Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“He had light enough to make heroes of them all.”

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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I knew how this was going to end – of course I did – and yet I went willingly with Patroclus and Achilles towards their doom and my ugly crying. I may have mentioned in earlier reviews that I have trouble slowing down and savoring books, but I was in luck with this gorgeous book because my child and husband were camping and canoeing in the Boundary Waters, so I had a glorious week to nibble at this book and delight in turns of phrase, […]

“I felt that I was now old enough to become fussy and spinsterish if I wanted to:” A Gentle Post-War Comedy of Manners

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

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This is a fast read but it has a lot of depth to it. I enjoyed it and it was the kind of book that surprises you and is counter to what you were expecting, in a good way. Excellent Women was a little outside of my normal reading pattern in that I’m not always a literary fiction type person, but this turned out to be more of a comedy of manners novel than the literary accolades suggested. And it’s good to broaden one’s reading […]

All signs point to… this being a pretty good anthology

All Signs Point to Yes by Cam Montgomery, Adrianne White, g. haron davis

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I’m not a huge astrology fan. Pretty much every I know comes from random internet articles, but I’m a big fan of anthologies (author speed dating!), so I hopped in hoping for the best. Luckily, each of the thirteen stories has a list of characteristics for that sign before the story starts. Yes, there are thirteen stories, the twelve traditional zodiac signs plus one that my limited googling indicates is controversial. Aries: “ruler and killer” – g. haron davis – ★★ F/NB. Not a strong […]

“We can make our own world, Viola, with our own rules.”

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

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This is an emotionally lovely historical romance featuring a trans woman and her childhood best friend and so much pining! Two years after the war, things are not going well for either Viola or Gracewood. Viola used it as an opportunity to change her future, but while she’s happy as a lady’s companion to her sister-in-law Lady Marleigh, she’s still wary of moving about in greater society. Gracewood has taken the death of his best friend particularly hard, and once word reaches Lady Marleigh of […]

Faith and Deprivation on the Channel Islands

An Island At War by Deborah Carr

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Estelle has sent her younger sister Rosie away from their home just in time, for days later the Germans occupy the Channel Islands. Now both sisters must survive their respective environments as best as they can. I picked up this book despite the tiring similarity of many WW2 historicals because it had an unusual setting – the Channel Islands, which were occupied by Germans for much of the war. I had hoped that this unique experience would lend itself to a more memorable tale. Unfortunately, […]

“Dear Sir, May I humbly suggest being less of an idiot and doing whatever it takes…”

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian

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This review contains spoilers for The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes & The Queer Principles of Kit Webb (indirectly): Perfect Crimes releases June 7th, so if all you want is a reminder/nudge to go buy the book, consider this your full-steam ahead, yes-please-buy-this-book-immediately, recommendation.  Go read it, & then come back here to talk with me about it, please!  This review is 90% amazing quotes, and – as such – will give away/hint at major plot points. If you want your journey to the HEA unspoiled, stop now.  […]



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