Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Healing Grief in the Ashes

House of Frank by Kay Sinclaire

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This book starts out feeling a bit like Under the Whispering Door, which was a pleasant way to start. Main character Saika has been grieving the loss of her sister Fiona two years ago, and her magic hasn’t worked properly since then. Fiona wanted to have her ashes planted at Ash Gardens, where ashes are planted and grow into colorful trees. Saika isn’t as ready to let go of her sister in this way as she thought she was, and the owner of Ash Gardens, […]

The Strange, Fragile, Beautiful World

Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures by Katherine Rundell

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It’s estimated that there are around 7.8 millions animal species on the planet, many of which we know little about. Unfortunately, some may vanish before we can learn much more – which is a pity, because the variety of life on this planet is far more wondrous and strange than anything our imaginations could conjure up. This is a quiet and contemplative peek at the natural world in easy bite-sized installments. Each essay discusses an animal species which threatened in one way or another, covering […]

“No one told me the trail would be vertical.” “Maggie, there are sheep hanging out all around us. Sheep don’t do vertical.” “Sheep are very nimble. They’re basically puffy goats.”

Bad Reputation by Emma Barry

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I enjoyed Bad Reputation so much. Zagging away from her prickly characters in Funny Guy, Emma Barry gives us two sweetheart characters and puts them in a situation where they must pine respectfully for a big chunk of the book. The yearning is delicious. When they are done with the yearning, they make consent sexy. When the book begins, Maggie’s beloved career as a high school drama teacher is over and she is tired of being the face of the fight against censorship. When she […]

Instead of hiding their skeletons, the witches invited them to tea and fed them coffee cake.

Deja Brew by Celestine Martin

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Deja Brew was a perfect read for me at this particular moment. I’ve enjoyed this whole cozy series centering the Caraway family of witches in the fictional magical town of Freya’s Grove on the Jersey shore. Celestine Martin blends magic, family (good and bad), rediscovering fun, finding your authentic self, and a heartachingly sweet (and spicy) romance. Sirena is a kitchen witch who has lost her confidence in the kitchen and is burnt out from the constant grind of work. After a terrible October where […]

If ever there was a person who could make me say “what the hell” and simply live my best life for a single night, it would be the tatted goddess Shae

Love and Sportsball by Meka James

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I enjoyed Love & Sportsball so much. It is a refreshingly adult workplace romance between a newly hired athletic trainer and the star player on a women’s pro basketball team in Atlanta. The two have a one night stand and then are surprised to meet a couple of days later at work. Shae is delighted and ready to start a romance. Dijah is horrified and wants to keep it professional. Here’s the wonderful thing about this book: Shae is disappointed but she doesn’t try to […]

Life on a Cult TV Show – While Also in an Actual Cult!

Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz

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CBR16 Bingo: Rings – A lot of people get married in this book – at least four couples, including the author Lenz to the cult leader’s son. Bethany Joy Lenz is famous for playing Haley James Scott in the cult TV show One Tree Hill, but her experience of this time is even stranger than one would expect – she was in an actual cult at the time. I never watched One Tree Hill, but with a premise like that, who cares? Besides, TV show […]



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