Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Society is a consequential fool, and I am tired of rules and strictures that do no good and bring nobody happiness.”

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J. Charles

by Leave a Comment

Seriously, K.J. Charles is always a good time, but this one didn’t hit me in my swooners like some of her other stuff has. Maybe one swooner, a couple times. But it was still really good! Just probably won’t be on my re-read rotation. This is apparently the book she wrote to get her creative juices flowing again when she was stuck on the third Will Darling book. I’ve been saving it for a day when I needed something joyful and that I knew would […]

“The greater the desire, the greater the suffering, and now she desired greatness itself.”

She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor, #1) by Shelley Parker-Chan

by 2 Comments

I was a weeny and put off writing a review of this because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say about it, and now it’s been a month since I finished. I feel like I’ve told you this story before. Coincidentally, this is a retelling! I didn’t pay too much attention to the specific plot of this one before reading it, other than the keywords “historical” and “Mulan” and “retelling”. This is why you shouldn’t pay attention to other people sometimes. It is historical, […]

A wonderful Regency romp where nearly everyone is queer

Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall

by 3 Comments

4.5 stars Official book description: Valentine Layton, the Duke of Malvern, has twin problems: literally. It was always his father’s hope that Valentine would marry Miss Arabella Tarleton. But, unfortunately, too many novels at an impressionable age have caused her to grow up…romantic. So romantic that a marriage of convenience will not do and after Valentine’s proposal she flees into the night determined never to set eyes on him again. Arabella’s twin brother, Mr. Bonaventure “Bonny” Tarleton, has also grown up…romantic. And fully expects Valentine […]

Embrace Tradition

The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton

by Leave a Comment

This is one I probably should sit on the way I usually do with reviews, as I probably wouldn’t be as rapturous in description if I sat down and examined all the holes in this book (and it has plenty). But man, that ending. Those of you who have read my posts and commented before know my thing with endings: I usually hate them because they’re so predictable and inevitably disappointing. And the ones that shock usually do so gratuitously. I appreciate an ending where […]

Connection is Made

The Verifiers by Jane Pek

by Leave a Comment

In an ideal world, this would be the first of a 10-book series. There’s certainly room here for at least one sequel and more. Which doesn’t mean Jane Pek needs to do this. Series eventually run out of steam as one can only recycle the same characters and plots for so long. But I really loved this writer’s style, her protagonist, and the way she uses New York City. But it’s not just that this was written by a city-dwelling millennial who loves mysteries (as Jane Pek […]

A romance featuring a long-lost boyhood sweetheart, a cat named Satan, Victorian pornography, and a climactic kick in the balls.

Unfit to Print by K.J. Charles

by 2 Comments

I just love K.J. Charles so much. She goes where her interests take her, and I love when my interests collide with hers even more. I know I’m always in for not just a good romance with her, but good historical fiction. Here we’ve got a biracial purveyor of Victorian pornography reuniting with his childhood best friend from boarding school, a lawyer of Indian descent who has thought him dead for thirteen years. They meet again when Vikram, the lawyer, is searching for a missing […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo