Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Chamber Danger

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

by Leave a Comment

As with my review of The Philosopher’s Stone, it seems laughable to publish a review about a Harry Potter book in 2022; yet here we are! My family and I worked through this audio-book on the second half of a road trip, again narrated by the incredible Stephen Fry. My five year old was fairly engaged throughout the story and found Mr Fry’s spooky basilisk voice quite suitably terrifying. The story again followings Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, through a year of schooling at […]

Murder Mystery Fairy Tale Fantasy Goodness

Beauty and the Alchemist by Elle Hartford

by Leave a Comment

Beauty and the Alchemist asks, what does it take to overcome a curse? Particularly if the world you live in is filled with magic. Throw in a bit of murder and you have quite the mystery on your hands. Which is exactly what formerly traveling alchemist Red finds herself surrounded by. She’s been content to settle into life as a shopkeeper in rural Belville, expecting to focus on potions and finding her footing within the community. Red’s plans get changed when Belville’s lone police officer, […]

Race/Horse

Horse: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks

by Leave a Comment

Cbr14bingo Time, Bingo #2 (down) This novel is set in three distinct time periods linked by a Civil War era thoroughbred named Lexington As far as I’m concerned Geraldine Brooks is one of the best historical fiction writers out there. I have read all of her novels. March won the Pulitzer Prize. Caleb’s Crossing, People of the Book, and Year of Wonder: A Novel of the Plague were all outstanding. I felt that The Secret Chord, her previous novel, was not quite up to snuff, […]

A Fairytale Romance

The Scarlet Circus by Jane Yolen

by Leave a Comment

In this collection of eleven short stories, the reader encounters love in its myriad forms – romance, but familial love and friendship and love of duty too – all splashed with plenty of fantasy. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I did not recognize Jane Yolen right away – she has written over four hundred books, and it turns out that though I have not read any of them, I knew plenty of them. Anyway I have rectified that sad oversight with The […]

With friends like these, you’ll be okay

Monster Friends by  Katei Vandorn 

by Leave a Comment

Monster Friends by Katei Vandorn is a cute story that is clever, and slightly new. However, for the adult it is a familiar story of hiding from your fears. Ages six to young 10 will flip out over the humor and the sweet story. If you know the book Crabapple Trouble, also by Vandorn, there might be a surprise or two for you! And while it is not overly colorful, but it is brightly created. It fits the mood of that section of story. And with minimal […]

I keep bouncing between a 2 and 3 rating

The Capybaras by Alfredo Soderguit

by Leave a Comment

I will start off with while I understand why people like The Capybaras by Alfredo Soderguit, I am not really sure why people were passionate about it. Yes, I like the idea of “being different” and we “set rules” to “protect” us, but that story has been done before. Okay, they are capybaras, and those things are stinking cute, but still not sure why so crazy about a story about them, and it is not even about them. Then there is the part about the […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo