Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

It’s a bit sweet for me

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

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Beneath the Sugar Sky is the third book in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. There will be some spoilers for book one, Every Heart A Doorway in this review. The series centers around the students and faculty at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. A school for children who have gone through magical doorways into other worlds (e.g. Narnia and Wonderland), and then come back for some reason. They are having a hard time adjusting to life in the “real” world and wind up at […]

Fall into the sea with Mina

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

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I discovered The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea last year, when I was searching for a read that would evoke similar feelings to a Studio Ghibli movie – and this book did not disappoint! Axie Oh’s retelling of the Korean folk tale “The Tale of Shim Ch’ŏng” delivered on its description as a feminist retelling. The heroine was strong, determined, and spoke for herself, without being overshadowed by the powerful male characters who accompanied her journey through the Spirit Realm. Mina is a young […]

“What you don’t realize is that the world does not need more perfection. It needs more compassion and empathy.”

How the Dukes Stole Christmas by Tessa Dare, Sarah MacLean, Sophie Jordan, Joanna Shupe

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I had this collection picked out as my Christmas romance read a full year in advance. Then, I promptly didn’t read it, because that is how 2023 went. (Eventually my 2024 reviews will start without a lament about 2023, but this one isn’t it.) I love Tessa Dare books, particularly when I’m looking for something sweet and lighthearted. When checking her catalogue for a new to me book this past year I spotted this anthology from 2018 and put it on my list, zero questions […]

Extra Extra Read All about Frankie and her Hard News Investigating Crew!

Frankie and Friends V01 Breaking News by Christine Platt

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CBR16SweetChallenge #Cozy (the book turned into a cozy read) I picked up a slightly shelf worn copy of Frankie and Friends V01 Breaking News the other day, though I was not sure why. The cover was not “grabbing me” (there are toys and a girl who looks like a doll herself) but maybe it was because it was short, and I was looking for something that was quick and easy. When I needed a quick break from the more intense stories I was reading (a graphic novel about racism and […]

“Black History is Black Horror”

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

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Tananarive Due is one of the preeminent voices in Black Horror. The above quote is from her. She authored my favorite haunted house book, The Good House, so she is definitely on my auto read list when she puts out a new book. This latest offering did not disappoint. This book is part horror and part historical fiction which takes place in the Jim Crow South. As you might imagine it’s not an easy read, but it’s extremely worth your time and attention. Robbie Stevens […]

Miss for me, hit for you?

Where Black Stars Rise by Nadia Shammas

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CBR16SweetChallenge #Exciting (excited to read, excited to share with others becuase this needs to be read/known about) The concept of mental health and representation of a not usually talked about community had great potential. However, the execution of Where Black Stars Rise did not work for me. Things were too abstract and messy for my eyes to focus and my “reader eye” lost the flow of things. I was not always sure where I was, who was who and what was what. For the right […]



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