Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Sweet, Ghibli-esque cottage core fantasy

Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell

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What: Catherine Bakewell’s Flowerheart is a lovely coming into one’s power tale with Studio Ghibli vibes and a charmingly rustic setting,  It’s also a fairytale with wild magic, curses, witches and wizards.  Running through is the rebuilding of a childhood friendship that turns to romance. Who: Clara Lucas is a witch in training, about to turn sixteen, and afraid of her power.  Her magic surges in wild, and sometimes destructive, ways and is affected by her mood.  On the benign side flowers will spontaneously bloom in her […]

Tea and Books with some magic and dragons and soldiers

Can't Spell treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne

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Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea very much matches the label on the front cover “cozy fantasy steeped in love”. It’s not exactly a romance though, since the main couple is already established at the start, and they actually seem to have a healthy communication dynamic (which it feels like most standard romances must avoid). Unless the love is actually the couple everyone knows are into each other but they refuse to admit it themselves, or maybe it’s the young teenage first love thing that gets […]

Faerie Lore, Dangerous Quests, and Romance

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

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Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries I am impressed by the breadth of research and creativity that went into this adventurous fantasy. There is so much information about faeries from all over, and some of it is provided almost as an aside, like a mention that Maltese fae are “more troublesome than average, having an unfortunate habit of creeping into houses at night to feast upon slumberers’ vital organs.” This kind of knowledge being tossed off in such an offhand way fits with the main character […]

An easily accessible Game of Thrones with more dragons

Dragon Found by Sam Hall

Dragon Fight by Sam Hall

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As I was reading two why choose fantasy romances by Sam Hall, Dragon Found and Dragon Fight, I was struck by the depth of the world building that went on. It was apparent that Hall has spent considerable time mapping out the history and culture of the land they are writing about, and that they really spent time fleshing out their characters (which, honestly, were tropes, but well done ones). The inevitable comparison is obviously Game of Thrones, but with more sex and dragons. It’s […]

A strange little fantasy. I expected nothing less from this author.

City of Last Chances (The Tyrant Philosophers, #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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This is a tough book to sink your teeth into. It’s slow to start, and slow to catch your emotions (if it ever catches them all), but still, for the right reader this book could work very well. I always appreciate a well-executed attempt at a unique structure, and we have that here in abundance. Up front, though, the reason this is getting 3.5 stars is that though there were bits that caught my imagination in the first half of the book, it didn’t really […]

“We are but fevered stars. Here a little while, bright with promise, before we burn away.”

Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse

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I’ve been struggling with review writing lately and decided to give the 5 Ws way a shot because this book/series is too good to not share. What:  Fevered Star, is the second book in Rebecca Roanhorse’s  Between Earth and Sky series.  The first is Black Sun, which I thoroughly enjoyed!  It is an epic fantasy tale where Gods seek to regain power in the mortal realm and human power players seek to reshape control of the land and seas. Who:  Naranpa, Sun Priest, who has now become […]



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