Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

First Book of the Year – A Book About Books

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

by 1 Comment

This is a late start for me this year—I have had a very busy couple of months. Hopefully things smooth out a bit! Lucky me, Mark Lawrence knocks it out of the park again. The man can write some serious engaging blends of fantasy and science fiction. With The Book That Wouldn’t Burn—the first book of his new trilogy—we have a love letter to stories, libraries and nostalgia.  Unlike a number of his previous trilogies (yes, the man is a prolific writer) The Book That […]

Daughter of Smoke and Bone- Gives good reread

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

by Leave a Comment

Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war. Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”, she speaks […]

Dystopian romance and humanity

Heart Attack by Shawn Kittelsen

by Leave a Comment

Includes triggers. Not for under aged 14 (and even then, know your reader). I’m rating Heart Attack by Shawn Kittelsen, Eric Zawadzki and Mike Spicer a 4 for several reasons: It is a strong take on what is happening today. It is an interesting story about family (biological and found) and how friendships and love shapes us. It talks about how power and greed corrupts both good and not so good people. And we see how things are not perfect, but humanity does try to […]

Wizkit the a one-eyed cat

Wizkit: An Adventure Overdue by Tanya J. Scott

by Leave a Comment

Wizkit: An Adventure Overdue by Tanya J. Scott is an actually terribly cute story that had a bit more punch than expected. This is a true case of not judging a book by its cover. At first glance I figured it would be silly and not have any real “meat” to it. Yet, I was happily surprised.  The illustrations are sweet and simple, allowing focus to be on the story itself but allows for strong support as well. Things are colorful and draw your eye […]

When nobody believes you about the aliens, werewolves, undead mermaids, and worse

Cindy and Biscuit Vol. 1: We Love Trouble by Dan White

by Leave a Comment

Cindy and Biscuit Vol. 1: We Love Trouble by Dan White is an experience book and I have a funny feeling no two people will have the same experience. Each reader will read a different collection of White’s work.  The unusualness starts with the artwork and its minimal approach to showing the people, places and things that surround Cindy and her pet, Biscuit. One reviewer called it “chunky.”  And while I am not sure exactly what was meant by that, yes, it can be chunky. […]

Magical life in an ordinary town

Nell of Gumbling: My Extremely Normal Fairy-Tale Life by Emma Steinkellner

by Leave a Comment

Nell of Gumbling: My Extremely Normal Fairy-Tale Life by Emma Steinkellner is a cute story about fitting in, our personal and town history, family, and friendships. The build up to the final showdown was a bit slow for this adult reader, but I think ages 10 and up crowd will be fine and even ages 8 and up will be fine, but there are a few “little things” that might be conceptually a bit “much” for the more sensitive reader (I admit, even at aged […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo