Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Hell is the least of your troubles

Curse of the Chosen Vol. 1: A Matter of Life and Death & a Game Without Rules by Alexis Deacon

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According to an author snippet biography I read of Alexis Deacon, they are known for their picture books. Which I am now going to investigate after reading this bizarre graphic novel series called Curse of the Chosen. Originally know as Geis: A Matter of Life and Death and Geis II: A Game Without Rules, they will be reissued Curse of the Chosen Vol. 1: A Matter of Life and Death & a Game Without Rules (July 2022) and Curse of the Chosen Vol. 2: The […]

We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

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The second book in the Six of Crows duology is the best book that I have read this year. Now, I REALLY want Bardugo to go back and rewrite the Shadow and Bone books. I want to care about those characters the way that I care about these crazy kids. The, ahem, bones are there in the Shadow and Bonebooks but the depth of the characters is not. I understand that Bardugo grew as a writer but the difference between the first trilogy and this duology is startling. The misfits from Six of […]

I will have you without armor…Or I will not have you at all.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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Okay. This cannot be the same person that wrote the Shadow and Bone trilogy. It just cannot be. While I did like those books, I didn’t love those books. I adore this one. Honestly, I decided to read this first book in the Six of Crows duology just to catch up before watching the Netflix show which apparently blends both series. I had read that these books were better but was flabbergasted by how much better. I don’t mean to harp on Bardugo here but where was this level of writing in the trilogy? […]

Do Cryptozoologists make house calls?

Sorceline by Sylvia Douyé

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I found a snippet of Sorceline and thought it sounded good. When I found it, it took me at least three tries to start. There were several, “Wait? Did I miss something?” moments before I was able to get into the flow. This is an odd little book. There were some storyline bumps that I thought were just me, but reviewers on Goodreads agreed. I think the issue for me is that Sylvia Douyé, graphic novel was translated. And my “reading ear” sometimes has trouble […]

War seems like a wonderful way to make everyone poor and miserable

Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane

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In Wrath Goddess Sing, Maya Deane reimagines Achilles as a trans woman. It’s a beautiful, slyly funny, and blisteringly angry book. It’s such a fresh and different telling of the familiar Trojan War. Achilles is living on an island where she and women like her are welcomed and loved. She is a member of the kallai. Her sisters worship Aphrodite, though Achilles, herself, does not believe in the gods and so takes no part in worship. Her lack of belief though doesn’t protect her from […]

This series should have been two big books instead of four smaller ones.

City of Dragons (The Rain Wild Chronicles, #3) by Robin Hobb

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30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 2 Book 7/30 This ended just as it was getting going! I understand that there were publishing issues, and logistical things to consider in terms of ballooning page length on this one, but if I were her publishers, I would have just let her turn in one gigantic book late than split the book in two, to its detriment, just so they could publish on time. This is not a full story, and it starts out slow in the […]



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