Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“This is how you save the world, Emory. One failure at a time, but always in the right direction”

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

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I loved Stuart Turton’s The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (except for one aspect of the ending) so I picked up his The Last Murder at the End of the World. I didn’t like it quite as much as his other book, but it was a solid and diverting read. Slight spoilers ahead. The story takes place on an island that is surrounded by a deadly fog. Almost 100 years before, the human population created this dangerous fog (it’s never said how or why) […]

Ignore This Siren’s Song

The Siren by Katherine St. John

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In “The Siren,” the handsome, famous, wealthy, charismatic, sexy Cole Powers is shooting a film on a small Caribbean island. The writer-director is Cole’s estranged son, Jackson. And the movie also stars Cole’s ex-wife, the actress Stella Rivers. Along for the ride is producer Taylor Wasserman (also estranged from her father), influencer Madison Kasabian, and Stella’s assistant, the very realistically named Felicity Fox. And half of them want to kill one of the others. I chose this book because although I usually prefer sci-fi and […]

A challenging start to a wonderful series

Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R Donaldson

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I had something pop up in my Google feed that referenced the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, a series that had a huge impact on me as a teenager, and decided to re-read the entire series (including the Last Chronicles, which I have never read), starting with the first book in the series Lord Foul’s Bane. The first book in a series is often the weakest, as it takes time to set up the characters, the motivation and to build the world. This is no exception. […]

A Heist with Heart (and a Few Souls)

The Frame-up by Gwenda Bond

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This chocolate-and-peanut butter book is either a romance with a heist in it, or a heist with a romance wrapped around it. I’m leaning towards the latter, for pedantic reasons, but regardless of your perspective, if you like romance and/or heists, you’ll find this very charming, literally AND figuratively, because this is a magical heist. “Stealing Francesco’s Tears [Gorgeous Clown Take]” by Marc-Anthony Macon is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 . Dani grew up as part of a magical family of thieves, run by her mother, […]

Brutally beautiful historical fantasy

A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang

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I was immediately drawn to this book, but struggled with eyeball reading, so I was so glad when I got an advance listening copy as well, especially so I wouldn’t be butchering the Chinese words and intonations. This is really intense and deals with a lot of really difficult topics, and it’s hard to say any of the characters (though especially Ba) were likable, but the ending left me with a feeling of hope and healing. Told through three (four?) perspectives, A Beast Slinks Towards […]

Adult Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (probably with the lights on)

Bad Dreams in the Night by Adam Ellis

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With the exception of two stories, overall things are relatively tame for a Horror Book. However, there are places where it can be a little icky or gross. The psychological elements of thriller can be a bit of a trigger (monsters, supernatural) but Bad Dreams in the Night by Adam Ellis is best for mature teens and adults so do not let sensitive readers get their hands on it. Oddly enough, despite (or because and I am getting really odd in my old age) this […]



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