Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Why do I have to be nice when most of the men aren’t?” (double Bingo)

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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Nowhere Bingo 25: A book about sport CBR17 Bingo: Play (tennis) Official plot summary (finished the book in August): Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. But by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Grand Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her […]

Sometimes, scoundrels make the best partners

The Wedding Con by Janine Amesta

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Thank you to Janine Amesta and Tule Publishing for this ARC. My opinions are my own. This is the second book in the Love is in the Air series, but this book can be read as a standalone as well. If you prefer to start at the beginning, the first one is Love at First Flight (which I literally, just NOW, as I was writing this, realised is a pun on “love at first sight”. Now I feel stupid.) Naomi Moreno wants to help her stubborn and independent older […]

You can’t solve every problem by throwing money at it

Along Came Amor by Alexis Daria

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4.5 stars CBR17 Pie Chart Challenge: Diversity   Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for this ARC. My opinions are my own. Ava is nursing her hurt feelings over the dissolution of her marriage in a hotel bar, when a handsome man approaches and offers to make her a better drink than the one she currently has (she made a face when sipping it). The man clearly has bartending experience, and after a brief conversation, Ava discovers that the charming man in fact owns the […]

Columbian Mythology and Family Trauma

The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía by Alexandra Alessandri

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Valentina, her brother Julian, and her father are hiking the Columbian jungle to track down a vampire. Well, that’s what her father’s doing. Valentina is along for the ride, trying not to be embarrassed about her father and brother’s belief in Columbian folk creatures, and taking the opportunity to practice her drawing. But during the trip, Valentina has a visceral premonition: “The earth is not happy.” She urges her family to leave, but they are caught in a violent earthquake. The kids and their dad […]

Come for the Cat Named Purrcaso, Stay for the Story and Representation

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

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I expected to like this book. I did not expect to love it, but it was great. It was the second book I picked up for the trans rights readathon, and not only is there trans representation in the book, but both the author and the cover illustrator are trans. I love that Aiden Thomas was able to represent both their gender and their Latinx culture in this debut novel that follows trans teen Yadriel. While he is not fully rejected by his family, he […]

Not velvet, more like scratchy polyester

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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  Having really enjoyed Moreno-Garcia’s novel, Mexican Gothic, I ordered Velvet Was the Night excitedly, hopeful for another arresting story that was gripping from the start. Unfortunately, that was not what I got from this book. It took me much longer to get into it, and I may have set myself up for disappointment since I was holding it up to Mexican Gothic. It took me several days to finish this book, which isn’t the case with a book I am actively enjoying, I can […]



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