Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Made me want to re-read Six of Crows instead

To Steal from Thieves by M.K. Lobb

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Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for this ARC. My opinions are my own. In an alternate version of Victorian London, magic exists and can be used to improve technology. It’s known as alchemology, and requires the magic-user to sacrifice some blood and life force to create the magical element known as primateria. It means that alchemologists tend to have shorter lifespans, which was certainly the case with Zaria Mendoza’s father. Now she’s an orphan struggling to complete her father’s outstanding commissions to […]

Come for the Cat Named Purrcaso, Stay for the Story and Representation

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

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I expected to like this book. I did not expect to love it, but it was great. It was the second book I picked up for the trans rights readathon, and not only is there trans representation in the book, but both the author and the cover illustrator are trans. I love that Aiden Thomas was able to represent both their gender and their Latinx culture in this debut novel that follows trans teen Yadriel. While he is not fully rejected by his family, he […]

“Congratulations. You’re evil enough.”

Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews

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4.5 stars Nowhere Bingo: Takes place during a holiday/holiday season (this is set around Christmas/a bunch of pagan midwinter rites) 362 days of the year, Roman, Black Volhv of Atlanta, dutifully serves Chernobog, the god of Destruction, Darkness, and Death. He just wants a few days of peace, to enjoy his stew, eggnog, and cookies, but it is not to be. One of the infernal paranormal critters that loves him has cleaned out both his eggnog and cookie stash and to make matters worse, there’s […]

“We are messes and we are messed up and I don’t want to go through this world without the one person I can’t hide from and who can’t hide from me.”

The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black

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CBR16 Sweet Books: Excited (this is one of my most anticipated releases in the first half of the year) This book really doesn’t stand alone. It is the second half of a duology that started with The Stolen Heir, which came out last year. If you haven’t read that one, it’s probably best to skip this review and return once you’ve caught up. Prince Oak, heir to the throne of Elfhame, finds himself a prisoner in the dungeons of Queen Suren (or Wren, as he […]

Fake marriage and further hijinks

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

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Alice Dearlove works for the secret organisation the Agency of Undercover Note Takers, or A.U.N.T., staffed by spies and agents disguised as ladies’ maids, butlers, footmen, and other household staff who mostly go unnoticed by the higher classes, but are usually in a position to see and hear everything. She’s one of their top agents, known within A.U.N.T only as Agent A. Usually, Miss Dearlove works alone and gets excellent results while doing so. Now she faces one of the biggest challenges of her career. […]

“As Charlotte plummeted to the ground, still locked in Alex’s arms, she recollected Miss Plim’s warning that kissing a man was bad for one’s health.”

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton

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4.5 stars Everyone knows there’s no such thing as witches, but if there were, they probably wouldn’t use magic in flashy and extravagant ways to fly houses around and try to rob and assassinate one another. If there were witches, they would probably use their magic in tidier ways, ensuring polite society was functioning properly. Possibly liberate those who have excessive financial resources of some of it to the betterment of those with less of it (like say, themselves). If there were witches, Charlotte Pettifer […]



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