Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“After a certain age, you can pretty much do whatever takes your fancy. No one tells you off, except for your doctors and your children.”

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

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In one word: Charming Once again, the recommendations of the Cannonball Read community came in with a flawless pick that I absolutely adored. I believe it was at the last CBR Zoom meet-up that this book was mentioned. I know by now if more than two or more cannonballers chime in with YES YES THAT’S A GOOD ONE about a book that I should just go ahead and bump it up to the top of my list. (Three cheers for internet friends who though you […]

There is more food in this one than in the last one, if that’s even possible. Have your local Filipino restaurant on standby whilst reading.

Homicide and Halo-Halo (Tita Rosie's Kitchen, #2) by Mia P. Manansala

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I told myself I would continue with this series if the writing got better in this book, and it did! There were a couple rather tragic instances of dialogue (see below*), but for the most part both the dialogue and inner narration/characterization for Lila got much better. I feel like I have a better handle on who she is as a person, where in the first one she was sort of a blank slate. There is still a lot of room for improvement, but I […]

Even the Dog Can’t Save It

Bear Witness by Lark O Jensen

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Stacie is a tour guide, introducing people to Alaskan wildlife from a boat. When a man vanishes from the tour, she thinks he’s stowed away to cause trouble. But when his body is discovered out amid the ice floes, she realizes that there is something far worse at play. I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounds so cool and so eerie, the idea of a body bobbing out in the frigid Alaskan waters. Unfortunately the story goes downhill from there. My main […]

Don’t Let Them Eat Cake!

Arya Winters and the Tiramisu of Death by Amita Bryant

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Have been trying to get my hands on this one for a while, ever since reading Amita Murray’s piece on the need for sex in cozy mysteries (I completely agree!). While I enjoyed the book itself, I’m glad I didn’t pay for it. This is one that barely clears the 4-star threshold. I appreciate what Amita Murray is trying to do: give a refreshing, sexy take on cozy mysteries with a lead that’s younger and more misanthropic than your average blue haired Miss Marple. I […]

When A Cozy Mystery Needs a Trigger Warning

Of Murders and Mages: Casino Witch Mysteries 1 by Nikki Haverstock

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I got this book, from a link on twitter promising to stuff your kindle with free romance novels. You could sort by format of e-reader, and genre. Fun, right? So I read Of Murders and Magic, the first in a series set in magical casino set in a made up town by Nikki Haverstock, who apparently hosted a reality tv archery competition in 2013 on NBCSports Network. What else can I tell you about this author? Well, let me tell you, she’s incredibly fat phobic. […]

She’s Not Afraid to Catch Feelings

Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest

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I was really excited to get my hands on this. It had good reviews and its quirky nature seemed up my alley. And it…mostly met expectations. Let’s unpack… For all intents and purposes, this is a cozy mystery and I don’t usually do cozies. The relentlessly sunny outlook despite the presence of a dead body, the sexless flirting and banter, the stuffy settings and predictable plots. But even though this has some of that, it was written by a younger person who isn’t trying too […]



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