Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve. Either you’re his true love, or you killed him.

The Raven Boys: The Graphic Novel by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves: The Graphic Novel by Maggie Stiefvater

September 21, 2026 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

CBR18 Bingo: Bird and Steal Bird – Ronan has a pet raven named Chainsaw. Steal – Ronan and Kavinsky steal items from the dream world. The Raven Boys There were three boys in the doorway, backlit by the evening sun as Neeve had been so many weeks ago. Three sets of shoulders: one square, one built, one wiry. “Sorry that I’m late,” said the boy in front, with the square shoulders. The scent of mint rolled in with him, just as it had in the […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Young Adult Tagged With: cbr18bingo, character study, chosen family, codependent relationships, Depression, graphic novel adaptation, Loners & Outcasts, Maggie Stiefvater, psychic abilities, quest, Sas Milledge, small town romance, Stephanie Williams, supernatural adventure, toxic relationships, trauma response, yearning

carmelpie's CBR18 Review No:43 · Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult · Tags: cbr18bingo, character study, chosen family, codependent relationships, Depression, graphic novel adaptation, Loners & Outcasts, Maggie Stiefvater, psychic abilities, quest, Sas Milledge, small town romance, Stephanie Williams, supernatural adventure, toxic relationships, trauma response, yearning ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Kink, Love, and Understanding

Mastery: Sex Wizards Book 2 by Alethea Faust

June 29, 2026 by carmelpie 2 Comments

This book has no right to be as good as it is. If Sex Wizards: Initiation introduced all of the rules of magic and forced Dominai to accept his power, Mastery shows his progression as he decides to improve his skills and learn how to slow down and let things come on their own. At the end of book 1, Olbric, Dominai’s closest friend and lover, was captured and tortured by two rogue wizards. Olbric and the other members of the crux were rescued, but […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance Tagged With: Alethea Faust, bdsm romance, chosen family, dominance, found family, healing, Intersex character, kink, non-binary character, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Psychic trauma, roleplaying, Sexual Assault, submission

carmelpie's CBR18 Review No:26 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance · Tags: Alethea Faust, bdsm romance, chosen family, dominance, found family, healing, Intersex character, kink, non-binary character, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Psychic trauma, roleplaying, Sexual Assault, submission ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments
Cover of The Story of my Anger by Jasminne Mendez

A firestorm of a story!

The Story of my Anger by Jasminne Mendez

July 8, 2025 by LB Leave a Comment

The Story of my Anger counts for the “school” square on CBR17 Bingo. I was immediately drawn to The Story of My Anger because Yuli’s pose on the cover is so defiant and powerful, and I knew I wanted to read her story. Told in verse, this book follows Yuli and her group of friends who are trying to prevent the books that have allowed them to be seen in curriculum from being banned. Especially in today’s sociopolitical landscape and how many books are being […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult Tagged With: book bans, cbr17bingo, chosen family, contemporary fiction, jasminne Mendez, Multicultural, protest, queer secondary characters, Texas, the story of my anger, United States of America, Young Adult

LB's CBR17 Review No:9 · Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult · Tags: book bans, cbr17bingo, chosen family, contemporary fiction, jasminne Mendez, Multicultural, protest, queer secondary characters, Texas, the story of my anger, United States of America, Young Adult ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

An Important Middle Grade in Verse

Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner

February 27, 2025 by LB Leave a Comment

Gosh, Please Pay Attention is a book that hurts in the best way. Bea is a sixth-grader with cerebral palsy who is Buddies with Josie, a kindergartner with anxiety, and best friends with Rani. Max is the school nurse, and also her foster mom who gave her her name because Bea’s neonatal room was decorated with Peter Rabbit before Max brought her home. Bea loves to draw and even gets in trouble for drawing places she shouldn’t, like her bedroom wall and classroom desk. But […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: cerebral palsy, chosen family, contemporary, Disability, disabled mc, Jamie sumner, mass shooting, middle grade, novel-in-verse, Realistic fiction, school shooting, trauma

LB's CBR17 Review No:4 · Genres: Fiction, Poetry · Tags: cerebral palsy, chosen family, contemporary, Disability, disabled mc, Jamie sumner, mass shooting, middle grade, novel-in-verse, Realistic fiction, school shooting, trauma ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Fun & Delightful Black Sapphic Romance

A Little Kissing Between Friends by Chencia C. Higgins

April 25, 2024 by LB 1 Comment

I feel like I’ve been waiting for this book forever, so as soon as I got approved for an arc I had to immediately jump in. And I am so glad I did! I’ve loved Chencia’s books since I read Wolves of West Texas, and seeing her story-telling grow and develop is just amazing. A Little Kissing Between Friends is such a delight of a book and had me laughing constantly. The friendship between Jucee and Cyn is so wonderful, and I also love how […]

Filed Under: Featured, Fiction, Romance Tagged With: bisexual, Black romance, Chencia C. Higgins, chosen family, contemporary, Contemporary Romance, lesbian, queer, Romance, sapphic romance, sex worker, single parent

LB's CBR16 Review No:2 · Genres: Featured, Fiction, Romance · Tags: bisexual, Black romance, Chencia C. Higgins, chosen family, contemporary, Contemporary Romance, lesbian, queer, Romance, sapphic romance, sex worker, single parent ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

Magical queer historical romance

Of Socialites and Prizefights by Arden Powell

February 10, 2024 by LB Leave a Comment

Arden Powell has been on my radar for a while and I’ve been collecting their books, but lesbians is what finally broke the seal (I am but a simple lesbian lol) and now I want to dive into the whole Flos Magicae backlist to see all the characters in their own stories. Deepa is a singer at a club and doesn’t believe in love, so when one of her paramours curses her to become a leopard every midnight and tells her the only way to […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Romance Tagged With: #fantasy, Arden Powell, chosen family, fantasy romance, Flos Magicae, historical fiction, historical romance, lesbian, magic, queer, romantasy, sapphic

LB's CBR16 Review No:3 · Genres: Fantasy, Romance · Tags: #fantasy, Arden Powell, chosen family, fantasy romance, Flos Magicae, historical fiction, historical romance, lesbian, magic, queer, romantasy, sapphic ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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