Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A disappointing follow-up to a beloved fantasy novel

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T. J. Klune

by 2 Comments

I really wanted to like this book. It’s a sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea, which I really enjoyed. It has great LGBTQIA+ representation, and an important message about resistance and hope. But as much as I wanted to love it, Somewhere Beyond the Sea ended up falling flat for me. Linus Baker and Arthur Parnassus are finally living their happily-ever-after. They live on the beautiful island of Marsyas, with the six magical children they hope to officially adopt. The town they live in […]

A Somewhat Predictable Novel with a Strong Heart

The Bones Beneath My Skin by T. J. Klune

by Leave a Comment

I think Artemis Darth Vader might be one of my favorite characters. She’s one of the 3 main characters in this book, and she’s so much fun. Our trio is rounded out with Nate and Alex. After being fired from his job, and while still dealing with a complex emotional reaction to his parents’ deaths, Nate heads to the cabin in Oregon that his parents left him. He is surprised to find it occupied by Alex and Artemis (Art), who are on the run and […]

Death Becomes Him

Under the Whispering Door by T. J. Klune

by Leave a Comment

Bingo 13: Pride Under the Whispering Door is most definitely not a book to read for plot, as it’s largely thematically and character driven, and it’s also not one you want to really speed through as it’s got a lot of lyrical segments. Both of these are strengths, but also reasons why you need to be in the right mood to really enjoy this, and I have to admit, I wasn’t always. The two main threads, adjusting to being dead and coming to terms with […]

POV: When you pay for more audiobook time on Spotify because you can’t wait to finish the book

Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune

by Leave a Comment

T.J. Klune has been on my to-read list for some time, ever since seeing one of the B&N special editions of his books with the sprayed edges, but I’d been missing him for quite a while for some unknown reason. When I saw this one pop up in the available audiobooks on Spotify, though, I thought no better time than the present and dove right in. Right out the gate, it seemed like exactly what I was in the mood for, but a google search […]

CBR BINGO – On the Road: “. . . happiness comes not from bodily pleasures or wealth or power, but from living a life that’s right for your soul.”

In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune

by Leave a Comment

This was very sweet and a little bit unhinged, which I of course always appreciate. This is actually a bit more in line with Klune’s self-published stuff, with darker themes and humor with a little more of an edge to it. I am REALLY curious to know what the original story in this book looked like; he’s vague in the end notes but apparently somebody told him the world wasn’t ready for it (????) and things were changed up pretty heavily. There are some light […]

“Just because you don’t experience prejudice in your everyday doesn’t stop it existing for the rest of us.”

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T J Klune

by Leave a Comment

Bingo: Queer Lives;  Passport: Sweet weird It’s no spoiler to say that it was obvious how this book was going to end right from the start, or at least from the moment in protagonist Linus Barker’s train journey when “the gray darkness gave way to a bright and wonderful blue like Linus had never seen before”. Linus is a caseworker in the drab and regimented Department in Charge of Magical Youth, an inspector of orphanages for children gifted, or afflicted, with traits of myth and […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo