Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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For the solitary raven in all of us

The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

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CBR18 BINGO: Map (Ooh, look! Maps in the front matter.) Oh you beautiful ravens, you truly are magnificent. It seems like it’s been eons since I’ve been as thoroughly captivated by a fantasy world as I was by the one Antonia Hodgson weaves in The Raven Scholar. This novel doesn’t just have intricate world building; it has political tension, mystery, complex characters, and light comedy. Did I merely give in to the hype when I decided to read it, or did I listen to the […]

Yes, hello, we are here, perched on the balustrade, biding our time and being magnificent.

The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

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I had to take a breather from Hugo award voting for a while, but I thought I’d jump back into it this year. Only to have this doorstopper from an author I had not come across before dropped on my feet. Thankfully, The Raven Scholar turned out to be an absolute page turner, a bit of a kitchen sink of fantasy tropes, and a lot more playful than I expected. An absolute joy to race though.  Now to those fantasy tropes: one of the things […]

Ravens are Nerds

The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

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The Raven Scholar is actually pretty good; I was a little surprised because I sometimes don’t have great luck with the popular best-sellers, even in genre fiction. The characters are mostly what drive things, Neema and Cain are a lot of fun, both individually and together, Sol has some good personality for being a magical being fragment, and a lot of the rest of the supporting cast has enough definition that as an ensemble, they’re interesting to watch. Most everyone has some kind of tragic […]

Definitely a debut novel

The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson

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The story: Tom Hawkins, the son of a gentleman, is sent to debtors’ prison, Marshalsea, in 1700s London. While there, he learns about the murder of another prisoner, Captain Roberts–and that the main suspect is his cellmate, Samuel Fleet. Fleet is kind of a menacing weirdo, and Tom begins to worry that he might be next. He realizes he needs to solve the murder before he meets a similar fate to Captain Roberts. Why I read it: A few months ago, I read The Raven […]

I love inappropriate moments. They’re my favourite moments.

The Raven Scholar: The Eternal Path Book #1 by Antonia Hodgson

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Petty grudges are an excellent spur to action. ― Antonia Hodgson, The Raven Scholar “Fascinating,” the emperor said, rubbing his mouth as he took in her appearance. Fascinating was another of those court words, like astonishing, and remarkable, but even worse. Never fascinate an emperor. ― Antonia Hodgson, The Raven Scholar Neema Kraa is happy with her job as an imperial junior archivist and calligrapher. She is proud of how much she has achieved on her own. That’s what people say when they learn of […]

“It was like reading a book, she decided. You read the book and the words became scenes, the characters became people and they lived inside you.”

The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

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Reading epic fantasy isn’t really a thing I do that often, but sometimes, you just need to listen to your book friends when they fall in love with something. It has proven to be a good method for me previously, so why not try again with a beautiful purple covered book and plot synopsis that grab the attention without giving a whole lot away.    It should be noted that I loved this 650-page book. It’s a five-star read for me, easily. But… I have struggled for weeks to figure out how to review it, so I’m sort of throwing my hands up […]



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