Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Ice Queen

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

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I absolutely adored The Folk of Air trilogy so naturally, I’ve also been reading all the additional novellas and follow on novels associated with the series. That is, however, also where I went wrong with this one because I thought it was another stand alone novel in the world, like How the King of Elfhame learned to Hate Stories and as a result, I think my expectations were a bit off vs what I got. This is the first of a duology so there is a bit more […]

I saw it coming but that’s not totally a bad thing

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I Lin

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I was right. The main threat introduced in A Magic Steeped in Poison that is more directly addressed and defined in A Venom Dark and Sweet was indeed of the ancient evil thing wants to resurrect and take over and destroy the known world. A Venom Dark and Sweet does manage to give heroine Ning more personality though in spite of maintaining her first person voice alternating with a third person representation of Kang’s perspective on things. They’re sort on the same side but also […]

An unexamined past might come back to bite you on the ass. Literally

Lone Women: A Novel by Victor LaValle

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This short novel is a fascinating combination of history and horror, where history often is the horror. Lone Women is set in a remote homesteading community in Montana in 1915. This sparsely settled country promises adventure, new beginnings, and opportunity for anyone who is willing to take on the hard work of making a life there. Even single women and minorities can have a go. But while this is supposed to be a land of opportunity where neighbors help one another out of necessity if […]

“I suggest a daring stealth adventure, and you have to ruin it by telling me it’s going to involve books.”

AMarvellous Light by Freya Marske

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Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light is a charming enemies-to-lovers novel that definitely includes books. Briefly, Sir Robin Blythe is appointed as a parliamentary liaison tasked to investigate magical events and brief the prime minister. Edwin Courcey, a bookish man, is his magical contact and, perhaps, supervisor. Blythe is unaware that there is magic in England when he assumes the role, but shortly after, he is set upon in a dark alley and a magical tattoo is imprinted on his arm; he seeks out Courcey for […]

Yell if I can help dig some graves once you’re finished.

The Sorceress Transcendent by Casey Blair

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I love well done enemies to lovers romance. Bonus points if it’s scifi or fantasy. The Sorceress Transcendent is fantasy. It’s a quick read, with a nice blend of action and domestic comfort. Varius and Theira have fought on opposite sides of an ever lasting war for years. Varius was a general and Theira a sorceress, second only in power to the autocratic Sorcerer Ascendant. They have studied each other on the battlefield, almost flirting through tactics. Now, pushed too far by the empire he […]

Hitchhiking ghosts and killer roads

Sparrow Hill Road (Ghost Roads, #1) by Seaman McGuire

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When I started Sparrow Hill Road (Ghost Roads, #1) the text came off as nonfiction sounding. My thought was, “Oh great. This whack-a-doo so-called “expert” is going to tell me all about a ghost named Rose Marshall and how she is real (and how ghosts are real) and all about her hauntings, and how hauntings happen, and probably throw in a conspiracy theory or two.” Well, my apologizes, Seaman McGuire. You are not a whack-a-doo. But you are one messed up person! (And in a […]



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