Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Into the Spindleverse

Fractured Fables by Alix E. Harrow

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I’ve enjoyed the previous novels I’ve read by Alix E. Harrow (particularly The Ten Thousand Doors of January and Starling House), so when I came across Fractured Fables on a recent trip to the bookstore, I was excited to find something by her that I had not yet read. This is actually a collection of two stories (I never know what the difference is between a “short story” and a “novella”, but they’re both 100-ish pages long, including some cool illustrations), A Spindle Splintered and […]

Less Well Known Works by Two of My Auto-Buy Authors

The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir

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Alix E. Harrow is one of my favorite authors, so as part of my quest to read just about everything she’s written, I dove into her short story The Six Deaths of the Saint. It was unexpected and intense and emotional, though it’s hard to share much without getting into spoiler territory. It also contains a mix of 1st and 2nd person perspective. The story starts with the Saint of War showing up to a poor, nameless orphan and the Saint helps her become a […]

Some Carryovers from Last Year and Two from This Year

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

The Cat Who Taught Zen by James Norbury

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

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Muse of Nightmares I was not expecting that. I was not expecting the call-backs to the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, and that was so cool. This was already a book I was loving, and that bumped it right on up to 5 stars for me. This isn’t a spin-off or sequel, so you don’t have to have read that trilogy to enjoy this one, but I loved the sense of mild continuity. Muse of Nightmares picks up where Strange the Dreamer left off. Minya […]

let’s see if I get the slang right

Starling House by Alix. E Harrow

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This left me feeling pretty “mid,” as the kids say. I’ve realized that Alix E. Harrow might just be an author whose style doesn’t fully click with me when it comes to novels. I had a similar reaction to The Ten Thousand Doors of January—it’s just something about the vibe and pacing that doesn’t quite land. That said, I did enjoy her Fractured Fables series (A Spindle Splintered and A Mirror Mended), so maybe it’s the format that works better for me. I was excited going into this because I’m […]

I’m Starting To Realize I Love Sentient Houses and Fictional Footnotes

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

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Alix E. Harrow has done it again. She is such a skillful writer, and I raced through this book to see discover the answers behind Starling House and see how everything would end. The book is told from dual perspectives. Most of it is first person narration by Opal, a woman in her 20s living in Eden, Kentucky, and trying to keep her and her brother Jasper afloat. Her one and only goal is to get him out of Eden. The second perspective is 3rd […]

Witchy Sisters Fighting for Women’s Rights

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

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This resonant novel is about sisterhood, both the familiar bonds and the ones forged with other women fighting for the same cause. It’s mostly about the three sisters of Juniper, Agnes, and Bella as they work towards the rights of women and witches in 1893. I loved all of these characters in different ways and for different reasons and felt that had each had a distinctive voice: Agnes is prickly and wary, Juniper is headstrong and willful, Bella is cautious and nerdy (I mean that […]



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