Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Call me A Reader. Some hours ago–never mind how long precisely–having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me…. I read a book…

Call Me Moby by Lars Kenseth

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Retellings are not new, but the way Call Me Moby by Lars Kenseth is presented and the “wink wink” towards the original Herman Melville story, Moby Dick, makes it fresh. And this obvious homage will be a hoot for adults. And, of course, young readers will find Moby’s actions relatable and amusing. The illustrations are sweet and having the simplicity of certain ones in the right places allows for the punch of the more detailed ones to be stronger. I would have liked to have […]

Traveling back into Viv’s world was a cozy reminder of why I love to read

Bookshops and Bonedust (prequel to Legends and Lattes) by Travis Baldree

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If you read my review of Legends and Lattes, you’ll know that this series is cozy. This one’s a little less cozy, because it’s Viv (the green orc) pre-coffee shop and mid-mercenary. She gets stabbed in the leg badly enough that her group basically leaves her in a town to recuperate until they come back around to get her. For a while Viv can’t walk or do much, and she gets really really bored. Once she can move around a little bit though, she walks […]

A Great (and Chunky) Prequel

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

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My first 5-star read of the year! I liked The Priory of the Orange Tree a bit more because I was 100% engaged all the way through, and with this prequel my engagement dipped occasionally, but it was still excellent. In some ways it was easier to settle into the world because we already know the basics from Priory, though there will still a lot of names and titles to adjust to. One of the things I really loved was seeing the differences between the world now […]

Found family with a little magic

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

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I saw A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping (2025) by Sangu Mandanna on NPR’s Favorite Books List. Books with witches and whatnot are not usually my thing, but I’ve found some good books on NPR and I didn’t want to be too close-minded. So, I got the audiobook from my library for a low commitment read while commuting. If I had to describe this book in four words, I would say it is quiet, sweet, uplifting, and funny. At the beginning of the book, Sera Swan is a […]

This feels like the second book of a trilogy but it isn’t

A Forest, Darkly: A Novel by A.G. Slatter

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A Forest, Darkly is both a fantasy and a mystery. The Great Forest, where the action takes place, is a frontier where civilization seems to be slowly encroaching. Old magic and creatures are still very much alive here, and the presence of a witch has been tolerated by villagers for generations, but the world is changing. The village has grown since main character Mehrab, resident witch, arrived 20 years ago, and lately, something dark and insidious seems to be stalking the forest. This would be […]

Going to hell to finish school

Katabasis by R. F. Kuang

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I could not get more than halfway through R. F. Kuang’s Babel. The world and magic system were amazing; I could not stay interested in all the character personal drama. Thus I was hesitant to try Katabasis. I finally did though, as I have some experience in the world of higher education as well as the Classical background to appreciate that title reference. On the other hand, that didn’t help The Secret History; hated that, mostly because of the stupid unlikeable character drama. Tragedy in […]



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