Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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A little French romance

The Red Notebook: A Novel by Antoine Laurain

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The Red Notebook was a recommendation from the owner of the bookshop down the road from me. It is a charming little love story that starts with a rather dark event. As the story progresses, the main characters give the reader glimpses of their past loves and losses, their fears and hopes. Set in Paris and featuring art, literature and a bookstore, this really is a cozy story for the cooler days and longer nights ahead. On her way home from a friend’s one evening, […]

Shout out to the crones!

Nettle & Bone: A Novel by T. Kingfisher

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According to the book cover, this is the story of a princess who dreams of killing a prince rather than marrying one. Just in time for spooky season, this murderous tale has ghosts, witches, goblins, skeletons, fairy godmothers, and curses. And a little bit of romance, too. Nettle & Bone was a funny, exciting read that actually deals with some serious subject matter — spousal abuse — so trigger warning for that. Marra is a princess, the third daughter of the queen of the Harbor […]

E. M. Forster, you absolute gem of a man!

Howards End by E. M. Forster

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CBR18 BINGO: Summer, because the tryst between Helen and Paul that starts the plot rolling happens in the summer Double BINGO – Across: Success, Justice, You, Wealth, Summer Down: One, Wheels, Summer, And, Repair After finishing E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India, I had an urge to revisit Howards End, a novel I hadn’t read in close to 40 years.  It was a close race, but I do believe I enjoyed Howards End even more. (Note, this review contains some minor spoilers.) The story […]

Timeless or timely? I have so many thoughts about racism, sexism, and white privilege

A Passage to India by E. M. Forster

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CBR18 BINGO: Justice, because an accused Indian man faces British justice Pursuant to this review title, I was impressed and a little surprised that E. M. Forster had so much to say about race and gender, having been born in England in the late Victorian era. Considered by some to be his masterpiece, A Passage to India is a captivating and complicated study of British-India relations during the British Raj. It also touches on attitudes toward gender, though some readers have criticized that Forster falls […]

Looking forward to getting to know Emma

The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion Volume 1 by Beth Brower

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Volume 1 of this multi-volume series is set in March and April of 1883. Emma M. Lion is 20 years old, nearly 21, and has recently returned to her family home, Lapis Lazuli House in the St Crispian’s neighborhood of London, a quirky place with fine homes, a Roman ghost, a handsome young pastor with rowdy friends, and some charming neighbors. The novel is set up as a series of diary entries that introduce us to Emma and the various dilemmas she will face over […]

Eliza and James, sitting in a tree, M-U-R-D-E-R-I-N-G

How to Kill Your Rival by Effie Campbell

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3.5 stars Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this ARC. This has not influenced my review in any way. This book is on sale now. Eliza Hamilton (yup, that is her name; not sure if the author is a fan of the musical or if the name is a coincidence) is the heir apparent to the Death Council, a secret organisation full of hired killers. While her father is battling cancer, she is to lead in his place, but most of the other […]



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