Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

CBR15 Bingo: In the Wild

Magic Claims by Ilona Andrews

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4.5 stars CBR15 Bingo: In the Wild (partly set in a big, spooky wood AND featuring shifters) This short novel, which originally was planned as a novella (but the authors just couldn’t fit all of the story into such a short format, for which their fans are grateful) is the second of the Wilmington Years stories, which could clearly also be called Kate and Curran spectacularly fail at a quiet and uneventful retirement. In the previous story, Magic Tides, Kate has to rescue a bunch […]

Gird Your Loins. But It’s Worth It.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

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cbr15 bingo History So this was a 1000 page doorstopper, and apparently the first of a trilogy.  And you know what?  Bring it on. Set in England during those dicey years before the Plantagenet crew really took hold, it’s basically the story of the building of a cathedral.  But the thing about building a cathedral, especially in these early days?  It’s a community endeavor headed by Some Guy (Tom Builder to start with in this case) but it must be a feat of sustained passion […]

Team seal or team penguin?

Seals are Jerks! by Jared Chapman

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Seals are Lorelei’s favorite animals. And she loves how they must be the best of friends with penguins. After all, they are always together in all the pictures she sees because of the research she has done. And they are no-shaped, but look like potatoes and their blubber! But when a new student in class tells her that Seals are Jerks! Well, she doesn’t believe it! She needs proof! But she soon learns that seals are jerks. After all, they eat penguins and do not […]

Twistin the Night Away

The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly

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Last night, I woke up at 3:30 with a warm flush (being a middle aged woman is aces, y’all) and as I was fanning myself on the sofa, I grabbed my book for the usual 20 minutes or so until my temperature made sense again. I’d been reading this for a couple of days, and I was liking it but I didn’t think it’s be a problem to set it back down and so I could finish getting my night’s sleep. Reader, I’m sure you […]

Younger is always dumber and wising up takes blood…and time.

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

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I tend to think prequels are unnecessary. I don’t know that Bookshops & Bonedust is necessary from a story telling perspective. From a soul perspective, yes, it is necessary. Legends & Lattes was about coffee, baked goods and friendships. Bookshops & Bonedust is about books, baked goods, and friendships. The book was read by the author, Travis Baldree, who is also a voice actor. I enjoyed his narration so much I may get his narration of the Legends & Lattes audiobook. (Who am I kidding, […]

“Happiness is a garden walled with glass: there’s no way in or out. In Paradise there are no stories, because there are no journeys. It’s loss and regret and misery and yearning that drive the story forward, along its twisted road.”

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

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In another time or another headspace, I might have given this five stars. If I ever re-read, I probably will. Unfortunately, my brain was just not in the mood for a long, measured, thoughtful, historical literary fiction novel when I read this back in April (!). I should probably have done the audiobook instead. (Anyone know if it’s any good? I’ve never heard of the narrator before.) *Have I EVER been in the mood for a Margaret Atwood? 🤔 I somehow managed to read The […]



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