Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Back then we prayed to the gods and went on killing sprees. Now we have Zoloft.

Fit for the Gods: Greek Mythology Reimagined by Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams

July 15, 2023 by Emmalita 2 Comments

Zoraida Cordova knows what’s what. Her story, “The Gorgon Confessionals,” opens Fit for the Gods by imagining that the gods, immortals, heroes and villains of Greek mythology are regenerating into the modern world, they have their memories, but not necessarily their powers. Through a documentary series, Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy, is examining the story of Medusa and Perseus through a series of interviews. Zeus is a Republican candidate for President. (Vote Hades!). The stories by two of my favorite authors, Suleikha Snyder and Alyssa Cole […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, History, Religion, Short Stories Tagged With: advance reader copy, Alyssa Cole, Anthology, Fit for the Gods, greek mythology, Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams, Maya Deane, Mia P. Manansala, NetGalley, Suleikha Snyder, Valerie Valdes, Wen Wen Yang, Zoraida Cordova

Emmalita's CBR15 Review No:64 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, History, Religion, Short Stories · Tags: advance reader copy, Alyssa Cole, Anthology, Fit for the Gods, greek mythology, Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams, Maya Deane, Mia P. Manansala, NetGalley, Suleikha Snyder, Valerie Valdes, Wen Wen Yang, Zoraida Cordova ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

Hot Fun in the Summertime (#CannonBookClub, June 2023) Discussion Post—Mystery Edition

June 23, 2023 by elisamaza76 9 Comments

(Be sure to check out the discussion of the Hot Fun in the Summertime romance selections: Georgie, All Along; Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute; and Never Been Kissed.) Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries, Book 1: Arsenic and Adobo Whether you’re a returning CannonBookClub participant or a newbie, welcome! This is the place to discuss Mia P. Manansala’s Arsenic and Adobo. You don’t have to be registered for CBR15 to comment below, but there are a few ground rules: The topics are numbered, so please refer to […]

Filed Under: Book Club, Mystery Tagged With: #cozymystery, CannonBookClub, Filipino Americans, Mia P. Manansala, Tita Rosie's Kitchen

Genres: Book Club, Mystery · Tags: #cozymystery, CannonBookClub, Filipino Americans, Mia P. Manansala, Tita Rosie's Kitchen ·
· 9 Comments

Trope Blend of Culture, Mystery, Food, and Romance with Mixed Results

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

May 6, 2023 by CoffeeShopReader Leave a Comment

Arsenic and Adobo is a decent cozy mystery that is pretty aware that it is that, as well as a romance. It pulls off one of those things better than the other. What I don’t get is how Lila can open the novel with “my life has become a rom-com cliché” but be so dense about a romance that doesn’t involve her. There’s obviously something going on with her Tita Rosie and a certain detective, but she (Lila and Rosie both) never even says anything. […]

Filed Under: Cooking/Food, Mystery Tagged With: AAPI Awareness month, arsenic and adobo, cooking, cozy mystery, Mia P. Manansala, murder mystery, Romance

CoffeeShopReader's CBR15 Review No:33 · Genres: Cooking/Food, Mystery · Tags: AAPI Awareness month, arsenic and adobo, cooking, cozy mystery, Mia P. Manansala, murder mystery, Romance ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Pandesal? Mmm, Tell Me More

Arsenic and Adobe by Mia P. Manansala

December 7, 2022 by elderberrywine Leave a Comment

One of the cozy cooking type mysteries, I must knock it down a star because although our girl is charged with murder right out of the gate, there honestly is no danger of anyone buying that.  Lila Macapagal is back home from Chicago and is temporarily helping out in her Tita Rosie’s Filipino restaurant.  Unfortunately Derek Winter, a food critic who has been writing nasty reviews all over town, including her auntie’s, takes a face plant into his dessert, poisoned.  The dessert which Lila had […]

Filed Under: Comedy/Humor, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Mystery Tagged With: arsenic and adobo, cozy mystery, filipino food, In a small town high school drama is forever, lgbtq characters, Mia P. Manansala, Other types of cuisine

elderberrywine's CBR14 Review No:20 · Genres: Comedy/Humor, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Mystery · Tags: arsenic and adobo, cozy mystery, filipino food, In a small town high school drama is forever, lgbtq characters, Mia P. Manansala, Other types of cuisine ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

There is more food in this one than in the last one, if that’s even possible. Have your local Filipino restaurant on standby whilst reading.

Homicide and Halo-Halo (Tita Rosie's Kitchen, #2) by Mia P. Manansala

February 15, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

I told myself I would continue with this series if the writing got better in this book, and it did! There were a couple rather tragic instances of dialogue (see below*), but for the most part both the dialogue and inner narration/characterization for Lila got much better. I feel like I have a better handle on who she is as a person, where in the first one she was sort of a blank slate. There is still a lot of room for improvement, but I […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: cozy mystery, Filipino Americans, filipino food, Homicide and Halo-Halo, Mia P. Manansala, murder mystery, mystery, narfna, Tita Rosie's Kitchen

narfna's CBR14 Review No:29 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: cozy mystery, Filipino Americans, filipino food, Homicide and Halo-Halo, Mia P. Manansala, murder mystery, mystery, narfna, Tita Rosie's Kitchen ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Come for the murder, stay for the food.

Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie's Kitchen, #1) by Mia P. Manansala

July 5, 2021 by narfna 2 Comments

I had a good time with this! For a first novel and for a cozy, it was very good. I really only have two complaints, and Manansala can definitely improve upon both in future books, and I hope she does, because I’d like to keep reading this series. It has some things I really like going for it. Like a lot of culinary cozies, this book follows a young woman (Lila Macapagal) fresh off a break-up, who has recently moved home to help in her […]

Filed Under: Cooking/Food, Mystery Tagged With: arsenic and adobo, cozy mystery, filipino author, filipino food, Mia P. Manansala, mystery, narfna, Tita Rosie's Kitchen

narfna's CBR13 Review No:78 · Genres: Cooking/Food, Mystery · Tags: arsenic and adobo, cozy mystery, filipino author, filipino food, Mia P. Manansala, mystery, narfna, Tita Rosie's Kitchen ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments
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