advance reader copy – Page 49 – Cannonball Read 17

You Can Go Home Again

Anchored Hearts by Priscilla Oliveras

March 18, 2021 by Emmalita 4 Comments

I enjoyed Priscilla Oliveras’ Island Affair last year and was happy to be approved for an advance reader copy of the second book in the series. Anchored Hearts is a slow burn second chance romance. Anamaria, the only Navarro daughter, is our main character. She is a fire-fighter/EMT like her father and brothers, but also has a fitness and nutrition side hustle that’s starting to become a full time job. Her first love and first heartbreak, Alejandro is reluctantly back in Key West recovering from a […]

Leaning More Towards Loathe than Love

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters

March 12, 2021 by Emmalita 2 Comments

Oof. I thought this was going to be just another romance that I didn’t love but I didn’t hate and was maybe a victim of my pandemic brain. At the 78% mark, Waters turned it around to an “I cannot recommend this book at all.” Right up top I’m going to address my main issue. Waters has a side character who is revealed to be a lesbian and then the main character immediately tells her friends after swearing them to silence. And then she does […]

I suppose expecting an answer about your kidnapper’s prior experience is just silly

Neon Gods by Katee Robert

March 10, 2021 by Emmalita 5 Comments

Katee Robert writes absolutely delightful candy. Her books are scorching hot and her sexual politics are good. She respectfully writes messy, complicated characters with scars (emotional and physical), but keeps it light enough not to be retraumatizing. I don’t become immersed in her worlds, but I do go back to them for escape and comfort. I was introduced to her Wicked Villains stories, which recasts the villains of Disney movies as the actual good guys. They live in a divided city with Hades sex club […]

What if I’m one of those people whose insecurities are right?

Knit, Purl, a Baby and a Girl by Hettie Bell

March 4, 2021 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

There was a lot I loved about Hettie Bell’s Knit, Purl, a Baby and a Girl. It deals so graciously with surprise pregnancy, abortion and choice in reproductive rights, friendship, growing up and new relationships. Bell also does something that is one of my big pet peeves, which I will discuss behind a spoiler tag. This is a “your mileage may vary” book from an author I want to see more of. Poppy and Rhiannon meet when Poppy goes to Planned Parenthood to confirm her surprise […]

Soft and angsty romance

Best Laid Plans by Roan Parrish

February 13, 2021 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

There are three thing I know about a Roan Parrish book before I open it. It will be queerly m/m. It will be rich in emotion. The two main characters will be messes who make each other better people. My only consistent critique of her work is that I wish her characters went to therapy more often. In real life, I would insist on it, but in fiction I can sink into their emotional lives and become mushy with them. Rye Jannsen is at the […]

Canned Refried Beans DO Need Seasoning

Bare Minimum Dinners: Recipes and Strategies for Doing Less in the Kitchen by Jena Helwig

February 2, 2021 by Emmalita 11 Comments

I got so excited when I saw this title on NetGalley. A cookbook that advocates for less effort in the kitchen? I am in favor of it! I was still really excited when I looked through the cookbook – great organization and lots of different kinds of recipes. The more I looked at it and the more recipes I tried (I tried a lot of recipes), I came to the conclusion that this cookbook is not for me, but it might be fine for someone […]

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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