Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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About narfna

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Good evening, everyone. I'm Leslie Monster, and this is Nightline. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: narfna's Quick Questions interview.)

narfna's Reviews:

“What else is life but a string of outcomes beyond our control?”

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vols. 1-3 by Beth Brower

January 29, 2026 by narfna Leave a Comment

This is a wild thing to say, but I’m saying it, so stay with me. This series is Dungeon Crawler Carl for the Jane Austenites. I’m not even finished with it yet and I already know that. It’s the kind of story you read once, probably in a very short time, then immediately go back in for a re-read or five. This story is—aside from having lovable characters and a certain anti-authoritarian bent—nothing like Dungeon Crawler Carl. And yet. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fiction Tagged With: audiobooks, Beth Brower, epistolary, Genevieve Gaunt, historical fiction, narfna, novellas, self published, serialized, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 3, Victorian

narfna's CBR18 Review No:6 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fiction · Tags: audiobooks, Beth Brower, epistolary, Genevieve Gaunt, historical fiction, narfna, novellas, self published, serialized, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 3, Victorian ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

In case you were wondering, there aren’t really any werewolves in this book.

The Werewolf Principle by Clifford D. Simak

January 28, 2026 by narfna 4 Comments

Quite an interesting little book. And charming, in the way that a lot of 1960s/70s sci-fi is charming—I love the way that people thought the future might be (in this case, a world government, smart houses that take care of humans and that can fly), and also in this case, Simak’s imagination doesn’t really gel with science as we know it. But if you suspend your disbelief, you get a weird little book about a man found frozen in space who turns out to have […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: #Science Fiction, Aliens, artificial intelligence, bioengineering, Clifford D. Simak, sci-fi, sff, The Werewolf Principle

narfna's CBR18 Review No:5 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: #Science Fiction, Aliens, artificial intelligence, bioengineering, Clifford D. Simak, sci-fi, sff, The Werewolf Principle ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments

“Uncovered and propped on a pillow, the opening around her toes nests five half-starved, featherless birds with expensively pedicured beaks.”

An Evil Premise by T. Marie Vandelly

January 9, 2026 by narfna 8 Comments

This book tried to make Fetch happen. Fetch did not happen. January is a new record for my first one star book of the year. I made it to the end of October last year before I uno-dubbed my first book. I can’t believe I actually finished the book, but the premise (what drew me to it in the first place) was too intriguing, so I had to know how it ended. Honestly, what I found was worse than mid-book-me could have imagined. This book […]

Filed Under: Horror, Speculative Fiction, Suspense Tagged With: horror, meta, meta fiction, narfna, one star reads, Suspense, T. Marie Vandelly

narfna's CBR18 Review No:4 · Genres: Horror, Speculative Fiction, Suspense · Tags: horror, meta, meta fiction, narfna, one star reads, Suspense, T. Marie Vandelly ·
Rating:
· 8 Comments

Not what I wanted from this concept :(

The Names by Florence Knapp

January 6, 2026 by narfna 3 Comments

To sum up, this was not for me! Move along if that’s enough for you. I have a lot of conflicting thoughts about this book and why it didn’t work for me, but after the great first several chapters, I quickly found myself souring on it. The Names is literary fiction with a speculative twist: a woman named Cora has been tasked with registering her newborn son’s name, and the book splits off into parallel narratives with different stories created by her three different choices of […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Florence Knapp, literary fiction, narfna, speculative, The Names

narfna's CBR18 Review No:3 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Florence Knapp, literary fiction, narfna, speculative, The Names ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments

“I don’t know if any of the people we know are suspicious or whether they’re just trying to live their lives.”

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

January 5, 2026 by narfna Leave a Comment

Thanks to NetGalley and Tantor Media | Tantor Audio for the ARC. It hasn’t affected the contents of my review. I’m a little annoyed that this was marketed as a mystery when it is very much not, but it was a very good book, so I can’t in the end remain annoyed. I just wish I’d been able to set my expectations accordingly. This is, in fact, historical fiction that errs into literary territory on occasion, with a smidgeon of crime for light flavor. This takes place […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Mystery Tagged With: 1970s, ARCs, audiobooks, British, historical fiction, historical mystery, Jennie Godfrey, Joanne Froggatt, mystery, narfna

narfna's CBR18 Review No:2 · Genres: Audiobooks, Mystery · Tags: 1970s, ARCs, audiobooks, British, historical fiction, historical mystery, Jennie Godfrey, Joanne Froggatt, mystery, narfna ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“Now all I can see is the longing. Not only for companionship, but for community. He’s looking for people like him. It’s very touching, and very familiar, isn’t it?”

After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian

January 2, 2026 by narfna 2 Comments

Nothing like starting off the new year with a five star read. I will admit I was hoping for this outcome when I picked it for my first book of the year. Cat Sebastian is increasingly becoming known for atmospheric, historically rich, community-focused, and quietly revolutionary little books. I wanted a lovely time full of lovely people that would take me away to a time in history that reflects pieces of our own Current Times while still being an escape hatch from reality. You don’t […]

Filed Under: Romance Tagged With: 1970s, Cat Sebastian, counterculture, found family, historical romance, LGBTQIA, m-m, narfna, queer New York, queer romance, Romance, the Vietnam war

narfna's CBR18 Review No:1 · Genres: Romance · Tags: 1970s, Cat Sebastian, counterculture, found family, historical romance, LGBTQIA, m-m, narfna, queer New York, queer romance, Romance, the Vietnam war ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Emmalita
    on All the world’s a stage
    Happy Cannonball!
  • ingres77
    on There needs to be a happy medium…
    Thanks. Even for me, though, I probably should've reigned it in.
  • esmemoria
    on There needs to be a happy medium…
    Such a fascinating and detailed review.
  • Emmalita
    on Sweet YA romance, shame about all the bullying
    After Halbs’ review I picked up a couple as well, but I haven’t had the time to read them. I’m...
  • Emmalita
    on Platform Decay by Martha Wells
    I think she said that there is one more Murderbot book. Which, fair, she’s been writing these for more than...
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