Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Nart

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Nart is an avid romance reader who dabbles in other stuff when she has the spoons. When she’s not reading she’s a bureaucrat both professionally and as an activist because she’s a masochist. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Nart's Quick Questions interview.)

Nart's Reviews:

“Surely sasquaches have refractory periods too.”

At First Spite by Olivia Dade

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Plot: Athena’s short-lived engagement has just ended, because her fiancé was convinced by his brother that they were a bad match. Rude. Also, maybe a little bit accurate, since he’s a doctor and she is sort of a hot mess that was relying on this marriage to buy her time to figure out her career and finances after her teaching job burned her out. Well, she might be out of money and resources, but she was not out of spite. She’d put a downpayment on […]

“Don Quixote in a corset”

Appetites & Vices by Felicia Grossman

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Regency novel set literally anywhere other than the UK and with a Jewish heroine? Say no more. Plot: Ursula is an heiress to one of the largest banking empires in America, but she’s also Jewish and possibly a tiny bit on the spectrum so her social life is best characterized as non-existent. Fortunately, she has her giant brain, her dad, who ferociously supports her giant brain, and her quiet goy friend Hugo, who also enjoys running away from social situations to talk about books. Well, […]

“And Christmas movies couldn’t be that hard to make, right? They were almost like porn.”

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

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Can a porn producer make a wholesome Christmas movie? In Romancelandia, all things are possible. Plot: Uncle Ray Ray is one of the more prominent porn producers in the US, and he desperately needs to branch out to pay for his kids’ college and whatnot. And what else has a similar production process to porn from the fast faced writing, shooting and production? Hallmark Hope Channel movies! He even scored a semi-famous former boy band singer with name recognition! Obviously, no one can know, so […]

“She called herself ‘old,’ but he suspected she actually meant ‘tired’.”

A Christmas Affair to Remember by Mia Vincy

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A perfect balance of holiday coziness and actual tension. Plot: Sylvia is a widow. On the one hand, her husband turned out to be a major dud, so no great loss, on the other hand, he also left her with zero means of supporting herself and poisoned his family against her so they wouldn’t support her either. Facing a paid vacation to a workhouse, Sylvia has accepted a proposal by a hypochondriac with lots of money and a big house. Sure, he sucks, but she’ll […]

“Abnasio’s smile was so kindly you could shave with it.”

Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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I don’t know if Tchaikovsky’s interest in spiders preceded his writing or followed it, but the man writes a lot of books that try to force people to have compassion for spiders. But dude makes it work. Plot: A spider’s home in a forest is attacked by a team of adventurers on a holy quest to defeat a powerful, evil wizard. A deal was offered – the adventurers get what they need in exchange for not killing all the spiders. And what did they need? […]

“Today a triumph. Tomorrow a lobster. Such was the rhythm of life.”

After Dark with the Duke by Julie Anne Long

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The fourth in a series. It’s a great standalone, but don’t deprive yourself of the others, and it is better in order. Plot: Two weeks ago, Mariana was a celebrated opera singer, sought after for her spectacular voice and body. Two juvenile delinquent aristocrats and a little scuffle later, Mariana is penniless and on the run from a literal mob. Following her gut, she ends up at the Grand Palace on the Thames, where she’s allowed to stay in exchange for a performance. Well, that’s […]



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