Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


She’s Not Afraid to Catch Feelings

Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest

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I was really excited to get my hands on this. It had good reviews and its quirky nature seemed up my alley. And it…mostly met expectations. Let’s unpack… For all intents and purposes, this is a cozy mystery and I don’t usually do cozies. The relentlessly sunny outlook despite the presence of a dead body, the sexless flirting and banter, the stuffy settings and predictable plots. But even though this has some of that, it was written by a younger person who isn’t trying too […]

The Shadows by Alex North

The Shadows by Alex North

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I read this book a month and a half ago, and it seems like a lot has happened since then… I cannot remember all the things I thought while reading this book, but I gave it 4 stars, so I must have liked it. This books follows a man named Paul who has returned to his hometown to care for his ailing mother. Being back home brings back memories of his friendship with some local boys – James, Charlie, and Billy. The latter two are […]

Bring Out Yer Dead!

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

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This was cruising to a 4-star rating and probably the title of my favorite Gamache read. And instead, it lands at 3. Why? A variety of reasons. I liked that most of the action, specifically Gamache’s action, took place outside of Three Pines. I don’t find Three Pines as fascinating as the writer does. Ideally, this series would just take Gamache to different parts of Quebec. Such is life. I also liked that Penny gave Jean-Guy some run. Occasionally, she writes him as too much […]

“Well someone has to marry him, said the Emperor.” Part space opera, mystery, and romance, all of it captivating.

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

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Winter’s Orbit came on to my radar through Cannonballers and then I noticed my independent bookstore featuring it as a staff pick for Pride month.  It went on my book wish list and I got it for my birthday! In the far distant future there are multiple galactic civilizations and they are all connected through ‘the link network’ governed by the Resolution.  Trade happens through the link and having the Resolution in place means that no invading force can use the link to attack another […]

4, 4 for 4

Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life As A Weapon by Matt Fraction

Death Comes As The End by Agatha Christie

Country Dark by Chris Offutt

Heaven's A Lie by Wallace Stroby

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Over the weekend and into the early part of this week, I read four books. Each one merited four stars and all were good in their own unique way…   Hawkeye, Vol 1: My Life as a Weapon It’s good. I guess. No really, it’s good. All good. It’s fine. Just…it’s kind of why I don’t read a lot of comics: simplistic hero narratives with twee dialogue. I know this is what everyone wants thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’m not sure it’s what […]

Red or Dead

The Pledge by Kathleen Kent

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This one followed the same pattern as the Hunger Games trilogy: interesting first book followed by an excellent second and a concluding one that basically made me say “Eh, ok, I guess that’s an ending.” Part of why I loved (indeed loved) The Burn, the second book in the Betty Rhyzyk trilogy, is because I thought Kathleen Kent did an excellent job covering Betty’s PTSD from the end of the events of the first book. Too often, series writers put their characters through hell only to have them […]



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