Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

An Unexpected Delight

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

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I am going the confess here that I have been dragging my feet a little bit when it came to writing this review for this book. Light From Uncommon Stars was actually the first of the Hugo Best Novel Nominees that I read when the voting packet was first made available, and if I didn’t scrunch up and focus on my resolve this afternoon, it would have been the last one I wrote about.  This is one of the most unusual speculative fiction books I […]

Winter People – a unique take on reviving the dead

Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

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For the life of me, I really wish I could remember what site or person recommended the Winter People to me, because I want to thank them, as it was a refreshingly good read. Pet Sematary is one of my favorite Stephen King novels and this story plays with similar themes but places it in more of a historical and feminist context. The story takes place over 100 years and can switch times without warning, which I found a bit disorienting at first. You get […]

Probably my Favorite Beverly Jenkins book!

To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins

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Gosh, this book is a delight. I love Beverly Jenkins’ books more with each one I read, and this one is especially good. Raven is part of a family of grifters who are very skilled at what they do. When her mom, Hazel’s ex returns to town with Pinkerton detective Ruth Welch, she gets coerced into going to South Carolina to pose as a domestic and find a stolen copy of the Declaration of Independence. While playing the role of domestic, Raven is also playing […]

A Policeman’s Lot is Not a Happy One

The Abstainer by Ian McGuire

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In 1867 Manchester, the hangings of three Irishman have the city on edge. The rebels of the Fenian brotherhood have sworn revenge, and to put it in motion they’ve imported a hired gun from America. Stephen Doyle is an Irish-born veteran of the U.S. Civil War, having escaped abuse and overwork on his uncle’s farm. He’s a hard, unforgiving man committed to the cause of Irish freedom and unafraid to use violent means to achieve it. The Abstainer of the title is James O’Connor, an […]

Ornery Agatha Cat Christie

Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire

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Ellie and her sister Meg are the latest managers of their family-owned bookstore. When an employee disappears and a mysterious visitor ends up dead in a gondola, the Christies find themselves entangled in the mystery. My losing streak had apparently ended, because I adored this book! It had all the best traits of a cozy mystery – quirky characters, a small town feel, adorable animals – without going overboard, which is a real hazard in this genre. The Christies are a fun, close-knit family, bookstore […]

Saucy and Creepy – Who Can Ask for More?

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

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cbr square – Scandal In 1785, Jonah Hancock, an unremarkable middle aged widower, receives strange news from his partner and captain of his trading vessel.  Instead of returning to London with a full ship of spices from the Far East, his partner has traded the whole shipment, ship and all, for a mermaid.  At least that is what he claims it to be.  It is nothing like those in the fables, however, being a fierce deformed little monster, and quite deceased.  But it ends up […]



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