Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

This broke my heart, and not in the good way

The Dravenhearst Brides by Lindsay Barrett

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I haven’t had a book break my heart the way The Dravenhearst Brides did in a long time. Since Lindsay Barrett is a new to me author, I went in with few expectations, but I was immediately drawn in. The Dravenhearst Brides is a gothic romance set in Kentucky in 1933, towards the end of Prohibition and is described as a loose retelling of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Since the book is a loose retelling of Rebecca, I wasn’t surprised that two of the characters […]

Greed, pretty princesses and monsters

Darkly She Goes by Hubert

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After reading Darkly She Goes by Hubert and illustrated by Vincent Mallié (translated by L Benson and color by Bruno Tatti) I realized that I will be haunted by Hubert’s writing. After reading Beauty by them, I figured nothing would shock me about their style. But Darkly She Goes is a terribly odd, weird, insane ride. There were unlikable characters, situations and the ending was unsatisfying. The images were dark, violent and awkward. Yet, I was mesmerized from page one and could not stop reading. […]

For a guy without a head, that Headless Horseman has a good one on his shoulders.

Ghost Circus by Adrienne Kress

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Okay, so my title is a little bit of a spoiler to what happens at the end of Ghost Circus by Adrienne Kress and illustrations by Jade Zhang. The Horseman shows up at the end, you think he’s a bad guy (like he usually is in stories) but he helps our heroes. I just couldn’t resist making a good (or bad depending on how you feel about it) pun. And I think you shouldn’t miss this graphic novel either. Both classical and modern elements make […]

Do they like Ray Charles, Elton John or Liberace?

The Elephant and the Piano by Colette Hiller

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As 2025 winds down, I am finding more online reader copies for 2026. And not just for January or February. No, I’ve seen as late as July 2026. Thankfully The Elephant and the Piano is an early one as it’s due in May 2026. Until then (when I will be finding finished copies for gifts and the library), I will just read Colette Hiller’s book online. This book is based on actual events (but takes some poetic license) of how one man decided to help […]

A piece of the story

Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout

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To be honest, I have a lot of books that get misplaced. I put them in safe places and well, they are so safe even I can’t find them. But there is always a way to find them. And with Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout that way was the library and interlibrary loan.  A powerful and beautifully done story of family and the horrors of war unfolds across the pages. As it is told via a blackbird, things at times become almost […]

Poems from new shoes and falling leaves to friendship to growing up

Poetry Comics by Grant Snider

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The only reason Poetry Comics is a four and not a five rating is there were two things I was not loving. The first is that sometimes a poem felt finished but kept on going and the second was that I was not sure why some of the poems were in that particular season. Such as many in the season of winter did not match with my idea of winter.  However, Grant Snider’s works are fun stories done in clever poetry. They made cute illustrations […]



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