Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“High crimes were probably better suited to a betrothal than a mere courting gift: you couldn’t just start burning things down in hopes the other person found it romantic. You’d want to be sure.” (CBR Bingo)

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows (Feminine Pursuits #2) by Olivia Waite

by 1 Comment

Let’s get this part out of the way early – I was prepared to love this book and I only really like it. Here’s the thing: there’s too much story here and I feel like a heel for saying so. But, bear with me. One of the things I love most in really good romance writing is that the authors aren’t afraid to interact with larger themes. These books aren’t just sexytimes (we have erotica for that) they are not just character studies (although lord […]

cbr12bingo – Cannonballer Says

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

by 6 Comments

Y’all really got me with this one! Bothari43 first grabbed my attention with an excellent review/cat pic combo, then Bea Pants increased my interest with promises of broad swords and dirty magazines. I don’t usually read much Science Fiction/Fantasy, but after the surprise hits of new favorite Becky Chambers (whom I would not have found without the help of Cannonball), I decided to give it a go! I was wary at first of the breakdown of Houses; I am often scared off by complex mythologies, […]

cbr12bingo – Fresh Start

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

by 2 Comments

I have a confession to make: I judged this book by its cover. I remember the frenzy of press around this book, the series, and the *mysterious* author. I also remember seeing the cover and being completely uninterested. It is, in my opinion, a dreadful cover. It looks like it was cobbled together to act as a prop. It looks like a poorly thought out passion project. I still think the cover is awful, but I am glad that I changed my mind around shunning […]

Only Half of What Was Promised

How to Use Your Sewing Machine to Make, Mend, and Customize by Alison Smith MBE

by Leave a Comment

BINGO: Pandemic (I bought a sewing machine because of lockdown) Best for: People who already know how to use a sewing machine (despite the title) In a nutshell: Author Smith shares some great detailed information regarding making garments and other items, assuming you know how to use a sewing machine. Worth quoting: N.A Why I chose it: I’m trying to teach myself machine sewing and this book claimed to be a how-to for using a sewing machine. Review: If this book only claimed to help […]

I remember the Russians

Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith

by Leave a Comment

Cbr12bingo Nostalgia This book, set in late the 1970s Soviet Union and published in 1981, marks the time of my teenaged years, a time when my personal interest in the Russians began to grow (leading to a long stint in graduate school and a PhD in Russian/Soviet history). Gorky Park was made into a movie (which I never saw) and Martin Cruz Smith went on to write a number of Arkady Renko detective/thriller novels. I think I might have read one of them (Red Square) […]

Where there are women, there are witches

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

by Leave a Comment

CBR12 BINGO: Repeat This is a repeat of the Book Club category, as my social distancing book club meets again in September. For this meeting of my book club, we decided to go a little heavier and read this historical fiction about the Salem witch trials. Author Kathleen Kent has a vested interest in the topic, as she is a tenth-generation descendant of Martha Carrier, one of the first women accused and tried as a witch in Salem in 1692. The Heretic’s Daughter looks a […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo