Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“High crimes were probably better suited to a betrothal than a mere courting gift: you couldn’t just start burning things down in hopes the other person found it romantic. You’d want to be sure.” (CBR Bingo)

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows (Feminine Pursuits #2) by Olivia Waite

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Let’s get this part out of the way early – I was prepared to love this book and I only really like it. Here’s the thing: there’s too much story here and I feel like a heel for saying so. But, bear with me. One of the things I love most in really good romance writing is that the authors aren’t afraid to interact with larger themes. These books aren’t just sexytimes (we have erotica for that) they are not just character studies (although lord […]

“I am tired of twisting myself into painful shapes for mere scraps of respect or consideration. Tired of bending this way and that in search of approval that will only ever be half granted.”

The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics (Feminine Pursuits #1) by Olivia Waite

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Olivia Waite is an author I’ve been following on Twitter for a little while – she’s just the right kind of outspoken feminist romance author that I like to follow (they are a fun crowd, seriously, get into Romance Twitter it’s a good place to be even when things aren’t burning down). Her vocal and staunch support of #IStandWithCourtney and the ensuing fallout with the RWA meant that I bumped her novel that much further up my to read list because I will support the […]

Friends to lovers

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This is book three and the last installment in the Blackshear series, with the focus on Nick.  First of all I have to agree with Narfna – the cover model is so far removed from what I imagine Nick would look like.  As a barrister in London, he would definitely not be the bronzed weight lifter type! Once again, Ms Grant has written a rather unlikeable heroine in Kate Westbrook; a young woman not as experienced in the ways of the world as Martha and […]

Misbehaving with the fiance’s brother

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This is the first in a new series The Duke’s Daughters by Ms Frampton, and focuses on Lady Eleanor Howlett who is the eldest of the family.  One of her sisters has disgraced the family’s good name and image by running off with the dance instructor (how gauche!) and it’s now up to Eleanor to make a good marriage and restore the family to the good graces of the ton.  Her parents have arranged a match with Lord Carson, a perfectly acceptable man with a […]

The Duke & The Con Artist

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I’d been looking forward to reading this book ever since finishing “The Wicked Quills of London” series – sadly, the anticipation didn’t live up to the reality.  Oh, it was well written and steamy, but I just didn’t feel the love for this one somehow.  The main premise is based on a one night encounter two years previous for our couple, with the heroine disappearing at dawn before the hero awoke.  Since that time, Alexander Lewis, Duke of Greyland, hasn’t been able to get her […]

Dangerous Duke Seeks Revenge, Finds Romance

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This is the first book in a new series by Madeline Hunter, the Decadent Dukes Society, and it’s definitely a slow burn romance.  It took me awhile to get into the story, but once I did I began to enjoy the relationship building that was a change from insta-lust that so often occurs.  There’s also some drama of long standing family rivalries to deal with, and the mystery of the hero’s father’s death to be resolved. Adam Penrose, Duke of Stratton, is recently returned from France […]



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