Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Jen K

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I’ve been around off and on since the first year of CBR, and it and books have been a constant in my life through multiple moves and a major career change. I live with 3 cats, Dany, Jace and Jorah. Fantasy, specific types of sci-fi, historical fiction (especially mysteries) and romance tend to be my go to genres now a days. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Jen K's Quick Questions interview.)

Jen K's Reviews:

An impressive example of a first novel

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington

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I have had this on my TBR for a while but had ended up reading The Will of the Many, the first and only one in the author’s newer trilogy first because I didn’t want to get sucked into binging a trilogy. That’s always the question – go with something that will leave me waiting year to year for the next book, or something that will end up dictating my next few reads. I really enjoyed this one as well (and predictably got sucked into […]

When generational trauma meets childhood trauma

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

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This was our March book club selection, and I really enjoyed it. I read the author’s debut novel, Black Cake, in February and I feel like she resolved all the issues I had with her writing in that novel here. If anything, I think she could have devoted a bit more time to the past but she genuinely made me care about the present day characters. Good Dirt in this case refers to clay, and a family’s historical legacy that they trace back to an […]

Rebellion on the rise

The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon

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In the last novel, Paige realized the only way to change the system was to lead the system so she put her name in the ring to be the next Underqueen and won the battle. She also allied with the Ranthen (the faction of Rep that doesn’t want to oppress humans) and exposed the existence of the Rephaim to the London Syndicate. While she may have won the fight and has a loyal contingent of mime lords under her, there is still grumbling in the […]

A romance celebrating Black artists

Reel by Ryan Kennedy

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This was such a beautifully written romance novel though I did start getting anxious over halfway through because things were going too well and I didn’t want to see what 3rd act obstacles Ryan threw at them. This one is a bit on the heavier side for romance as chronic illness plays a large role but I quite enjoyed it. Canon, the leading man, is a famous director who broke onto the scene with a documentary about his late mother’s journey with MS. Since then, […]

Suffers from classic sophomore novel syndrome

The Sirens by Emilia Hart

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Weyward was one of my favorite reads last year so I was excited when I saw that Emilia Hart had a new novel releasing this year. It’s always hard, though, to follow up a hugely successful novel because of the expectations it creates. I know it’s about the journey, not the destination, and as someone that reads a lot, I can often foresee where certain plot points might go. In fact, I think Emilia Hart expects that her readers see exactly how some things are […]

A twist on the amnesia trope

Oathbound by Tracy Deonn

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I have been waiting on this one and was excited to dive back into this world. I didn’t reread the series before this, but Tracy Deonn does a good job of both getting straight back into it and grounding the reader just enough to trigger their memories and/or remind them of the major items they need to remember. Before I dive too much further, one more point – I assumed this series was going to be a trilogy and that this would be the final […]



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