Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Magical Girls Grown Up

The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner

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Bingo 24: Swap Free Space for Diaspora Free Space invoked because I don’t have anything specific in mind for the Diaspora square and time is not on my side. I picked up The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry for the title. No other reason. Turns out this is actually book 2 in a series, but that doesn’t actually matter, as this story is pretty stand alone as far as I could tell. A lot is classic fantasy and romance tropes getting mixed up. Sometimes there’s […]

Please, Re-read the Previous Book First

Queen Demon by Martha Wells

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So, I did mention I had more than one Martha Wells book to attend to today, and this is the tricker one to write about. I read Witch King  earlier this year, and while I very much liked it, there were, I thought, some notable flaws. Witch King had a dual narrative, with each of the two branches separated by over fifty years. And within these fifty years, there have been some significant political changes that are sometimes a little hard to grasp because of […]

It’s not over until we win

Royal Assassin: Book 2 of The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

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The thing about second books in trilogies is that they have to do a lot of work developing conflicts and characters. Second books tend to be where the bad guys are ascendent and our heroes seem to be losing. They provide critical information and often are kind of depressing. Royal Assassin, the second volume in The Farseer Trilogy, is such a book but I am completely invested, as well as devastated, by what is happening to our main characters and the kingdom where they live. […]

I Love October

Silver And Lead by Seanan McGuire

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Toby life hack #19- no one can tell if you’ve gotten covered in blood again if you’re already covered in blood! Life has been pretty uneventful since the end of Titania’s hijacking of faerie reality. Everyone’s just quietly trying to get over their well earned PTSD. Toby herself is about two weeks from giving birth and has been sitting at home enjoying the pampering that Tybalt and her housemates have been smothering her with without going insane at all… Hahahahaha yeah she’s about ten seconds […]

The novel doesn’t quite live up to the magic of the setting

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

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CBR 17 BINGO: “N” (for Night) Double BINGO! Across: B, I, N, G, O, Down: Black, TBR, N, Family, Citizen The Night Circus is a much beloved novel that, on paper, seems like it has everything that should appeal to me: a Victorian timeframe, a magical setting, an air of mystery, an understated romance. I admired the author’s creativity, particularly in the way she weaves fantastical elements into the circus; yet, I felt a bit let down by the fact that I wasn’t eager to […]

Fantasy with less romance but more dogs

Assassin’s Apprentice: Book One of the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

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I’m on a fantasy kick recently, this time without the romance but with plenty of court intrigue, magical powers and violence. Trigger warning for abuse and death (including animals). Assassin’s Apprentice is the first book in Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy, which has been reviewed favorably several times on CBR. Add this one to the favorable reviews. Hobbs includes two very compelling storylines and a cast of interesting characters whose personal motivations and abilities create some thrilling and suspenseful scenes. I tore through this 400+ page […]



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