Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


The Audacity of Princes

The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily by Nancy Goldstone

by Leave a Comment

Joanna I, Queen of Naples, is best known today for having stood trial for the murder of her husband during the height of the bubonic plague, but she faced many other challenges during her thirty-year-long reign. The whole time I was listening to this audiobook, I kept marveling at the absolute audacity of the royal men of this era, who over the decades launched a number of invasions and plots in an attempt to claim Naples for themselves. A woman on the throne seemed to […]

“God cannot help when natural stupidity is driving the cart.”

The Alewives: A plague-era tale of murder, friendship, and fine ale (The Alewives of Colmar #1) by Elizabeth R. Andersen

by Leave a Comment

Colmar, 1353 CE Gritta, Appel, and Efi managed to survive the massive death toll of the Black Death, only to realize that day-to-day problems don’t end just because of a major epidemic (#relatable). Children still need feeding, husbands will still drink away all the money, and people die from more than the plague. With limited options (I mean, a woman can’t even “entertain” the local menfolk without getting shade from the local monastery) and lots of obstacles, they band together to become alewives – brewing […]

Dance Dance Dance….

Emma & Capucine, Volume 1 by Jérôme Hamon and Lena Sayaphoum

by Leave a Comment

While I enjoyed reading the two parts that are inclined in  Emma & Capucine, Volume 1 by Jérôme Hamon and Lena Sayaphoum, I was not able to be WOWed by it. There is nothing new to the events or thoughts happening. However, it is still a nice coming of age story Part One. We deal with growing apart from an older sibling, dealing with a dream not happening, finding new dreams, parents learning to support rather than push for themselves, and jealousy. There are at […]

When in Doubt, Lie Your Tongue Off

Dangerous Obsession by Natasha Peters

by Leave a Comment

Rhawnie was born in a Romani encampment in Russia, but a murder and an encounter with a man she is fated to follow to the ends of the earth launch her on a path that will see her go halfway across the globe. It took me way too long to realize that Rhawnie is a corruption of the Indian name Rani, which means ‘queen’. This is a nice and long and adventurous bodice ripper of the kind I like perfectly. What sets it apart from […]

La Parisienne

The Ladies' Paradise by Émile Zola

Nana by Émile Zola

by Leave a Comment

The Ladies’ Paradise – 4 stars Denise Baudu comes dirt-poor to Paris with her younger brothers to work at her uncle’s shop, but instead goes to work at its greatest competitor – the ever-growing department store the Ladies’ Paradise, presided over by the Great Seducer Octave Mouret, who falls in love with Denise only to find out she may be one of the only things in the world he cannot buy. I was in the mood for a Victorian novel, but none of the usual […]

Do not mistake this kindness. I simply want to be the one who breaks you.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

by Leave a Comment

His heart has a draft. It lets in light. It lets in storms. It lets in everything. ― V.E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Ever feel like running away from your life and forming an everlasting pact with a hot demon you meet in the woods on the day of your wedding? Addie didn’t feel like it either but that’s what happened. It’s 1729 in rural France. Addie is twenty-three, single, a dreamer, an artist, and has zero interest in succumbing to the […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo