Pooja – Page 49 – Cannonball Read 17

“You ever see somebody ruin their own life?/ His poor wife.”

The Scandalous Hamiltons: A Gilded Age Grifter, a Founding Father's Disgraced Descendant, and a Trial at the Dawn of Tabloid Journalism by Bill Shaffer

August 3, 2022 by Pooja Leave a Comment

CBR 14 Bingo: Scandal The yellow papers screamed scandalous headlines in this case of stabbings, baby trafficking, and mysterious deaths. When Ray Hamilton’s wife is arrested for stabbing the family’s wet nurse, a great deal of scandalous truth comes out – namely, that the child is not his, nor hers. I have not seen that seminal musical Hamilton, but I had read the doorstopper of a book it was based on. While I knew all about the successes and scandals of Alexander Hamilton’s life, I had […]

‘… the unleashed feminine, that awesome maelstrom of incredible sexual and physical power – multiple orgasm, gestation, birth, breastfeeding – so often feared, is dangerous and often leads to a terrible afterlife.’

A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America's Ghosts by Leanna Renee Hieber, Andrea Janes

August 3, 2022 by Pooja Leave a Comment

CBR 14 Bingo: Gaslight Ghosts glide by through the present time now, but their own time is the past, replete with grimy streets and gas(-)lighting. Authors and ghost tour guides Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes tell the stories of America’s female ghosts, discussing how they fall in the landscape of gender and time. I enjoy a good ghost story, which was why I requested this book on NetGalley. However, what I learned was far beyond the scope of merely spooky tales, and I really […]

“Just the same, Caroline, I think you should accept the fact you don’t really know the truth. I wonder if anyone does, or ever will.”

Silversword by Phyllis A. Whitney

July 31, 2022 by Pooja Leave a Comment

CBR 14 Bingo: Shadow In this book, the past casts long shadows, entangling the main character even in the present. Caroline Kirby, fresh off a divorce, returns to her childhood home in Hawaii, to the mother she had thought long dead and the mystery of her father’s death in a sacred volcano crater. I do like a certain flavor of vintage suspense books, with their gentle pace and their deep dark secrets. Here, the author set us up with a long ago mystery to solve, […]

‘I’ve got something more important to offer. Something I’m sure Mom cares about more than anything. “Mommy. I am . . . so skinny right now. I’m finally down to eighty-nine pounds.”’

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

July 16, 2022 by Pooja 4 Comments

CBR 14 Bingo: Monster The author’s mother is rather a monstrous one, which is only compounded by the codependent relationship between the two of them. Jennette McCurdy was a household name as a child actress, but it was because her mother wanted it, not here. In the aftermath of her mother’s death, she faces a slide into eating disorders before she understands the complex relationship between her and her mother that led her there. I think everyone has an occasionally fractious relationship with their mother, […]

‘From the first moment he’d seen her picture in the file they’d been given, he’d been curious about this woman.’

Securing Piper by Susan Stoker

July 12, 2022 by Pooja Leave a Comment

After the orphanage that Piper was visiting is attacked by rebel forces, she barely escapes with her life – and three orphans. Determined to adopt the girls, she marries one of her rescuers, Ace. But it’s not all smooth sailing from there… I remember sitting up and taking notice when I first read the synopsis of this book, because it sounded exactly up my alley. A marriage-of-convenience! Adopted children! Peril in foreign climes! And as usual Stoker delivered in spades. The author unabashedly pulls on […]

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Birds Galore

The Partridge by Kit Morgan

The Dove by Shanna Hatfield

The Hens by Merry Farmer

The Calling Birds by Jacqui Nelson

June 21, 2022 by Pooja Leave a Comment

Sometimes you’re just in the mood for plain and simple mail order bride romances. Lots of them. The Partridge (Kit Morgan) – 3 stars Reverend Chase Hammond, determined to save the town of Noelle, sends away for mail order brides to prove that the town can be a true civilized community. Of course, when the women actually arrive, things don’t run smoothly according to plan. This is the first book in the series, so a lot of the story involves legwork setting up the scenario […]

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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