Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

What Do We Call This Genre? Backwoods Fantasy?

The Dragon Kings of Oklahoma by Ferrett Steinmetz

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I have to thank RouletteGirl and their review for putting The Dragon Kings of Oklahoma on my radar! The review alone really sold me on it, but I also have to give some credit to the cover –  which is amazing and tells you exactly what you are in for.* What happens when dragons turn up in small town Oklahoma? Tyler “Daisy” Collins isn’t your typical fantasy protagonist. In his own words, he’s “a six-two shithouse of aging muscle, a fine mullet planted beneath an […]

Don’t you know there’s a war on?

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

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This book very much suffers from middle book syndrome. This is supposed to be a five book series but I’m not sure Yarros has enough story for it, so this is a lot of filler. One issue is that Yarros isn’t necessarily a good enough author to write entertaining filler. Fourth Wing was incredibly derivative of so many other fantasy novels and tropes but it was also action packed, with fun characters, and there was fun world building. It was just a highly readable page turner. […]

A Jamaican-inspired YA fantasy with dragons

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

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So Let Them Burn is the debut YA fantasy from Kamilah Cole. Our leads are two Afro-Caribbean sisters. They live on a small tropical island, which was inspired by Jamaica. We meet Faron who called on the gods and was blessed with power to save her country from colonial invaders on dragons. It’s been a few years since the traumatic battle. Now she is kind of a bratty teenager who uses her magic to win races against bullies. Much to the chagrin of her sister Elara […]

Ignore the Marketing on This One—This Is a Different Kind of Dragon-Novel

The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons

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Jenn Lyons is back on the dragons again, it would seem. Is she also back with her complexity addiction? Let’s find out! Despite already having a fantasy series tied to dragons, this new book has no link back to that story whatsoever. This is its own new thing; a new kind of story with a new set of dragons. And just what kind of story is The Sky on Fire? Rather than a sprawling fantasy epic, this time we’re dealing with heist! We are also dealing […]

A fantasy zoo that is a love letter to the importance of conservation

The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean

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First and very importantly, Thank You CoffeeShopReader!  I thoroughly enjoyed The Phoenix Keeper.  It was a perfect book to close out a year that required lighter reading due to life challenges.  Also there was an added layer of fun as the zoo and location were clearly inspired by San Diego and our world famous zoo. As phoenix keeper at the magical San Tamculo Zoo, Aila is close to achieving a lifelong dream.  Overseeing a breeding pair of critically endangered Silimalo phoenixes and helping to bring them […]

Return to Massacre Manor

Apprentice To The Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

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I ended last year’s Cannonball with Assistant to the Villain so I think it’s quite appropriate that my hold for the second book in this fabulous series came in just in time for this one. I’ll try to keep it as non-spoilery as possible but get ready for more wacky hijinks! Now having said that the first book did end on a big ol cliffhanger that really almost killed me having to wait a whole year to find out what happens. You’ll be pleased to […]



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