Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

This was fun

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai

by 2 Comments

I enjoyed Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai, and then I got sucked in to Rai’s next book when the publisher put the beginning of First Comes Like (2021) at the end of Girl Gone Viral. It was an intriguing beginning and I immediately got sucked in. Jia Ahmed is a beauty expert and influencer. She took the jump and moved to Los Angeles in order to further her career, and that has been her primary focus for quite some time. But then she received a direct message from Dev Dixit. […]

Everyone likes a sexy bodyguard

Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai

by Leave a Comment

I found Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai from NPR’s Best Books of 2020 List. This was my first experience with Rai’s work, but Girl Gone Viral is actually the second book in her “Modern Love” series. This was an interesting and well-written, modern romance novel. I enjoyed it enough to read another of Rai’s books almost immediately after finishing this one. I also appreciate that NPR is recommending romance novels with a little diversity in their characters and authors. Katrina is sitting in a busy coffee shop lusting […]

A fun novella, but a bit lacking in the romance development

Hot as Hades by Alisha Rai

by Leave a Comment

CBR13Bingo: Mythic (Hades & Persephone) Well, this book certainly lives up to its title – it is hot as heck. And I’m quite fond of Hades/Persephone retellings since they’re basically the OG grumpy/sunshine, so this was fun and quick read, if not everything I wanted. From the moment Persephone is dumped (naked) into Hades’ lap, it’s a steamy ride. Neither knows how she ended up there, and both are annoyed about it, but once it becomes clear that Persephone’s stuck in Hades’ realm for a while, […]

I’m always down for a twist on the Hades/Persephone story…

Hot As Hades by Alisha Rai

by Leave a Comment

“Where the hell am I?” What an actress. Since he was half-enjoying the novelty of this playacting, he replied. “Yes.” “What?” “You’re in Hell. The Underworld, love. To be more specific, you’re currently in the throne room of the palace of the almighty and great ruler of said Underworld.” She swallowed, and didn’t that just conjure up all sorts of dirty thoughts? “Which would make you…?” He bowed his head in greeting. “Hades. I know you’re wildly pleased to make my acquaintance.” __________________________________________________ Persephone was […]

Wanted to like this more than I did

The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

by Leave a Comment

3.5 stars Having been burned pretty comprehensively in the past, both in her personal life and in business, Rhiannon Hunter has now worked hard to make her dating app one of the main competitors on the market. Now she’d like to buy the large, successful, but nevertheless a lot less modern company of one of her competitors, and she goes to a big tech conference with that in mind. Unbeknownst to Rhi, the owner and co-founder of this company is very eccentric and also suffers […]

A steamy romance set amidst a family feud.

Hate to Want You (Forbidden Hearts, #1) by Alisha Rai

by 2 Comments

I bought this a couple years back when I found out Alisha Rai was coming to the Tucson Festival of Books and was going to be on several panels I was attending as a volunteer. Since a lot of people I knew had been reading this series and loving it, I figured I’d give it a shot. She actually canceled her appearances at the festival, I never found out why, and I didn’t end up reading the book. Fast forward to 2020, and I’m trying […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo