, court intrigue, cozy fantasy, estrangement, exile, father and son, fish out of water, geopolitics, katherine addison, Palace politics, Systematic racism, teenage emperor

carmelpie's CBR18 Review No:19 · Genres: Fantasy, Mystery · Tags: betrayal, child abuse, coming of age novel, court intrigue, cozy fantasy, estrangement, exile, father and son, fish out of water, geopolitics, katherine addison, Palace politics, Systematic racism, teenage emperor ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

We’re two worlds apart.

Rocking the Cowboy by Skylar M. Cates

March 9, 2026 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

Jed is happy. He has his ranch, his horses, and his sister, and his niece. His good-for-nothing father Buddy only contacts Jed when he needs something. After leaving the ranch in Jed’s care, Buddy reinvented himself as entertainment royalty. One of the stars he manages, Remy Sean, needs someplace to lie low and recuperate after an attack during his last concert. Jed doesn’t want anything to do with Buddy, but instead of saying no, he sees an opportunity to negotiate. If Buddy agrees to escort […]

Filed Under: Romance Tagged With: child performers, city vs. country, fish out of water, gay romance, grumpy sunshine, LGBTQIA+ characters, opposites attract, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), queer romance, rockstar romance, Skylar M. Cates, Slow Burn Romance, stage fright

carmelpie's CBR18 Review No:11 · Genres: Romance · Tags: child performers, city vs. country, fish out of water, gay romance, grumpy sunshine, LGBTQIA+ characters, opposites attract, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), queer romance, rockstar romance, Skylar M. Cates, Slow Burn Romance, stage fright ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Please, Re-read the Previous Book First

Queen Demon by Martha Wells

November 1, 2025 by LittlePlat 4 Comments

So, I did mention I had more than one Martha Wells book to attend to today, and this is the tricker one to write about. I read Witch King  earlier this year, and while I very much liked it, there were, I thought, some notable flaws. Witch King had a dual narrative, with each of the two branches separated by over fifty years. And within these fifty years, there have been some significant political changes that are sometimes a little hard to grasp because of […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: #fantasy, cbr17bingo, demons, fantasy series, fish out of water, martha wells, Migrant, witches

LittlePlat's CBR17 Review No:35 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: #fantasy, cbr17bingo, demons, fantasy series, fish out of water, martha wells, Migrant, witches ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments

Kai didn’t recognize this place at all; it was a memory of somewhere he had never been

Witch King by Martha Wells.

June 11, 2025 by LittlePlat Leave a Comment

With the new Murderbot adaption airing right now, I’ve been on the look out for more of Martha Wells books. The only other works of hers I’ve read have been The Books of the Raksura Series, which were mostly quite good—very different from Murderbot—but sort of a mixed bag overall. But one thing you cannot accuse Martha Wells of is lacking in creativity. Witch King is, again, vastly different from any of her previous novels, both in setting and narrative style. But it also shares […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: #fantasy, demons, fantasy series, fish out of water, martha wells, witches

LittlePlat's CBR17 Review No:9 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: #fantasy, demons, fantasy series, fish out of water, martha wells, witches ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A low-angst, cozy romance set in the Swedish countryside

Second Winter by Sophia Soames

December 11, 2024 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

Teddy runs his family’s tree farm in a small village in Sweden. He still lives in the house where he grew up and manages the family business, even after losing his father over the previous year. He is getting by but he is unhappy. He worries that life is passing him but he has no energy or hope that anything will change for him. He’s only been in love once, and that boy broke his heart. Ned is the American son of Swedish parents. When […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Romance Tagged With: fish out of water, gay romance, high school reunion, queer romance, rural farming community, rural Sweden, small town romance, Sophia Soames

carmelpie's CBR16 Review No:91 · Genres: Fiction, Romance · Tags: fish out of water, gay romance, high school reunion, queer romance, rural farming community, rural Sweden, small town romance, Sophia Soames ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Mason Bloom Takes Charge of his One Goddamn Life was never meant to be a romance.

Off Plan: A Whispering Key Novel by May Archer

March 13, 2024 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

And if the Universe was sentient enough to be sending out warnings to certain people, I could only conclude it hated me, because it hadn’t sent me a warning for any damn thing, ever, as evidenced by the fact that I lived on a forgotten island with my hick cousins and my wacky uncle, and hadn’t had sex since January. ― May Archer, Off Plan “No,” I resumed walking. “I’m not up in his business either. Not like that. We’re friends. We decided.” “You realize […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Romance Tagged With: bisexual character, broken off engagement, brothers, enemies to lovers, Fathers and sons, fish out of water, Florida, gay romance, May Archer, queer romance, small town romance

carmelpie's CBR16 Review No:24 · Genres: Fiction, Romance · Tags: bisexual character, broken off engagement, brothers, enemies to lovers, Fathers and sons, fish out of water, Florida, gay romance, May Archer, queer romance, small town romance ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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