Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I, Misanthrope Bot

All Systems Red - The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

by 2 Comments

Having finished my first Murderbot novella, I have the same feeling as I did when I finished Gideon the Ninth – I’m a REAL cannonballer now! Between my husband and countless cannonballer’s reviews, I can’t seem to take two steps without bumping into a hearty endorsement of the Murderbot series. However, similar to Gideon the Ninth, this first installment wasn’t a total hit for me. Perhaps I’m just contrarian or maybe my expectations were too high. But I didn’t love this misanthropic robot as much […]

Bring It On + Monsters

Dying With Her Cheer Pants On (Stories of the Fighting Pumpkins) by Seanan McGuire

by Leave a Comment

First, let me tell you the hook for the short stories in this collection: High School cheerleaders (various squad combinations) fight monsters, aliens, and evil gods while also cheering for their school’s football team and participating in cheer competitions. Now let me try and explain the format/setup of this book as best I can by using some of the author’s own words. This quote is from the forward of the collection where Seanan McGuire writes about growing up in the 80s and loving sandbox novels; […]

For the Defense

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly

by Leave a Comment

The second novel in the Lincoln Lawyer series starts off with protagonist Mickey Haller, Jr. in rough shape. He’s been out of commission since the events of the first novel left him with an addiction to pain pills. Now out of rehab, Haller is weighing a return to the courtroom when he’s gift-wrapped a present he would rather not have. His colleague Jerry Vincent has been murdered, shot dead in his car, and it turns out that he had written a provision in his will […]

“I know what a quiche is, Your Lordship. I’m the fancy kind of whore.”

The Mistress Experience by Scarlett Peckham

by 1 Comment

The third novel in the Society a Sirens series and just as good. Plot: Thaïs Magdalene is the most desired courtesan in England and proud of this. Her desirability is rooted in her renowned beauty, sexual expertise, and the exclusivity she has developed. Fiercely independent, once established, Thaïs has refused to take the same lover twice, or for more than one night. Determined to fund a school for girls like the one she had been, to give them more options than she had, she puts […]

Maybe humans aren’t the most deserving of a new planet

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

by 2 Comments

I read this book to get my brother to stop talking about alien *insert creepy animal here (I don’t want to spoil it)*. Every time I’d see him, he would ask if I read Children of Time and then proceed to explain the premise as if he hadn’t explained it to me the last time I saw him. After maybe the fourth or fifth time I decided to read the book to shut him up. Look, I’m not a big sci-fi reader, but this one […]

It’s not too late to be in the year’s best

The Women by Kristin Hannah

by Leave a Comment

So there’s good news and bad news. Good news is, I loved this book. Bad new is that I had my top five already written up before I finished The Women, and now I have to rewrite it. It’s definitely worth the extra work though (although the book that got booted might disagree). The Women is set during the Vietnam war and follows the path of Frankie McGrath, who comes from an affluent family that proudly celebrated military service. Following the path her brother took, […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo