Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Never before have so many been threatened with so much…Never has so much been promised to so many.”

The 9th Annual of the Year's Best SF by Judith Merril (Editor)

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This is a pretty long and comprehensive collection of good SF from 1963 (384 pages, so you’re definitely getting a lot). I enjoyed most of these stories and breezed through this on the Amtrak to and from visiting home. My mom also enjoyed the chunk she read while I was home, so it’s intergenerationally approved. However, nothing in here really blew me away and it all felt pretty standard and not hugely boundary pushing or subversive. Sometimes you do just need to read some classic […]

Sibling Rivalry and Royal Romance

Princess of Air by Natalie Cammaratta

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“[Air] can’t be seen, so it’s underestimated. Like me.” So says Arabella, the narrator of this character-driven romantasy. She is one of four magical royal siblings in the kingdom of Alchos. Each of them controls one element, air in the case of Princess Arabella. Their mother broke with tradition by having multiple children and dividing control of earth, air, fire, and water among them, and now they must enter a series of trial to determine who will become the heir to the throne. Ara, like […]

I accidentally started an alien smut series, and now I can’t stop!

(Icehome #1) Lauren’s Barbarian by Ruby Dixon

(Icehome #2) Veronica’s Dragon by Ruby Dixon

(Icehome #3) Willa’s Beast by Ruby Dixon

(Icehome #3.5) Gail's Family by Ruby Dixon

(Icehome #5) Hannah's Hero by Ruby Dixon

(Icehome #6) Devi's Distraction by Ruby Dixon

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So I know there’s nothing wrong with reading smut (that’s what I’m calling this entire series), but it’s not usually my jam. I started listening to the first book because it had my name in the title. I was excited. Then I got into it and was like “oh boy, I’m reading alien porn”. I didn’t stop though. It’s actually alien porn with a touch of interpersonal drama, peril, natural disasters, and lots of focus on consent. These books are mostly fun. You can’t listen […]

Mel is chosen!

Mel the Chosen by Rachele Aragno

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Mel the Chosen is an odd little girl and in an odd little book that is a fun way of showing an adventure that is both familiar, and new to us. Rachele Aragno’s story gives us a little magic and the age old warning of “Be careful what you wish for, as you just might get it.” Much of the book is “know your reader” with the “spooky” elements (not too much for most people, but could be for some), the slightly abstract but realistic […]

“I did all by myself.”

Lego Jurassic World Build Your Own Adventure: With Minifigure and Exclusive Model [With Legos] by Julia March and Selina Wood

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The other day I was being Aunt-sat. The oldest nephew had basketball practice for the Special Olympics in the later morning so we were taking it easy. He and I were just shooting the breeze, playing games on our phones/game players and relaxing after a light lunch. But, to be honest, I was getting a bit tired of hearing “the pew” of the game (to be nice to the rest of us in the house, he played it low, but still). Of course, I adored […]

Liris wasn’t going to allow herself to be sacrificed without her input this time.

The Sundered Realms by Casey Blair

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I really enjoyed The Sundered Realms and I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the series. I also think that the core element of this that I loved is going to throw some readers off. At it’s heart, The Sundered Realms is about self determination, and there is a lot of conversation and thinking about what the freedom to choose looks like. As in The Sorceress Transcendent, Casey Blair is Throws two people into a world altering adventure and then spends a great deal of […]



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