Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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“You have to make the best of whatever story you were born into, and if your story happens to suck ass, well, maybe you can do some good before you go.”

A Mirror Mended (Fractured Fables, #2) by Alix E. Harrow

August 23, 2022 by narfna Leave a Comment

So is this the last one of these then? It was a really good ending, if so. It’s been five years since we last saw Zinnia Gray, and she’s spent that time hopping from world to world, fixing fairytales, and helping princesses, sometimes realizing they don’t need help at all. But Zinnia is beginning to realize she’s running from her own life. She hasn’t spoken to Charm or Prim (who are now married) in six months. She’s avoidance denialing. That’s when she’s pulled through a […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Romance Tagged With: #fantasy, a mirror mended, alix e harrow, f/f, fractured fables, LGBTQIA, novellas, retellings, the multiverse

narfna's CBR14 Review No:139 · Genres: Fantasy, Romance · Tags: #fantasy, a mirror mended, alix e harrow, f/f, fractured fables, LGBTQIA, novellas, retellings, the multiverse ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A really good anthology! Emmalita and andtheIToldYouSos were not kidding.

Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices by Eds. Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington

August 18, 2022 by narfna 4 Comments

This is one of the best anthologies I’ve ever read. If you like Arthuriana, this is a must read. If you like anthologies just for the variety, this collection is a winner. I don’t think I will ever give an anthology five stars, because I’ve yet to find one where I like every story, but this one comes pretty close. There were only two stories in here I didn’t like. What makes Sword Stone Table so great is that the authors chosen really had their creativity flowing. […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Short Stories Tagged With: #fantasy, arthuriana, Eds. Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington, Jenn Northington, king arthur, LGBTQIA, read harder challenge 2022, retellings, sff, short stories, Swapna Krishna

narfna's CBR14 Review No:130 · Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories · Tags: #fantasy, arthuriana, Eds. Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington, Jenn Northington, king arthur, LGBTQIA, read harder challenge 2022, retellings, sff, short stories, Swapna Krishna ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments

the great 2022 Bingo Catch-Up!

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djeli Clark

From Hollywood, With Love by Scott Meslow

The Companion by E.E. Ottoman

My Mother, She Killed Me, My Father, He Ate Me by Kate Bernheimer

August 7, 2022 by andtheIToldYouSos 1 Comment

It wouldn’t be CBR Bingo without me frantically catching up on everything I read but was too distracted to write about, now would it? Square: Cold – Fool Moon – DNF This is it, folks- my first DNF in YEARS! I just couldn’t do it. I started this book way back in JANUARY, and despite multiple formats and multiple tries, I just can’t do it. I know there’s a mythical “it gets better” carrot hanging out past the fourth entry, but I just don’t have […]

Filed Under: Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Non-Fiction, Short Stories Tagged With: adaptations, andtheIToldYouSos, cbr14bingo, Dresden Files, E.E. Ottoman, fairytales, film, Jim Butcher, Kate Bernheimer, lgtbqia, P. Djèlí Clark, retellings, rom coms, Samantha Irby, Scott Meslow

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR14 Review No:43 · Genres: Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Non-Fiction, Short Stories · Tags: adaptations, andtheIToldYouSos, cbr14bingo, Dresden Files, E.E. Ottoman, fairytales, film, Jim Butcher, Kate Bernheimer, lgtbqia, P. Djèlí Clark, retellings, rom coms, Samantha Irby, Scott Meslow ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

“I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions—much good it did me.”

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

July 25, 2022 by narfna 1 Comment

I think it was probably a little unfair of me to go into this one with super high expectations as I almost did, thanks to the Circe comparisons, so luckily I curbed those as best I could before I actually started the book. That turned out to be a very good idea. I think going in with no expectations is probably the best way to experience this one. I was also almost completely unfamiliar with the Ramayana before reading this book, and that held until about […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction Tagged With: #fantasy, indian mythology, kaikeyi, narfna, retellings, the ramayana, Vaishnavi Patel

narfna's CBR14 Review No:114 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction · Tags: #fantasy, indian mythology, kaikeyi, narfna, retellings, the ramayana, Vaishnavi Patel ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

“The greater the desire, the greater the suffering, and now she desired greatness itself.”

She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor, #1) by Shelley Parker-Chan

March 23, 2022 by narfna 2 Comments

I was a weeny and put off writing a review of this because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say about it, and now it’s been a month since I finished. I feel like I’ve told you this story before. Coincidentally, this is a retelling! I didn’t pay too much attention to the specific plot of this one before reading it, other than the keywords “historical” and “Mulan” and “retelling”. This is why you shouldn’t pay attention to other people sometimes. It is historical, […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, History Tagged With: #fantasy, genderbent, historical fantasy, LGBTQIA, read harder challenge 2022, retellings, She Who Became the Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan, the Ming dynasty, the mongols

narfna's CBR14 Review No:39 · Genres: Fantasy, History · Tags: #fantasy, genderbent, historical fantasy, LGBTQIA, read harder challenge 2022, retellings, She Who Became the Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan, the Ming dynasty, the mongols ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

“Suddenly revenge is so close he can actually taste it. It tastes like steak, rare.”

Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood

December 29, 2021 by narfna 2 Comments

I actually really enjoyed this retelling of The Tempest*, particularly since I had just re-read the play as a refresher, so it was a lot easier to catch all the references and parallels. This is actually only my third Margaret Atwood book, which feels weird, since she is everywhere, and also because I’ve read The Handmaid’s Tale three times. About time I branched out! (I’m sorry, Malin, I still haven’t read The Blind Assassin, which is a book I know you love.) *Thanks to andtheIToldYouSos […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: andtheIToldYouSos, Book Exchange, Book Exchange 2020, Hag-Seed, lit-fic, literary, literary fiction, Margaret Atwood, narfna, retellings, The Tempest

narfna's CBR13 Review No:199 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: andtheIToldYouSos, Book Exchange, Book Exchange 2020, Hag-Seed, lit-fic, literary, literary fiction, Margaret Atwood, narfna, retellings, The Tempest ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments
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