Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Isn’t that all we ever want? To be seen and heard? Validated, even when we’re not able to ask for it.”

Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young

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Playing around with tropes is part of the fun of reading in any given genre. Seeing how an author chooses to put the pieces together, which ones they decide to leave out of the equation entirely, how they create an entirely new thing using components that are eminently familiar is what keeps us coming back.  Following reading Next of Kin earlier this year I trusted Hannah Bonam-Young to play around with the romance tropes in unexpected ways, and in reading Out on a Limb rewarded […]

“You became like water. . . You’re soft . . . but powerful.”

Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young

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cbr17bingo: O I very rarely cry when I read a book, but this made me almost tear up a couple of times, in the best way, because of some poignant interactions between the characters, including main characters Win and Bo. They meet at mutual friends’ Halloween party, bond over each having a limb difference, and hook up with the intention of having a one night stand. When Win ends up pregnant, they decide to get to know each other as friends and co-parent the baby […]

A delightful scifi Sherlock retelling with aliens and disability rep.

A Study in Black Brew by Marie Howalt

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They say life is a string of chances held together with grit and guided by passion, and who am I to disagree? If you are looking for a retelling to read on Sherlock Holmes Day (May 22), I would recommend Marie Howalt’s A Study in Black Brew. It’s a scifi setting, on a queer-normative world with multiple species. The plot is pretty straightforward as a retelling of A Study in Scarlett (except no dogs, or helpless pets are killed), but Howalt has made choices that […]

Romance to start the year!

Under the Mistletoe with You by Lizzie Huxley-Jones

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Two years ago, my first review of the year was Make You Mine This Christmas by Lizzie Huxley-Jones. I loved that book, it’s a 4.5-star banger that I hope more and more people find and enjoy. I received it through my Illumicrate Afterlight subscription, and a few months ago they alerted me that they would be doing an exclusive edition of its follow-up Under the Mistletoe with You which I immediately scooped up and saved for my holiday week reading.   Under the Mistletoe with […]

I finally read Fourth Wing (Bingo blackout, just before the deadline!)

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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3.5 stars CBR16 Bingo: Smash (romantasy – I want it on record that I hate this term, by the way) Since this has been a huge success and had lots of attention on the TikToks and the like, I’m not even sure if I need to give much of a plot summary, but here goes: All her life, Violet Sorrengail has wanted to become a Scribe, like her father. However, her mother, a commanding general of the army of Navarre (the fictional country this is […]

More danger, calamity and heroism in space (Bingo)

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

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CBR16 Sweet Books: Binge CBR16 Bingo: Celestial (set in space. I’m sure the characters observe lots of stars on their epic journeys through space) Spoiler warning: this is the third and final book in the Illuminae Files. A lot of stuff happened in the previous two novels, and it will be impossible to review this book without referring to some significant plot points. Additionally, I don’t see how this book would be a satisfying reading experience taken out of context. So if you aren’t up […]



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