Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“You can check-out any time you like/But you can never leave!”

Hotel California by Don Bruns, Heather Graham, Andrew Child, John Gilstrap, Reed Farrel Coleman, Amanda Flower, Jennifer Dornbush, Rick Bleiweiss

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In this anthology of eight crime stories, the reader is introduced to a quite wide cast that includes multiple hitmen and detectives, a senator, an influencer – and a whole bunch of victims. I don’t read many anthologies, but I do make an exception for ones consisting of crime stories. I think the mystery genre is one of the most diverse when it comes to the way authors explore its common tropes. Hotel California‘s central theme is that each story is inspired by a song […]

Christmas in June

Christmas Romance by Catherine Hart, Betina Krahn, Linda Ladd, Barbara Dawson Smith, Katherine Sutcliffe

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Because why not kick off the summer with Christmas romances? A Christmas Melodie (Catherine Hart) – 2.5 stars Melodie is a mail order bride on her way out to Colorado, but when she is snowed in with a handsome widower and his four children, she gets rather side-tracked. I found Melodie likable, but the hero David to be rather annoying with how pushy he was. I also didn’t love that a child-free heroine ended up changing her mind merely on a few days acquaintance with […]

All signs point to… this being a pretty good anthology

All Signs Point to Yes by Cam Montgomery, Adrianne White, g. haron davis

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I’m not a huge astrology fan. Pretty much every I know comes from random internet articles, but I’m a big fan of anthologies (author speed dating!), so I hopped in hoping for the best. Luckily, each of the thirteen stories has a list of characteristics for that sign before the story starts. Yes, there are thirteen stories, the twelve traditional zodiac signs plus one that my limited googling indicates is controversial. Aries: “ruler and killer” – g. haron davis – ★★ F/NB. Not a strong […]

Space Fiction, Not Science Fiction

Alien Dimensions #22 by Neil A. Hogan, Editor

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When I write for an anthology, I frequently receive a contributor’s copy. I enjoy reading the stories by other writers, and Alien Dimensions #22 is no exception. In “The Voiceless City” by Elana Gomel, a spaceship commanded by an AI selects a crew for a first contact mission. The unusual crew is composed of a half-dozen experts, but all of them have issues: antisocial disorder, linguistic delay, autism, and similar neurological and psychological challenges. When the ship returns from its mission, the AI and several […]

A wide variety of horror from Lovecraftian to historically inspired

Dark Stars by John F.D. Taff

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I’ve said it before, but I love anthologies for the opportunity to speed date a variety of authors. While I’ve been reading more horror lately, it’s not a genre where I’m familiar with a lot of authors, so I jumped on the chance to read this anthology. In that respect, it was a complete success as I found several new authors! “In classes, I was often told that, according to Henry James, my taste for the works of Edgar Allan Poe was ‘the mark of […]

Thank you, llamareadsbooks!

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Thank you, llamareadsbooks!  Emmalita’s review got me quite interested in Sword, Stone, Table: Old Legends, New Voices since I’ve always liked Arthurian myths and retellings.  As I’m working on improving the diversity of the voices I read, this anthology of “gender-bent, race-bent, LGTQIA+ inclusive retellings” from a diverse group of authors will help with that.  I’m looking forward to reading this next year 🙂 Giving and receiving books is the best way to celebrate the holidays!  Merry Book Exchange!



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