Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

middle-aged reflection and other poems

The Soft Black Stars by Matthew Buckley Smith

October 12, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The Soft Black Stars by Matthew Buckley Smith was a gift from a friend of mine. She and I compare our poetry and she has been an excellent editor and inspiration to me. Our styles vary immensely (usually she writes personal, longer poetry, with clever use of styles and formats; mine are a bit shorter, less personal, free verse). Occasionally I will have a surprise package and a book will be that surprise. Usually a poetry collection that she has been part of, a friend […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Romance Tagged With: Chapbook, Children, domestic life, Marriage, Matthew Buckley Smith, middle-aged reflection, Money, sex

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:367 · Genres: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Romance · Tags: Chapbook, Children, domestic life, Marriage, Matthew Buckley Smith, middle-aged reflection, Money, sex ·
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I was not expecting to feel personally victimised by a Rainbow Rowell novel

Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

April 12, 2026 by Malin 10 Comments

This may be a 3.5 star book, but I’m not actually sure right now. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for this ARC. My opinions are my own. This book is out on April 14th. Cherry’s husband, Tom, is in Los Angeles, working on turning his web comic-turned extremely successful graphic novel, Thursday, into a movie. His semi-autobiographical comic, which happens to have a caricatured version of Cherry in it, who is called Baby. Now that there are multiple trailers, even complete strangers recognise […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: ARC, cbr18, Cherry Baby, comic books, contemporary fiction, divorce, dogs, fame, family, Malin, Marriage, NetGalley, Obesity, Rainbow Rowell

Malin's CBR18 Review No:18 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: ARC, cbr18, Cherry Baby, comic books, contemporary fiction, divorce, dogs, fame, family, Malin, Marriage, NetGalley, Obesity, Rainbow Rowell ·
Rating:
· 10 Comments

There’s Nothing More Ill-Mannered than Loving Your Own Wife

Sex and Scandals in Georgian England by John Rankin

October 5, 2025 by Pooja Leave a Comment

In the Georgian era, where infidelity was widespread –  even expected – among the aristocracy, scandals still resulted, but not necessarily for the reasons one would expect. With the new resurgence of interest in Regency romances, I’ve been struck pretty often how wide of the historical mark some stories can be. The costumes of season three of Bridgerton also makes me wince (I still love Queen Charlotte’s ridiculous wigs though!). But reading Sex & Scandals in Georgian England reminded me that, while it’s one thing to know […]

Filed Under: History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: #history, ARC, England, John Rankin, Marriage, NetGalley, non fiction

Pooja's CBR17 Review No:60 · Genres: History, Non-Fiction · Tags: #history, ARC, England, John Rankin, Marriage, NetGalley, non fiction ·
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“If I ever find a therapist who works with changelings, I’m going to send Mom the bill.”

A Killing Frost (October Daye #14) by Seanan McGuire

August 23, 2025 by bjornsnipe Leave a Comment

Toby and Tybalt are still planning on getting married someday (the stick, get on it), but while Toby keeps Tybalt waiting they do manage to get to romantic dinners in between Toby’s needing to bleed to save Faerie. He had never been more handsome. This was the man I was going to marry. This was the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with, and raise my children alongside, whenever we decided it was safe enough for us to risk having […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction Tagged With: divorce, fae, Marriage, Oberon, San Francisco, Seanan McGuire

bjornsnipe's CBR17 Review No:117 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction · Tags: divorce, fae, Marriage, Oberon, San Francisco, Seanan McGuire ·
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Love is Love and Hate is Hate

Ritu Weds Chandni by Ameya Narvankar

March 14, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Diversity The CBR17 Pie Chart Challenge Ritu Weds Chandni by Ameya Narvankar is currently available. However, I found an old online  reader copy to read. I thought I had read it before, but it did not feel familiar to me. Therefore I think I just looked at it and “put it aside.” Thankfully I did find it again as it takes a couple of familiar themes but adds a modern take to them, and I was in the right mood for it as well, as […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, History, Religion, Romance Tagged With: Ameya Narvankar, diversity, family, LGBTQ, Marriage, Multicultural, Social Themes, The CBR17 Pie Chart Challenge

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:141 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, History, Religion, Romance · Tags: Ameya Narvankar, diversity, family, LGBTQ, Marriage, Multicultural, Social Themes, The CBR17 Pie Chart Challenge ·
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On guard that cha-cha-cha!

On Guard!: A Marshall Middle School Graphic Novel by Cassidy Wasserman

Swing by Audrey Meeker and Sarah Davidson

January 22, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Graphic novels are one of my favorite genres to read.  They cover several themes and ages. Currently middle and young adult graphic novels have several being published. Most of the middle readers are nice, not too in-depth but have a good message. They are fun and relatable without being too heavy for the (strong) 8-9 to (younger) 13-14. Two of those books are reviewed below.  Over a weekend that was cold, I found a quick graphic novel that I hoped wouldn’t go too deep into […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, Romance, Sports, Young Adult Tagged With: Audrey Meeker, Audrey Meeker and Sarah Davidson, Cassidy Wasserman, divorce, family, fencing, friendship, Marriage, Sarah Davidson, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:49 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, Romance, Sports, Young Adult · Tags: Audrey Meeker, Audrey Meeker and Sarah Davidson, Cassidy Wasserman, divorce, family, fencing, friendship, Marriage, Sarah Davidson, Social Themes ·
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