Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Balls, and it’s a war story

Henry V by William Shakespeare

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Bingo 14: Détente I’ve re-read Henry V the Shakespeare history play because I’m teaching it and haven’t actually re-read it for a good long while. This play both ends and begins with questionable peace between England and France, so it’s suitable for this square. I don’t actually remember my first read, just being really impressed by Kenneth Branagh’s film version, or perhaps more specifically Patrick Doyle’s score. The choral bit after the battle of Agincourt is pretty impressive. One big thing I noticed upon re-reading […]

RIP Celestin you would have loved r/Brochet

Bitter Promise by Ila Dell Youngblood

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Though Micaela falls in love with pirate’s son Dominique, she agrees to marry Celestin, the man she’s been betrothed to since she was a child. I went into this book expecting a historical romance – I was not aware that the Baroness Pontalba was a real person with a lengthy Wikipedia entry, and so that the story does not necessarily have a happy ending. In that light the way this book is written, with plenty of emphasis on the more mundane up ands downs of […]

Blood Will Out

The Talk of the Town by Lynne Connolly

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After her two tumultuous years wed to the Duke of Whiston come to a fiery end, all Bianca wants is to lead a peaceful life and regain her reputation. But when she meets Alexander Fraser at a house party, she finds herself falling into both love and scandal once again. This is the last book in the Brazen Burrells series, which follows the three penniless but beautiful Burrell sisters as they try to find their fortune in London. I enjoyed the first book, was somewhat […]

Romance Old and New

The Devil Drives by Jane Arbor

Sweep Me Up, Baron by Kate Archer

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The Devil Drives – 3.5 stars As a new bride wed to the man of her dreams, Una should be bursting with happiness. But it turns out that her husband had ulterior motives in wedding her – chiefly, to revenge himself on her for the death of his young cousin. Leave aside the rather convoluted premise, as Zante’s reasons for blaming Una and plan for revenge against her alike are pretty silly, in the manner of olden time Harlequins. But the writing is lovely, bringing […]

“It’s really most remarkable how the human race is so seldom satisfied with what it’s got. Give a man the world and he’s still pining for the moon.”

Penmarric by Susan Howatch

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CBR15 Bingo – Relation”ships”: The many overlapping relationships between the Castallacks and Roslyns, both familial and romantic, drive much of the action of the book forward. When Mark Castallack takes gloomy Penmarric as his home and Janna Roslyn as his wife, he sets a massive family drama into motion. This is one of those sprawling family sagas in which there are a lot of beautiful, dramatic, maladjusted people. The fun of Penmarric though is that it’s also a transposition of the story of Henry II, Eleanor […]

Where the Animals Have Better Manners

Riders by Jilly Cooper

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CBR15 Bingo – Sex: What would a bonkbuster be without sex? And here it drives much of the action and drama of the book as well. Jake Lovell and Rupert Campbell-Black were born to very different circumstances which have made them very different men, but they both have the same goal – to rise to the top of the spectacular, high-octane world of… show jumping. As I was embarking on an international trip with limited internet access, I thought it would be prudent to stock up […]



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