Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

‘The Habsburgs were the first rulers whose power encompassed the world, and they achieved greatness by luck and by force.’

The Habsburgs: The Rise and Fall of a World Power by Martyn Rady

In The Last Emperor of Mexico: The Dramatic Story of the Habsburg Archduke Who Created a Kingdom in the New World by Edward Shawcross

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For all the royal watching going on right now, its the British Royal Family that’s hugging the spotlight. And, really, how could they not? Liz the Second—who we all thought was destined to live forever—shockingly popped her clogs last year. And now her grandson seems to be taking his turn airing out the dirty laundry, much to people’s delight. But the lives of royals are always ripe for high drama, if you are into that kind of thing. So I’m going to ring in the […]

The British Press Need to Do Better

Spare by Prince Harry

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Best for: Those interested in a very different perspective on not just the British royal family overall, but how life in it has impacted Prince Harry and his family. In a nutshell: Member of the British Royal family, second child to Princess Diana and Prince Charles (hence ‘spare’,) provide insight into his childhood, young adulthood, and adulthood, focusing often on the machinations of the British press (and his family’s complicity). Worth quoting: I mean, there’s a lot here, but everyone’s focused on him talking about […]

The Cartographers (DNF)

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

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I come from the review school of “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” and so generally avoid sharing my did not finish (DNFs) books. I’m a mood reader! Taste is subjective! Don’t yuck someone else’s yum! I’ve set books aside thinking I hate them and picked them up months later and fallen absolutely in love! So, yeah, this is very strange and uncomfortable for me, but this book made me so angry I have to share. Basic synopsis: […]

Let’s Make 2023 Monarchy Free

Spare by Prince Harry

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I wasn’t going to read “Spare” because memoir is one of my least favorite genres and celebrity/political memoirs are usually the worst in terms of quality and content. However, my anti-monarchist curiosity got the best of me after watching the gutter press devolve into hysterics in the lead-up to the book’s publication. It’s not surprising, given that Harry paints UK tabloid culture as the ultimate villain in his life story. If I were The Daily Fail or one of those other rags, I’d be trying […]

RomCom Hijinks

Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun

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Kiss Her Once for Me is a warm story of love, family, and the magic of the Christmas season. Recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver finds herself adrift after a romantic snafu and the loss of her dream job in animation. Desperate for money, she rents a sad basement studio and takes a job at a local coffee shop, where she meets Andrew, the shop’s landlord. In a drunken proposal, Andrew offers Ellie a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate […]

Let the Intergalactic Bachelor Show Begin!

Sweep of the Heart by Ilona Andrews

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Ilona Andrews is a highly bingeable author. I rather mindlessly requested the Sweep of the Heart audiobook from NetGalley not expecting to actually get it. I read the first book in the series a long time ago and have not read the other four books in the series. When I got the email telling me the audiobook was available to download, I took on the challenge of rereading Clean Sweep and then reading the other  books in 3 days so that I could listen to Sweep of the […]



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