Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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You can have magical power or love, not both.

The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk

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The Midnight Bargain is a magic-fueled fantasy romance exploring what it means for a woman to conform to societal norms. Beatrice and her family have traveled far to a capital city in search of a husband. Her father has left the finances in a tight spot, which puts intense pressure on her to marry. But Beatrice would much rather become a sorceress and forget this whole marriage thing. But that’s against this society’s rules where women are given a painful binding collar on their wedding […]

“If I can only use my magic when you deem it safe, does that magic belong to me, or you?”

The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk

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30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 3 Book 2/30 Whoops, I slept on this one. Should have read it sooner! Because it was a delight. You know, if you’re defining “delight” as something that purposefully stokes your anger and your sense of righteousness by making you feel protective of the civil rights and bodily autonomy of fictional characters. With magic! So I guess that is how I define “delight.” I’m not going to go too deep into the world here because part of the fun […]

“We’ll drag this country into fairness and justice”

Witchmark by C.L. Polk

Stormsong by C.L. Polk

Soulstar by C.L. Polk

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  Long time, no reviews. Time to tackle the backlog! I came about this series in a very arse backwards manner. I was given a copy of the book Soulstar sometime last year and I got about a quarter of the way through before I gave into the feeling that something wasn’t right… The funny thing about ebooks is that looking for the blurb is not as simple as with a hardback. So I had missed it—and because of that, also missed the fact that […]

The Title is Slightly Too Accurate

Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk

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I’m in two minds about this one; on the one hand the characters and the mystery are good, but on the other the ending feels rushed and certain important parts of the world feel a little underdeveloped. That said, in general Even Though I Knew the End was a fun, fast read. In a world that resembles  Dashiell Hamnet if he wrote vaguely Christian supernatural detectives, Helen is a former rising start in the magic world, cast out when she tried to summon a demon […]

It was too short and also I don’t want any more

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk

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I feel like I might have gotten around to putting this on hold eventuallly, but credit for being first on the hold list goes to emmalita! My biggest issue with this novel was how short it was! Given how much happened, and how rich the world felt, I’m frankly shocked to find out that it’s the equivalent of 144 pages. Reading on an e-reader really messes with your sense of length… My biggest issue with Polk’s prior trilogy (The Kingston Trilogy) was that her political message […]

Paradise Lost

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk

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Even Though I Knew the End is a gorgeous, intense, tight rope 3 1/2 hour listen. Set in a slightly alternate, puritanical 1930s or 40s Chicago, C.L. Polk weaves together magic, gritty noir, Heaven, Hell, love, and grief. It’s both spare and lush with just enough detail to give the world texture and context. Women are second class citizens and being queer is dangerous. Helen Brandt sold her soul ten years ago and her payment is about to come due. She has worked as a […]



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