Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search

The hero really does behave quite beastly to begin with

The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long

by Leave a Comment

3.75 stars Disclaimer: This was an ARC from NetGalley. It hasn’t affected my opinions in any way Spoiler warning – this review will contain some discussion of plot points I found difficult, so you may want to skip some parts of it until you’ve read the book Alexandra Bellamy has been taking care of her father and her siblings since her mother died. She has no dowry to speak of and knows her father has massive gambling debts. So when her father announces that the […]

“It was such a perfect thing to say that he decided to believe it.”

The Legend of Lyon Redmond by Julie Anne Long

by Leave a Comment

It’s done – the final book in the Pennyroyal Green series. The epic of Olivia Eversea and Lyon Redmond, and the love that will mend a rift between families that is nearly a thousand years old. Plot: Lyon was suffocating under his father’s expectations, but because those expectations have been part of his life since birth, he thought first about what he was supposed to do and only second of himself. In other words, he didn’t really examine what he wanted out of life, what he valued […]

“you’ve left no room in the budget for weevils”

It Started With a Scandal by Julie Anne Long

by Leave a Comment

Long takes on Beauty and the Beast with mixed results. Plot: Lord Lavay is a prince from the House of Bourbon, which means very little after the French Revolution, and boy is he grumpy about it. Fortunately, being a romance hero, he has already successfully recovered at least some of his wealth by becoming an operative for the British Crown? Doing some kind of mysterious… Investigation/violence? Something very alpha and impressive, surely. Until one day, he’s set upon by six men and is badly injured. He […]

“He sucked in a long breath, a symbolic attempt to siphon patience from the air of what had clearly become a rolling madhouse.”

It Happened One Midnight by Julie Anne Long

by Leave a Comment

Plot: Thomasina de Ballesteros has entranced the ton in her dedication to pull herself out of extreme poverty. She’s phenomenal at playing whatever role she needs to get what she wants, and there are untold number of lives depending on her doing just that. Jonathan Redmond is a youngest son, doomed to be of no use to anyone, and presently penniless because he’s trying to build up wealth and all his funds are tied up. But an unmissable investment opportunity makes itself known and he’s […]

“Beggin’ yer pardon, m’lady, but these pews are hard as a hangman’s heart and narrow as a rat’s bunghole.”

A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long

by Leave a Comment

The second weakest entry in the Pennyroyal Green series and a damned shame. Plot: The uncannily handsome and possibly slightly supernatural vicar introduced a few books ago, Adam, is drowning a little under the relentless adoration of his parishioners. This is his first time taking on such a solemn role and while he takes it exceptionally seriously, he feels woefully inadequate. His life is then further complicated by the arrival of a new resident to Pennyroyal Green, Eve, or as she is known in the […]

“He needed a Rosetta stone for translating Rabble into Aristocracy and Back again.”

How the Marquess was Won by Julie Anne Long

by 2 Comments

Instalment six in the Pennyroyal Green series, and involving zero Everseas or Redmonds! Plot: Phoebe is a graduate of and teacher at Miss Endicott’s Academy for Recalcitrant Girls in Pennyroyal Green, though she longs for more. Her imagination stalls out at what more might be though, given her limited experience and her bone deep fear of ending up where she started as an orphan in Six Dials. So instead, she reads the broadsheets, and fills her life with vicarious adventures. This is how she recognizes […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo