Emmalita – Page 4 – Cannonball Read 17

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

September 11, 2025 by Emmalita 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 […]

Cannonball Read 17 Bingo: The Second Check-in

September 10, 2025 by Emmalita 11 Comments

Welcome to the second Bingo check-in! We are just past the halfway point, so there is still lots of time to play. The card, square descriptions, and rules can be found here. I know I say this every year, but my favorite thing about Bingo is the books you choose to fit the squares. This year you all continue to choose books that are interesting, fun, and challenging, whether you like them or not. I am reading all of your reviews. Rather than a prayer, I […]

This sounds like something I would say, and I’m slightly concerned that the person I relate to most at this table is the one who added protein powder to his wine

Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun

September 3, 2025 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

Happy Sapphic September! I have somehow not read any of Alison Cochrun’s previous books, and I enjoyed Every Step She Takes so much, I’m going to need to read her backlist. Every Step She Takes is a journey of discovery story. Sadie impulsively announces she’ll take her sister’s place on a Camino de Santiago tour in Portugal. She has no idea what she’s getting herself into. She doesn’t know that the tour group is queer focused, she doesn’t know that the Camino is historically a […]

“Did you see stars?” “The whole Milky Way.”

Right Next Door by Sophie Andrews

September 1, 2025 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

Exhales a deep, deep sigh of relief. The third book in Sophie Andrews’s Stone Family series, Right Next Door, is much better than the first two installments. I think Sophie Andrews is good at angsty emotional escapes, and I’m glad she’s embracing it. I do really appreciate when authors stretch themselves, even when it doesn’t work, and I’m always going to embrace Sophie Andrews’s progressive values. Nicole is thrown into an existential crisis when her husband asks to open their marriage shortly before he leaves […]

If anyone can do magic, there’s definitely going to be a reality competition show about it.

Witch You Would by Lia Amador

August 30, 2025 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

I am on a roll with some truly excellent reads and listens. Lia Amador’s Witch You Would is a fun contemporary fantasy romance. Lia Amador has created a world in which magic is something anyone can do, like cooking or math. Some people are better at it than others and so of course there are reality shows in which people compete for best spell caster. The venerable reality show, Cast Judgement, is filming its next season in Miami and Penelope will be a contestant. The prize […]

Sadie didn’t so much like people as suffer her own attraction to them.

Let’s Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About by Isabelle Popp

August 28, 2025 by Emmalita 2 Comments

I recognize that books are not therapists, but I can’t actually afford a therapist, so books are what I’ve got. It took me a bit to dive into Isabelle Popp’s Let’s Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About because I have recently read some wonderfully emotionally devastating books, and I was not up to a book with a fraught father daughter relationship. After a couple of books that I enjoyed in peace, I opened Pumpkin to Talk About again and within two chapters was completely in […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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