Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

He is full of roots, while she has only branches.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

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This author is definitely on my “put in a library request as soon as a new title shows up” list. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series is phenomenal and while I didn’t enjoy them as much, the Monsters of Verity YA series was also very good. I entered her literary treasure trove with the explosion of A Darker Shade of Magic (thanks to many, many CBR reviews way back when) and have been holding off on reading her previous books because it’s always sad when you […]

Odds and ends and ramblings

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I have never before hit my CBR goal and then just stopped, but 2020 has sapped my motivation and willpower and wordpower. So these aren’t real reviews, but I did want to do a brief round-up of some of the books I’ve finished recently, because one was SO GOOD I needed to add my voice to the chorus of praise, and because one was SO disappointing I needed to growl about it for a sec. So here’s my Cannonball Lightning Round:   So You Want […]

“All she knows is that she is tired, and he is the place she wants to rest. And that, somehow, she was happy. But it is not love.”

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab

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I’m not losing my mind over this book, but it was a really engaging, thoughtful read. I really wish it hadn’t been written in present tense, though. Unlike my recent experience with reading The Searcher by Tana French, I noticed that was the POV immediately. I enjoyed the book despite that. I think you should go in to this book as unspoiled as possible, so I’m not going to detail the plot, except for the beginning, which shows us Adeline LaRue, an 18th century French […]

Thank goodness I didn’t read this debut first

The Near Witch by V.E. Schwab

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Bingo review 9: Debut My first encounter with V.E. Schwab was Vicious, her break-out best-seller hit. This led me to A Darker Shade of Magic, and the rest as they say was history. I was intrigued when she announced that her original debut novel The Near Witch was going to be re-published. I didn’t especially enjoy this one; the basic plot and characters are too predictable and it’s written in first person present tense, one of my least favorites. The plot and characters are obviously […]

Not enough panels to cover the possibilities

The Steel Prince: Night of Knives by V.E. Schwab, Budi Setiawan

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I’m not sure if I like this habit I seem to have started of not getting into part of a sequence until the next one is out or close. It seems a little silly on the one hand, but it also makes sense. I do have to admit though that this time it mostly worked out; I liked The Steel Prince: Night of Knives better than I did the first The Steel Prince (the Pirate Queen), so now all I need to do is order […]

Took me a bit to settle into but then I was entertained by this sequel

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

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V.E. (Victoria) Schwab has become one of my favorite authors since I found her with the 2015 release of A Darker Shade of Magic. When the sequel came out, I expressed my love for the first book to the bookseller ringing me up, they asked if I had read Vicious yet, I had not.  Vicious was my introduction to Schwab outside of the DSoM series. Shortly thereafter I devoured her YA “Monsters of Verity” duology, and in the past year read the first in her middle […]



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