Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Love the family history, hate the ableism

Spilling the Tea by Brenda Jackson

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I’ve never read Brenda Jackson, though she’s been on my radar as a Black romance author and a well-loved author by many, and this sounded like exactly the kind of book I would enjoy with lots of family history and secrets. I did really enjoy the story and the family elements, and a part of me wants to go through the backlist for more about the Madaris family, but I also feel like I’m not the right audience for these books (and I’m sure a […]

“Cats were not, in her experience, an animal with much soul. Prosaic, practical little creatures as a general rule. It would suit her very well to be thought catlike.”

Soulless by Gail Carriger

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It’s dreadfully awkward being soulless in Victorian High Society. Add to that being the spinster daughter of a dead Italian, and life just isn’t working out for Alexia Tarabotti, and that’s before she’s attacked by a vampire at a social gathering. Bad enough that breaks all societal etiquette, but it also comes along with the downside that now Alexia has to deal with Lord Conall Maccon, the loud, obnoxious, Scottish werewolf sent by Queen Victoria to investigate. It seems that known vampires are disappearing nightly, […]

Metamorphoses for a New Millennium

Fit For the Gods by Jenn Northington (Editor), S. Zainab Williams (Editor)

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Though Greek mythology originates from several millennia ago, their stories have been renewed again and again over the centuries through art and literature. In this anthology, more than a dozen authors tackle this too – but their tellings are with a twist, bringing racially, sexually, and culturally diverse takes to the classic stories. I’ve always loved Greek mythology and have engaged with in a plethora of ways, from reading classic translations to the Percy Jackson books to the recent trend in novel-length unpackings like Madeline […]

Even Murder Can Be Groovy

It's A Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod Murder by Rosemary Martin

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We all need harmless little fluff books in our lives, and this is one of the fluffiest. It’s 1964 and 22 year old Elizabeth “Bebe” Bennett, recently out of secretarial school in Richmond, Virginia, is loving her new independent life in New York. A month out from her move from Richmond, Virginia, she has a job as the secretary to the dreamy Bradley Williams, vice president of talent company Rip City Records. Bebe spends her days hard at work, daydreaming about the future when after […]

Always The Fireplaces

Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater

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This second novel in Atwater’s Regency Faerie Tales series is just as charming and delightful as the first. We’re heading downstairs in this one but it’s still full of faerie shenanigans! Housemaid Euphemia Reeves has fallen in love with a man far above her humble station. The youngest son of The Family, he is generally pleasant to the servants and is aware enough to take his muddy boots off at the door to save them some work. Obviously this makes him a perfect though improbable […]

Part 2 problems but not really that bad

Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

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Cozy streak incoming. First up: Apprentice to the Villain. This is definitely a part two, in that it’s still a good continuation of the story, but it focuses on developing the big problems to be resolved later. That means there is less character development, and a lot more emphasis on mutual pining, which really gets irritating. The general lack of clear communication causing misunderstandings and problems in romance is a main reason I don’t read a lot of that, because it’s so very avoidable. Do […]



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