Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Just when you think you’ve seen the worst human beings have to offer, you find out you’re wrong.”

Holly (Holly Gibney, #3) by Stephen King

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This was bit of a messy book that I ultimately enjoyed very much. King takes a lot of smaller pieces (racism, homophobia, cannibalism, the fear of aging, COVID, poetry and writing and the meaning of art) and smushes them together in this little book following Holly Gibney, a character some people love and some people (inexplicably) hate. I happen to love her. I thought this was a great showcase for Holly, even if it wasn’t perfect, and there were small moments I might have tweaked […]

“Never trust. Never yield. Always guard your heart.”

The Serpent & The Wings of Night (Crowns of Nyaxia, #1) by Carissa Broadbent

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This was fun! I mean, as much fun as a gruesome and bloody murder competition can be, set in a world where humans are food because it is almost entirely populated by vampires. I wonder how much the edited version will change. I would re-read to find out! Our main character is Oraya, a human who was raised by the vampire king since she was a small child. He took her from the village he slaughtered. He was just like, oh yeah I’m gonna save […]

Absolutely no second book slump to be found. Not even close. The opposite of that.

The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy, #2) by S.A. Chakraborty

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That was super intense. I need a break before diving into the last book, even though I need to know what happens. There are just some books that put you through it, and this is one of them. Luckily, the book is also excellent, which is a huge part of why the book was so affecting. This book picks up three (?) years after the events of City of Brass. I am not going to go into plot specifics bc it is labyrinthine, and won’t […]

I want to live in this book.

Clean Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles, #1) by Ilona Andrews

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“…Something isn’t right with you and this property. Strange things happen around it. I don’t know what is going on, but I will find out. You could make it easier on yourself by coming clean.” “Sure. This is a magic bed-and-breakfast and the two guys in my kitchen are aliens from outerspace.” Blurb from the back of the book: “On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih […]

Look, I just want to give this author five stars but he makes it so difficult!

The Tyranny of Faith (Empire of the Wolf, #2) by Richard Swan

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Look, I may feel differently upon re-read, but this author cannot write romance to save his life. Both of these books so far have been made worse by his efforts in that department. His instincts are all wrong. In the first book, it was an underdeveloped and ill-advised “romance” between our narrator, Helena, the apprentice of famed Justice Sir Konrad Vonvalt, and some village rube who had zero personality. Here, it’s between Helena and Vonvalt himself and just UGH. NO. WHY. Luckily the romance never […]

“Beside her, Death set down his tea. ‘How do you feel about this woman? I could infect her with a light plague, perhaps. Or we could give her the pox? Blemished skin may do her vanity some good.'”

Belladonna (Belladonna, #1) by Adalyn Grace

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The romance was the least interesting part of this gothic, young adult fantasy. I was here for Signa and her affliction, and the atmospheric, ghost- and poison-infused setting. The fact that the central plot was a murder mystery certainly didn’t hurt. Signa is an orphan of unusual circumstances. When she was a baby, her mother and everyone in their house was poisoned at a party. She was the only survivor, despite being poisoned herself. In fact, Signa cannot die. She can be poisoned, injured, or […]



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