Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

We’ve been growing a monster repellent this whole time?

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon (Mead Mishaps Book 1) by Kimberly Lemming

by 2 Comments

“Who wouldn’t want to go off on a grand adventure with a bunch of hot heroes also chosen by the goddess?” Me bitches. No thank you. Biceps were nice, but so was not having my guts eaten by an orc. Cinnamon, whose family grows and sells spices, is partying it up with her best friend Brie, the local cheesemonger. Her village is celebrating because Myva, the local goddess, has chosen the local champion, Priscilla, to go off and be a hero and rid the land […]

The witch and werewolf go to school and some other things…but it’s not a romance

The Weirn Books, Vol. 1: Be Wary of the Silent Woods by Svetlana Chmakova

by Leave a Comment

Where do witches go to school? Well if you are the kids in this book, and are a special kind of witch called a Weirn, you go to the school the humans do. Only at night, after everyone has left and magic makes it morph into a school for the magical creatures. All the usual suspects are there in Svetlana Chmakova’s graphic novel, The Weirn Books, Vol. 1: Be Wary of the Silent Woods, the mean girl (who used to be a friend and has […]

Jekyll and Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

by Leave a Comment

Althought I had never read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I thought I had a basic understanding of the storyline about a man who through a series of events creates a split personality within himself, one good and one evil. Imagine my surprise when I actually read this book and I discovered I was very wrong about most of this story, and my understanding of what it was about was heavily influenced by the Jekyll and Hyde musical. There is no […]

I didn’t do justice to these books, so ignore my review and just get copies of the books!

Growing Up under a Red Flag: A Memoir of Surviving the Chinese Cultural Revolution by Ying Chang Compestine

My Name Is Long as a River by Suma Subramaniam

by Leave a Comment

I had the reading bug the other day, and found two books that are different, but important to know about. Both were read via online reader copies, and are future publications. I did have some trouble writing a review for them, as I wanted to do the subjects justice. I hope you, come Spring, pick up copies and enjoy, too. Growing Up under a Red Flag: A Memoir of Surviving the Chinese Cultural Revolution by Ying Chang Compestine is an eye opening look at the […]

Suspicion

Symposium: A Novel by Muriel Spark

by Leave a Comment

There is something about writers from Scotland, rather like those from Scandinavia, that just brings along the darkness. Reading Muriel Spark’s short 1990 novel Symposium reminded me of a read from last year, Elspeth Barker’s 1991 novel O, Caledonia. Both novels feature old moneyed families fallen on hard times in Scotland, and both cast a gimlet eye on the intellectual, propertied class. Also, both are excellent, quick reads. Symposium is a murder mystery that happens while a dinner party is occurring. Sparks takes us in […]

High expectations led to disappointment

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

by 2 Comments

My phone has figured out that I’m a sucker for reading lists, so everyday a new headline pops up with another list of books I should check out. One day, a Buzzfeed list appeared with “10 Outstanding Books That Are So Good, I Want To Erase My Memory To Experience Them Again.” I was intrigued–especially when I saw that I’d already read a number of the books on the list and enjoyed them. And this is where I found More Happy Than Not (2020) by Adam Silvera. […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo