Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“He kissed for his enjoyment and mine, and we staggered and stumbled our way to the ground, still kissing for the sheer glory of being alive, the wonder of finding a congenial soul in the world, and the very real prospect of being dead before the weekend.”

The Henchmen of Zenda by K.J. Charles

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This honestly might be five stars on re-read, but I’ve been handing out five star ratings like they’re candy, and I’ve come off my book high now. This is a strong 4.5 stars for now. Firstly, this is a retelling of The Prisoner of Zenda, a Ruritanian Romance/Adventure/Swashbuckler from the late 1800s, written by Anthony Hope. I’ve never read the original, but before diving into this I did read the detailed summary of the book and I’m really glad I did that, because it was […]

“You must be patient with me, dear Cae, as I learn to inhabit myself.” #CBRBINGO – Bodies

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows

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When I first finished this in July and gave it five stars, I predicted that most people wouldn’t love it as much as I did, and I was right. It also unfortunately came out at the same time as Alexandra Rowland’s A Taste of Gold and Iron, which is pretty similar in story and theme (I haven’t read it yet, though I do have it out from the library), and most people have preferred it to A Strange and Stubborn Endurance. I think this is […]

Oh, and I forgot to mention that this book takes place in a world with a cultural assumption of bi- and pan-sexuality, and people who aren’t are considered “gender exclusive”!

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

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This is going to be a short review. I read this too long ago, and have forgotten too much of it. I did like it, though! Quite a bit. I just wish I had gone into it with the correct expectations. Somehow, I’d gotten it into my head that this was a romance with some science fiction in it, rather than what it actually was, the other way around. This is waaaay more science fiction than it is romance, in a space opera sort of […]

“I don’t think happily ever after is something that happens to you, Dev. I think it’s something you choose to do for yourself.”

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

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I read The Charm Offensive back in July and I’m sad I didn’t sit down to write a review right away because I really loved this one, and it deserves a more nuanced discussion than I’m about to give it. This book was vaguely on my radar when I put together my 2022 Read Harder Challenge TBR, and a quick search for romances with asexual protagonists secured its place on that list (one of the main characters is demisexual). The basic plot is that tech-genius […]

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 […]

“He was one barely powered magician with nothing but a tendency to let books replace people in his life.”

A Marvellous Light (The Last Binding, #1) by Freya Marske

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This is, what, like, the tenth book this year I have not wanted to review because I liked it too much? I hate that. Plus also I read it almost two months ago so the details of what I wanted to say about it have escaped me. Mostly, I really, really liked it! This book takes place in a world where there is a magical secret society hidden in plain sight, and one of our main characters, Robin Blyth, is accidentally assigned to a magical […]



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