Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Here was life, gently reminding her that she could care again. That her grief was allowed, but so was her joy.”

Mrs. Martin's Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan

by Leave a Comment

This was a little on the nose in parts (mostly dialogue), but it was also full of spit and vinegar. I could feel Courtney Milan’s rage (tempered with good humor) on every page, and it wasn’t an incoherent rage, more like a well-harnessed one. The rest of her body of work shows compassion for men caught up in the same patriarchal system that puts women at an inherent disadvantage, but I guess she just needed let this one rip, just let out a pure expression […]

One of the top most 100 banned books of the decade! (2013)

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

by Leave a Comment

CBR11Bingo – Banned Books Sophie has two lives – the one her mother knows, and the one Sophie hides. The one Mother knows is the sad one. The miserable home life Sophie spends as the only child of two people who hate each other. Her mother is deeply depressed, spending more time with General Hospital than with the family. Her father is cold and distant, unless he and mom are screaming at each other. But in her other life, the one her mother doesn’t need […]

To see her is to love her

Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews

by 1 Comment

4.5 stars This is the first book in a new trilogy, so it will work fine to anyone new to the authors or this fantasy world, but readers may want to have read at least Diamond Fire, a novella which introduces the heroine and bridges the completed trilogy and this new one. In a world where magical abilities bring wealth, power and possibly even fame, Catalina Baylor has reluctantly become the head of House Baylor and the main investigator of her family’s detective agency, after her […]

Third time through, just as great. #CBRBingo – I Love This

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

by Leave a Comment

This book works on multiple levels for me: *It’s swoony and I love the characters. I find it comfortable and reassuring, like a big fluffy blanket. *It’s a smart take on Chosen One stories, upending tropes and challenging expectations. The first time through you think you know what’s going to happen, and then it doesn’t, and something much cooler happens instead. *It’s funny and incisive, and has good things to say about the human emotional cost of magic, of being caught inside a fantasy story. […]

I liked it!

A Prince on Paper (Reluctant Royals, #3) by Alyssa Cole

by Leave a Comment

This is my favorite book in this series by quite a large margin. (Although I haven’t read the second novella yet.) It still wasn’t a perfect read for me, and had a lot of the same problems I felt the others did, but I just loved the characters so much, and unlike in the other books in this series, I never thought their connection felt forced. And aside from how much I liked the two main characters and how well they meshed together, I thought […]

A Darker Shade of Magic Re-read: CBR Bingo “I Love This”

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

by Leave a Comment

Due to a bathroom remodel, my husband and I slept in our front room, where all our bookcases are, and when we finally went back to our bedroom a stack of books was unearthed with A Darker Shade of Magic sitting on top.  This book was my introduction to author Victoria (V.E.) Schwab, also known for the Monsters of Verity duology and Vicious.  I devoured the story and highly praised it in a previous Cannonball.  My TBR list is intimidating, so even though I often find comfort in […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo