Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

‘… 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

by 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 […]

The Three S-s: spooky, sad, and a little bit sexy

The Wild Hunt by Emma Seckel

by 7 Comments

Honestly, what else could you need? If you are our Heroine Leigh Wells, you need quite a bit. You’ve been called back to your ancestral island home, far flung from the wild shores of Scotland. World War Two did not hit your home directly, but it stole many young men and sent very few back home. The few that returned are not who they once were. The island is not what it once was. The Sluagh (sloo-ah) still return every October, but every year they […]

‘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

by 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, […]

“When I am with you, I feel about as far from anything that has ever hurt me as it is possible to be.”

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

by 2 Comments

After reading other Alexis Hall books earlier this year, the excellent Boyfriend Material and the quite good Something Fabulous, I became very excited for the promise of A Lady for a Duke. And that excitement was well placed, as I very much enjoyed this outing. While it didn’t quite reach the heights of Boyfriend Material for me, I felt Hall did a much better job with the tone of historical romance than he had in romp in Something Fabulous, even if the pacing bothered me […]

If you’re looking for a Canadian author to read in connection with Canada day, Jackie Lau is an excellent choice

Her Favorite Rebound by Jackie Lau

by Leave a Comment

This was an ARC given to me by the author. My views are my own. Sierra Wu shares the name of a popular fictional monster slayer (think Buffy Summers), but she’s not exactly slaying in her personal life. A complete disappointment to her family since she decided that engineering just wasn’t for her, she now runs a moderately successful greeting card store in Toronto. She’s also divorced. However, now she finally has something that her mother finds impressive, a billionaire boyfriend. She’s dating the Colton […]

Books, Friends, and… Murder?

The Tuesday Night Survivors' Club by Lynn Cahoon

by Leave a Comment

After surviving cancer, Rarity Cole moves to Sedona, Arizona, opening a bookstore and starting a book club for fellow cancer survivors. When a new member, Martha, disappears, Rarity, her best friend Sam, and the other book club members start investigating the case. I’m not one much for cozy mysteries, as in a way I can find them oppressive when they part too much from reality. But I was drawn to The Tuesday Night Survivors’ Club because of the unusual focus – a group of cancer survivors – […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo