Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Why didn’t this place have an elevator? A magical one full of morphine.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

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She could hear Darlington’s voice in her head: When was the first time you saw them? Low and halting, as if he wasn’t sure whether the question was taboo. But the real question, the right question, was: When was the first time you knew to be afraid? Alex was glad he’d never had the sense to ask. ― Leigh Bardugo, Ninth House Ninth house refers to Lethe house, the watchers and keepers over the magic practices of the “Ancient Eight” houses, or magical societies at […]

“News always reached Miss Marple, one way or another.”

Marple: Twelve New Stories by Various

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I would read more of these Agatha Christie short story collections featuring notable authors, for sure. Even the ones where Americans tried and failed to capture that British Marple feeling were entertaining in their failure. But most of these stories were pretty successful! One nailed it completely. Highlights for me were the stories from Ruth Ware (I know!), Naomi Alderman, Elly Griffiths, Kate Mosse, and Leigh Bardugo. This may be the easy way out, but I’ve just copied and pasted my Goodreads status update mini-reviews […]

If Crooked Kingdom continued for an additional 700k words

Dealing with Our Demons by ravenyenn19

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Kaz removed the paper to reveal a hat just like the previous one she had ordered for him nearly a year ago, but of even better craftsmanship. He picked it up and turned it over. The inside was lined in black suli silk identical to what Inej had worn tonight, but just inside along the seam, stitched in red silk thread, was a ‘K’ next to a heart. The font was the exact replica of a playing card. The ‘K’ did not stand for ‘Kaz’. […]

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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Original short review: DNF at 14 percent. After the first few pages there was just too much info dumping and names for me to even focus. I loved the idea behind some people who have special abilities, but think that there wasn’t a good build up and I still can’t tell you who anyone is after Anya. Longer review: Did Not Finish at 14 percent. I feel bad about this one. So many people recommended this book to me since they thought it be right […]

“I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no shelter but mine.”

Ruin & Rising (Shadow and Bone #3) by Leigh Bardugo

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In one word: Predictable Cannonball Read Bingo: Verse Leigh Bardugo created a detailed YA universe with interesting magical elements, warring factions, and all the trappings of a good fantasy tale; however, my time spent in Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse has been uneven. Though I loved her original duology, this trilogy didn’t do it for me. But I finished it. YAY! Or I should say we finished it, as I read the last half of this novel aloud to my teen. Unbeknownst to me, he still likes […]

“You know the problem with heroes and saints, Nikolai?” I asked as I closed the book’s cover and headed for the door. “They always end up dead.”

Siege and Storm (Shadow and Bone Trilogy #2) by Leigh Bardugo

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In one word: Middling Cannonball Read Bingo: Monster In book two of the Shadow and Bone series, The Darkling (or, as we refer to him in my house The Darkling Duck) is maaaaad having been thwarted in his attempt to wield Alina’s power… for the time being. Alina and Mal are now on the run, hopeful that by tracking the second amplifier they might be able to give Alina the edge she needs to fight The Darkling (Duck) and be victorious. Full disclosure,  the action […]



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