Cannonball Read 14

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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..they suspended their arguments, united for once in their astonishment at the unusual spectacle of an elephant lumbering across the square.

The Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh

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CBR14 BINGO: Elephant Square (Another literal one. Sometimes googling for the square yields great results, sometimes not so much. ) In 1940s Belfast, a young woman working at the local zoo sees the arrival of a new baby elephant as her opportunity to prove herself. Hoping to become the first female zookeeper at the Belfast zoo, Hettie quickly takes on the responsibility of handling the elephant in addition to all of the menial responsibilities delegated to her. Work is her escape after Hettie’s father abandons […]

In Pursuit of Destiny and Desire

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

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I felt like a bit of a dumb-arse after picking up She Who Became the Sun. I don’t know if it was just me stumbling around blindly perhaps, but it took me a good long time to realise that the this book was a reimagining of the Ming Dynasty’s rise to power. The ebook version of the book didn’t have a blurb on the back cover, true, and that might have helped. But it did have a map of  north east of China on one […]

“The earth has turned. The time is here. I am dying. Come and collect your inheritance.”

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

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I tell you what, I’ve really been putting off writing this review. I just don’t want to try and put words to the subconscious magic this book can work upon a reader. And also the literal magic that is in the book. (An old woman turns into a tree! Flowers grow out of people’s bodies!) I’m really not going to talk much about the plot here because it’s way better to be surprised, but I will say that the book starts out with all of […]

Race/Horse

Horse: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks

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Cbr14bingo Time, Bingo #2 (down) This novel is set in three distinct time periods linked by a Civil War era thoroughbred named Lexington As far as I’m concerned Geraldine Brooks is one of the best historical fiction writers out there. I have read all of her novels. March won the Pulitzer Prize. Caleb’s Crossing, People of the Book, and Year of Wonder: A Novel of the Plague were all outstanding. I felt that The Secret Chord, her previous novel, was not quite up to snuff, […]

Electra Complex

Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter by Lizzie Pook

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CBR 14 Bingo: Bird Birds populate the landscape of this book – and Eliza’s father is prophesied to be found in a white place surrounded by many birds. When Eliza’s father’s ship returns from a pearling expedition without him, everyone but her seems to accept that he is dead. But Eliza is certain there is more to the story, and she is determined to find him. I am rather annoyed with this book. It was so relentlessly depressing, and once I had gotten through the […]

‘“Nonsense, my dear! It is the 1920s, you know.” She squeezed Bella’s hand. “The world is changing. For the better, I hope.”’

Hotel Portofino by J.P. O'Connell

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CBR 14 Bingo: Hot We are on the Italian Riviera in high summer, and the characters lavish in beach days and garden parties. Bella Ainsworth has just opened her hotel in Portofino, but she is already facing trouble – unruly guests, blackmail, and some business about a Rubens… This was my second stab at this book. I received an audiobook ARC originally, but I found it could not keep my attention so I went with an ebook for the library instead and it coasted by […]



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