Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A mediocre cozy fantasy, might still be worth your time if you really love animals.

The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean

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A socially anxious zookeeper working in phoenix conservation gets the chance of a lifetime to breed phoenixes and falls in love with her rival/frenemy from the griffin show in the process. Sounds nice, right? Books like this one almost frustrate me more than the real stinkers that deserve one or two stars. It’s ALMOST there for me. The premise=great. The themes=great. A convergence of genres that I love, plus magical animals and nerds=great. But none of it came together the way I wanted it to, […]

A few quick reads to take my mind off things

The Holiday Disaster: A Brother's Best Friend Gay Romance (Doves of Destiny Book 1) by Rye Cox

Knot Your Average Christmas: A FFM Holiday Omegaverse story by S.R. Griffith

Affogato (BrewBiz book 1) by E.M. Lindsay

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The Holiday Disaster: A Brother’s Best Friend Gay Romance (Doves of Destiny Book 1) by Rye Cox Two stars Ethan is in his first year of college. He’s doing okay, but he’s terrified of falling behind in his studies. He’s never had a boyfriend or even come out to his family. So, when he runs into his longtime crush, Kingsley, he gets tongue tied and runs away. Kingsley is Ethan’s older brother’s best friend and he’s known him his entire life. He thinks Kingsley dislikes […]

There’s a magical home for everyone, even if you stopped looking

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is worthy of all the hype. Linus works for a government agency that manages magical children. He is essentially a social worker. He sticks to himself and follows the rules to the letter. How else can he minimize conflict in his life? He lives alone with his cat and is rather ordinary if you ask him. He isn’t quite coasting more like he doesn’t want to upset the order. He absolutely does not want to garner […]

A time warp Ikea

Finna by Nino Cipri

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Finna by Nino Cipri was another Lawless Book Club read back in January. In this science fiction novella, we meet Ava and Jules who work at an Ikea-inspired furniture store called  LitenVärld. They’ve recently broken up and are having issues navigating their work and now-only friendship status. Ava is anxious and unsure of what she wants from anything. Jules is Black and non-binary and more zen about the break-up. They’ve worked through much of their trauma and can’t force Ava to figure herself out. Before […]

A low-angst, cozy romance set in the Swedish countryside

Second Winter by Sophia Soames

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Teddy runs his family’s tree farm in a small village in Sweden. He still lives in the house where he grew up and manages the family business, even after losing his father over the previous year. He is getting by but he is unhappy. He worries that life is passing him but he has no energy or hope that anything will change for him. He’s only been in love once, and that boy broke his heart. Ned is the American son of Swedish parents. When […]

I laughed too hard when I tagged this as an “age gap romance.”

By the Pint by Jemma Croft

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The decennial Bloodsuckers in Business conference was held, unsurprisingly, once per decade at Dreadmourne Castle. A fortress built approximately half a bajillion years ago, and so gothic and cliched, it was borderline offensive to my brethren. ― Jemma Croft, By the Pint “Didn’t quite go as you expected?” I needled. I didn’t need to read his thoughts to understand what he was trying to achieve. “Thought you’d go all,”—I held my hands up like paws and hissed—“scary vampire dude on me. Show me what kind […]



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