Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

A twist on Beauty and the Beast in this start to a romantic fantasy duology (I refuse to accept romantasy as a genre, you can’t make me)

Silver & Blood by Jessie Mihalik

by 2 Comments

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC. It has not affected my opinions or my review. About a year ago, the small village where Riela lives alone after the death of her father was threatened by a flood. Riela unlocked magical powers and managed to divert the water and save the village. Now one of the villagers has been savaged by a monster in the woods, and the mostly hostile villagers insist that she go into the forest and dispatch the monster for […]

Once upon a time, there was a seemingly ugly cygnet (of sorts) and a probably utterly doomed prince

The Swan's Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

by Leave a Comment

4.5 stars Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC. My opinions are my own. Demelza is the seventh and youngest daughter of Araminta, a legendary veritas swan (extremely beautiful women who have the power to turn into swans, and whose voices compel anyone who hears it to tell the truth) and Prava, a centuries-old, very ambitious, and some would say, evil wizard. However, when veritas swans fall in love, the person they love gains control over them through a magical necklace […]

Update on Paladin’s Grace: An unenthusiastic DNF; UNO reverse; DIF (Did Indeed Finish)

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher

by 7 Comments

After writing my original review, I kept wondering if a different format might suit me better for this book. So I borrowed the ebook, and wow did that make a world of difference. I could skip and skim the inner monologues until they lessened. A little after mid-way through the book, the plot really picked up, the two main characters started interacting more – with each other and with others that can knock some sense into them, other things started happening to keep them busy […]

Prolonging my time in the Cold Magic world with short stories and essays

The World Begins in Ice by Kate Elliott

by Leave a Comment

I first learned about Kate Elliott’s Cold Magic series while reading John Scalzi’s website.  In the Big Idea section Elliott described what The History of the World Begins in Ice is all about.  It is a collection of short stories written in the “Spiritwalker Trilogy” as well as essays about the characters and aspects of the world.  The trilogy sounded fascinating, to quote Kate: When I began writing Cold Magic, my primary goal (besides making it shorter than Traitors’ Gate) was to tell a story that would […]

“Love grows over time” — A Sweet End to a Sweet Series

You Can't Live All on Your Own! (Vol. 3) by Mizoko Tsuno

by 2 Comments

First completed book of 2026! I am working my way through a 900+ page volume of Chips Channon’s diaries, which I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say about, but I’m not done reading that yet. In the meantime, I continue my exploration of the current manga scene as per usual. You Can’t Live All on Your Own is a josei manga series, so it is aimed at women in their 20s. The series follows four women who live together and their disparate romantic and […]

“Now all I can see is the longing. Not only for companionship, but for community. He’s looking for people like him. It’s very touching, and very familiar, isn’t it?”

After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian

by 2 Comments

Nothing like starting off the new year with a five star read. I will admit I was hoping for this outcome when I picked it for my first book of the year. Cat Sebastian is increasingly becoming known for atmospheric, historically rich, community-focused, and quietly revolutionary little books. I wanted a lovely time full of lovely people that would take me away to a time in history that reflects pieces of our own Current Times while still being an escape hatch from reality. You don’t […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo