Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“His big, obnoxious Scorpio energy is invading your cozy Cancer safe space!”

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

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I saved this for Halloween* and I’m so glad I did. It was so atmospheric and spooky and fun, with great worldbuilding and great characters. The only reason it’s not getting five stars is that I was straight up able to predict everything that happened in the plot, because the author telegraphed it all pretty hard. It didn’t really affect my enjoyment that much, because the fun here was the world and the characters, but I of all people should just not be able to […]

My favorite Olivia Waite book yet, with one of the worst covers I’ve ever seen.

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows (Feminine Pursuits, #2) by Olivia Waite

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Now that I’ve actually read the book, the cover makes me even more angry. I honestly, 100% no lie, did not read this book because of the cover. I find it loathsome. From far away, it’s bad. It’s clear the lady behind is wearing modern clothes. That is in no way the estimable Penelope Flood, beekeeper. The lady in front is wearing a dress that doesn’t fit, and also is ugly, and also she is supposed to be a printer. Where are her work clothes, […]

“we all got thick skin, but we still gotta let people in.”

Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead

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Jonny has to get home to the reservation he grew up on for his stepfather’s funeral. What transpires in this book is almost a near stream-of-consciousness retelling of the moments that have brought him to this moment in his life. Without a care for time or linearity, Jonny invites us into his life to show us his memories and to highlight the love he has felt for his family, his friends, and for himself. One thing you should know going in to this book is […]

Thank you, llamareadsbooks!

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Thank you, llamareadsbooks!  Emmalita’s review got me quite interested in Sword, Stone, Table: Old Legends, New Voices since I’ve always liked Arthurian myths and retellings.  As I’m working on improving the diversity of the voices I read, this anthology of “gender-bent, race-bent, LGTQIA+ inclusive retellings” from a diverse group of authors will help with that.  I’m looking forward to reading this next year 🙂 Giving and receiving books is the best way to celebrate the holidays!  Merry Book Exchange!

A doorway to a beautifully built new world

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

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How do you care for your daughter after she returns from the Land of the Dead? If you’re Nancy’s parents, you take her to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. Thus begins Every Heart a Doorway. Nancy is delivered to her new home to get better when all she wants is to return to the world she stumbled upon years ago. As does everyone else under Eleanor’s care. She takes care of and helps those children who have crossed over to other worlds and want nothing […]

If you like lots of angst in your YA and stories about teenagers being assholes and doing stupid things, you will like this more than I did.

May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor

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I was disappointed by this one, I don’t think through any fault of the book. I was really looking forward to it because of the premise, but it wasn’t really to my tastes, though I think what the author did with it was interesting. It just didn’t resonate with me. So what we’ve got here is two exes both running for homecoming king. Jeremy is trans (and newly out) and a cheerleader, and Lukas is the boyfriend dumped over the summer. They used to be […]



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