Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

‘To their dismay, he replied that he may as well do a course on Roman dogs.’

A Rome of One's Own by Emma Southon

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Conventional Ancient Roman histories may be dominated by men, but that tells an incomplete story. Emma Southon tells the stories of twenty-one women who made their mark on the empire. While I enjoy reading about history, ancient history is usually not my jam – with one major exception. I will read anything Emma Southon writes, and wish fervently every time I finish one of her books that I hadn’t already read all of her older ones. It’s the conversational tone, the clear pleasure with which […]

“He’s a grief-stricken madman.” “He’s just like us.”

Witch King by Martha Wells

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Martha Wells knows how to grab a reader by the throat right at the beginning. We meet Kai, the Witch King, in a moment of confusion. His body has been murdered and he has awakened in a tomb designed to keep him trapped. One friend is trapped with him, but not others. Who betrayed him, and where are the other members of his family? Kai is a demon prince, invited to inhabit the body of a dying human girl. The life above ground that he expects […]

“We might be useful, but we shall most certainly be improper.“

The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Gray

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I am enjoying Claudia Gray’s Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mystery series so much. This second outing in the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mysteries feels heavier than the first. In The Murder of Mr. Wickham, the victim was one of Jane Austen’s least sympathetic characters. I certainly don’t advocate for murdering people, but Mr. Wickham’s violent demise did not cause distress. In The Late Mrs. Willoughby, we get no such comfort. Mrs. Willoughby may not be the nicest or most charming person, but she is […]

Unimaginative but fine

Smashed by Adam Walton, Brett Walton

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I had never heard of Adam and Brett Walton before I downloaded Smashed: 60 Epic Smash Burgers and Sandwiches for Dinner, for Lunch, and Even for Breakfast – for Your Outdoor Griddle, Grill, or Skillet. They have an outdoor grilling YouTube channel called the Waltwins. I’ve watched a few of their most popular videos and they are fine. They are fine and so is their cookbook. The bulk of the cookbook is beef burgers and I’m going to tell you a secret – anything you […]

“Face-sitting, cowgirl, and the Upstanding Citizen position,” Mabel reminded her, popping in like the chorus of an extremely horny Greek play.

Codename Charming by Lucy Parker

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It has never taken me three days to get past the first 20% of a Lucy Parker novel before. It might be my brain, it might be the book. Regardless, by the end, I was enjoying it very much. Much like Pet and Matthias, Codename Charming and I had a rough start, but we worked it out. Pet De Vere  endeared herself to Princess Rose when she stepped between an assailant and Rose’s fiancee, Johnny at the end of Battle Royal. Johnny’s personal protection officer, […]

Tittle Tattle in Georgian London

The Real Bridgerton by Catherine Curzon

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This book guides us through a century of aristocratic scandals, covering both stories that are well-known today and others that have faded from public memory, discussing adultery, murder, and even incest. I read an awful lot of historical romance, and many Regency romances use the plot device of social ruin being carried around town by scandal sheets. Having read this book though, I am rather astonished that these fictional scandals managed to shock anyone at all, considering what the aristocracy was really getting up too! […]



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