Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Dance, Dance, Dance, AS IF, tomorrow we all shall die!”

Disco Witches of Fire Island: A Novel by Blair Fell

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It’s 1989 and half-Armenian Philly resident Joe Agabian is trying to get over the death of his boyfriend Eddie, who he lost two years ago to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When his best friend Ronnie gets them jobs on Fire Island, Joe figures this is the perfect chance to finally start living again. Once there, they are taken under the wings of Larry and Howie, two older quirky and eccentric gay men who work as house cleaners for the rich of Fire Island. As Joe starts […]

How To Be A Groovy Witch

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

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In which we learn why bookmobiles are an essential part of any community and a spell to ensure that our appliances always run smoothly and reliably. It is the summer of 1970 and Fern, Rose, Zinnia, and Holly are currently trapped at the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida. Pregnant girls are sent here by their families to secretly have their babies and give them right up for adoption before forgetting that any of this ever happened. They are in control of nothing about their […]

Be Gay, Solve Crime, Take Naps

The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth

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I would never regret dying in a cat costume. I am now actively plotting how I can do so. Should I dress like a cat all the time just in case?  Because I am totally willing to do that. The Undetectables came together when they were fourteen at the site of their first murder, that of Theodore Wyatt of the infamous cat costume. Six years later his murder is still unsolved and the girls have scattered. Mallory has been struggling with fibromyalgia, Diana is busy […]

How To Be A Groovy Witch

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

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“In this world there is one truth; everything has a price, and every price must be paid.” -Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, Grady Hendrix Fifteen-year-old Fern (not her real name but the name she is given for most of the book) is a girl in trouble.  It’s Flordia in the summer of 1970 in this novel (although Fern hails from Alabama) and Fern is in the unwed mother-to-be kind of trouble.  She is also, I will point out fifteen, but in the time and place in […]

Sea monsters, demons, and fae magic

A Witch With No Name by Kim Harrison

One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire

The Kraken's Sacrifice by Katee Robert

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No half-cannonball for me, but I’ve managed to squeeze in reviews for everything I’ve read in 2024. I’ve been savoring The Hollows series by Kim Harrison like a fine wine. I finally finished her OG urban fantasy and paranormal romance with A Witch With No Name. You have to read these in order, but it’s worth it. The close of the series finds Rachel Morgan once again in hot water with the magical beings of the world. A demon witch who shouldn’t exist will have to […]

You can have magical power or love, not both.

The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk

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The Midnight Bargain is a magic-fueled fantasy romance exploring what it means for a woman to conform to societal norms. Beatrice and her family have traveled far to a capital city in search of a husband. Her father has left the finances in a tight spot, which puts intense pressure on her to marry. But Beatrice would much rather become a sorceress and forget this whole marriage thing. But that’s against this society’s rules where women are given a painful binding collar on their wedding […]



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