Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


“Marriage was like death”

Secrets Beyond the Door by Maria Tatar

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You’ll notice a pattern: I’m deep-diving into crime and violence, in fairy tales and beyond. Secrets Beyond the Door is a book of essays exploring the Bluebeard fairy tale and its influence. People are really obsessed with this fairy tale! I guess I’m as guilty. The book starts with Charles Perrault’s 17th century version that popularized the tale, then goes through its evolution in gothic literature (Jane Eyre, Rebecca), twentieth century literature (Vonnegut, King), women’s perspectives (Carter), and how it crosses over with true crime. […]

Some doors shouldn’t be opened

The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

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I was so excited when I saw that Marissa Meyer had a Bluebeard retelling (I enjoyed her recent Rumpelstiltskin inspired duology though I think it might have worked better as a stand alone) and there wasn’t anything wrong with this story at all, I just felt like it could have done more. I don’t think I heard of the Bluebeard story until my teens or early 20s (my introduction to it might have even involved Margaret Atwood) but it’s always interesting to see what people […]

All I Want is My Own Cinnamon Roll Monster Boyfriend

Bitterburn by Ann Aguirre

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Ann Aguirre is starting a new series of gothic fairytale retellings. In Bitterburn, she is retelling Beauty and the Beast, but has added in some elements of Bluebeard. I received an arc from the author in exchange for an honest review. If you don’t know, a cinnamon roll is a love interest who is warm, sweet, supportive and gooey on the inside. They might also be a lot of other things, but their support for their love is unqualified. Njal is the Beast of Bitterburn, a […]

“If you spy a naked man among the pines, you must run as if the Devil were after you.”

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

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Never have truer words been spoken! This collection of short stories crept around my periphery for some time, and I am both overjoyed to have finally given in to it and disappointed in myself for not biting earlier. I came across it originally on a list of fairy-tale retellings on Autostraddle, and when it popped up again in the employee recommendations section of one of my favorite booksellers (Crow Bookshop in Burlington, what’s up!) I knew that it was meant to be. Still, it sat […]



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