Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A companion to find creative and personal freedom

The Companion by E.E. Ottoman

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The Companion by E.E. Ottoman is a queer historical romance featuring a trio of trans characters. Madeline is invited to stay with Victor as his companion. The city and the literary scene of 1949 haven’t been kind to a woman like her. Victor comes off as intense, writing the day away in his secluded room. He is sometimes short but always adamant about welcoming her in his unique way. His home is big enough for them to write in separate corners without disturbing each other. He […]

Blood of Scotland

A Distant Echo by Val McDermid

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It’s crystal clear that I need to read more Val McDermid. A Place of Execution was one of the best things I read in 2021, but I consistently punt on her books. I finally bought 1979with some Christmas money after returning it three times to the library unfinished. I don’t know why, don’t ask me to explain it. She’s very good. Like the other one I read, this is a character driven crime novel with a mystery that’s resolved in a textured way. There are […]

The time-travel queer romance that stole my heart.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

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Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a love letter to New York, queer history, and believing in the impossible.  August moves to Brooklyn, New York, to disappear in the crowds and finish her degree. She switched majors and moved around, but feels like New York is meant for her. The book begins with August interviewing for an apartment. Her potential roommates are an intriguing couple, Myla and Niko. Niko is a psychic. Myla is a mixed-media artist. The third roommate Wes comes later, but we meet […]

To Thine Own Self Be True

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

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All Boys Aren’t Blue is George M. Johnson’s memoir manifesto. I’d been hearing about it since it was tragically banned in way too many US states. Well, jokes on those haters who are way too obsessed with censorship. It was picked in September for my Mocha Girls Read book club and our Cannon Book Club. Through a series of essay chapters, we learn about George’s life from childhood to now. We learn about their identity issues that started with their name. In early childhood, the […]

Reading a CBR Book Exchange Gift. Thanks again, andtheIToldYouSos!

Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg

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I almost feel like I’m not smart enough to review this book. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it a lot! But I just don’t think I’m up to the task of pulling it apart for meaning, which it is practically begging you to do. And yet, what I like about it is how unpretentious it is. Confessions of the Fox is a piece of historical fiction that tells the story of Jack Sheppard, infamous thief and renegade, who is also a folk hero. The […]

Atmospheric, dark, and lovely

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

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[Read as an ebook from the local library] Books like this generally don’t hit my radar. I do love well executed historical fiction, but as you might know from reading my review of The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep, I’m not a Dickens person. Victorian England is not my particular wheelhouse. But I do like Korean film, and The Handmaiden, Park Chan-wook’s sumptuous 2016 film, follows the initial plot of this book relatively closely, so I was curious to read the original. Because this is […]



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