Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Ellesfena

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I mostly read nonfiction (especially public health-related), mysteries, and fantasy. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Ellesfena's Quick Questions interview.)

Ellesfena's Reviews:

Luckily the puns stop at the title

Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen

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CBR12 Bingo: Gateway I love cozy mysteries, but what I’ve been realizing is that I often love the idea a lot more than the execution. It seems like so many cozies are full of characters I don’t really like, or they’re kind of dull, or they’re just badly written. I’m so happy to have discovered the Her Royal Spyness series, where I love the characters, the plots are interesting, and they’re also funny and engaging. Naughty in Nice is actually the 5th book in the […]

The real message here is to limit your children’s screen time

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

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CBR12 Bingo: Pandemic This is another entry in the ever-growing genre of “twisty” books aimed at women. I admit I am always tempted by these books–I have to know what the twist is! And for the most part, I actually enjoyed The Mother-in-Law, unlike some other entries into this genre. The book opens with Lucy and her husband receiving a visit from the police to tell them that Lucy’s mother-in-law, Diana, with whom she has never gotten along, has been found dead by apparent suicide. […]

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien

The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien

The Return of the King by JRR Tolkien

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CBR12 Bingo: Yellow When I was a kid my dad read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy to me. I’d already read The Hobbit, and of course as a kid I preferred the simplicity and accessibility of that book, but I can still remember the moment that my dad and I finished reading The Two Towers: “Frodo was alive but taken by the Enemy.” Whew. Eat your heart out, The Empire Strikes Back–that is a killer ending to a Part II of a trilogy. […]

“Luxury is the total fulfillment of all five senses at once.”

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

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CBR Bingo: White Whale When I was a kid, our house had a hallway that ran between the living room and my parents’ bedroom. It was wider than a normal hallway, and lined with bookshelves that were filled with both books and pictures. One of my chores as a child was to dust this room. The Shell Seekers, in all its 80s floral and embossed glory, was one of the books that was kept in this room, and one I always remember seeing it as […]

Silly, Funny, Worth Your Time

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson & Eugene Yelchin

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CBR Bingo: Friendship What a wonderful little book, and perfect for the Friendship square in Bingo. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge takes place in a world where elves and goblins live in neighboring countries with an uneasy truce after centuries of war and invasions. It begins with the elfin historian, Brangwain Spurge, on a mission to goblin country to offer a gift to the goblin king. He also has a second, secret mission–to spy on the goblins and report back to elfin high command. When […]

Delightful

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

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CBR12 Bingo: Violet This book was an absolute delight. Lady Georgiana Rannoch, 34th in line to the throne, has just moved to London from her family’s estate to escape being betrothed to some homely European prince. She’s flat broke and has absolutely no useful skills. She spends her time learning to cook, clean, care for herself, and find ways to earn money when one day she walks into her bathroom to find that someone has drowned a Frenchman in her bathtub. She and her brother […]



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