Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Watch This Space

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

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The first question in my mind when I finished listening to Wil Wheaton’s excellent narration of The Collapsing Empire was “this had better be a god damned trilogy!”. Thankfully, it is, and I will get to spend many more hours listening to the plight of the young Emperox Grayland II as she navigates the untimely collapse of The Flow, the method by which humans of the future overcome the limitations of light speed travel. The Collapsing Empire opens with a prologue that sets the scene […]

Howl’s Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones

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Howl’s Moving Castle is some of the most dangerous media you will ever consume, because it’s more addictive than caffeine. Reading the book or watching the excellent Hiyao Miyazaki movie guarantees you will want to either watch or read whichever one you didn’t just consume, and this process repeats back and forth theoretically forever. And it’s wonderful the whole time. The novel takes place in a fairy tale world in all the best ways. Ingary resembles Europe immediately prior to World War I. Most technology […]

“I may of use to you yet, my dear dragon”

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

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4.5 stars CBR15 Bingo: History (set in an alternate history, in the Victorian era) 15-word review: Introverted lady scholar goes to fictional Iceland to research faeries, followed by her handsome colleague. Official book description (because I finished this at the start of May): Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is […]

Junior High but with magic and glitter

Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess: (A Graphic Novel) (Magic Girls) by Megan Brennan

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Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess: (A Graphic Novel) (Magic Girls) by Megan Brennan is a three rounded from a 2.5 rating. This is because on one level this graphic novel is a cute, manga inspired, girl power story. It is a typical “in middle school and it stinks (only I didn’t say stinks)” story. We have the outsider looking in, but wants to be on the inside. However, on the other hand these are not the nicest people in the universe. And I say […]

How Many Warm Beverage-Centric Books Can One Woman Read in 2023?

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

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Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree has been all over Cannonball Read the past couple of years, and given my penchant for comforting reads involving warm beverages, I knew that there was a good chance I would love it. Spoiler alert: I did! The story opens as Viv, an orc who is a ferocious and skilled warrior-for-hire, finishes up her final job and marches away from her crew. Following her heart and a spell, Viv finds the perfect spot to start putting down roots – […]

CBR 15 Bingo – Relation”ship”

Circe by Madeline Miller

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I was very late to the party on this one, but I’m sure glad I was invited. I heard how good this book was for a few years, but for one reason or another, I never got around to it. I did read The Song of Achilles last year and loved it, but I didn’t want to dive into Circe immediately afterwards. Achilles is HEARTBREAKING and I needed a breather. When I was a kid, I was OBSESSED with Greek Mythology, so the story of […]



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