Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Botany, Bears and Beaver Ponds

Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey

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This is a lovely, sad, beautifully written book. I feel bad for everyone who rated it one star on Goodreads just because it wasn’t a faithful retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Because if you read it for what it is, instead of what it isn’t, it’s really quite wonderful. Ivey touches on themes of motherhood, love, personal freedom, mental health and the natural world, all in a dark fairy tale setting. Single mom Birdie does the best that she can for her daughter, Emaleen, […]

“Oh Catskins, why aren’t you dead yet?”

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

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I first became aware of Roshani Chokshi when my kiddo discovered her Aru Shah middle grade series, the Pandava Quintet.  Printed in the “Rick Riordan Presents” line it focuses on Hindu mythology as Aru Shah embarks on adventures with her friends.  We even went to one of the Aru Shah book signings.  Chokshi was witty, charming, and engaging.  I left wanting to read the books but never got around to it.  In the past year I became aware of her fiction for older readers, particularly […]

The Lover from the Forest

The Lover by Silvia Moreno Garcia

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I have been interested in reading Silvia Moreno Garcia for a few years. Her Amazon Original was an opportunity to dip my toes into her library. I can mark another passport stamp as she is from Mexico, and the story is set in a mysterious village. CBR15 Passport Challenge: Books from different countries (book 3 of 3) SPOILERS AHEAD! We meet Judith in “The Lover”. She lives in a small village and makes a wish to bring her lover to her. Soon, a hunter named Nathaniel […]

“The pit was full of bones and her hands were full of wires”

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

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4.5 stars #CBR15 Passport Challenge: Books I already own CBR15 Bingo: Violence 15-word-review: Princess Marra has to complete three impossible tasks to kill her brother-in-law. A quest follows. Longer review: Marra, the youngest princess in a small, rather insignificant kingdom, who has spent half of her life in a convent and so is almost, but very significantly not, a nun, has been set three impossible tasks by a dust-wife (a magic-wielding woman who can communicate with the dead). She must spin thread out of nettles […]

“A brave man helps. A coward just gives presents.”

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

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I’m a big King fan: I have seen a few movie adaptations, would put “The Stand” on my list of top 20 books, and this is the 15th book of his I have read. This new edition to his pantheon caught my eye at the library and was hesitantly recommended by a friend who was already shin-deep into this book, but on the fence about it. Having finished it, I give it a resounding fist shake for an excellent premise but meandering execution. It’s a […]

“I devoured this.” V. E. Schwab

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

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As a book lover, I couldn’t resist reading something called The Book Eaters. Especially with the review quote from V. E. Schwab (whom I love) “I devoured this.” Sunyi Dean’s novel is set in a dark fantasy world where there are a group of book eaters who are not human, but instead subside by eating books, which gives them the knowledge in the book. There are also mind eaters who instead eat human brains and gain knowledge that way. Devon is a princess from one […]



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