Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Everyone who dies is alive. We call people “dead” because we need a word for it, but “dead” just means that time has stopped moving forward for that person? You understand? No one dies, not really.”

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

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I LOVE THIS BOOK AND BOOK SERIES AND YOU SHOULD READ IT. Yup. All caps. Yelling right out of the gate. I mean serious business. This joy is not a drill! This book is the fourth in the series, so if you haven’t read The Thursday Murder Club you should begin at the beginning and prepare to nearly swoon with delight in each installment. Osman has created a quartet of characters that I cannot wait to visit when I finally travel to England, because duh […]

Pride and Prejudice Wearing a Witch Hat

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub

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While Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy were stumbling around in their awkward courtship, it seems there was another story playing out in the background – that of Lydia Bennet, witch, her familiar/sister Kitty, and the literal demon Mr. Wickham. Reader, I love Pride and Prejudice. It was one of the first classic books that I read in its original form, and I’ve reread it numerous times over the years since. But I’ve usually avoided Pride and Prejudice retellings, doubtful of how they might add their […]

The Nazi Handmaid’s Tale

Widowland by C.J. Carey

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In a 1953 England under the control of German forces, life is good for Rose Ransom, a member of the privileged Geli class – or at least as good as life can be for a woman in the oppressive regime. But when she is given the task of infiltrating Widowland in search of possible subversives, she comes to learn she might have more power than she always thought. The premise of this book caught my eye immediately. I haven’t really read alternate history books before, […]

When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

High John The Conqueror by Tariq Goddard

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I don’t know who I would recommend this book to at all but I know that person wouldn’t have otherwise been me. There’s a lot going on with this book: mystery, folk horror, urban wyrd (which is apparently an English subgenere), as well as running commentaries on police brutality and gentrification. I’m not sure it all works — and at times it is a bit wobbly — but I enjoyed reading it. There was something about Tariq Goddard’s storytelling that made me really connect with […]

Love in Masquerade

My Only Valentine by Victoria Henshaw, Julia Parks, Donna Simpson

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Three couples in Regency England find their way to each other through various Valentine’s Day related events and hijinks. In “The Valentine Poem” by Victoria Henshaw, Susan Kimball falls in love with her Italian tutor, little suspecting that he is actually a nobleman undercover. This is a cute romance with little plot, and I liked the relationship between John and his half-brother the duke. However, Susan’s bleak moment seemed very illogical for a generally logical heroine – it really should have been timed for before […]

January 2024 Leftovers

The Battle of Hastings: The Fall of the Anglo-Saxons and the Rise of the Normans by Jim Bradbury

Time to Murder and Create by Lawrence Block

Charlesgate Confidential by Scott von Doviak

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

Sword Song by Bernard Cornwell

The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie

Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey

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A lot of folks said this month was slow but I thought it flew by… The Battle of Hastings: The Fall of the Anglo-Saxons and the Rise of the Normans *** Bit too stuffy and academic but gave me a great outline as to the importance of the Battle and its outcomes. Time to Murder and Create **** This is the second time I’ve come out of a Matthew Scudder re-read with a better impression than the first time I read it. How it bodes for the […]



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