Cannonball Read 16

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Featured Review Archive

These reviews were highlighted at the top of the site homepage during 2023. They appear below by review publication date, not by the date they were on the homepage.

 

A Dark Academia Masterpiece

Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang

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I literally just finished reading this, and wow — what a compelling read! I learned from reading Wang’s first book, Sword of Kaigen, that she is not afraid to do terrible things to her characters or to break your heart without fully mending it, and she does that again here. This dark academia novel primarily follows Sciona, who early in the novel becomes the first female High Mage of the city of Tiran. There’s a lot of sexism in this world and she is not […]

Project managers and analysts are the ones really living the good life

The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce

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There are very few books I can think of that have, in my opinion, the perfect first chapter. The Ex Vows opens in a flashback, but as a memory rather than dropping us into the exact time. The narrating character (Georgia) misremembers, corrects herself, and even rewrites history to be more in line with what eventually happens between her and her love interest (Eli). It leaves you with a need to know more, to find out what happens to these people after their incredibly charming […]

“If you happen to pass by 84 Charing Cross Road, kiss it for me? I owe it so much.”

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

by 1 Comment

When I started writing this review, I could not have told you what made me put 84, Charing Cross Road onto my to-read list back in August 2015. So, then I did what I usually do in that scenario and checked the Cannonball Read archives to see if there was a review that launched it onto my list and sure enough, there were two in 2015 – one by scootsa1000 and another by yesknopemaybe that sealed the deal for me. While it took me 9 years […]

How did it get made?

MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, Gavin Edwards

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For lovers of Lord of the Rings, you’ll be aware of the cache that comes with having not only seen the extended editions (multiple times), but to know of the many stories and background trivia that comes with the trilogy. I am 100% this person. The one who, on a visit to Disneyland, bores her comrades with park trivia. The one who pops up in office convos with random pop trivia, or obscure factoids about random nonsense. Some may find it annoying, and I couldn’t […]

Like Good Luck Chuck, But Not Dumb

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

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Justin has a curse. Every girl he dates and breaks up with goes on to meet the man of her dreams. This hasn’t just happened once or twice, but for every relationship he’s had for years. Now, thanks to a Reddit post that went viral, his curse has become public knowledge and women are messaging him constantly trying to date him and leave him so they can find Mr. Right. Emma has the same curse. At least four of her exes have gone on to […]

A haunting and memorable journey

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

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Lincoln in the Bardo is a story that you chew on. You can’t just sip it and multitask and hope to passively absorb it. You have to pay attention and actively read (or listen, in my case). But it’s so rewarding when you finish it, and worth the extra mental effort. If you’re like me and thinking a Bardo is something like a bar, you are completely wrong my friend. In buddhism, a bardo is a liminal space between death and rebirth. So we are […]



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