Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Not as fluffy and carefree as the title and cover make it seem

Beach Read by Emily Henry

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#CBR12 Bingo: Pandemic (read what you want) Official book description: Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.   They’re polar opposites.   In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block.   Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal […]

cbr12bingo – Orange

Sing to It by Amy Hempel

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“A woman of her word can do what she signed on to do.” If you need a quick but cathartic sob, this is the book for you. Clocking in at under 150 pages, Sing To It  houses a tiny and brutal collection of stories- some so tiny that they are just a few sentences long. Do not let the brevity fool you; even the most micro of the micro-fiction within will burn you. Several stories are still playing in my head days later. “Full-Service Shelter” is […]

Sadly, a rather disappointing follow-up to two very good books

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

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#CBR12 Bingo: UnCannon (YA fantasy, written by a woman, about dark-skinned heroine, with several queer characters as supporting cast) Official book description: Eight years have passed since the young Princess Bitterblue, and her country were saved from the vicious King Leck. Now Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea, and her land is at peace.   But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisers, who have run the country on her behalf since Leck’s death, believe in a forward-thinking […]

Finding Safe Harbor

Harbor by Rebekah Weatherspoon

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Yesterday a magazine posted an article about how we should read romances during this pandemic because they are dumb and will give our brains a break. I had just finished reading Rebekah Weatherspoon’s Harbor (Beards and Bondage) and wanted to cry in frustration. There is nothing dumb about this book, and even if it were pure porny fluff, if it accomplishes the goal of helping the reader cope – it is not dumb. There are so many amazing, smart writers in romance today. Rebekah Weatherspoon […]

Beautifully Written Romance with A+ Mental Health Representation

Just Like That (Albin Academy 1) by Cole McCade

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I have a level of discomfort with m/m romance written by cis women for cis women readers, even if it’s a book I liked and an author I liked. That discomfort is always there. Cole McCade describes himself as, “Tall, bi/queer, introverted author of a brown-ish persuasion made up of various flavors of Black, Asian, and Native American.” I didn’t feel uncomfortable reading and enjoying Just Like That. I would also like to point out that Carina Adores is a new Harlequin line that features […]

You gonna let the words define you, or are you going to define yourself?

Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson

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I won an advance copy of Real Men Knit in a Goodreads giveaway. I love the cover and had started reading it when it disappeared. I couldn’t find it anywhere. Finally, while moving furniture, I found it wedged between the wall and my box spring thus explaining why I didn’t see it when I looked under the bed. At long last returned to me, I devoured it. It’s a first book in a planned series and a slow burn to boot, so Jackson takes her […]



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