advance reader copy – Page 52 – Cannonball Read 17

All I Want is My Own Cinnamon Roll Monster Boyfriend

Bitterburn by Ann Aguirre

October 22, 2020 by Emmalita 5 Comments

Ann Aguirre is starting a new series of gothic fairytale retellings. In Bitterburn, she is retelling Beauty and the Beast, but has added in some elements of Bluebeard. I received an arc from the author in exchange for an honest review. If you don’t know, a cinnamon roll is a love interest who is warm, sweet, supportive and gooey on the inside. They might also be a lot of other things, but their support for their love is unqualified. Njal is the Beast of Bitterburn, a […]

When they were kids, it had felt like she was always the one saving him.

His Grumpy Childhood Neighbor by Jackie Lau

October 8, 2020 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

While the first book in Jackie Lau’s Cider Bar Sisters series, Her Big City Neighbor grew on me as I read it, I fell immediately into the second book, His Grumpy Childhood Friend. Charlotte is at a baseball game with her boyfriend of 3 years when her actual nightmare happens, he proposes on the jumbotron. She runs away and goes on a five year dating moratorium. As one does. When we rejoin Charlotte in the present (an alternate universe present with no COVID-19), she would like […]

“I am not political,” Jebi said

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

October 8, 2020 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

Poor Jebi. They tried so hard to get along as an artist, one of a conquered people in a recently conquered land, without being political. They very quickly find themselves in over their head in situations where they have no choice but to be political. Phoenix Extravagant is a stand alone silkpunk novel set in fantasy version of Korea under Japanese rule. Magic is real and automata – machines powered by magic patrol the streets for the Razanei. Jebi isn’t a chosen one, or the […]

Tex, if there’s anything I love more than playing Russian roulette with your standard case of rabies it’s storytelling

If the Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon

October 8, 2020 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

I am certainly not a Rebekah Weatherspoon expert, but If the Boot Fits feels like the most comfortable book she has written. I don’t know if it’s the one I’m the most comfortable with, or if she’s comfortably in her authorial stride. Either way, everything about this worked for me. Her Cowboys of Charming series has a lot less steam than her self published books, but she doesn’t skimp on the heat between Amanda and Sam. Best of all, she hasn’t toned down her amazing […]

She was twenty-nine and had been fully with Team No Boyfriend since birth

Sweet on You: A Filipino Christmas Romance by Carla de Guzman

October 3, 2020 by Emmalita 1 Comment

Sari Thomas does not like change and in the 10 days leading up to Christmas, a lot of big changes come at her. First of all, her sister announces she’s moving out. Secondly, a bakery is opening up next to her café and the baker is a good looking man who plays his music too loud and produces amazing goods. He irritates Sari immediately. Gabriel Campos is trying to prove to his father that he can be a professional and financial success as a baker. […]

Emotions +Sight + Sound + Mouthfeel + Aroma + Taste = Flavor

The Flavor Equation: The Science of Great Cooking Explained by Nik Sharma

September 29, 2020 by Emmalita Leave a Comment

I didn’t recognize Nik Sharma’s name when I requested to review The Flavor Equation: The Science of Great Cooking Explained, but a few minutes of research reminded me that I have enjoyed his cooking blog in the past – A Brown Table. His recipes are thoughtful and creative and his food photography is spectacular. I recommend him as a follow on Instagram and Twitter as well. I received this as an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Flavor Equation sits in […]

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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