Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

still confusing, but promising

A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon

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I have to say this started out sort of two-star-y, with what felt again like too much exposition of a magic system that doesn’t really make sense and stakes that seem hard to place. Side bar, the magic continues to not make sense to me, as it does not follow Sanderson’s Second Law of limitations being more important than powers–night magic and light weave can just be created into anything, a la the Green Lantern(?), as long as you are sufficiently concentrated and have worked […]

Optimistic dystopian fiction?

The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks

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In an alternate universe in 1899,  travelers wishing to cross the land between China and Russia have only one option: the Trans-Siberian Express. The area known as the Wastelands is a dangerous zone: it’s populated by monsters, the air is poison, and even staring at the view too long will mess with your head. Still, the train has a reputation for luxury, especially if you can afford a First Class ticket. Who wouldn’t want to experience the adventure of a luxurious trans-Siberian excursion, with a […]

This one’s for the birds

The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton

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Stupid Dungeon Crawler Carl books! Ever since I finished them, I have been struggling to find a book that really sucks me in. I have read decent novels since then even, but nothing has absorbed me as much or felt as “un-put-downable” since. This novel is another like that – cute, whimsical, not at all serious, and pleasant to read but it’s not the kind of novel that has me staying up past my bedtime to keep reading. As the magical birds might give away, […]

In the Shadow of the Throne

In the Shadow of the Throne by Kate Sheridan (writer), Gaia Cardinali (artist), Miach Myers (Letterer)

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Jordan is a 17-year-old who is on vacation with his parents and two younger siblings.  He has a lot of feelings about being the de facto babysitter for the younger siblings and having to shepherd them around the art museum his family is currently visiting.  He’s been banned from using his phone isn’t able to go to a bookstore or comic book store, and is having zero fun.  He begs for some time off to go to the bathroom, and on the way he stumbles […]

A fun read, but possibly too light-hearted

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

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3.5 stars Twenty years before the events in Legends & Lattes, Viv is a young and relatively inexperienced mercenary, who gets badly injured fighting undead monsters while hunting for a powerful necromancer. Her mercenary band leave her in the quiet and mostly empty seaside town of Murk to heal up and recuperate. She worries that the group are going to leave her there, but thankfully, to take her mind off her fears, she encounters the local bookshop owner, who manages to persuade her (Viv has […]

A fun read but current events in Crimea affected the reading

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

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My Mom has been trying to get me to read Jasper Fforde books for easily over a decade.  Not sure why I’ve resisted.  Though perhaps it’s due to our different reading preferences.  She only likes a small percentage of recommendations I make .  Naturally, The Murderbot Diaries was one success but mostly I miss.  With how long she’s been persistent I read “The Eyre Affair”, I have felt pressured to like it.  Which has made me drag my feet.  I borrowed it two years ago […]



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