Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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The best fantasy has dragons

The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond

The Bloodless Princes by Charlotte Bond

December 18, 2024 by LB Leave a Comment

I came across The Fireborne Blade at the library, and between it being a novella (tis the season (IYKYK) lol) and having a dragon on the cover, I took a closer look. I’m so glad I picked this up, and between picking it up and starting it, I swung by the library again and happened to see the sequel, The Bloodless Princes (it was one of those “why is this look familiar? Oh! Same series!” moments). The Fireborne Blade does a lot of typical dragon […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories Tagged With: #fantasy, Charlotte bond, dragons, here there be dragons, novella, queer, sapphic, the bloodless princes, the Fireborne blade, Tordotcom

LB's CBR16 Review No:20 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories · Tags: #fantasy, Charlotte bond, dragons, here there be dragons, novella, queer, sapphic, the bloodless princes, the Fireborne blade, Tordotcom ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A cozy paranormal romance for the holidays~

Clara, Darling by Chace Verity

December 6, 2024 by LB Leave a Comment

Chace Verity is one of my absolute fave authors, and they’ve held that title since their debut, Team Phison, so any time they have a new release I get all excited. Clara, Darling is a holiday (Christmas) novella, but unlike Verity’s previous Christmas story (Team Phison Forever), this has much less family trauma and is almost dream-like in its story tell. Sadie has been married to Alvin for ten years, but in all that time she’s never forgotten her best friend and first love, Clara. […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, History, Romance, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: 1930s, 1930s New York, Chace Verity, Clara Darling, historical fiction, historical romance, indie, new york, queer, sapphic, self published

LB's CBR16 Review No:18 · Genres: Fantasy, History, Romance, Speculative Fiction · Tags: 1930s, 1930s New York, Chace Verity, Clara Darling, historical fiction, historical romance, indie, new york, queer, sapphic, self published ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Mythology in a Modern World

The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie

November 26, 2024 by LB Leave a Comment

I first tried to read The Wicked + The Divine in September 2017, and got through the first five volumes, but felt the series was weird and confusing. Earlier this month, I scrolled through my library’s entire adult graphic novel collection, and saw that the series was now completed, so figured this was as good a time as any to give the series another chance. And I’m so glad I did! The core premise of WicDiv and the phrase that gets repeated as a central […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: achillean, contemporary, contemporary mythology, Graphic Novel, Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, mythology, queer, queer lit, sapphic, series review, the wicked and the divine, WicDiv, wicked + divine

LB's CBR16 Review No:17 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: achillean, contemporary, contemporary mythology, Graphic Novel, Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, mythology, queer, queer lit, sapphic, series review, the wicked and the divine, WicDiv, wicked + divine ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A complex fantasy with many stories woven together

Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin

November 17, 2024 by LB Leave a Comment

I was immediately drawn to Aunt Tigress by the cover, and the synopsis had me intrigued. Tam is a young woman living in Calgary where the magic from her tiger father is weak because it’s far from the forces she calls on for exorcisms and other magics, but she also knows to respect the magic of First Nations without trying to steal it. Or at least, that’s what her father tried to teach her before he died when she was 12, and her Aunt Tigress […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery Tagged With: Calgary, Canada, Chinese, debut, Emily Yu-Xuan Qin, First Nations, lesbian, mystery, queer, sapphic, Siksika, tiger, Urban Fantasy

LB's CBR16 Review No:16 · Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery · Tags: Calgary, Canada, Chinese, debut, Emily Yu-Xuan Qin, First Nations, lesbian, mystery, queer, sapphic, Siksika, tiger, Urban Fantasy ·
Rating:
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An Interesting Addition to Vampire Canon

This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings

August 2, 2024 by LB Leave a Comment

This was a highly anticipated release between the premise and the setting, but after finishing it I’m sitting here unsure how I feel about it. Layla Quinn and Elise Saint were best friends until several years ago with Layla’s parents were killed and she was turned into a reaper. She especially blames the Saints and most especially Elise, because Elise betrayed her trust by telling her father, Tobias Saint, about Layla’s parents’ plan to help the reapers and meet with the Harlem clan. Because of […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History, Young Adult Tagged With: 1920s Harlem, Harlem New York, Hayley Dennings, historical fantasy, jazz age, queer, sapphic, vampires

LB's CBR16 Review No:4 · Genres: Fiction, History, Young Adult · Tags: 1920s Harlem, Harlem New York, Hayley Dennings, historical fantasy, jazz age, queer, sapphic, vampires ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Frankenstein but plants and gay!

A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock

July 15, 2024 by LB 2 Comments

I saw a reel on Instagram from the author talking about this book, and I was immediately sold. Frankenstein? Queer? Messy, messy characters? Sign me up! And this absolutely delivers on all fronts. The beginning of A Botanical Daughter is a little slow, but it perfectly sets the scene of Grimfern, an estate inside a greenhouse outside the closest village, and the three main characters – Gregor, botanist and lord of Grimfern; Simon, taxidermist and romantic partner to Gregor; and Jenny, local village girl whose […]

Filed Under: Featured, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction Tagged With: achillean, Frankenstein, gay, historical fiction, horror, lesbian, murder, Noah Medlock, plant horror, queer, romantic, sapphic

LB's CBR16 Review No:9 · Genres: Featured, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction · Tags: achillean, Frankenstein, gay, historical fiction, horror, lesbian, murder, Noah Medlock, plant horror, queer, romantic, sapphic ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • BlackRaven
    on They go into the woods and do what?
    I hadn't heard the phrase, but knew that it seemed to be a popular way to end a relationship (dude/dudettes...
  • carmelpie
    on They go into the woods and do what?
    I went for a beautiful hike recently. Every time I peered over the edge, the climax of this story flashed...
  • Classic
    on They go into the woods and do what?
    Oh wow. And yeah I hike and all of these stories coming out these days about partners leaving someone to...
  • Mrs. Julien
    on They go into the woods and do what?
    I enjoyed your review and the story it linked to! Thank you!
  • Fiat.Luxury
    on a pre-Covid novella that I thought was post-Covid
    Right?!
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