Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Thank God. A sexy pirate that isn’t Jack Sparrow.

Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey

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I recently re-read Johanna Lindsey’s classic pirate romance, Gentle Rogue. I was curious to see how it held up since the way romances are written have changed so much since it’s original publication date. Back in the day, I’d read several of her previous novels, but this is the one that made her a must read whenever a new novel came out. I’d originally intended to include a ton of gifs from Ladyhawke in honor of the eclipse, but I didn’t get the review written […]

Fantastic premise; so-so execution

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

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Amina Al-Sirafi is not just a pirate. She’s a female pirate. She’s a female Muslim pirate. Hell yeah, I can get on board with this book, whose premise promises to deliver adventure with an under-represented perspective. And in that regard, I was satisfied. In the introductory pages, we’re told what to expect–the story of an older woman who continues to defy convention. “Ah yes, a certain degree of rebelliousness is expected from youth. It is why we have stories of treasure-seeking princesses and warrior women […]

Fake marriage and further hijinks

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

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Alice Dearlove works for the secret organisation the Agency of Undercover Note Takers, or A.U.N.T., staffed by spies and agents disguised as ladies’ maids, butlers, footmen, and other household staff who mostly go unnoticed by the higher classes, but are usually in a position to see and hear everything. She’s one of their top agents, known within A.U.N.T only as Agent A. Usually, Miss Dearlove works alone and gets excellent results while doing so. Now she faces one of the biggest challenges of her career. […]

“As Charlotte plummeted to the ground, still locked in Alex’s arms, she recollected Miss Plim’s warning that kissing a man was bad for one’s health.”

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton

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4.5 stars Everyone knows there’s no such thing as witches, but if there were, they probably wouldn’t use magic in flashy and extravagant ways to fly houses around and try to rob and assassinate one another. If there were witches, they would probably use their magic in tidier ways, ensuring polite society was functioning properly. Possibly liberate those who have excessive financial resources of some of it to the betterment of those with less of it (like say, themselves). If there were witches, Charlotte Pettifer […]

Fond of Zombies, Are You? What about Zombies AND Pirates?

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

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Well now!  Steampunk with zombies and pirates, and a certain amount of historical fact to boot?  Welcome to turn of the century Seattle. IRL, Seattle suffered a devastating fire in the late 1890s which tore through the lumber constructed Pioneer Square, its original downtown.  There was also the issue of frequent rain-induced flooding, due to the steep coastal shoreline.  So the civic leaders swapped out timber construction for masonry, and rebuilt, streets and all, on the top of the original buildings.  The lower levels acted […]

Yo Ho! A Pirate’s Life for Me

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller

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Daughter of the Pirate King – 3 stars Daughter of the Siren Queen – 4 stars Alosa is a famous pirate captain in her own right, leading a crew of almost exclusively women. She also happens to be the only daughter of the Pirate King, who rules the seas with cruelty and intimidation tactics. Her father has one piece of a legendary treasure map, which will reveal the location of untold riches to the one who can locate and unite the missing pieces. Alosa needs to get […]



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