Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Rage Against the Machine

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

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This review contains some mild spoilers which I think are given away in the book jacket. Iron Widow is a YA story set in a future city of Chinese inspired Huaxia where men and women pilot mecha type suits to protect the population from aliens around the Great Wall. The suits are called Chrysalises, and the pilot, a man, teams up with a woman in the back in a merging of energy and minds that usually result in the woman’s death. This is how the […]

Push their faces together and make them kiss already

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

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When her gaze finally reached his face, she had to swallow a sigh and bury it where nobody would ever find it. But how could she help it? His jaw was sharp and angled enough that it could be a weapon itself, strong enough to make her insides quiver. Don’t let him quiver your insides, Evie. ― Hannah Nicole Maehrer, Assistant to the Villain When she cannot find a job, Evie stumbles into the new role of the assistant to The Villain. Not “a” villain […]

Freaky, Funny, and Frustrating (In a Good Way)

Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi

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Every time I think that I may have Helen Oyeyemi figured out she hits me with another blast of wild magic. She often deals in the inner workings of fairy tales, but this time she has taken on a fairy tale of a city: Prague. We’ve all heard of the (super played out trope) of “New York City IS a character!”, but Prague is in charge here. Prague may be driving the theoretical bus, but Thea, Hero, and a cast of bizarre folks including a […]

Romance in SWEDISH! I’m expanding my horizons

En enda natt (All In) by Simona Ahrnstedt

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Nowhere Book Bingo: First in a finished series CBR16 Sweet Books: New (new author AND first time reading romance in Swedish) Financial bad boy and seemingly ruthless venture capitalist David Hammar is a self-made man and has acquired his wealth and power for one purpose, which he is close to achieving. He is determined to take over Investum, one of the biggest companies in Sweden, owned and controlled by the powerful De la Grip family. Since the takeover might go smoother if his company has […]

Maude Horton’s (Not So) Glorious (Semi) Revenge

Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC. It hasn’t affected the content of my review. Okay, first, I’m going to take the chance here that I’m going to sound ungrateful, but I mean this in the spirit of genuine feedback. Only giving out a PDF file for your ARC does not really encourage readers. It is very hard to read, limiting the devices on which it can be read. I could only read on my phone, which is a guaranteed recipe for […]

Romance Old and New

The Devil Drives by Jane Arbor

Sweep Me Up, Baron by Kate Archer

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The Devil Drives – 3.5 stars As a new bride wed to the man of her dreams, Una should be bursting with happiness. But it turns out that her husband had ulterior motives in wedding her – chiefly, to revenge himself on her for the death of his young cousin. Leave aside the rather convoluted premise, as Zante’s reasons for blaming Una and plan for revenge against her alike are pretty silly, in the manner of olden time Harlequins. But the writing is lovely, bringing […]



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