Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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“She wanted to read stories that had been written with care, by a writer who’d wrestled with words, who might have sworn at the computer and procrastinated by cleaning the entire apartment and furiously dictated notes in the middle of the night”

Magically Generated by Jackie Lau

October 7, 2025 by faintingviolet Leave a Comment

Invariably, something that is bothering an author is going to make its way into the book they’re writing. That something for Jackie Lau in Magically Generated is GenAI. While I am largely on the side that Lau takes via her main character’s rants, I thought the note was hit too often and it wasn’t necessary because Lau already had enough character depth with Nora to have the reader empathize with her “done with the nonsense and not trusting anyone new or anything on the internet” vibe she is giving off strongly as this Christmas novella gets started (and throughout, really).    I love […]

Filed Under: Romance Tagged With: cbr17bingo, Christmas novella, Jackie Lau, Magically Generated, novella, romance novella

faintingviolet's CBR17 Review No:44 · Genres: Romance · Tags: cbr17bingo, Christmas novella, Jackie Lau, Magically Generated, novella, romance novella ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

I Bought into Amazon’s Author Exploitation Again

Under the Mistletoe: Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood

Under the Mistletoe: Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey

Under the Mistletoe: All by My Elf by Olivia Dade

Under the Mistletoe: Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur

Under the Mistletoe: Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria

January 16, 2025 by Mrs. Julien Leave a Comment

I mean, I assume it’s exploitive. It is Amazon. Having had some success with the Improbable Meet Cute collection for Valentines  Day, and, as someone who absolutely loves a Christmas novella, I paid for one (the Ali Hazelwood) and borrowed the other four of these Under the Mistletoe “get to know a romance author with a  free read” stories. I imagine Amazon is doing the same thing as telling someone to work for free for the exposure. I hope they were compensated in some way. […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Alexandria Bellefleur, Alexis Daria, Ali Hazelwood, Christmas novella, Christmas romance, Contemporary Romance, M/F romance, novella, Olivia Dade, romance novella, Tessa Bailey

Mrs. Julien's CBR17 Review No:5 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Alexandria Bellefleur, Alexis Daria, Ali Hazelwood, Christmas novella, Christmas romance, Contemporary Romance, M/F romance, novella, Olivia Dade, romance novella, Tessa Bailey ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

The holidays are fucking hard

This Winter by Alice Oseman

December 29, 2022 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

“When people know you’re mentally ill, most people either want to ignore it completely or they treat you like your strange, scary, or fascinating. Very few people are actually good at the middle ground. The middle ground isn’t hard. It’s just being there. Being helpful, if help is needed. Being understanding, even if they don’t understand everything.” ― Alice Oseman, This Winter “I think sometimes,’ says Nick, ‘you’re so scared of being a burden that it makes you terrified to ask for help. But you […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: alice oseman, Christmas novella, Dysfunctional Families, eating disorders, gay romance, LGBTQ, Mental Health, mental health issues, siblings, Young Adult Romance

carmelpie's CBR14 Review No:52 · Genres: Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: alice oseman, Christmas novella, Dysfunctional Families, eating disorders, gay romance, LGBTQ, Mental Health, mental health issues, siblings, Young Adult Romance ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“Reagan already felt hard enough. She didn’t need any accessories. She didn’t need to telegraph it out to the world.”

If the Fates Allow by Rainbow Rowell

November 18, 2021 by faintingviolet 2 Comments

A few weeks ago, I saw an announcement on Rainbow Rowell’s Instagram that she was releasing a holiday short story this year and I rejoiced. I like Rowell’s short form work as much as I like her novel length ones. I’ve read Kindred Spirits, her 2016 take on fandom and waiting in line for Star Wars. Rowell also has holiday themed ones: Almost Midnight, 2017’s collection that includes both Kindred Spirits and Midnights. Midnights tracks a pair across several years’ worth of New Year’s Eves […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Christmas novella, Christmas romance, If the Fates Allow, jell-o, novella, Rainbow Rowell, read harder, short story

faintingviolet's CBR13 Review No:57 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Christmas novella, Christmas romance, If the Fates Allow, jell-o, novella, Rainbow Rowell, read harder, short story ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

Do I Lean In to the Farce or Is It Farcical?

March 19, 2018 by Mrs. Julien 1 Comment

Tara Sivec caught my eye on a romance newsletter with a book called Zed Had to Die. I started with a sample and got sucked into buying the entirety of The Stocking Was Hung because I am a sucker for fabulously cheesy titles* and I had no idea what the writing would sink to. Sivec’s bailiwick looks to be romps and I’ll just say that I’m glad I got the rest of the books in the series on loan from Amazon Unlimited (or whatever it’s called). There were sufficient […]

Filed Under: Romance Tagged With: Christmas novella, Contemporary Romance

Mrs. Julien's CBR10 Review No:8 · Genres: Romance · Tags: Christmas novella, Contemporary Romance ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

Did Lisa Kleypas Need the Money? Did Her Publisher?

December 17, 2016 by Mrs. Julien 8 Comments

An addendum to Lisa Kleypas’s Capitol Theatre series, I Will is a very bad Christmas novella that Ellepkay suggested had been lying in a drawer at the author’s house for years. Dated in many elements, I had at first suspected it was ghost written, but a long abandoned manuscript makes more sense. Shortly after I began reading, I found myself wondering how I would feel about the book and quality of the writing if it didn’t have the Queen of Romance’s name on it. Admittedly, […]

Filed Under: Romance Tagged With: Capitol Theatre series, CBR8, Christmas novella, historical romance, lisa kleypas, Mrs. Julien, Prolixity Julien, romance novella

Mrs. Julien's CBR8 Review No:64 · Genres: Romance · Tags: Capitol Theatre series, CBR8, Christmas novella, historical romance, lisa kleypas, Mrs. Julien, Prolixity Julien, romance novella ·
Rating:
· 8 Comments


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