Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Mrs. Julien

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My stays are quite binding. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Mrs. Julien's Quick Questions interview.)

Mrs. Julien's Reviews:

Good, But Not Great? I’ll Take It

A Crown of Bitter Orange by Laura Florand

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I miss Laura Florand! She’s been taking a well-earned break from a prodigious output of swoon-inducing and charming contemporary romances set in the worlds of pastry, chocolate, and perfumery. Her great gift as a romance writer is in creating the heady intensity of small romantic moments, as well as portraying elements of sexual tension and anticipation. Creating characters, she excels at people who balance each other out, often providing a security or grounding that one of them has lacked.  I’m hoping Florand will return with her […]

Another Concussion Plot? Are You Kidding Me?

Hard Knocks by Ruby Lang

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I feel so on trend! It’s another love story with a concussion plot point as I continue to recover from one. Acute Reactions was a well-written romance with some comeheregoaway issues in the plotting. It’s looking like a consistent issue with Ruby Lang, but it’s a minor quibble, I really enjoy her dry, funny style, and will be looking for her books. Hard Knocks has less of the vacillation issues and, from what I’ve read of the third book, Clean Breaks, it’s stronger still. Transplanted Canadian […]

A Majestic Nose and the Sensitivity of a Sledgehammer

The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker

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YAY! Lucy Parker is back with another wry, gratifying, and witty romance featuring a difficult man and a delightful woman. Freddy Carlton is theatre royalty, descended from generations of performers and the granddaughter of the playwright of a seminal masterpiece called The Velvet Room. Poised to move into the highest ranks of Serious Acting, she’d rather do work that brings joy to herself and others. We met her as a late teen in Pretty Face and she is now a full adult, though only 23. With her father strong-arming her […]

Now That’s More Like It!

Devil's Daughter by Lisa Kleyas

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The Ravenels series by Lisa Kleypas series has turned into “Sebastian and Evie’s Kids Get Hitched” and I am not complaining. Devil’s Daughter has the trademark Kleypas elements of wit, charm, a compelling hero, and delightful smolder. I’m just going to  assume you are familiar with all of the books and characters that feed into this one. Readers first met Phoebe, Lady Clare, as a squalling infant in one of my favourite Sebastian, Lord Saint Vincent moments from any of his appearances: “There, darling,” St. Vincent had been known […]

A Cute Reaction Is Right

Acute Reactions by Ruby Lang

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Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve read a contemporary romance that featured neither so-called new adults, nor athletes? There is so much to like in Ruby Lang’s Acute Reactions that I could get past what I thought needed work; however, I would like some reassurance that the same structural problems  aren’t found in all of her books. Instead of starting out with an established medical group, allergist Petra Lale has opened her own practice right after completing her training. Ian Zamora co-owns […]

Concussed Heroine for the Loss

Brooklynaire by Sarina Bowen

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Brooklynaire was my first DNF of 2019. The story angered me enough that I  both jumped ahead and checked with a friend to see if its glaring blind spot was addressed. It wasn’t and I gave up. Long Version: Sarina Bowen is a strong romance writer whose work can be uneven and, more importantly, problematic, but I keep reading her books. The Ivy Years series is truly excellent and includes a classic novella, Blonde Date; however, the last novel (The Fifteenth Minute) is, at best, tone-deaf. Co-written with […]



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