Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“You have to be realistic about these things…”

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

by Leave a Comment

I originally purchased the First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie(consisting of The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, and The Last Argument of Kings) sometime around 2009. I’ve somehow went 15 years without reading them, so figured it was finally time to do so… The books are mostly set in a country called the “Union”, and explore the inner politics of the nation, along with a series of conflicts with both the “North” (essentially a loosely organized collection of barbarians), and the “Gurkish” (an expansionist […]

Lady pirate called out of retirement for, “One last job”.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

by Leave a Comment

I was introduced to Shannon Chakraborty writing under the name S.A. Chakraborty through her book The City of Brass, first book in the Daevabad trilogy.  There was a lot I liked about it; excellent Middle Eastern inspired fantasy world building, an engaging story, and a great female main protagonist.  Yet, I disliked how pretty much the only female character was the main one. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi also has excellent Middle Eastern inspired fantasy world building.  This time it’s set on the Indian Ocean during the […]

Ruh roh.

The Fragile Threads of Power (Threads of Power, #1) by V.E. Schwab

by Leave a Comment

I think I may have fallen out of love with V.E. Schwab. I actually DNFed my re-read of the last book in the original Shades of Magic trilogy (!) because I was so uninterested (it was my least favorite the first time through, too). I started this book back in jAnUaRy. JANUARY. And I have only now finished it. And it was fine! While I was reading it I was having a good time, but I never actually felt like picking it back up. I […]

Slay Ride

Guards! Guards!: A Novel of Discworld by Terry Pratchett

by 5 Comments

I find that if I am in need of a book to make me laugh a bit and maybe think a bit, Terry Pratchett is an excellent choice. I received Guards! Guards! as part of last year’s holiday book exchange and couldn’t have been happier. I’ve only read a handful of books from Pratchett’s enormous Discworld series, but I have enjoyed every one that I’ve read and this is no exception. Guards! Guards! involves political power plays, bumbling police, a love story and dragons.  The […]

“Clean hearts and clean minds, cleanliness at all times! Nothing dirty, nothing bad, always happy, never sad!”

Mister Magic by Kiersten White

by Leave a Comment

Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the mysterious children’s program Mister Magic, the five remaining cast members are brought back together in a strange house in the desert, where they begin to realize their childhood is not exactly how they remembered it to be. Sometimes it’s fun to write one star reviews, because the story is not at all what was said on the tin and then I’m annoyed to have spent time with it. Other times, it’s tough to write […]

Artist in Search of a Purpose (That’s Not Drinking Blood)

The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland

by Leave a Comment

Changed into a vampire by her step-grandfather and cast adrift upon the world, Anna falls in love and loses everything many times. Now a preschool teacher to the children of the wealthy, Collette becomes entangled in the troubled life of one of her students. Why do I keep striking out with vampire books? I’ve read a variety of takes on vampires, so I don’t think it’s not any particular trope that’s throwing me off. Maybe I just can’t take them and their existential angst seriously […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo