Cannonball Read 12

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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About KStar

CBR12 participantCBR11 participant

Avid reader, but I tend to get stuck in a genre rut. Hoping this will force me out of my narrow comfort zones. Not to mention, I've been a Pajiba lurker since 2004, so it's about time I actually participated in the community discourse.

KStar's Reviews:

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2020 Would Be Better with Cookie Golems

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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. […]



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