Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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I'm a mom of two and a voracious reader. I love happily-ever-afters and space ships. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: llamareadsbooks's Quick Questions interview.)

llamareadsbooks's Reviews:

“I wrote a song for you. I don’t think it gets much more cheesy than that, now, right?”

You Know I'd Never by Kara Lowndes

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I’m a sucker for the second chance trope and occasionally like musician romances, so of course I picked this up. While this has both of those, this is more a story about coming out. There’s always some rationale for why the couple had to break up initially, and what’s changed to make their HEA possible now. In this case, the entire conflict revolves around Janey being in the closet. When Elise left town with her band five years ago, Janey didn’t go. She couldn’t even […]

“She didn’t want mercy. She wanted them to burn.”

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

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I wanted this book because of the cover, because, holy crap look at that woman’s arms. I’m shallow, OK? But yes, while Touraine is incredibly hot, this is also an intense and unflinching look at colonialism and belonging. Touraine was conscripted as a child of five into the Balladairan legions from conquered Qazāl, derogatorily called the Sands. All traces of her life before were beaten out of her – the language, the culture, her own name. By contrast, Luca is the Balladairan princess, used to […]

A human pinball, a calm dog trainer, and lots of doggos

Puppucino by Allison Temple

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I started reading this series because it includes books by some of my favorite authors, but Allison Temple is a new one to me. Considering I’ve been dealing with training our new dog, this felt like a very timely book for me. Charlie may naturally be a neat freak, but between getting out of a longterm relationship and dealing with a rambunctious puppy, Charlie (and his dog Athena) are a mess. After a particularly bad day (involving maple syrup, poop, a chewed manuscript, and a […]

“I knew our relationship was strong, and like the house he was renovating for me, it had good bones”

Renovation of Love by Meka James

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Second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes, so of course I jumped on this as soon as I saw the gorgeous cover and read the blurb. And it’s a really lovely story about two high school sweethearts finding each other – and love – again. “I was here to get this new business venture off the ground and start anew. None of my plans entailed rekindling a long-dead romance with the first and, if I were being honest with myself, only real love […]

Coffee with a shot of kink

Cup of Joe by Annabeth Albert

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When I saw there was a new queer shared series coming out that several of my favorite authors were writing in, I had to pick up the first book. The Bold Brew series revolves around a coffee shop in a Pennsylvania college town that’s a hub for the queer and kink-positive communities. “Hot, older electrician. Bedroom repair. If it wasn’t for me and my terminal awkwardness, this could easily pass as the start of a porno.” This book features Levi, a recent college grad who’s […]

A book about overcoming patriarchy that empowers… a man?

Body of Stars by Laura Maylene Walter

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I was intrigued by this book’s blurb, and went in knowing that it was a dystopian novel that dealt with rape culture and the patriarchy. Unfortunately, this book didn’t work out that well for me. The book is set in a dystopian culture where the freckles on women’s bodies foretell the future: their careers, their families, down to how many children they’ll have, and also glimpses of the rest of the family’s future. They’re born with children’s markings, which, while still true, tend to be […]



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