Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

From Prison Cell to Royal Courts

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni

The Blood Traitor by Lynette Noni

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Bingo Square: Red (mostly The Gilded Cage but all have shades or hints of reds) I kept seeing this on book reels that randomly show up on my FB and IG accounts – it was one of those books that gets talked about but also isn’t so wildly popular that it’s off-putting. Just enough mentions here and there that it eventually stuck in my head. Overall, I think it’s a decent YA trilogy but like so many others, the beginning seems to be setting up […]

Solid, but I Wanted More

A Language of Dragons by S. F. Williamson

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cbr17bingo – culture (of dragons) This was a solid but not fantastic read. I enjoyed the story, it kept me engaged and wanting to know what would happen, but it has some clear weaknesses. It’s set in an alternate 1923 in England, where humans and dragons co-exist. There are some clearly dystopian elements, like a codified class system, and parts of the book hit very close to home considering current events in the United States. Main character Vivien’s (Viv’s) parents are arrested as rebels, and […]

An Indie-Published YA Fantasy

A Discovery of Talents by Phoenix McDonald

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This is an indie-published book, which I was excited to read because I want to support indie authors. In this YA fantasy, 16-year-old Marcus discovers that he can travel from earth to another world, called Lysomnus. His father Deacon is kidnapped by someone from that world before he has much of an opportunity to tell Marcus more about this new ability or Lysomnus itself. Marcus sets out with his friends Leopold and Sadie to find his father, and along the way they are thrust into […]

Very Visceral

Heirs of Bone and Sea by Kay Adams

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I think I listened to the audio book to Heirs of Bone and Sea because it was a part of the “what’s making me happy this week” segment on the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. This was my first dual narrator audio book in a while. I liked it well enough. The world building is pretty light but the main story of a princess and a queen on the run was fun. Evhen, queen of Vodaerd and Princess Kalei of Marama are brought together when […]

The Scholomance Trilogy (and a Short Story)

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

The Answer Is No by Fredrik Backman

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What would you do if you were basically in a dark version of Hogwarts, where the semi-sentient school barely cares if you live, and you can’t leave for 4 years? If you’re El, short for Galadriel, you spend the first 2. 5 years of that letting your prickly, angry, bitter exterior prevent anyone from getting close to you. This is where A Deadly Education starts off, about halfway through El’s junior year at the Scholomance. We find out over the course of the novel why […]

A Jamaican-inspired YA fantasy with dragons

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

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So Let Them Burn is the debut YA fantasy from Kamilah Cole. Our leads are two Afro-Caribbean sisters. They live on a small tropical island, which was inspired by Jamaica. We meet Faron who called on the gods and was blessed with power to save her country from colonial invaders on dragons. It’s been a few years since the traumatic battle. Now she is kind of a bratty teenager who uses her magic to win races against bullies. Much to the chagrin of her sister Elara […]



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