Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Featured Review Archive

These reviews, which were promoted in CBR social media, on our homepage, and in Pajiba Love, appear below by review publication date, not by date featured.

 

Here There Be Dragons (it’s Steve)

The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst

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At this point I think it’s just safe to assume that all bed and breakfasts have some weird magical shenanigans going on. I’ve got my eyes on you Vermont, so quaint and charming. Sixteen year old Calisa is heading to Vermont for the summer to help out at her aunt’s bed and breakfast. She’s nursing her first real heartbreak and hoping a change of scenery will help heal that wound. But what she finds when she gets there is not the cozy inn she barely […]

Lectures, Research Papers and Romance

An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister

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Someone on the Buffering discord mentioned this novel because one of the characters has a “Smash the Demon Lizard Patriarchy” sticker and then also clarified that it was also a good romance/book. I’m sure I am not the only bookish person in these parts that loved college – the courses, the reading, learning, the discussions and the professors’ approval – and may have even glamorized or wished for a job in academia before realizing that being a good student probably isn’t the same thing as […]

Blah Blah Blah Girl Power

Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake

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I got tired of waiting for a hold of this at the library so I bought a copy. It’s very very pink. I am tempted to leave it in someone’s free library. Girl Dinner‘s main conceit is on the cover with the fork and the drops of blood. Every member of The House, the most exclusive sorority that is never named on the University campus that is never named eats people. The story alternates between the point of view of Nina Kaur a sophmore pledging […]

Review: The Life and times of Miss Marple by Anne Hart

The Life and Times of Miss Jane Marple by Anne Hart

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  I recently told my students that fanfiction is not a recent invention.  It somewhat surprised them, but it’s true.  Take for instance this book, written with the blessing Christie’s daughter. What Anne Hart presents is a biography of the fictional character Miss Marple.  She draws upon details that appeared in the Miss Marple series of novels, and the book includes a partial filmography of the character.  (In my edition, the most “recent” version listed is the Joan Hickson ones). Hart gives a detailed description, […]

Ferrante did it better

The Book of Goose: A Novel by Yiyun Li

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Cbr18bingo – Bird Almost as soon as I started reading The Book of Goose, I was reminded of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels. Both Ferrante’s series and Li’s The Book of Goose feature impoverished girls living in post-WWII Europe. Both feature a friendship that can be competitive and dysfunctional. And both focus on the creative process of writing as well as the strains on childhood friendships when people grow up and apart. I loved Ferrante’s series. I liked this novel, but I might have liked it […]

Stephanie Plum Step Aside

Knife Skills by Wendy Church

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This novel is marketed toward Janet Evanovich fans who appreciate a spunky, messy, crime-solving heroine. Author Wendy Church provides similar appeal with less madcap characters, more depth and a tight plot. I’d classify “Knife Skills” as an action crime thriller. Sagarine Pfister is quickly introduced as reckless and impulsive. She also gets to be a confident, competent and gifted chef. Upon becoming mixed up with the mob, danger manages to both lead and follow her. Sagarine’s ambition, stubbornness and sense of responsibility drive the story. […]



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