Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Steampunk, historical fiction, mystery?

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

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I love steampunk and this cover is as steampunk at they get (plus the hardcover one actually has a cutout on the cover that reveals the watch on the inside page which is a really cool design).  The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley is a delightful read that defies genres.  The book takes place in Victorian London when the Irish Nationalist movement is terrorizing the city.   Bombings at Scotland yard and Victoria station are being investigated.  Could anybody but a master clockworker have […]

“And then I had my greatest stroke of genius since that ham sandwich with pickles that time.”

Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear

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At one point, I was considering giving this five stars, I was having so much fun with it. Some pacing issues towards the end, as well a tiny quibble with the ending brought me back down to earth, though. But overall, fun! Karen Memory is a book I wasn’t really looking forward to reading, for what reason I’m not sure. I’d never read Elizabeth Bear before (but will in future!), and sometimes Westerns just don’t work for me (and other times I love them). But […]

Confirming that this one’s my fave

The Scar by China Mieville

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This was kind of a new experience for me. I reread old favorites all the time, but how often do you get to reread new favorites? This is the first China Mieville I ever read (reviewed in 2014!), and I have now read everything he’s written, so I started over. This one is still my favorite. The world-building is amazing. This man’s imagination is bonkers, and I’m so glad he shares it with the world. The characters are unlikeable but incredibly compelling, which is so […]

I’m pretty sure it’s not you, book, it’s me

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

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3.5 stars Official description: The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir. Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father […]

Who doesn’t want an exploding wicker chicken?

Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

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CBR11 BINGO: So It Begins This novel is a re-read for me. I am a huge fan of Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate and Custard Protocolseries. However, her shift to YA in the Finishing School series set prior to the shenanigans in the Parasol Protectorate books didn’t really do it for me. To appeal to a younger audience, Carriger dialled down her hallmark cheeky sexual innuendo and unfortunately some of her witty banter and sass went along with it. I recently read Carriger’s latest and supposedly last full length novel set in the […]

The spotted custard was the kind of place where exceptions were made, because everyone was strange and exceptional.

Reticence by Gail Carriger

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CBR BINGO: Love This I have been a huge Gail Carriger fan now for a decade. Yep. That’s when she started rolling out her “Parasol Protectorate” series. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE those books and pretty much adore the “Custard Protocol” series (of which this book is the last of). Sassy, witty, stylish romps served with the perfect cup of tea. This is the 13th book (plus a handful of novellas and short stories) in Carriger’s alternate Victorian London full of vampires, meta and pretnaturals, were-younameits, […]



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