llamareadsbooks – Page 35 – Cannonball Read 17

Friends-to-lovers and found family goodness!

Acting Up by Adele Buck

March 17, 2021 by llamareadsbooks 5 Comments

I’ll say right off the bat that I honestly don’t know anything about what goes on behind the scenes of a theatrical production. But I’ve been a big fan of Lucy Parker’s work, and when I saw that this was a friends-to-lovers workplace romance, I couldn’t request it fast enough. Paul and Cath, theater director and stage manager respectively have known each other for ten years – 14 if you count college – and have worked together for most of the time. They’re best friends […]

Forbidden love, found family, and fulfilled dreams

The Champion’s Desire by Marie Lipscomb

March 12, 2021 by llamareadsbooks 1 Comment

Where we last left Natalie and Brandon, she’d agreed to travel with him as a squire in order to pay him back for saving Blackmere from Henry and the bandits. Of course, the fact that they’re desperately in love with each other is also a factor in that decision! This is the second book in a series, and while I think the previous book is recapped well, I’d recommend reading them in order. Natalie’s dreamed of meeting the champions for her entire life, and she’s […]

Arranged-marriage YA that didn’t live up to the trope

Cast in Firelight by Dana Swift

March 8, 2021 by llamareadsbooks Leave a Comment

An arranged marriage where the couple hates each others’ guts and then gets to know each other under secret identites? Yes! I picked this up based on that premise and the read-alike comparisons in the blurb, thinking this would be an ownvoices Indian-inspired fantasy a la Tasha Suri and… it’s not. “You sure you aren’t trying to kill me?” “Never.” She smirks. “In front of all these witnesses.” “Reassuring.” Adraa and Jatin, heirs to neighboring kingdoms, have been betrothed since they were kids. Neither remembers […]

A con artist, a curse and a costumed vigilante

The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick

March 4, 2021 by llamareadsbooks Leave a Comment

Wow, this book is a ride. It’s a twisty political fantasy with an emphasis on found family and origins, and while it takes a bit to get there, the journey is very enjoyable. “My grandfather—yours too, I suppose—he used to say, revenge will make you whole. The way Grey’s been behaving… I’m afraid it will break him.” It didn’t break me, she wanted to say. But that wasn’t entirely true. Coming back to Lacewater made that all too clear.” House Traementis – Donaia and her […]

Twisty mystery and snarky humor

Cry Wolf by Charlie Adhara

March 2, 2021 by llamareadsbooks 2 Comments

“Dreams change. People change. Please just don’t stop giving me the chance to change with you.” I absolutely adore this series! Five books in, Oliver and Park feel like old friends, and I know to expect a good twisty mystery, lots of snarky humor, and a steamy and sweet relationship between them. This series can’t be read out of order, and this review will contain spoilers for previous books. “Ignorance and influence are rarely as unrelated as they should be. You have a lot more […]

Poetry-writing AIs and Misfit Humans

The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne

February 26, 2021 by llamareadsbooks Leave a Comment

I have a thing for snarky AIs, and once I saw this was narrated by Nathan Fillion, of course I requested this audiobook. “I’m surrounded by idiots.” Amber Rose – called OC by his crew – is a snarky AI who used to be human. He’s a Buddhist who writes poems in his spare time (absolutely awful poems, by the way) and he’s slowly working his way up the rank of AIs. His latest mission is to oversee the salvage of a UN colony ship […]

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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