Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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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.

 

“To The Lighthouse” for the Climate Change Generation

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

by 2 Comments

A young woman named Rowan washes up on the shore of an island. The island houses a seed vault. It used to house researchers, too, but they have all left; the island’s beaches are rapidly being swallowed up by the rising sea levels, and the only people left on the island are caretaker Dominic, who lives with his three children in the lighthouse. They find Rowan and take her in, nurse her back to health. It doesn’t take long, however, before they discover that she […]

I’m not tough enough for the Canadian oil sands

Ducks by Kate Beaton

by 3 Comments

I first became aware of Kate Beaton through her charming picture book, The Princess and the Pony, released in 2015.  My, at the time, young daughters loved the book about a tiny, warrior princess who wants a noble steed like the older warriors.  Instead on her birthday she is gifted a pony that farts too much. Shortly after the publication of her graphic novel autobiography, Ducks, in 2022, it seemed everyone on the internet was declaring what a good book it was.  However, I wasn’t really […]

Les Amis Des Chats

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

by 9 Comments

How could I resist that title and that gorgeous cover?!? I couldn’t. I didn’t even try. Cats and magic, only the best for les amis des chats. Agnes runs a charity shelter finding forever homes for the street cats of 1920’s Montreal. Unfortunately a sorcerous duel on her street blasted a hole in one of the shelter’s walls, necessitating a quick move before winter soon sets in. High rents and landlords who aren’t as interested in rescuing cats force Agnes towards the shop everyone is […]

At least the cover is pretty

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn

by 1 Comment

Damn … this book is going to be one of those The Last Jedi situations for me, I can already tell. In other words, I was disappointed with the novel/didn’t love it for my own story reasons but a lot of the people leaving negative reviews are doing it for ridiculous conservative reasons. It’s like, “I didn’t have an issue with those things, you book-banning transphobes, I just wanted a more engaging main character/overall story.” It starts off strong, following the main character and narrator, […]

The Magic Of Libraries

What you are looking for is in the library by Michiko Aoyama

by 1 Comment

My first review of this year is a book I actually read towards the end of last year – Michiko Aoyama’s ‘What you are looking for is in the library’. This was a birthday present from my sister as she knows I love Japanese arts and culture and when I got round to reading it I really appreciated her choice. The book is part of a trend I’ve seen – cosy ‘mystical realism’ books featuring a place such as a cafe or store where visitors […]

Dog Days Are Over, Bitches

For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn

by 2 Comments

For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn is a romantasy that began life as a TikTok skit. Proving the old adage that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, it is also a meditation on grief, loss, love, friendship, family, allyship, and what it means to really live. Throw in some spicy scenes, an unusual presentation of what the afterlife could be, and a great deal of sass, and you have brewed my own personal cup of tea.  When we first meet Lily, […]



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