Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Like so many things, this could’ve been better with Charlize Theron in it

1989 (Allie Burns #2) by Val McDermid

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The year is 1989, and journalist Allie Burns isn’t enjoying life. She’s moved from Scotland to Manchester with her girlfriend and fellow journalist Rona. The newspaper she works for has been bought by a media magnate named Ace Lockhart (named in the novel as Rupert Murdoch’s main competitor but for all intents and purposes, he is Rupert Murdoch), which means than rather than write the well-researched think pieces Allie used to do, she is now chasing juicy athlete divorce stories and covering disasters like the […]

Hot Blood on Cold Ground

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita

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Iris Yamashita’s City Under One Roof is the first book in the newish Cara Kennedy mystery series. Kennedy is an Alaskan peace officer, drifting through Alaska. She is drawn to the tiny town of Point Mettier when a local teen finds a severed hand and local law enforcement is stumped. Or, they claim to be. It’s off-season, and everyone in Point Mettier lives in the same building. So, whose hand is it? Someone in the building has to know. Kennedy quickly becomes stuck in town, […]

A Thrill Ride From Start to Finish

Famous Last Words: A Novel by Gillian McAllister

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Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister is a suspenseful, thriller/mystery that had me hooked from page one. I hated to put it down and finished it within two days. I had heard about it from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s substack, a great place to go for book, TV, and movie recommendations. This story involves hostages, murder and the joy of reading, and involves very interesting main characters who struggle with the aftermath of a traumatic event. Camilla is a book editor who loves her job. There’s nothing […]

What was the point?

The Book That Held Her Heart by Mark Lawrence

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I was dreading this book. I found this series last summer, and the first one was so magical and creative. The second one, though, was already a bit of a struggle, focusing on the darkness of the story being explored, losing the magic that made it so interesting even while exploring dark themes. So was I worried about whether this would get the story back on track? Of course. Then I saw this novel was around 360 pages – while the length surprised me since […]

A Historical Fantasy, A “Neon-Noir” Horror, and Litfic with Magical Realism

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

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Emily’s Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales I loved being back in the world of Emily Wilde, so I had such a warm feeling reading this book, even though the stakes in this book are higher in some ways compared to the first two in the trilogy. In this one, Emily and Wendell go to Wendell’s home realm in Faerie to reclaim the throne and are met with some challenges along the way. Just as we did in the first two books, we get occasional reminders […]

“You’ll be the best Earl of Arse ever.”

The Earl Who Isn't by Courtney Milan

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The third instalment in the Wedgeford Trails series. Plot: Andy loves Lily. Lily loves Andy. One problem: Andy is the real heir to the Earl of Arsell, and if his good for nothing father gets wind of his existence, all of Wedgeford is in danger. So it’s probably for the best that Lily got shipped back to Hong Kong to be raised “properly” by her grandmothers. And it his life seems a little empty now, that’s nothing he can’t deal with by sharing his heart […]



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