Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Probably the weakest entry in the series so far

A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn

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This is book 8 in the Veronica Speedwell series. It’s not a good place to start. You want the first book, A Curious Beginning. 15-word review: Veronica tries to discover who wants to murder Stoker’s brother. Stoker is sadly mostly absent. Official book summary: Veronica’s natural-historian beau, Stoker, has been away in Bavaria for months and their relationship is at an impasse. But when Veronica shows up before him with his brother, Tiberius, Lord Templeton-Vane, he is lured back home by an intriguing job offer: […]

This was fine, but I doubt I’ll ever re-read it

The Duke Undone by Joanna Lowell

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Lucy Coover is on her way to her painting class at the Royal Academy one morning when she stumbles across a body in an alley. The man is completely naked, and she assumes he’s been the victim of a crime. Then she realises he’s breathing, so he seems to only be dead drunk. As a female art student, Lucy is fascinated by human anatomy but is also not allowed to ever attend life drawing classes at the Academy. She’s late for class but also makes […]

“Large groups of powerful men have little reason to make change.”

Heartbreaker by Sarah Maclean

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CBR14 Bingo: Heart (it’s right there in the title, and this is a romance) Adelaide Frampton was once the unappreciated daughter of one of the East End’s most notorious criminals, which led her to acquire a number of illegal skills that now come in handy as she frequents London’s high society posing as the unassuming and plain spinster cousin of a duchess. She uses her time on the sidelines of ballrooms and society events to observe and acquire information and can also put her top-notch […]

Not quite my cup of tea this time around

An Impossible Impostor by Deanna Raybourn

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3.5 stars First of all, this is book 7 in an ongoing series. I would not recommend that a new reader start here. The first book in the series is A Curious Beginning. Now for the official book description, because my memory is like a sieve: London, 1889. Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian beau Stoker are summoned by Sir Hugo Montgomerie, head of Special Branch. He has a personal request on behalf of his goddaughter, Euphemia Hathaway. After years of traveling the world, her […]

Hell’s Belles

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean

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Scandalous Sesily is the last of the Talbot girls left unwed, but her heart was captured long ago by her sister’s best friend and business partner, Caleb. Having found purpose as part of a group of vigilante women, Sesily discovers on Caleb’s return that he too has secrets of his own – and a dangerous enemy. Sarah MacLean’s books can be a hit or miss for me. They have so much to love – smart heroines, dashing heroes, engaging premises and plots, and an early […]

Some Legends Don’t Withstand the Test of Time

Bram Stoker's Dracula by Bram Stoker, Edited by Jan Needle

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Full disclosure, I had no idea I’d ordered the edited and abridged version from the library, but I decided to give it a go anyway since the abridged version was still some 400 pages. I never had to read “Dracula” in school, and while, like most people, I’m aware of the general premise of the story, my goal of reading at least one classic a year put this on my spooky-reads list for Halloween. Long story short, A real estate agent, Jonathan Harker, goes to […]



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