Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Witches, found family, and a big FU to transphobes.

Her Majesty's Royal Coven (Her Majesty's Royal Coven, #1) by Juno Dawson

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This was a lot more emotionally fraught than I expected it to be. And that ending 😩 I was hopeful going in to this that Juno Dawson’s first adult book, and first fantasy book would be good, because that premise sounded like so much fun. And while I was rewarded with a quality book that I really enjoyed reading, it really wasn’t all shits and giggles. Come for the 90s nostalgia, female friendships, a cool take on contemporary witches, and then leave heartbroken by the […]

“There is beauty in my truth, and I have so much to share.”

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2022 by Edited by Rebecca Roanhorse

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I look forward to this collection every year and so it was a treat to see it pop up in the bookstore recently. The selections are always varied and interesting, and John Joseph Adams should get special kudos for all the preparatory work he does before he chooses the best 80 stories and hands them over to the guest editor to choose 20 for publication. In contrast to the 70s SF/F anthologies I’ve been slogging my way through this year in the hopes that there […]

Into Shadow Series Review

The Garden by Tomi Adeyemi

Persephone by Lev Grossman

The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow

Undercover by Tamsyn Muir

What the Dead Know by Nghi Vo

The Candles Are Burning by Veronica G. Henry

Out of the Mirror, Darkness by Garth Nix

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Wow. I really wish this series of short stories had been released around Halloween, some of the stories are very good and the horror/fantasy elements are great. There are at least two stories I wish had been longer novels (The Six Deaths of the Saint and Undercover) because of how good they were and how much I didn’t want the stories to be over when I got to the end. “The Garden” by Tomi Adeyemi (2 stars)-This one compared to the other books in the […]

N.K. Jemisin is the queen of exposition and world building

The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin

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Damaya has been discovered by her family to be an orogene, a person who can wield a very special and dangerous kind of magic. Her kind are mistrusted by nearly everyone in society. If they aren’t shipped off to the Fulcrum to be trained and controlled, they usually end up dead at the hands of their neighbors. At a young age, Damaya is forced out of her home and in to the care of her Guardian, Schaffa, who is tasked with keeping her safe but […]

“Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn’t all-encompassing, that wasn’t blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she’d had this kind, she didn’t want the other.”

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Boys, #3) by Maggie Stiefvater

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I’m mad at myself because I really liked this one but it’s been since early September that I read it so I kind of forget the specifics of why. I think the next time I read this series I will just read them all back to back and then tab all my favorite bits. Most of which will be about Ronan. Does this make me basic? I don’t care. Basic things are awesome. That’s why they are basic. Also, just the way this series is […]

Thank you livresquejess!

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Livresquejess made my night with an email gifting me with three ebooks. I know, I am so basic, I really only read on my tablet these days. I am so excited, just look at these beauties: I have been drooling over The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings since some time late last year when I saw a blurb about it on Twitter (RIP BookTwitter). Last year I saw a review of Half a Soul from KJ Charles and have been wanting it since, […]



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