Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


“We were salt and sand and sea and storm”

Namesake by Adrienne Young

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I’m still loving this YA pirate girl trend, so of course I was excited to get back to Fable’s world. Also, I adore how the covers form Fable’s face! This is the second in the duology, and can’t be read as a standalone, so this review will contain spoilers for the first book. “We were salt and sand and sea and storm. We were made in the Narrows.” At the end of the last book, things were finally looking up for Fable – and then […]

Love was the last thing on their minds

Destiny's Captive by Beverly Jenkins

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon

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Romance has been a great salve for the general pandemic malaise. I’ve been loving own voices books featuring Black protagonists finding love, even when it was absolutely the last thing on their minds. These three novels all written by Black women were refreshing and reminded me why I love this genre. I absolutely love reading about an independent woman who falls in love with a sexy man who has his act together. I picked up Destiny’s Captive by Beverly Jenkins from the library. I had […]

Dark stuff of fairy tales

Of Salt and Shore by Annet Schaap

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Do you want to read The Little Mermaid story but with a big twist? Okay, maybe that is not enough. How about do you want to read about a young girl who is dealing with the death of her mother, her father’s drinking, keeping the lighthouse light burning and a real do-gooder teacher? I will loss in a boy who lives in the houses tower and likes biting people as they come into his room (after all, he has to keep up that “monster” persona), […]

The Muppets Did it Better

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

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As Tropical Storm Isaias took out our power, and one of my quarantine goals is to actually read books I own instead of buying more, I thought it appropriate to read this children’s classic that’s been sitting on my shelf for years. Like many of my books, I have no idea where this copy came from, which partially lead to its appeal. And even though I loved “Muppet Treasure Island” so much, I broke the VHS back in the 90s, I’d never read the source […]

Superficially, it’s a comedy fantasy with pirates and otters but underneath is so much more

The Princess Beard by Delilah S. Dawson, Kevin Hearne

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The Princess Beard is the third book in Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne’s “Tales of Pell” series.  Once again they have me nearly doubled over with laughter while also appreciating their pro LGBTQ+, feminist, socially conscious agenda and sly pokes at the establishment.  Each of the three books this duo have written together can stand alone and be read individually.  However, the world is much richer if you have read the other books.  And as they are hysterically funny, I highly suggest reading all […]

Q: What do ye call a pirate with two eyes and two legs? (A: A Rookie! )

Pirates Don’t Go to Kindergarten by Lisa Robinson

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I am not crazy about the story of Pirates Don’t Go to Kindergarten due to the slightly bratty nature of the main pirate. I mean, character. Emma is not fond of the idea of “moving on” to kindergarten from preschool. The ship will not be the same without her favorite cubbies, spots and most importantly, her favorite captain. Besides, going to kindergarten means her new captain is one that explores the universe. And what fun is that? This idea of not wanting change, is not […]



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