Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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About LB

CBR14 Participant
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CBR17 Levels

A queer nonbinary reader living in the Midwest, LB practices their Adult Face by working in a lab, though they always have at least one book at hand for when they can steal a few minutes of quiet. LB reads across target age ranges and genres, focusing on enjoyment over how many books they finish. They have a black cat named Bruce Wayne who is very dedicated to sniffspections of books.

LB's Reviews:

Powerful YA

Shards of Silence by Brian Lee Young

October 18, 2025 by LB Leave a Comment

Shards of Silence is an excellent book that’s grappling with intergenerational trauma of residential schools, as well as the story of Derrick coping with the pressures of being in a new environment far away from his community and family. There’s the weight of holding traumatic events inside and not speaking of them, as well as choices Derrick makes in order to meet the demands of the college-preparatory school he has the opportunity to attend. I really loved how many topics were woven into this, and […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: Brian Lee young, Diné, heartdrum imprint, indigenous, native stories, Navajo, residential schools

LB's CBR17 Review No:22 · Genres: Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: Brian Lee young, Diné, heartdrum imprint, indigenous, native stories, Navajo, residential schools ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Sapphic golem fantasy debut

The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez

September 9, 2025 by LB Leave a Comment

The Maiden and Her Monster fulfills the “diaspora” square for CBR17 Bingo. As soon as I learned of The Maiden and Her Monster, I knew I needed to read it. I love explorations of Jewish experiences and especially love different ways the golem story can be reimagined. Set in a Medieval Prague inspired setting, The Maiden and Her Monster follows Malka as she ventures into a cursed forest that has been killing the girls of her village so she can free her imma from the Church’s idea […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, History, Religion Tagged With: ashkenazi, cbr17bingo, debut, golem, historical fantasy, jewish, Jewish folklore, lesbian, Maddie Martinez, magic, pogroms, queer, religious persecution, sapphic, tor publishing

LB's CBR17 Review No:21 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, History, Religion · Tags: ashkenazi, cbr17bingo, debut, golem, historical fantasy, jewish, Jewish folklore, lesbian, Maddie Martinez, magic, pogroms, queer, religious persecution, sapphic, tor publishing ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
Cover of Mia Tsai’s The Memory Hunters

Who has the right to history?

The Memory Hunters by Mia Tsai

September 1, 2025 by LB Leave a Comment

The Memory Hunters fulfills the “red” square for CBR17 Bingo. I really enjoyed Mia Tsai’s Bitter Medicine, and was very excited to try The Memory Hunters, which is a completely new world and setting. It is set in a type of near future where climate change has resulted in much of the coast as we know it being devastated and swallowed by the ocean and storms, and fungi being used as a way to collect and remember history. It opens when Kiana Strade, a memory […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: #history, cbr17bingo, colonialism, consecrated, fungal fantasy, fungi, memory hunters, mia Tsai, queer, Religion, sapphic

LB's CBR17 Review No:20 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Speculative Fiction · Tags: #history, cbr17bingo, colonialism, consecrated, fungal fantasy, fungi, memory hunters, mia Tsai, queer, Religion, sapphic ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Soft adorable romance!

Last First Kiss by Julian Winters

August 2, 2025 by LB Leave a Comment

Last First Kiss fulfills the “work” square on CBR17 bingo. I got to read Julian Winters’ adult debut, I Think They Love You, earlier this year and absolutely adored it so when I saw he had another adult romance coming out, I couldn’t wait, especially when I realized it follows Jordan and Jamie, Denz’s cousin and best friend respectively, who were glimpsed as a possibility by the end of I Think They Might Love You. All that to say I needed to read this book […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Romance Tagged With: achillean, cbr17bingo, community, Contemporary Romance, demisexual, Julian Winters, pansexual, queer, Romance

LB's CBR17 Review No:19 · Genres: Fiction, Romance · Tags: achillean, cbr17bingo, community, Contemporary Romance, demisexual, Julian Winters, pansexual, queer, Romance ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
Cover of Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo

Surviving is an act of resistance!

Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo

July 31, 2025 by LB Leave a Comment

This book fulfills the “border” square on CBR17 bingo; Sofia exists on the border of conquered and conqueror, and explores the complexities of her mixed heritage. As soon as I saw the cover for Beasts of Carnaval, I knew I wanted to read it, and the synopsis just cemented it for me. I love stories that are about resistance and revolution and proving that the colonizers and oppressors won’t be the last ones standing. And this delivers so beautifully! Sofia’s twin brother, Sol, vanished to […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: beasts of Carnaval, cbr17bingo, colonization, enslavement, historical fantasy, no romance, puerto rico, queer lit, queer secondary characters, revolution, Rosalia rodrigo

LB's CBR17 Review No:18 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: beasts of Carnaval, cbr17bingo, colonization, enslavement, historical fantasy, no romance, puerto rico, queer lit, queer secondary characters, revolution, Rosalia rodrigo ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Viking Romance and Fierce Heroines

The Bone King and the Starling by Elizabeth Stephens

July 30, 2025 by LB 2 Comments

The Bone King and the Starling fulfills the “B” square of CBR17 Bingo. I enjoyed Elizabeth Stephens’ Xiveri Mates series and recently loved All Superheroes Need PR, though I’ve been hesitant to give The Bone King and the Starling a try based on the content notes (which can be found on the author’s website, and definitely encourage checking them before checking this book). I finally succumbed to curiosity. I read through several reviews, and the thing that stood out is there is supposed to be an extended sex […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Short Stories Tagged With: Elizabeth Stephens, historical fantasy, M/F romance, novella, Romance, self published, the bone king and the starling, Viking

LB's CBR17 Review No:17 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Short Stories · Tags: Elizabeth Stephens, historical fantasy, M/F romance, novella, Romance, self published, the bone king and the starling, Viking ·
· 2 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Tracy on It’s not over until we winYeah, the ending is definitely brutal. I absolutely loved Assassin's Quest (although I know a lot of people think it's...
  • Zirza on Going Through HellI haven't quite finished this one yet. I thought the idea was great but honestly, the novel just drags on...
  • Emmalita on “When death stares people in the face, they revert to their true self.”I really enjoyed this story. They have a way of writing characters so that I know what I’m going to...
  • Ross B on T. Kingfisher catch up!Having read The Hollow Places and finding it delightfully weird, I can't help but see the parallels in The Twisted...
  • esmemoria on Am I losing my sense of humor, or is Christopher Moore losing his?I had mixed reactions to Lamb. I found it clever and funny, but I wasn’t too fond of Moore’s approach...
See More Recent Comments »

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