Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Mountains! Around the world!

Mountainous by Julia Kuo

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Looking at the cover of Mountainous by Julia Kuo made me think that the book was going to be a book that “feels good” and has a mindfulness quality to it. And it does, but it is not just that. This unique work features a clever, sweet, and interesting story that blends meditation, self-esteem, and imagery to create a truly special experience. It shows (from the publisher’s description) that When the world moves so fast, mountains seem to stand still. But mountains move and change […]

“What is a river but an open throat; what is water but a voice?”

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

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“The River Liss runs north to south, and its waters brim with grammar.” What an absolutely musical opening sentence. I had to stop and reread it several times just to let it sink in. Amal El-Mohtar’s writing hugs the line between poetry and prose, and results in a truly delicious reading experience. This novella, based on the English ballad “The Bonny Swans,” tells the story of two sisters, Esther and Ysabel. Their family tends the willow trees that grow along the magical river Liss, and […]

The River of Silver: A nice reward for finishing a wonderful series

The River of Silver: Tales from the Daevabad Trilogy by Shannon Chakraborty

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After taking a brief rest from tearing through Empire of Gold, I took a much more gentle pace through River of Silver. River of Silver is a series of short stories from multiple character points of view that stretches across the whole scope of the original trilogy. The stories are arranged chronologically from decades before we start City of Brass through to just after the ending of Empire of Gold. There are a few stories from the trilogy’s main protagonists, but mostly the stories are […]

“You do not need to be afraid. You do not have to be good…You are the scariest thing in the woods.”

Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser

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I picked this book up after seeing it on a “Most Anticipated Books of 2026” list, but I was skeptical. It’s a retelling of Cinderella but from the perspective of the stepmother. I thought it was part of the Disney Villains YA series and was confused as to why it was getting picked up for celebrity book clubs.  But apparently, despite the protagonist sharing a name with the stepmother in the Disney version, this book is, as far as I can tell, unaffiliated with Disney […]

So Good

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

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This is a searing look at Depression/Dust Bowl/Migrant farmer camps in California, as previously depicted in Steinbeck’s famous Grapes of Wrath, but from the point of view of a woman.  Almost as if the famous portrait by Dorothea Lange come to life. Elsa Wolcott, raised in a prosperous Texas family in 1921, is a so-called old maid and is rejected by her family for her ungainly height and plain looks.  One night, though, she takes a chance on Rafe Martinelli, the handsome young son of […]

“The night without stars”, he said finally. “I beg your pardon?” “Your face without freckles,” he explained.

Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long

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4.5 stars Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for this ARC. My opinions are my own. This book is out on June 3rd, 2026. Genevieve “Ginny” Woodville travels alone and unchaperoned to London to confront the man known as “The Reaper”, Gabriel Marchand, owner of one of the most exclusive gentlemen’s clubs/gaming hells in the city. Her newly come of age younger brother, who also recently became the Earl of Highgrove after the death of a cousin, got drunk one evening and gambled away not […]



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