Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I’m never crossing a rope bridge again

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

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A group of people are crossing the Bridge of San Luis Rey, an Incan rope bridge in Peru, when it collapses and all, tragically, plummet to their deaths. Observing this tragedy is Brother Juniper, a friar, who decides to tell the stories of those who died in this accident in order to conclusively prove that God has a divine plan. What follows in a series of vignettes into the interconnected lives of these few in early 18th century. Originally published in 1927, this novel won […]

Pretty young things solve supernatural murders in 1920s NYC (Complete bingo card!)

The Diviners by Libba Bray

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#CBR12 Bingo: The Roaring 20s (could easily be used for Violet as well)   17-year-old Evangeline “Evie” O’Neill can sense people’s secrets if she holds a personal object belonging to them and concentrates hard on it. She becomes decidedly unpopular in her home town when she gets drunk at a party and reveals that one of the town’s golden boys knocked up a hotel maid and paid her to have the problem “dealt with”. He accuses her of slander and threatens to sue her family. Evie […]

An unusual murder mystery

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

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“Gosford Park” meets “Groundhog Day” by way of Agatha Christie – the most inventive story you’ll read this year.   Tonight, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed… again.   It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed.   But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden – one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party – can solve her murder, the day will […]

“The future isn’t a warning my friend, it’s a promise.”

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

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CBR12 BINGO: Cannonballer Says I decided to read The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle for the “Cannonballer Says” BINGO square after reading Narfna’s review. Or rather, I should say, after skimming Narfna’s review, because as soon as I saw the basic premise and the spoiler alerts, I averted my eyes and decided to go no-contact on any reviews until after I had read it. I’m glad I did; yet here I am with the impossible task of describing a book I really enjoyed without giving […]

I wish this had been longer and more fleshed out. #CBRBingo – Cannonballer Says

Spellbound (Magic in Manhattan, #1) by Allie Therin

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This was a solid first novel, and a good start to this fantasy/romance series. This is paranormal/fantasy romance set in 1925, where some people have paranormal powers but most don’t, and magic is a well kept secret. Our main characters are Rory Brodigan, a scryer, who can see the history of any object, and Arthur Kenzie, a politician’s son who fought in WWI, and who uses his wealth to employ paranormals to keep the world safe. Rory is caught up in their net when a […]

”My name, since you raise the topic, is Arthur Aloysius Kimberley de Brabazon Secretan. What would you do in my place?” “Leave the country … You poor bastard, you never stood a chance.” #CBRBingo – The Roaring 20’s

Slippery Creatures (The Will Darling Adventures, #1) by K.J. Charles

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I loved everything about this. K.J. Charles is honestly spoiling me for other historical romance authors. There’s just something about her style (very detailed, historically accurate, flawed but compelling characters) that gets me right in the pleasure center. She also doesn’t just write in one time period or keep it to straight-up romance. She’s always messing around with spy fiction or mystery or golden age pulp (here and Think of England) or jewelry heists or homages to Georgette Heyer regency fiction. Sometimes many of these […]



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