Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About GentleRain

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Your jack of all trades eccentric. Knows a little about a lot and a lot about a little. Tends to mainly read non-fiction (history, true crime, old gossip, etc), SF/F, horror, graphic novels, "genre" books. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: GentleRain's Quick Questions interview.)

GentleRain's Reviews:

“I can’t help thinking that the best thing that could happen to him, and to the country, would be for him to break his neck.”

In Royal Service: The Letters and Journals of Sir Alan Lascelles 1920-1936 (Vol. 2) by Sir Alan Lascelles (Edited by Duff Hart-Davis)

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This is a collection of mainly letters to friends and family from Sir Alan (“Tommy”) Lascelles, who worked as Assistant Private Secretary/Private Secretary for Edward VIII (David), the Governor-General of Canada, George V very briefly before his death, and George VI. There are also some letters from his wife and children in here as well to flesh out the portrait. The main reason to read this is the draw of Tommy’s descriptions and insight into David’s psychology and activities as the Prince of Wales, and […]

“I live with bread like you, feel want / Taste grief, need friends: subjected thus, / How can you say to me, I am a king?”

The Crown in Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication by Alexander Larman

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I picked this up based off reading the introduction for the sequel and seeing how much Larman dislikes Edward VIII (whom I will be referring to as David — Larman makes the choice to use Edward in his book, which is fair enough, but his whole family called him David and I prefer to link the name Edward to my much preferred favorite, Edward VII). I figured I should start with the first volume and see what led him to such vituperative language in the […]

A Sweet Supernatural Afterlife Gay Romance Manga

Love in Limbo (Vol 1-2) by HAJI

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I kept eyeing this at Barnes and Noble because I thought the cover art was nice, and I finally gave in and got the two volumes. The nice thing here is that the story is complete in two volumes, so it’s not a huge money or time investment. The con is that it’s only two volumes, so the plot is a little rushed and I wish we could have spent more time in this world. The author has a lot of interesting ideas about Limbo […]

BL Manga Review Grab Bag!

A Hero in the Demon's Castle by Inutoki and Syohei

Tsumasaki Ni Kourozu by Aki Aoi

Secret XXX by Meguru Hinohara

The Ruthless Commander and his Reincarnated Warhorse by Nomoto Narita and Sakashima

Send Them a Farewell Gift for the Lost Time by Cocomi

Don't Call Me Dirty by Gorou Kanbe

Don't Call Me Daddy by Gorou Kanbe

The (Pet) Detective Agency by noji

You Are My Happiness by Bukuro Yamada

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I’ve been reading a ton of BL, so here are some pocket reviews because I’m overwhelmed at the thought of writing individual reviews for all of these. I really love this genre and think the work being done in it is very interesting and engaging. I also continue to be glad that the books getting licensed and translated right now have much better art across the board then when I first started reading BL around 2004. A Hero in the Demon’s Castle has a unique […]

“Good times or bad, let’s share them over this bowl.”

Ramen Wolf & Curry Tiger (Vol. 1-2) by Emboss

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This series follows Jiro (Ramen Wolf) and his friend Kagetora (Curry Tiger) as they try new restaurants and enjoy eating together. Jiro is outgoing, friendly, and kind, while Kagetora is more reticent and removed, but also is a nice person. Jiro serves as a sort of motivating factor to get Kagetora out and interacting with other people after Kagetora’s semi-estrangement from his brother. He sees himself as not successful and is insecure about what he’s doing with his life. Food serves as a friendship bond […]

“Perfect timing. Perfect delivery. Jackie was blessed with utter confidence in his own talent.”

Jackie, Oy! by Jackie Mason with Ken Gross

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My mom got this for me for Christmas due to my interest in Frank Sinatra (Jackie Mason was nearly killed due to his jokes about Frank Sinatra, and he was beaten up in a separate incident for the same reason). Mason denies the jokes in this book and says there were a lot of comedians with the last name Mason at the time who could have made them, but I had trouble believing that and the tone of that section was strange. It felt like […]



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