Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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About Aquillia

CBR 5
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CBR  9
CBR10 participant
CBR11 participant
CBR12 participant
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PhD in Ancient History. Wannabe fantasy writer. Likes ancient coins, imaginary kingdoms, and failed emperors. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Aquillia's Quick Questions interview.)

Aquillia's Reviews:

New England Gothic done right

February 12, 2018 by Aquillia Leave a Comment

I seem to be on a roll the past few years with my first read of the year being top notch. This year, I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson. It had cropped up a few times in my periphery, on book blogs and the like, and my interest was piqued. My goal for this year is to read more from my library instead of spending a fortune on books (finishing the PhD and only working part time means I’m poor […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: american gothic tales, gothic, Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Aquillia's CBR10 Review No:1 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: american gothic tales, gothic, Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Half-Cannonball? The books I read and didn’t review

December 31, 2017 by Aquillia Leave a Comment

I needed to write one more review to reach my goal of a half-cannonball, so here’s a roundup of the books I read and didn’t review this year. Does this still count? Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas. 3 stars. I enjoyed this one, reading it on a 7 hour plane journey. The love triangle was a bit irritating in that the end took a bit of a cop out so that it could be an element in later books, but overall it was […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: agatha christie, book round up, half-cannonball, Jeff Wheeler, sarah j maas, Stephen King, T. E. Kinsey

Aquillia's CBR9 Review No:26 · Genres: Uncategorized · Tags: agatha christie, book round up, half-cannonball, Jeff Wheeler, sarah j maas, Stephen King, T. E. Kinsey ·
· 0 Comments

Engaging continuation of an epic fantasy that addresses some of the first’s flaws

December 25, 2017 by Aquillia Leave a Comment

So I have read a few books since my last post but haven’t written anything up–been too busy finishing my PhD thesis. But it’s submitted, and it’s Christmas, and I am determined to at least ‘officially’ make my half Cannonball goal before the year’s end. So I’m going to write up a few reviews. I devoured An Echo of Things to Come, the sequel to The Shadow of What Was Lost, which I reviewed earlier this year. This first book introduced a world where the magic users, […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: an echo of things to come, james islington, licanius trilogy

Aquillia's CBR9 Review No:25 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: an echo of things to come, james islington, licanius trilogy ·
Rating:
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At first intriguing, then merely infuriating

November 7, 2017 by Aquillia 2 Comments

I’m super behind on reviews (tbh, I feel like I’m super behind on life right now as I try to finish the PhD) but I read this one last night and it annoyed me SO MUCH that I had to write a review. Summary: Daniel and Laura are your typical middle-class British holidayers, backpacking around Europe before they decide to settle down, get married, and have a baby. While traveling through Romania, they hit trouble: kicked off a train with only another Romanian woman for […]

Filed Under: Suspense Tagged With: Follow You Home, Mark Edwards, psychological thriller, ridiculous plot, terrible ending

Aquillia's CBR9 Review No:24 · Genres: Suspense · Tags: Follow You Home, Mark Edwards, psychological thriller, ridiculous plot, terrible ending ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

A sci-fi introspective on gender and human society

October 10, 2017 by Aquillia Leave a Comment

I’m not normally a sci-fi reader, but that was part of the reason I decided to give The Left Hand of Darkness a try: I had an audible credit to use, I wanted to give Le Guin another chance, and the description said this was a classic sci-fi title. I think because I’m not familiar with the genre, the difficulty I’d had with the age of A Wizard of Earthsea didn’t bother me as much here, even though it was originally published in 1969. Sometimes groundbreaking doesn’t […]

Filed Under: Science Fiction Tagged With: The Left Hand of Darkness, ursula k le guin, Ursula Le Guin

Aquillia's CBR9 Review No:23 · Genres: Science Fiction · Tags: The Left Hand of Darkness, ursula k le guin, Ursula Le Guin ·
Rating:
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A mysterious murder and excess alcohol consumption? Must be an unreliable female narrated thriller…

October 9, 2017 by Aquillia Leave a Comment

I’ve been on a bit of a thriller kick recently, so–like many other Cannonballers–I’ve read In a Dark Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. They relied very heavily on the ‘unreliable female narrator’ trope, bringing up inevitable comparisons to The Girl on the Train. They’re not as good as Girl on the Train. (I haven’t read Gone Girl, while I have seen the film, so I can’t compare there.) I’m way behind on my reviewing, but I figured I’d start with these ones. Quick […]

Filed Under: Suspense Tagged With: In a Dark Dark Wood, Ruth Ware, Suspense, The Woman in Cabin 10, thriller, unreliable narrator, whatever will we do without wifi, women who insist on being called nicknames

Aquillia's CBR9 Review No:22 · Genres: Suspense · Tags: In a Dark Dark Wood, Ruth Ware, Suspense, The Woman in Cabin 10, thriller, unreliable narrator, whatever will we do without wifi, women who insist on being called nicknames ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

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