Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Dealing with a crisis, wrapped in a disaster, surrounded by a mystery”

Dark Horse by Michelle Diener

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I’m not usually a fan of alien abduction books, but I originally picked this up back in 2020 and it was absolute brain catnip. Watching these characters “dealing with a crisis, wrapped in a disaster, surrounded by a mystery” was ridiculously fun, so when I heard the final book in the series was coming out, I decided to dive back in and read the whole thing. Dav, captain of a Grih exploration ship, doesn’t know what to think when he encounters a Class 5 Tecran […]

Debutante Runs for the Hills – Or Rather, Kent

The Sprinter by Kate Archer

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A group of highborn matrons, daughterless, start a society to sponsor young ladies through their seasons. Now it is the turn of Lady Heathway, whose chosen girl, Grace, is perfectly well-mannered and well-qualified – now if only she wouldn’t persist in running home! Archer has delivered again with an amusing Regency romance. This is the second book in the series and can be read as a standalone, though I enjoyed the humorous references to the first book. The main characters, Grace and George, are engaging, […]

Harimad-sol, Laprun Minta

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

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Harry Crewe is a young girl with a peculiar sense of placelessness. After she is orphaned, she comes out to the colony of Daria to be with her brother. Here, she finds her destiny – or perhaps her destiny finds her – when she is abducted by Corlath, king of the Hillfolk of Damar. This is probably the most accessible of McKinley’s work, but her lush prose shines throughout, and there is a real sense of old-fashioned adventure as Harry is swept away into a […]

Aerin-sol, Dragon-Killer

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

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In Damar once there was a princess called Aerin who was pitifully out of place, for she was the daughter of a woman who had long been branded a witch. With a vague sense that her destiny lay elsewhere compared to where a princess’s destiny generally lies, she set out to become the best dragon slayer the realm had seen, no matter that killing dragons was a thankless and ignoble task. But it turns out her destiny was far greater than that. I remember I […]

How to Become Tsarina of All the Russias

The Tsarina's Daughter by Ellen Alpsten

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It is nighttime, and Elizabeth Romanov stands in the nursery of her infant cousin the Tsar of All the Russias, contemplating her next move and all the events that brought her here. Though the prequel Tsarina is on my TBR, this is my first taste of Alpsten’s work. Luckily the work stands alone. And it was a fascinating read. I knew very little of the early Romanovs beyond that one of them picked his wife in what was basically a marriage cattle fair, which is probably not […]

“Some things belong so much they could never break”

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick

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When I saw this was a sapphic enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, I jumped at the chance to read this book. And, even better, it’s set in Pittsburgh! And even more better, this is actually written by a married writing team, which is pretty darn cute. Starting college is the perfect chance to reinvent yourself, or at least that’s what Molly and Alex hope. After a bad start at a party, Alex realizes Molly is exactly what she needs. She’ll create a five step plan for Molly to get […]



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