Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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I love inappropriate moments. They’re my favourite moments.

The Raven Scholar: The Eternal Path Book #1 by Antonia Hodgson

March 26, 2026 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

Petty grudges are an excellent spur to action. ― Antonia Hodgson, The Raven Scholar “Fascinating,” the emperor said, rubbing his mouth as he took in her appearance. Fascinating was another of those court words, like astonishing, and remarkable, but even worse. Never fascinate an emperor. ― Antonia Hodgson, The Raven Scholar Neema Kraa is happy with her job as an imperial junior archivist and calligrapher. She is proud of how much she has achieved on her own. That’s what people say when they learn of […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Mystery Tagged With: Antonia Hodgson, autistic rep, Classism, exes to lovers, folklore, found family, Loners & Outcasts, nepotism, nobility, reluctant hero, Winner Takes All, wrongfully accused

carmelpie's CBR18 Review No:17 · Genres: Fantasy, Mystery · Tags: Antonia Hodgson, autistic rep, Classism, exes to lovers, folklore, found family, Loners & Outcasts, nepotism, nobility, reluctant hero, Winner Takes All, wrongfully accused ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Elastic tension lashed their cars together across space, alone on the road, nothing in his head but grief and freedom.

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo

February 26, 2026 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

Andrew held the clutch and eased onto the gas, pushing revs while the digital readout reminded him to hold it, wait for the right moment to explode. Sam’s fingers touched the rim of the moon hanging in the sky. A shudder ripped across the bones of Andrew’s forearms, terror and delight and the promise of risk bringing him to life. ― Lee Mandelo, Summer Sons For fuck’s sake Andrew. Is there anything in this scenario that feels heterosexual or well-adjusted to you? ― Lee Mandelo, […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery Tagged With: American History, angst, Classism, curse, dark academia, drug use, Fighting, gay awakening, gay romance, Ghost Stories, homoerotic behaviour, Lee Mandelo, LGBTQ author, LGBTQ romance, murder mystery, Nashville, psychic abilities, queer romance, self-destruction, sexual tension up the wazoo, street racing, Tennessee, toxic friendships, toxic relationships, Toxic Romance, transgender characters, transgender main character, trauma bonding

carmelpie's CBR18 Review No:9 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery · Tags: American History, angst, Classism, curse, dark academia, drug use, Fighting, gay awakening, gay romance, Ghost Stories, homoerotic behaviour, Lee Mandelo, LGBTQ author, LGBTQ romance, murder mystery, Nashville, psychic abilities, queer romance, self-destruction, sexual tension up the wazoo, street racing, Tennessee, toxic friendships, toxic relationships, Toxic Romance, transgender characters, transgender main character, trauma bonding ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Any mom who misses a chance to dress her kid up like a hotdog sounds like a psychopath to me.

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid

October 12, 2025 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

He’s looking to validate himself through someone else. She hasn’t caught on because she doesn’t know who she is. ― Kiley Reid, Such a Fun Age CBR17 Bingo: TBR For the past week, I’ve tried to think of an appropriate metaphor for what this reading experience was like for me. In terms of amusement park metaphors, it was like a rollercoaster with the slow climb to the top, each click of the chain ramping up the tension until you’re yanked up and over, all of […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: cbr17bingo, childcare, Classism, interracial relationship, interracial romance, Kiley Reid, Manipulative behavior, Motherhood, Racism, social climbing, social status, wealth gap, working class

carmelpie's CBR17 Review No:31 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: cbr17bingo, childcare, Classism, interracial relationship, interracial romance, Kiley Reid, Manipulative behavior, Motherhood, Racism, social climbing, social status, wealth gap, working class ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Careening over the cliff, crashing into the ocean, and exploding on impact.

The Favorites by Layne Fargo

May 26, 2025 by carmelpie 1 Comment

They didn’t simply want us to be lovers. They wanted us to be so in love, we’d burn the whole world down to be together. ― Layne fargo, The Favorites I have a backlog of reviews to write, but it took a truly bonkers story to yank me out of my holding pattern, tear open my window, and scream into the void. The Favorites is that story. This book has everything. Buckets of blood? Check. Violently gory injuries with ice skates? Check. Skating partners who […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Sports Tagged With: bad romance, Classism, dramatic bitches, ice dancing, Layne Fargo, obsession, Rivals, the olympics, toxic relationships, Toxic Romance

carmelpie's CBR17 Review No:14 · Genres: Fiction, Sports · Tags: bad romance, Classism, dramatic bitches, ice dancing, Layne Fargo, obsession, Rivals, the olympics, toxic relationships, Toxic Romance ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

State Sponsored Horror

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez

May 15, 2025 by Jake Leave a Comment

I’m not a short story guy. I like a long, dense tale I can sink my teeth into. And there are so many Latin American writers who have penned beauties in that regard. Bolano, Marquez, Gamboa just to name a few. Mariana Enríquez is known for her short fiction collections. I haven’t read them. But in reading the first fifth of this one, I can see why she is so acclaimed. The first part of this book is one of the more visually arresting tales […]

Filed Under: Horror Tagged With: Argentina, Classism, England, historical fiction, horror, Mariana Enriquez, Our Share of Night

Jake's CBR17 Review No:20 · Genres: Horror · Tags: Argentina, Classism, England, historical fiction, horror, Mariana Enriquez, Our Share of Night ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Fear is a valuable commodity. It’s common sense compressed into its purest form.

The Liar's Key: The Red Queen's War #2 by Mark Lawrence

February 10, 2025 by carmelpie 2 Comments

It’s hard to play the enigmatic prince of romance when the object of your affections gets to watch you shit into the sea twice a day. ― Mark Lawrence, The Liar’s Key After finishing the first book, Prince of Fools, over Christmas, I figured I’d be done with the trilogy by the end of January. Even though the first book meandered a bit, I was invested enough in Jalan and Snorri to push through and see what awaited them on the black ice. The second […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction Tagged With: bad royals, Classism, humour, Mark Lawrence, memory magic, quest, Vikings

carmelpie's CBR17 Review No:1 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction · Tags: bad royals, Classism, humour, Mark Lawrence, memory magic, quest, Vikings ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Tracy
    on Early Fantasy: Long Stories in Which Not Much Happens
    That almost sounds "so bad it's good," and I might need to check it out.
  • louise
    on High expectations led to disappointment
    I totally agree with what you wrote. I already read this book and found it extremely complicated to understand the...
  • Ashlea
    on This standalone fantasy goes incredibly hard.
    Just finished this amazing story. Eyes are still damp. I had it queued on my Libby app for several weeks...
  • finnyfinfinn
    on Les Amis Des Chats
    It did seem to come a little bit out of nowhere fast but I enjoyed everything else so much I...
  • finnyfinfinn
    on Les Amis Des Chats
    It's very sweet!
See More Recent Comments »

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