Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I read the first book in this series back in 2012

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner

Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

by Leave a Comment

CBR13 Bingo: Old Series (the first book in the series came out in 1996. The first book in this review came out in 2010 – it’s taken a long time for Whalen Turner to complete it) A Conspiracy of Kings Rating: 3.5 stars Sophos, the heir to Sounis, is rusticating with his mother and sisters, having been sent away from his uncle’s court for generally being considered a disappointment. He keeps ignoring his tutors and weapons training, which turns out to be a problem when […]

Wished I’d read this back when I first put it on my TBR!

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

by 1 Comment

CBR13Bingo: White Whale For CBR’s white whale challenge, I’m going way back in the time machine to a book that’s been on my TBR (eventually) list since I was in middle school. Tamora Pierce’s work, especially her Alanna books, were often recommended as a read-alike to Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword, which was a hugely formative book for me a kid, mainly I guess because both were books by women starring heroines with swords. For whatever reason, my local library didn’t carry it so I gorged myself […]

A good ending! But still not as good as the first one.

Any Way the Wind Blows (Simon Snow, #3) by Rainbow Rowell

by Leave a Comment

I will be honest. I do not want to review this book. First of all, I liked it. And I liked it better than the second one. It felt so comfortable to be back in England (and at Watford!) with these characters, and I was satisfied by all their endings, even the ones I didn’t see coming. But it also gave me a couple things I’ve been wanting since book one, so on that front I was very happy as well. There was resolution for […]

“No one would mistake you for anything but a tool, Gen.”

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

by 2 Comments

CBR13Bingo: Old Series I started reading this book as a teen when I ducked into a Barnes & Noble during a rainy visit to New York City. I remember sitting spellbound in front of the shelf, highly amused at Gen’s antics, and spent much longer there than I’d intended. And of course I went home with that book! When someone on one of the discords I’m on mentioned reading it for the first time, I realized I still needed something for my pre-2011 series for […]

“What’s magic, eh? Just wavin’ a stick an’ sayin’ a few wee magical words. An’ what’s so clever aboot that, eh? But lookin’ at things, really lookin’ at ’em, and then workin’ ’em oout, now, that’s a real skill.”

The Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30) by Terry Pratchett

by Leave a Comment

“Yes! I’m me! I am careful and logical and I look up things I don’t understand! When I hear people use the wrong words, I get edgy! I am good with cheese. I read books fast! I think! And I always have a piece of string! That’s the kind of person I am!” My second witchy read of the season, although I didn’t consciously choose to read it now with all my other upcoming witchy reads; I just wanted to read my next Discworld book. […]

Cool cover, meh book

Luminous by Mara Rutherford

by Leave a Comment

Stories about teens learning to love their magic always are one of my favorite YA fantasy tropes, and that cover is so pretty. Unfortunately, the rest of the book didn’t quite live up to it. “Magic—especially the kind people wielded deliberately—was as much of a mystery to me as the world outside Sylvan.” Liora has spent most of her life in hiding in her quiet village. After a tragedy when she was a child, she started displaying signs of magic: her skin glows, especially when […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo