Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Much Beloved but Not by me

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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I’ll just say this up front: I do not get the hype around this series. I realize that I am not the original target audience (it’s dark YA fantasy), and that Six of Crows is not the original introduction to the Grishaverse, it’s a side-series. That said, I’m kind of wondering about the Netflix show Shadow and Bone because from the sound of it, if you’ve read the books, you don’t like the series, but I haven’t read (most of) the books, so maybe? Actually […]

Doing It For the Death Style Points

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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Definitely more 3.5 stars, arrived at due to a 3 star first half and 4 star second half. We start on a planet(?) kingdom(?) post-apocalyptic-world-with-necromancy(?) realm(?) dimension(?) that is dark and gritty in the extreme–so, so very gritty. By about halfway through I realized that no one was an actual zombie/undead necromancer type, but I definitely felt like everyone should have taken a shower with a loofah at least once. For a cast of characters living in an stylistically(?) abandoned(?) / derelict(?) giant mansion(?) / […]

This series still not living up to its potential, for me.

One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns, #2) by Kendare Blake

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I liked this one better than the first one, but there was still some issues lingering from that book, and I have some things to say about Katharine. The plot has officially arrived, and while it felt sort of meandering and messy, at least things were happening. After Beltane, the three Queens of Fennbirn are officially free to murder one another, and the last Queen standing takes the throne. If they haven’t killed each other by the end of the year, they will be locked […]

Content Warning: Some triggering subjects and Grammar ranting ahead

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

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I’ve had Ninth House on a shelf for a while, but I hadn’t really been in the mood for what promised to be a pretty dark story, and as it turns out, it’s a good bit darker than I’d thought. Although, I do have to say the darkness does really suit the story. Ninth House is something of a mix between The Secret History and The Magicians, neither of which I liked. I did however somewhat enjoy Ninth House. So as it turns out, some […]

Delightfully dark (though perhaps not for the current situation?)

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

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I read The Monster of Elendhaven (listened to it, actually) months ago, but never got around to reviewing it. It’s more of a novella than a novel, and was marketed as horror but I think the fantasy elements come through more strongly at times. It revolves around “Johann”, the titular monster who cannot be killed and loves killing others, and his relationship with the young, handsome, and equally monstrous Florian, the last surviving member of a rich and powerful family in Elendhaven. Together, they plot […]

(Bingo: Pajiba) All shall fade into the whiteness of death

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

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I was keenly intrigued upon reading both the Pajiba post about this one and I think also possibly Big Idea on Scalzi’s website but I’m not certain about that. I just know I saw a fair amount of press and was very interested in reading James’ take on an epic fantasy world beginning from an African perspective. “Children cannot help how they are born, they had no choice in it. Choosing to be a fool, though . . .” (Kindle loc 1020) Unfortunately, I am […]



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