Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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On the Horror of Raising Children in a Messed Up World

When I'm Dead by Hannah Morrissey

August 10, 2025 by Halbs Leave a Comment

When I’m Dead is the third entry in Hannah Morrissey’s Black Harbor mystery/suspense series. Morrissey calls her genre “Midwestern Noir;” think Scandi Noir, but set in Wisconsin! So far, you can read the Black Harbor books in a standalone fashion. Each story is mostly its own thing, although they all take place in the same city, and occasionally a character will drift from one book into another. Just read them in order, though, don’t be dramatic. This book is about the Winthrop family, and what living […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense Tagged With: cbr17bingo, Hannah Morrissey, midwest

Halbs's CBR17 Review No:18 · Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense · Tags: cbr17bingo, Hannah Morrissey, midwest ·
Rating:
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A half-baked Taylor Swift fanfiction

Famous (A Famous novel, Book 1) by Jenny Holiday

August 5, 2025 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

Bingo square: Arts The MMC is an art professor and a painter. The FMC is a musician. Evan Winslow is an art professor at a liberal arts college in Dane, Iowa. After his father is exposed as an art fraud just as Evan was starting out as a painter, Evan fights to regain a scrap of respectability in the art world. He is a talented painter, but does not paint as he fears inviting comparisons between his father’s shady business and his own art. Despite […]

Filed Under: Romance Tagged With: cbr17bingo, celebrity culture, Iowa, Jenny Holiday, midwest, Pop Star, romcom, roommates to lovers, secret identity, Taylor Swift, they were roommates

carmelpie's CBR17 Review No:18 · Genres: Romance · Tags: cbr17bingo, celebrity culture, Iowa, Jenny Holiday, midwest, Pop Star, romcom, roommates to lovers, secret identity, Taylor Swift, they were roommates ·
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“Her mom carefully selected her memories to reflect her established opinions, and it turned her mind into a bowl of lettuce she believed was a salad.”

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

January 24, 2023 by cheerbrarian Leave a Comment

In the past, I’ve started my reviews with “in one word” and offered one word that sums up my feelings on a book, but over time, that has gotten stale. Instead, I’m going to give myself ten words or less to try to sum up a book, because why not. (My reviews, my rules). In Ten Words or Less: Complex female characters uncover their potential and discover family destiny. This little book charmed me and was exactly the kind of light read I needed at […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: beer brewing, family saga, j ryan stradal, midwest, Minnesota, Sisters, The Lager Queen of Minnesota

cheerbrarian's CBR15 Review No:2 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: beer brewing, family saga, j ryan stradal, midwest, Minnesota, Sisters, The Lager Queen of Minnesota ·
Rating:
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Not So Ordinary

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

May 11, 2020 by cheerbrarian Leave a Comment

I read this book over a month ago, so in covid time, that’s like what, 7 months ago?! When I went over to Goodreads to figure out how far behind I was in my Cannonball reviews I was like, “Oh yeeeeah. I read that!!” It was the book club pick for my local library book club, but since we didn’t meet last month (when I had read the book, Trevor Noah’s amazing Born a Crime) I figured I was off the hook this month but […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Americana, historical fiction, midwest, William Kent Krueger

cheerbrarian's CBR12 Review No:15 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Americana, historical fiction, midwest, William Kent Krueger ·
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“There are new monsters now”

Universal Harvester by John Darnielle

January 20, 2019 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

This novel sneaks up on you. You’re lulled into comfort with descriptions of old video rental places, suburban living rooms, and the polite peace of the Midwest before being startled awake by sudden glances of violence and fear. These shocks originate from movies. Movies within movies. Were they intended for you to see? Why are they here? Who spliced an almost still image of heavy breathing and a woman with a bag over her head into She’s All That? Uncertainty creeps around every corner- breeding fear, […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Horror, Suspense Tagged With: adulthood, cult worship, film, first person, grief, Iowa, John Darnielle, loss, midwest, Mountain Goats, outdated technology, resilience, Small town, spooky, third person, uncertainty, VHS

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR11 Review No:3 · Genres: Fiction, Horror, Suspense · Tags: adulthood, cult worship, film, first person, grief, Iowa, John Darnielle, loss, midwest, Mountain Goats, outdated technology, resilience, Small town, spooky, third person, uncertainty, VHS ·
Rating:
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THE CASE OF THE MISSING NUN WHO WAS KIDNAPPED AND MURDERED (except obviously not)

March 2, 2017 by LadyStardust 1 Comment

I kind of hated reading this . I understand its goals and it had some interesting and touching moments, but was overall a slog to get through. One of many stories of childhood in the 1950s, I don’t think it offered any new point of view on the era. It does have an interesting look into grief and children, specifically losing a parent, but doesn’t dive as deeply into the topic as I wish it would have. The Mutual Admiration Society is made up of young Theresa “Tess” […]

Filed Under: Comedy/Humor, Fiction Tagged With: 1950s, cbr9, childhood, Fiction, greif, lesley kagen, midwest

LadyStardust's CBR9 Review No:3 · Genres: Comedy/Humor, Fiction · Tags: 1950s, cbr9, childhood, Fiction, greif, lesley kagen, midwest ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment


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