Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The dreaded cliffhanger!

The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani

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Oh, is there anything like the dawning horror – 50 or so pages from the end of your book – that it’s going to be darned hard for this plot to all wrap up neatly? And as you hope against hope, page by page, it becomes grimly clear…this is not a standalone book. Luckily I am most happy to forgive Intisar Khanani several times over, because I’m delighted that I’ll get to spend more time with the The Theft of Sunlight’s characters, as soon as […]

Singing the Heartsong

The Stone Key by Isobelle Carmody

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Oh-ho, this is how you know I am starting to procrastinate this weekend! I’m going for two reviews in two days! When I first picked up this book, it had been eight years since I had read the previous four. I was no longer in high school but rather ready to start my Master’s degree. And to be honest, over the nine-year break, I had nearly forgotten the series. If I hadn’t noticed The Stone Key on the shelves after bumming around in a book […]

‘He is in a dream but the beast is not. It comes! Wake!’

The Keeping Place by Isobelle Carmody

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Ok, I am trying my best to keep the momentum up here because I feel that I may not have much free time in the next few weeks after quarter starts. As I mentioned in my review of the first book, Obernewtyn, The Obernewtyn Chronicles ended up expanding beyond the author’s original plans. There was originally going to be five books in the series, making The Keeping Place, the penultimate volume. Instead, The Keeping Place ended up as book four of seven. And maybe the […]

A lot of close calls

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

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Bingo 12: Dun Dun So a slightly comedic take on the high fantasy-D&D type adventure may not seem like it’s going to involve the ominous, but there are a couple of times that one could insert that into the mental soundtrack for Kings of the Wyld, including what I’m guessing is meant to be something that carries over to connect into the sequel. The whole idea of an aged post-glory days group of adventurers reuniting for one last quest, to save the daughter of one […]

A little maturity in the teen-saturated romantic isekai

The Savior’s Book Café Story in Another World by Oumiya, Kyouka Izumi, Reiko Sakurada

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Bingo 11: Rings Thanks to a fellow Cannonballer whose name I don’t remember (sorry! and thank you), I requested and got 4/5 of the romantasy manga The Savior’s Book Café Story in Another World. There are two ring connections here, one of the marriage-relevant sort, and second of the spell-casting visual sort. She has to use her great magic twice, which results in a glowing circular (ring) symbol appearing on her person as well as on the location she’s aiming at (the sky in both […]

“You Can Be Strong in Any Shape. You Can Be Anything.”

The Sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang

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This won the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off back in 2019, and it’s clear why. Self-published books can be hit or miss, and The Sword of Kaigen feels so polished and compelling, though not without flaws. Also, be sure to check content warnings – there is a lot of tragedy in this book. The structure is unconventional, with the climax occurring about halfway through the book. The remainder of the novel deals with the aftermath, which works well in this character-driven novel. I would also argue that […]



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