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:

“fear is an anchor, but it’s also a bridge”

The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth

March 19, 2025 by narfna 2 Comments

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn’t affected the contents of my review. I’m going to keep reading this author’s books as long as I like the premises, because she is improving as a writer as she goes. There are still things in here that ultimately meant I couldn’t bump this up to four stars (dear lord, the sex scene*) because this simply just isn’t as good as books that I have rated four stars in the past. But her ideas […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Horror Tagged With: ARCs, audiobooks, Erika T. Wurth, ghosts, horror, narfna, paranormal, paranormal suspense, supernatural, The Haunting of Room 904, thrillers

narfna's CBR17 Review No:11 · Genres: Audiobooks, Horror · Tags: ARCs, audiobooks, Erika T. Wurth, ghosts, horror, narfna, paranormal, paranormal suspense, supernatural, The Haunting of Room 904, thrillers ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

The audiobook is a must.

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

March 5, 2025 by narfna Leave a Comment

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn’t affected the contents of my review. Happy pub day to this lovely little book 🙂 Okay, I’m rounding this up to five stars because I can’t stop thinking about it. Setting aside re-reads, I think this might actually be the best book I read in February. This is a fairytale-esque novella about two sisters who sing to willow trees and have to deal with unwanted and wanted suitors, and it’s about the strength of […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fantasy Tagged With: #fantasy, Amal El-Mohtar, ARCs, audiobooks, fairytales, folk songs, Gem Carmella, music, narfna, novellas

narfna's CBR17 Review No:9 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fantasy · Tags: #fantasy, Amal El-Mohtar, ARCs, audiobooks, fairytales, folk songs, Gem Carmella, music, narfna, novellas ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A mediocre cozy fantasy, might still be worth your time if you really love animals.

The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean

March 4, 2025 by narfna 6 Comments

A socially anxious zookeeper working in phoenix conservation gets the chance of a lifetime to breed phoenixes and falls in love with her rival/frenemy from the griffin show in the process. Sounds nice, right? Books like this one almost frustrate me more than the real stinkers that deserve one or two stars. It’s ALMOST there for me. The premise=great. The themes=great. A convergence of genres that I love, plus magical animals and nerds=great. But none of it came together the way I wanted it to, […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Romance Tagged With: #fantasy, cozy, cozy fantasy, LGBTQIA, narfna, queer romance, Romance, S. A. MacLean, The Phoenix Keeper

narfna's CBR17 Review No:8 · Genres: Fantasy, Romance · Tags: #fantasy, cozy, cozy fantasy, LGBTQIA, narfna, queer romance, Romance, S. A. MacLean, The Phoenix Keeper ·
Rating:
· 6 Comments

“Stop dreaming about the spires. It was a dreadful place and those were dreadful people, and you and I got caught in their games and paid for it.”

Death in the Spires by K.J. Charles

January 18, 2025 by narfna 2 Comments

If you read The Secret History and hated the characters, and the bleak ending made you feel terrible, this might be the book for you! In her first non-romance, we’ve got K.J. Charles trying her hand (and succeeding) at a historical mystery, dark academia style. It’s 1905, and our main character is Jeremy “Jem” Kite, who has just been fired from his job when a letter accusing him of murder showed up in his employers’ mail. This is not the first or even the tenth such letter […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: British mystery, dark academia, historical fiction, historical mystery, K.J. Charles, LGBTQIA, mystery, narfna, Oxford, Read Harder Challenge 2025

narfna's CBR17 Review No:7 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: British mystery, dark academia, historical fiction, historical mystery, K.J. Charles, LGBTQIA, mystery, narfna, Oxford, Read Harder Challenge 2025 ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

A cozy fantasy about grief.

House of Frank by Kay Synclaire

January 16, 2025 by narfna Leave a Comment

A cozy fantasy about grief and found family, and the first book I’ve read from the relatively new publishing experiment, Bindery Books. I would read further books from this author for sure, but I also think this one was pretty flawed. I actually think it needed at least one more round of edits, if not two. I have no idea how Bindery’s editing process works in comparison to traditional publishers, but this needed to be worked over for clarity, both in the writing itself (some sentences […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Tagged With: cozy fantasy, grief, Kay Synclaire, LGBTQIA, narfna

narfna's CBR17 Review No:6 · Genres: Fantasy · Tags: cozy fantasy, grief, Kay Synclaire, LGBTQIA, narfna ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Understandable how you could mistake this knife fetishist for a murderer, but he didn’t do it.

Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin

January 9, 2025 by narfna 2 Comments

Thanks to NetGalley, RBmedia, and Recorded Books for the ARC. It hasn’t affected the contents of my review. Yes, this book was written by a TV chef. Apparently he was on Masterchef—I’ve never seen it. But unless he used a very secret ghostwriter, he did a good job! I truly have no idea why the ratings for this book are so low coming out of the UK*, or why the cozy mystery people have not come flocking (though this isn’t a cozy, it does have […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Mystery Tagged With: #food, ARCs, audiobook, cooking, Knife Skills for Beginners, mystery, narfna, Orlando Murrin

narfna's CBR17 Review No:5 · Genres: Audiobooks, Mystery · Tags: #food, ARCs, audiobook, cooking, Knife Skills for Beginners, mystery, narfna, Orlando Murrin ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • auntadadoom
    on Billionaire reform starts with a good book
    Thanks! How could I stay away from such good company :)
  • MsWas
    on Billionaire reform starts with a good book
    Welcome back to Cannonball Read!
  • KimMiE"
    on A Dictionary Into Which a Left-Handed Monkey Wrench Has Been Thrown
    What a delightful find! I know my mind has a back-seat driver. :)
  • BlackRaven
    on I am Patient 6
    Even if I could run, I don't .... so there is that.... but yes, no AC?
  • auntadadoom
    on I loved this book
    This sounds so lovely! My kid randomly picked "Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story" on Disney Plus the other...
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