Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Whitewashed Histories and Walls

White House by the Sea: A Century of the Kennedys at Hyannis Port by Kate Storey

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CBR16 Bingo: Cult – The Kennedys have rather a cult following, and in this book particularly we learn how many people were so fascinated they swarmed their homes in Hyannis Port. When the Kennedy family decided to make their summer home in Hyannis Port, MA, they little suspected how strongly associated the place would become with their aspirations and their scandals. I’m a Massachusetts native, but my family’s roots there don’t go back long enough to have really witnessed the heyday of the Kennedys in […]

My Perfect Afternoon Snacking Cake is Perfect

100 Afternoon Sweets by Sarah Kieffer

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It took me a little while to embrace this cookbook. After trying several of the recipes, I now completely endorse it. Part of my struggle is that, to me, cookies are the perfect afternoon sweet, and Sarah Kieffer opted not to include cookies in this book (if you don’t already have her 100 Cookies cookbook you really should). The very first recipe I tried in 100 Afternoon Sweets was disappointing. It was the Jam-Filled Donut Cake. The first bite was good, but it got old fast. […]

“That was what it meant to have power, wasn’t it? You could simply destroy that which didn’t serve you.”

Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb

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CBR16 Bingo: Rage – Roz and her friends rage against the machine, trying to make a change in the very workings of their city-state. In a city-state where there is a sharp class divide between those blessed by the saints and those without magic, ex-lovers Roz and Damian must work together to uncover the identity of a ritual murderer. I don’t read as much fantasy as I used to nowadays – certainly I don’t read much YA fantasy anymore, especially from authors I am unfamiliar […]

May the gods favor you this night, dead thing!

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

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If you haven’t read P. Djèlí Clark yet, you are denying yourself some of the finest fantasy writing currently available. As he proved in one of my all time favorite novellas, A Dead Djinn in Cairo, he can build a whole world with just a few details. In The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, he has left au earth and has built a whole new world in the port city of Tal Abisi. I don’t feel like I should tell you much about the plot. The […]

If you’re reading this letter, then I am quite dead, my dear. Dead, but not resting.

Jewel Me Twice by Charish Reid

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Jewel Me Twice is like the old Reese’s Peanut Butter cup tag line. “Two great tastes that taste great together.” It combines two of my favorite things, a heist romance written by one of my auto-buy authors, Charish Reid. I liked Charish Reid from the first page of The Write Escape, and have enjoyed all of her books. I love the characters she writes and the relationships she builds with them. As a side note, I got into a conversation about Charish Reid’s heroines, and […]

A Magical Zoo Adventure

The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean

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This was a charming cozy romantasy with great diversity and mental health representation. It takes place primarily in a zoo of magical creatures, and it was a pleasure to see MacLean’s creativity as she described these animals. Main character Aila is the phoenix keeper at the zoo and has been trying for years to reboot a breeding program for the endangered Silimalo phoenix. When a neighboring zoo loses their phoenix hatchlings and their mother to poachers, Aila’s zoo is given the opportunity to try a […]



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