Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A girl, her ghost friend, and adventure in Edinburgh (bonus review from Ysakitty)

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

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Previous novels by Victoria (V.E.) Schwab were intended for adults and teens, City of Ghosts was written for a middle grade audience.  I give it a three stars for being a solid book but no higher as it shared several concepts with her “Monsters of Verity” duology, which were the most recent books of Ms. Schwab’s that I’ve read. As a result, City of Ghosts didn’t feel very fresh to me,  especially when you take into account the variety of her collected works. In City of Ghosts, as in “Monsters […]

Girl, Ghost Best Friend, and Cranky Cat Head to Edinburgh

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I read a bit of YA, but middle grades is not something I usually think to pick up, or even necessarily think of as a distinct genre. But as is often the case in my reading diet of the past few years the Read Harder Challenge had a task that needed sorting. Enter Leedock and her review of City of Ghosts – the perfect book to fulfill the “read the first book in a new-to-you YA or middle grade series”. Now is when I admit […]

Two parents, a girl, a ghost, and a ticked-off cat

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CBR10 BINGO:  And So It Begins I added this to my hold list at the library months before the publication date and I STILL had to wait a month for it. Behold the power of Victoria Schwab! I loved her Shades of Magic series (as V.E. Schwab)  and liked her YA Monsters of Verity series so it was a no brainer for me to snatch this one up. After a near death experience where she is “rescued” by a ghost, Cass is able to sense […]

Ghostbusting in Harry Potter-ville

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Full disclosure: I had to read this quickly in one sitting in a coffee shop because I was going to see the author and have her sign it a few hours later. I’d pre-ordered City of Ghosts, but given when it was actually shipped (the day after it was released), I didn’t receive it until Saturday, and the talk/signing was Sunday. Mission was accomplished though, so I guess no harm done. I hadn’t realized this but City of Ghosts is actually V.E./Victoria Schwab’s first middle […]

What happens when you let the monster in?

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Duana Taha (Canadian writer and producer) often says variations of, “Give them what they need, not what they want”.  Our Dark Duet, sequel to This Savage Song, seems like it was a case of Victoria Schwab following that advice.  I wanted this book to be something else, instead it was the story that needed to be told because of the setting and characters.  In my review of This Savage Song I said it, “is an urban fantasy inspired by the classic two houses divided shtick of Romeo and Juliet.”  […]

Who is more human and who is the monster?

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After giving glowing reviews to several other books by Victoria (V.E.) Schwab, multiple people have recommended her “Monsters of Verity” series.  I recently picked up This Savage Song as a treat to celebrate the 25th birthday of my favorite independent bookstore.  Considering how much I’ve enjoyed every other book by Schwab, I should have known better and gotten the second book in the duology, Our Dark Duet right away instead of foolishly only getting book one. I had the great pleasure of seeing Victoria Schwab’s panel at Wonder […]



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