Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

There will be a reckoning.

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

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The Raven Tower, Ann Leckie’s first fantasy novel, uses the framework of Shakespeare’s Hamlet to create an enthralling new tale. A king is dead, an uncle has usurped a throne, and a prince is going mad with the injustice. If you squint you can see Ophelia, and Rosencranz & Guildenstern, and Horatio among the other expected players. Yet, there is more going on in the kingdom of Iraden than a simple coup. The mystery starts from the first sentence directed at “you”. The entire book […]

An apt metaphor for the gap in educational attainment – The Ninth House

The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

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Full disclosure: I’m not really a fan of fantasy fiction. When given the choice, I tend to go for moire realistic narratives or historical fiction. That being said, The Ninth House, was an enjoyable read. Or listen, I guess, since I listened to the audiobook with Lauren Fortgang and Michael David Axtell.  The Ninth House begins mid-magical ceremony – a group of students who belong to one of the eight houses at Yale that all channel otherworldly forces for power, money, and success. Galaxy “Alex” […]

“There are many kinds of love. But there is nothing like a sister.”

The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner

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3.5 stars Official book description: In a remote village surrounded by vast forests on the border of Moldova and Ukraine, sisters Liba and Laya have been raised on the honeyed scent of their Mami’s babka and the low rumble of their Tati’s prayers. But when a troupe of mysterious men arrives, Laya falls under their spell – despite their mother’s warning to be wary of strangers. And this is not the only danger lurking in the woods.   As dark forces close in on their […]

Chosen Ones By Veronica Roth

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

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I unfortunately wasn’t clicking with this book, about 45% of the way through. I think I was, first off, expecting something a bit different? I actually kept thinking about The Hunger Games while reading this, and the other books in the trilogy, as examples of PTSD done really well. Far be it from me to judge the realism of PTSD description, but in comparison to that series, I think Roth misses the PTSD mark and jumps to what reads as moodiness. I think this book would have […]

Lord I never drew first But I drew first blood

Jade City by Fonda Lee

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The Kaul family is one of several organized crime families on the island of Kekon. These Green Bone families use jade, which, with the right training, produces superhuman traits, including great strength, speed, clairvoyance, hardened skin, and so forth. Green Bones were instrumental in the guerilla warfare that occurred one generation ago to free Kekon from colonial rule, and this history realistically colors much of the underlying structure to the novel. The Kaul family, on the one hand, spends a lot of time and effort […]

A fresh take on Beauty and the Beast

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmer

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This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast but takes place in a two worlds, a modern D.C. and fictional Emberfall.  The “Belles” are taken from our world each season and held as prisoner in hopes of breaking the Beast’s curse.  Our heroine is named Harper and she’s a bad ass with cerebral palsy.  She gets transported to Emberfell while trying to stop a man kidnapping an unconscious woman. I’m not typically a fan of Beauty and the Beast retellings because of Stockholm syndrome […]



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