Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“I like all your worst qualities.”

The Duke Who Didn't by Courtney Milan

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It has been a few years since I read a novel length Courtney Milan work. I’ve read a few of her novellas (Her Every Wish, Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure, The Governess Affair) but when Milan surprise published this book I added to my digital bookshelf with a quickness. The Duke Who Didn’t tells the story of Chloe Fong. She has plans for her life which she is going to manifest through the use of lists and no time for nonsense. Three years ago, she asked […]

“Nobody saw a half-Chinese boy of thirteen and thought, ‘By George, that child must be a duke.'”

The Duke Who Didn't (Wedgeford Trials, #1) by Courtney Milan

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If you are in the mood for a low stakes, low conflict book, the equivalent of a warm hug followed by maybe a tickle or an affectionate pinch on the bum, then this is the book for you. Also, if you are hungry! Don’t read this. Or, do. And then cook the recipes Ms. Milan has so thoughtfully provided on her website. You know what, I take back the thing about the pinch, because that doesn’t seem enjoyable. Maybe a pat instead? Anyway I was […]

Don’t start this book on a weekday!

The Duke Who Didn't by Courtney Milan

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For the love of everything you hold dear, do not start this book on a weekday. This book is a warm bath. This book is a weighted, sherpa-lined blanket on a cold winter morning. This book is a long hug from a friend you haven’t seen since COVID hit. And it will lull you in with its light, silly, premise set in an idyllic countryside village and before you know it it’s 2:16am and you’re crying about chosen family and the meaning of belonging. Don’t […]

The Book That Didn’t (The Duke Who Didn’t, Courtney Milan)

The Duke Who Didn't by Courtney Milan

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I just don’t think that I get Ms. Milan. I previously tried The Duchess War and filed it as abandoned–I recall being on the subway platform and starting it, and just feeling sort of removed from the characters and not particularly invested. I felt similarly for most of this novel, sort of uninvested in the tensions and drama faced by both Chloe and Jeremy. I appreciated that in the author’s note a lot of the history of Wedgeford was described and pinned back to actual […]

“He couldn’t bring himself to look directly at her. Her gown was the color of daylight just before sunset; if he looked at her too long, he feared he might be left blind once she was gone.”

The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

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For my Bingo Gateway Square, I decided on a personal Gateway and one that I would recommend to others. The Governess Affair was my on ramp into the writing of Courtney Milan (and her near perfect Brothers Sinister series) and it’s been a love affair for the past six years. As for others, this lovely little novella is good for a general introduction to romance and romance novellas specifically. I struggle often with reading novellas or short stories – too often for my liking the […]

A ray of golden light in these dark and depressing times

The Duke Who Didn't by Courtney Milan

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This was an ARC sent to me by the author. I had already pre-ordered the book, and the free copy has not influenced my review in any way. Official book description: Miss Chloe Fong has plans for her life, lists for her days, and absolutely no time for nonsense. Three years ago, she told her childhood sweetheart that he could talk to her once he planned to be serious. He disappeared that very night.   Except now he’s back. Jeremy Wentworth, the Duke of Lansing, […]



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