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2020 Would Be Better with Cookie Golems

A Wizard's Guide To Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

September 13, 2020 by KStar Leave a Comment

I suppose this book is technically YA, since it has a 14-year-old protagonist, and no sex or swearing. However, it has a lot of murder, and politics, and war, and zombie horses, and a semi-sentient carnivorous sourdough starter named Bob. Truly a novel for our times. T. Kingfisher (AKA Ursula Vernon) is a really great author. I cannot emphasize that enough. I have never read a book by her that I didn’t enjoy. Much like Terry Pratchett, she uses fantasy tropes to speak to deeper […]

A Welcome Return to a Favorite Series

Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

September 12, 2020 by KStar 5 Comments

I think I came out of the gate too hard for my first Cannonball Read. I don’t usually go for dense literary classics or non-fiction doorstoppers, and I burned myself out a bit with trying to craft in-depth and incisive reviews of heavy books. Then I stated a new job and a pandemic happened and I feel like society is crumbling around me, sooo I didn’t really have the mental energy to put a lot of thought into reviews. It has been a few months […]

Rejoice and Be Glad, Because Great is Your Reward in Heaven

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

January 20, 2020 by KStar Leave a Comment

In the 1850s, America gained control of New Mexico Territory following the Mexican-American War. Subsequently, the Catholic Church decided to make a new diocese out of this new slice of rugged frontier America, populated for generations by Mexican settlers and many, many more generations by the local American Indian tribes. Closely based on historical figures, Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather tells a fictionalized account of two French priests sent to bring the far-flung and neglected territory back under the umbrella of Catholic […]

A Literary Dystopia with a Humorous Twist

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

January 20, 2020 by KStar Leave a Comment

In the alternate universe of The Eyre Affair, classic art and literature are Serious Business. Gangs of Raphaelites brawl in the street with their Surrealist arch-nemeses, Shakespeare performances are met with the same level of audience participation and enthusiasm as a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the Literary Detectives exist as a special branch of law enforcement to handle all crimes relating to books. Our heroine Thursday Next is one such detective. However, this alternate universe is hardly a book-lover’s paradise. […]

Oh, Look. Intelligent, Attractive Romance Novel Protagonists Are Insecure About Their Obvious Mutual Feelings.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

January 15, 2020 by KStar 1 Comment

I have been reading romance since I was approximately 12, raiding my mom’s bookshelves for old Nora Roberts paperbacks. However, I tend to avoid straight-up contemporary romances. Romantic suspense? Hell yes. Paranormal romance? Bring on the werewolves. Historical romance? As long as it’s not too misogynistic, I am down. I want to read about people falling in love and getting their HEA, but I want a murder mystery, a jewel heist, or some werewolves to spice things up a bit and keep the plot moving. […]

Aquillia on A book I might have wanted to write for myself('Ugh' only because I'll never have enough time to read all of them!)
Aquillia on A book I might have wanted to write for myselfUgh, I feel the same! The Haunting of Brynn Wilder is still on my TBR list from when you recommended it. :)
Mobius_Walker on A book I might have wanted to write for myselfMy TBR list will never been empty when y'all keep writing reviews like this. I shouldn't complain; this is an excellent problem to have.
Mobius_Walker on Those Darn Greek Myth PropheciesI am loving all the Greek retellings. It's a genre I don't think I will ever get tired off. Adding this one to the TBR...
Mobius_Walker on “Hope, because that is what we must give him, what we must give all of them. Hope and guidance and a place to call their own, a home where they can be who they are without fear of repercussion”I checked this one out as an audiobook from my library and immediately bought my hard physical copy when I was done (but I also...

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