Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Three five-star books in a row; what are the odds? (Nm don’t tell me the odds.)

City of Blades (The Great Cities, #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett

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“Not one war, she realizes—every war, all wars ever fought by humanity. Never one side prevailing over the other, never separate and disparate groups, but a blazing, monstrous act of self-mutilation, as if humanity itself was cutting open its own belly to send its intestines spilling into its lap. The sword speaks to her: Are you these things? Is this you?” This series continues to be so good, and in such unexpected ways. It’s just so rich in basically every way a story can be rich: in […]

All right, I’ve finished this bonkers series now, so I know y’all are safe to read it. Five stars.

The Discord of Gods (A Chorus of Dragons, #5) by Jenn Lyons

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I’m glad I kept going with this series. I was skeptical after book one, but the storytelling and worldbuilding here let me look past the confusion and ‘Wait, what now?’ moments to really enjoy myself, particularly in books three through five, when all the backstory telling is out of the way, and our main characters start to work together and uncover secrets. This last book is a non-stop rollercoaster ride of action. There are some nice character moments, and occasional moments of quiet, but for […]

“There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.”

A Hat Full of Sky (Discworld, #32; Tiffany Aching, #2) by Terry Pratchett

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Terry Pratchett was so good. With this review, I shall continue my biannual tradition of being unable to write coherently about a five-star Discworld book. This is the second Tiffany Aching book, which is set in the Discworld with his adult books, but this is technically middle grade, verging on YA. I say technically because any adult who wouldn’t enjoy this has a piece of coal for a heart and loops of iron chain for intestines. I really liked the first Tiffany Aching book, but […]

Fascinating historical fantasy mystery, an okay romance.

Rag and Bone (Rag and Bone, #1) by K.J. Charles

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Sometimes this happens with K.J. Charles and me—and it’s often in this particular magical world of hers, come to think of it—where I am way more interested in the plot and worldbuilding than I am in the central romance. Here, partly it’s because the couple are already together at the start of the book, and the tension of “will they stay together” is just not as inherently interesting to me as “how will they get together and when”. But also, partly, there’s just something about […]

And she was never ours to claim.

Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert

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CBR 14 Bingo: Rec’d Katee Robert is probably not an author I would have gotten into without all the hearty recommendations of her that I have read! Helen Kasios wants to be more than a pawn, and competing in the trials to become Ares seems to be her way out. But her family has other plans for her, and her brother offers her hand in marriage to whoever wins. Of course, I love Katee Robert’s books, and I really enjoy her more plot-heavy Olympus books. […]

A Kind of Predictable Fantasy Comedy that’s Getting Feelings Right

The Devil is a Part-Timer vols 16-18 by Satoshi Wagahara, Akio Hiiragi

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Bingo 9: Heart In a lot of ways, The Devil is a Part-Timer is a kind of generic comedy in which a fantasy hero, her arch-nemesis the king of demons, and a few allies end up transported in our world, and have to deal both with everyday things like groceries, jobs, transportation, as well as trying to figure out what to do about their conflict, started when Satan demon king invaded and destroyed the hero’s home. There’s a begrudging enemies to something else going on, […]



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