Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Being Home Sick = Lots of Time to Read

The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

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cbr17bingo – TBR (for The City of Brass) and my 3rd BINGO The City of Brass This has been on my TBR for ages, and I’m glad I finally got to it. It’s a Middle Eastern-inspired historical fantasy that follows the POVs of Nahri, a con woman living in Cairo when we first meet her, and Ali, the younger son of the ruling family of Daevabad (the titular city of brass). While he doesn’t get his own POV chapters, Dara is another important character rounding […]

But could I have some of the cake?

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

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Bingo Square: Purple (maybe I am colorblind but it feels like there is purple filter overlaying this or something) This was fine. Sometimes I can’t tell whether it’s my mood specifically when it comes to cozy fantasy or if it is the book but it’s a bit of a hit or miss genre for me. It’s hard to find that right balance between creating a world that feels cozy but also has just enough of a hook or plot to keep the reader engaged. This […]

“To the people who gave me one-star reviews because the first book “had lesbians.” I doubled the lesbians in this one. Just for you.”

A Pirate’s Life For Tea by Rebecca Thorne

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You have to love any book where the main plot boils down to “four lesbians, with help from varied cast of characters aggravate obnoxious local politician while navigating their relationships”. Leaving their cozy bookshop/home for any plant Kianthe can reasonably (or not so reasonably) cram into its confines behind on their quest to recover the stolen dragon eggs, Kianthe and Reyna crash the garden party of Diarn Arlon, the powerful lord of the Nacean River. With the firm belief that what he wants he gets, […]

Happy endings are for grown-ups too

Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill

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I am now convinced that “cozy” basically means there will be tropes generally presented in an entertaining way, and that while drama of various sorts is an option, most all will be well in the end. Basically, happy endings are now allowed in “adult” fiction. Exhibit 1: Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill. I actually picked this up in an airport bookshop (the kind where you can return it within 6 months for a partial refund, but in my case, it was kind of an exchange, so […]

Lost tales or lost tension?

Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

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This one was more of 3.5 for me, but rounded down because the others in the series were 4s. Overall, this was a pleasant book and if you liked the others ones in the series, you’ll enjoy this one. I can’t even quite put my finger on what I liked less about that one because all the points that come to mind don’t feel like they are quite the right explanation. I don’t think this was that vastly different from the other books and yet, […]

A mediocre cozy fantasy, might still be worth your time if you really love animals.

The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean

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A socially anxious zookeeper working in phoenix conservation gets the chance of a lifetime to breed phoenixes and falls in love with her rival/frenemy from the griffin show in the process. Sounds nice, right? Books like this one almost frustrate me more than the real stinkers that deserve one or two stars. It’s ALMOST there for me. The premise=great. The themes=great. A convergence of genres that I love, plus magical animals and nerds=great. But none of it came together the way I wanted it to, […]



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