Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search this Site

Cannonballers are so smart

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

by 4 Comments

I’ve read and liked Robin McKinley, but somehow I managed to miss this one. Then a bunch of Cannonballers were commenting on another McKinley review that Sunshine was the best vampire book they’d ever read. When I found it at a library book sale, I was super psyched, and I was not disappointed. Rae Seddon (get it? Rae of Sunshine?) is a baker at a coffee shop. (So many descriptions of baked goods in this book. Drool.) Her stepfather owns the coffee shop, her mother […]

double dipping with Rivers of London and River Cartwright

Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aronovitch

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

by Leave a Comment

Once again, I am unhappy because I am all caught up in the Rivers of London universe. BUT- I thoroughly enjoyed this entry, and I was lucky enough to be able to dive right in to another irreverent British crime series! Amongst Our Weapons, the latest from Ben Aaronovitch, is a return to form. After the strange (but not entirely off-putting) Douglas Adams worship of False Value we have returned to the archaic and architectural weirdness of the rest of the Rivers of London series. It has […]

The Witch Can’t Love

Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley

by Leave a Comment

Tamsin is a powerful witch with a terrible condition: she can’t love. The ability was taken from her by the Coven as punishment after she drastically misused her powers in her youth. And so, in exile in a rural town, she does spells for the townspeople in exchange for the love that they hold, which she always uses up too quickly. Wren has spent her entire life caring for her ill father, so much so that she can do nothing else. She holds a secret […]

a manor on the edge of ruin, a mute little girl, a butler with a dangerous past, and a potentially magical drunken dandy…

The Maker of Swans by Paraic O'Donnell

by 5 Comments

What looks like a recipe for potential nonsense is actually a truly surprising and unique thriller! Paraic O’Donnell follows up the Victorian spiritualism of The House on Vesper Sands with another historical mystery, but where I was expecting (and hoping for, honestly) a continuation of the former, The Maker of Swans jumps head-first into the 20th Century and dares the reader to catch up. A butler tries his damndest to keep his employer safe, sane, and sober- but the draws of the Jazz Age have the […]

An Old Favorite

Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones

by 1 Comment

  I don’t know how many times I’ve read Howl’s Moving Castle. At least three, but probably more. If books were comfort food, this one would be creamy mac-n-cheese in a ceramic bowl on a cold winter’s day. It never gets old, it never gets dated. It is always exactly what it needs to be; which is a romping good time. For those who’ve not yet indulged in this delight, Howl’s Moving Castle follows Sophie, a young woman who inadvertently angers Ingary’s resident bad-witch and gets herself […]

Old School Hollywood with Demon Deals

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

by Leave a Comment

Holy crap, I want more! Siren Queen is the story of Luli Wei, a star who stole her sister’s name to become famous and became the monster in many films, but also managed to find love and friendship outside the monstrous side of Hollywood. There are elements of this that remind me of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, mainly the narration style and the old Hollywood setting. But do not go into Siren Queen expecting the same story or same kinds of characters. Luli […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo