Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

writing this review for bingo, and ended up in the typical place

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai

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BINGO: “citizen,” as the questions of visa and citizenship and being able to stay in the US (or what to do when you can’t) occupy much of the mindspace and drives the plot. hot take prose is mostly gorgeous and compelling if overly long at times, but very rarely did I get the sense that Desai fundamentally understands the emotional arcs she’s writing about (immigrant alienation, lack of belonging, lack of place, awkwardness) or that she’s got any female friends/women she understands??? right so coming […]

“People don’t often get murdered in banks. They’re usually rather difficult to escape from.”

A Drop of Corruption: An Ana and Din Mystery by Robert Jackson Bennett

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Continuing in the vein of the previous book, Ana Dolabra, the Empire’s most brilliant and mercurial detective, and her bemused assistant Dinios Kol, must solve a locked door mystery. This time it’s in the canton of Yarrowdale, at the very edge of the Empire’s reach. However, what Ana and Din first believe to be an abduction turns out to be a murder, one with no discernible method or motive. Until they realize that this crime may be geared towards bringing down the Shroud, where the […]

You Know What They Say About Assumptions…

Lady Suspicious by Kate Archer

Convince Me, Viscount by Kate Archer

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CBR17 Bingo: Free (- Thank you for the extension! I’d given up on hitting blackout this year, but LOOK AT ME NOW.) Lady Suspicious – 4.25 stars It’s the turn of Lady Winsome, the sixth of the ironically named Nicolet sisters, to make her debut on the marriage mart. Armed with her knowledge of rogues from rumor sheets and gothic romances, she’s determined to make a good match – but the only man she’s interested in sets off all her warning bells. This is the […]

Mankiller Coyotes? C’mon now.

The Precipice by Paul Doiron

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So this latest installment of Mike Bowditch, Maine Game Warden, unexpectedly hit home for me. The featured animal was not the usual moose, wolf, elk, or deer, but rather the coyote.  Friends, I live in coyote country (actually, most US residents do).  But they have been my neighbors most of my life. I live in Southern California in a suburban area that directly backs into National Forest land.  Not to mention that directly behind my back wall is a heavily brushy hill, with a couple […]

It started out well

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison

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I found First-Time Caller (2025) by B.K. Borison on my library’s list of popular and available audio books. This one sounded cute and I started it with high hopes. And it started out really well. Unfortunately, I kind of lost interest in the middle and the end of the book. It wasn’t bad, but the characters didn’t seem real, and I didn’t find it very romantic. Aiden Valentine is the host of Heartstrings, a call-in radio show where he dispenses relationship advice. Although he’s not really qualified for […]

A dream state that feels real

Dream State by Eric Puchner

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Dream State (2025) by Eric Puchner is another book that I can’t remember how I discovered. I don’t know the author, and I’ve never read another book by him. But at some point I saw it, and it seemed interesting enough to put on hold at the library. I enjoyed reading this book. Both the people and their problems felt real, and it kept my attention throughout. Spoilers ahead. The book begins when a young woman, Cece, comes to Salish, Montana, a small touristy town, in […]



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