Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


If Jane Austen had taught Naomi Moreno anything, it was to watch out for the George Wickhams of the World.

The Wedding Con by Janine Amesta

by 2 Comments

If you haven’t yet tried one of Janine Amesta’s books, I would compare her to Kate Clayborn and Tarah Dewitt – small town, contemporary romances written with tremendous emotional intelligence, medium spice, and big yearning. If you are looking for an excuse to pick up one of her books, Hispanic Heritage Month runs September 15 – October 15 and she is a Latine author. I was describing Janine Amesta’s The Wedding Con to another romance reading friend who interrupted and asked, so this is a […]

Romance Focused on Overcoming Fear

The Wedding Con by Janine Amesta

by Leave a Comment

Last week I sped-read through Love at First Flight, sinking into the Central Oregon setting and the lives of the Moreno family that Janine Amesta created. It spurred me to pick up the ARC I had of The Wedding Con and get to reading it immediately.  Where Love at First Flight focuses on the grief journeys of its leads, The Wedding Con focuses on fear. Naomi Moreno is the middle sister and had witnessed her father be suckered into get rich quick investment schemes via YouTube […]

“I know you’re tough. But also, you don’t have to be that way with me if you don’t want to.”

Love at First Flight by Janine Amesta

by Leave a Comment

Grief can be a hard thing to balance in a romance novel. I am particularly wary of books around the grief associated with the death of dads, which is why I had initially held off on starting Janine Amesta’s Love at First Flight even though emmalita sang its praises. But I started following Amesta on Instagram and when she put out a call for ARC readers I signed up… and received a copy of her upcoming release, The Wedding Con, which is a sequel to […]

I love discovering new romance authors

Love at First Flight by Janine Amesta

by 3 Comments

Nowhere Books Bingo 2025: Book Dedicated to a Parent Thank you to Janine Amesta for granting me this ARC. It has not influenced my review, my opinions are my own. Thank you also, Emmalita, who tipped me off about this author. Selah Moreno’s beloved stepfather always wanted to be an airline pilot, but couldn’t become one for a number of reasons. So he flew hot air balloons instead. Selah trains to become a pilot instead, but when her father unexpectedly dies, and her mother and […]

“Um, a crow just walked into your house.” “It’s okay. She does that all the time.”

Love at First Flight by Janine Amesta

by Leave a Comment

Last year I added Janine Amesta to my long list of authors I wish more people would read. I love her writing and the characters she creates. If you haven’t read her yet, Love at First Flight is a good place to start and it’s out mid April. If you don’t want to wait until then, I highly recommend Lucky Strike, which was one of my favorite reads last year. Selah Moreno was on her way to flight school when she got a call from […]

I’m a cornucopia of complexity, Sam.

Lucky Strike by Janine Amesta

by Leave a Comment

Janine Amesta’s engaging Lucky Strike is my kind of catnip – prickly marshmallows who think they are the villain, finding grace for each other and then themselves. Luna is prickly and prone to lash out. Sam has frozen his life after a car accident that resulted in his brother’s death. Luna is back in her hometown, living with her cousin and his pregnant wife in her childhood home. She is looking for an affordable place of her own and after being rejected for one rental, […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo