Southern – Page 2 – Cannonball Read 17

“The tricky thing about giving opinions is that sometimes they cost you more than you wanted to spend.”

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

April 14, 2020 by cosbrarian Leave a Comment

Jo Kuan and her father figure Old Jin have gotten by pretty well, considering they are Chinese Americans in the deep South of 1890. Old Jin works as a horse caretaker for a local wealthy family, and Jo has a talent for millinery, so she is hopeful for an apprenticeship at the shop she works. However, she is abruptly fired one day due to her supposed overly-frank attitude with customers (“You make the customers uncomfortable”). Old Jin is able to get her a position as […]

Sweet tea in book form

Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber

July 19, 2019 by Nyx Leave a Comment

With three days to go before vacation I had nothing lined up for my annual beach read. Thankfully, right before I left I received an ARC copy of Heather Webber’s new book Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe. Many of us are familiar with the source material of that is at the kernel of this novel. All you need to do is search the section of your brain that stores childhood nursery rhymes and up will pop the following: “Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket […]

A Southern Gothic fail

July 31, 2017 by Lynn Leave a Comment

This was a weird book. I mean, a lot of so-called Southern literature is weird – that’s why I love it so – but even by those standards, this was a weird book. Jerene Jarivs Johnston is old money Charlotte. Jerene’s brother is the stereotypical boozy washed up novelist, found most afternoons at the bar at the club sipping his bourbon neat, her sister Dillard is a near shut-in, and her husband Duke is a failed politician, his career having been derailed by Jerene herself […]

Sweet Sequel to a Sweet Family Debut

February 16, 2017 by cheerbrarian Leave a Comment

I first fell for the Waverly Family in Allen’s debut novel, “Garden Spells.” Small town living, sisters, baking, luuurv, and a magical apple tree that throws apples at innocent bystanders. What’s not to love? I knew that the sequel would be a good read for the winter time, something light fluffy, and a little warm for the cold days, and it delivered. The Waverly sisters have both made their way home and are living happy lives. The book picks up about 10 years after the […]

Home Is Where the Heart Is…

February 9, 2017 by Lynn Leave a Comment

The library bookstore is my secret addiction. I don’t get to go often (at least, not in my county, what with the powers that be cutting library hours to a ridiculous degree), but when I do go, I load up. And I would say that of the books I pick up, I have about a 50% success rate. I donate the rest back, which results in a vicious circle where I’ve been known to re-buy previous rejects. (Yeah, I know.) Anyway, of that 50% success […]

No one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family. They just ask what side they’re on.

August 25, 2016 by Lynn 3 Comments

When I was little, my mother had an avocado green Tupperware bowl. She also had a red one and a harvest gold one, and I’m pretty sure there was a blue one, too. They were different sizes, but they all had lids that had a translucent sort of flower pattern on top, so they were obviously part of a set. The bowl itself was also translucent, and more often than not, the green Tupperware bowl sat on the second shelf of our fridge with bunches […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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