Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Sapphic vampires but make it boring

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn

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Eh. This was fine. I have never actually read Carmilla but know of its standing as a classic vampire story, so was intrigued by the description of this one as retelling/ reimagining. And maybe it’s unfair to expect anything super original from a retelling but that’s basically the feeling I left this one with – it was all very reminiscent of so many other novels I have read before, and not even in a particularly fun way. I will say that Dunn did a great […]

Mina Murray Vampire Hunter (or it is ‘Dracula’ but not)

The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich

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Firstly, I picked this book to read because I saw two of the characters had the names of Mina and Lucy,  with Lucy struck down by a mysterious illness.  Then the book flap mentioned “terrible, ancient truths” and “an evil beyond comprehension.” and I  read between the lines and thought that this was going to be some kind of Dracula situation.  And I am here for various takes on Dracula.  And this book is that!  But it is also its own thing, borrowing some names, […]

I’m still not sure I’m ok after this one…

The Winters by Lisa Gabriele

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    “Once I made up my mind to leave, a calm came over me. The fight was over. In fact, it felt less like leaving then like Asherley was pushing me out, rejecting me like a body rejecting an unfamiliar organ.” A modern twist on the classic “Rebecca” tale, our young heroine works for a charter company in the Caribbean and until she pays of the debt she owes her employer for her father’s funeral expenses, that is all she’s ever going to do. […]

Fairy Tales of Carnal Desires

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

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Yep, I definitely enjoy audiobooks more if I’ve read the book before. In this case I even enjoyed it so much, that I very predictably drifted off to sleep while listening to it. Which is fine at night, but not a particularly good idea during home office. I’ll blame it on Emilia Fox’s dulcet voice. As for the book itself: it’s a collection of retellings of fairy tales and myths, all with a slightly more feminist twist and an adult audience in mind.* The stories […]

#NotMyDarcy

The Wrong Mr. Darcy by Evelyn Lozada, Holly Lörincz

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I am weak for a Pride & Prejudice retelling. My best friend pointed out that I never enjoy them, despite the fact that I will read almost any that come my way. One of the reasons I so often don’t enjoy them is because I don’t know what I want in a retelling. When do I begrudge the changes made to put the story in a new context? What elements are necessary to retain the spirit of the story I love? Do I need to […]

Half agony, half hope, all swoon

Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev

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As much as I love Pride & Prejudice, the book just doesn’t update well. (I’m posting a review soon of a spectacular P&P fail.) So many of the elements of the story don’t work out of context. Seduction of underage girls, the importance of one sibling’s marriage on the family’s fortunes, how many families one dines with, fine eyes… stuff just hits different now. Persuasion, however, is, in many ways, a much easier tale to update. A young woman too sensitive to her family’s censure, […]



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