Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

‘I claim my place. And if the pattern of the world refuses to let that place exist, I will change it. ‘

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

by 1 Comment

There will be spoilers from She Who Became the Sun here, be warned.  He Who Drowned the World was one of my more anticipated reads this year, and Emmalita was so very kind and sent me a copy. So, I owe it to squeeze this review in before the year’s end.  She Who Became the Sun was an absolutely fantastic book that really put Shelly Parker-Chan on the map. But it was also a book that was eager to give you a gut punch. Or […]

Getting caught up on reviews

Frankenstein, or: The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

The Sunset Limited by Cormac McCarthy

by Leave a Comment

Frankenstein, or: The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley (5 stars) As I slowly make way through books most of you read in grade school, I’m learning that these books have staying power for a reason. I’ve liked the vast majority of them. Sometimes, I don’t know how I made it through school without having read them before, but my ability to avoid school work should never be underestimated. This book was phenomenal. Melodramatic, and the prose, though beautiful, was a bit antiquated and florid, but […]

So tell me, little sister: What are you prepared to do, for what you want?

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

by 13 Comments

When I posted my review of She Who Became the Sun a couple of people mentioned they were afraid to read He Who Drowned the World. Friends, you are right to be afraid. As Shelley Parker-Chan tweeted recently, “emotional books that feel like a gut punch”—hey, that’s my brand!” Because we know that this series is a retelling of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, we know that our protagonist, Zhu Yuanzhang, will defeat her enemies by the end of the book, and that her […]

Willpower alone won’t guarantee survival.

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

by 5 Comments

Shelley Parker-Chan and Natalie Naudus (narrator) kicked my head in with She Who Became the Sun. It took a bit to get into the book, listening for 20 minutes here and there, but by the time I hit the 3 hour mark I had a hard time stopping so that I could sleep, and even then I dreamed about Zhu Chongba, General Ouyang, and Ma Xiuying (I am reliant on Wikipedia for spellings because I don’t have the text). The unnamed girl who takes over […]

I’ll make a man out of myself (Bingo!)

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

by 5 Comments

CBR14 Bingo: Star (Zhu might be described as something of a rising star within the Chinese power structure of the day, and also the sun is literally a star. I’m so very clever). Back in the 14th Century, the Mongols had conquered and ruled Imperial China. In a small village, drought and famine have killed the majority of the population. A nameless girl (one of the few children left in the village) has managed to stay alive thanks to her ingenuity. When her older brother, […]

In Pursuit of Destiny and Desire

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

by 5 Comments

I felt like a bit of a dumb-arse after picking up She Who Became the Sun. I don’t know if it was just me stumbling around blindly perhaps, but it took me a good long time to realise that the this book was a reimagining of the Ming Dynasty’s rise to power. The ebook version of the book didn’t have a blurb on the back cover, true, and that might have helped. But it did have a map of  north east of China on one […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo