Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“I did not come here only to dance. I came here only to dance with you. It is quite a different thing.”

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

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This book is marketed as Howl’s Moving Castle meets Bridgerton. I suspect anything by a slightly less known author writing in the Regency era is now sold as X meets Bridgerton. Before the Netflix success of Julia Quinn’s novels, I’m guessing it would be X meets Jane Austen. Obviously, just because it’s set in the Regency era, it isn’t necessarily anything at all like Bridgerton, and that’s absolutely fine, and might, in fact, make more people interested in it. I do see the Howl’s Moving […]

A promising start to a fun fantasy series

Daindreth's Assassin by Elisabeth Wheatley

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Amira was once a princess, but after her mother’s clan of sorceresses were branded as traitors and banished, she was removed from the line of succession and now, thanks to a curse that forces her to obey her father’s every command, she works for him as an assassin. Amira’s sister is betrothed to the archduke, the next emperor, who is on his way to finalise the marriage agreement. Despite knowing that what she has to do amounts to high treason, Amira has no choice when […]

Happy Birthday, Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

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Cbr15bingo Hold Steady (old favorite), bingo Did you know that today, October 15, is the birthday of Charlotte’s Web? It’s also my birthday but Charlotte is older than I am, having been introduced to the world on this day in 1952. This is such a beautiful story of friendship. Reading it again, probably about 50 years after I first read it, is like a warm hug. The story of the friendships of Wilbur, Fern, and Charlotte is timeless and welcome in a world that often […]

A beautiful novel, surprising for its time

Maurice by E.M. Forster

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CBR15 BINGO: Queer Lives, because it focuses on a gay man in Edwardian times BINGO: Politics, Africa, On the Road, Queer Lives, Bodies, Bodies Some spoilers included Maurice may not be E.M. Forster’s best or most famous novel, but it’s a lovely, heart-felt, and surprising story, particularly given the era in which it was created. Written in 1913, the novel wasn’t published until 1971, a year after Forster died. Homosexuality wasn’t decriminalized in the United Kingdom until 1967, so a story about love between men […]

Nature v. Nurture

Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body by Sara Pascoe

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Cbr15bingo Relation“ship” bingo, Cannonball Sara Pascoe is a British comedian and a regular on the panel shows that my husband and I enjoy so much. I expected Animal to be funny, and it is, but I was not expecting it to be so informative. This is not just the story of Pascoe’s life; it is about the female body, sexuality, rights and more. She examines genetics, behavior, history, culture and a variety of other factors that have influenced the physical development of the human body […]

A truly international and diverse magical school

The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

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CBR15 Bingo: Edibles – Dhonielle Clayton ramped up the concept of magical food to an almost absurd level, many sound down right hard to eat. Things like Jamaican patties that sing reggae when you cut them open and hummingbird cakes that fly around are two that stick out in my memory. A few years ago I discovered Clayton through her YA Belles duology, The Belles and The Everlasting Rose, which I thought were both 4 star reads. The Marvellers came to my attention due to the […]



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