Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Gothic Horror in the Mexican Countryside

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

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Beatriz is the only child of a Mexican general who was executed in the aftermath of the Mexican war for independence. After months of depending on the generosity of her mother’s extended family, Beatriz latches on to Don Rodolfo Salorzano as her best chance of escaping the capital and having a home of her own. The hacienda is prosperous, but the house itself has seen better days. Rodolfo’s sister Juana, used to having the run of the hacienda, is scornful of Beatriz and her plans […]

Rouge: this was a fever dream

Rouge by Mona Awad

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mood music: Possede – emma peters I really enjoyed this book. It was a strange combination of Snow White meets Alice in Wonderland meets Eyes Wide Shut. The nonlinear structure of the story works well due to Awad’s ability to bring the reader into the dream-like experience happening to the protagonist, rather than feeling like an observer of a very confusing situation. Plot synopsis-wise, I’ll be brief because this book is a little hard to describe if you haven’t already read it. The story follows […]

Wait. So now I have to read ‘Jane Eyre’?

Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste

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Reluctant Immortals opens with an opening line that is just … *chefs kiss*; “It’s almost sundown in Los Angeles, and Dracula’s ashes won’t shut up.” The book is set in 1967 California, splitting most of the action between Los Angeles and the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, with a few spots visited in between. It is the Summer of Love and also yet just another summer for Lucy Westnera and Bertha (Bea) Mason, who are the immortals of the book title. Lucy comes from the […]

An interesting premise, but not one I cared about enough to continue

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez

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Did not finish It is 1981 in Buenos Aires. Juan and his young son Gaspar embark on a cross-country trip to his late wife’s family compound. It is clear from the beginning that Juan is ill and is still suffering the after-effects of recent heart surgery and the sudden loss of his wife Rosario. This is no ordinary road trip. He is struggling to support his son, who does not understand what is really happening and is traumatized by his mother’s death and his father’s […]

Shocking News, Classic Author Wilkie Collins Wrote Another Good Book

The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins

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CBR15Bingo: Dwelling (the secret in the house is a major part of this book, and the house itself is a sort of character) I continue my tradition of one Wilkie Collins book a year with The Dead Secret, a fun and fast-paced read that cements Collins as probably my favorite Victorian writer (besides George Eliot for Middlemarch, but I’ve struggled to read Daniel Deronda about four times, whereas I’ve enjoyed every Collins I’ve read). I was especially impressed to note on the back cover that […]

This House is Not a Home

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

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Mexican Gothic meets Crimson Peak is the way I would describe this novel, although some reviews have compared it to Rebecca, a book I have not read. Set during the years following the Mexican War of Independence, the story follows Beatriz, a young woman who has recently married into the wealthy Solórzano family after a whirlwind courtship from the heir patron of San Isidro, Rodolfo. Although she barely knows him, Beatriz agreed to marry him as a way to raise her status as a mixed […]



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