Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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“Writing gives you the power to shape your own world when the real one hurts too much”

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

May 14, 2026 by Malin Leave a Comment

Dark Corner Selection: March 2026 In a different version of 16th-century Spain, young Luzia Cortado works grudgingly as a scullery maid for the miserable and petty Doña Valentina. Luzia can use what she calls “small magics” to make her life easier. She can mend seams, multiply the groceries, unburn bread or reassemble broken things. She performs these little spells, learned from generations of her Jewish ancestors, by singing quietly. Luzia is a convert; she dutifully goes to Mass and hides any traces of her Jewish […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fantasy, History, Mystery Tagged With: 16th Century Spain, alternate history, audiobook, cbr18, feminism, historical fantasy, Lauren Fortgang, Leigh Bardugo, LGBTQIA, magic, Malin, religious persecution, the Dark Corner, The Familiar, The Inquisition

Malin's CBR18 Review No:28 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fantasy, History, Mystery · Tags: 16th Century Spain, alternate history, audiobook, cbr18, feminism, historical fantasy, Lauren Fortgang, Leigh Bardugo, LGBTQIA, magic, Malin, religious persecution, the Dark Corner, The Familiar, The Inquisition ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“When someone describes a man as harmless, he ends up being a villain.”

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

April 30, 2026 by Malin 1 Comment

Dark Corner selection – February 26 Defeat the Goblin – The pebble book – a book that was gifted to you Monthly Keyword 26: Sun Nowhere Book Bingo 26: A book with multiple POVs Read the Rainbow: Black This is a book with a number of different POV characters. There is Serapio, a blind young man whom we first encounter as a child, being horribly mutilated by his mother (who subsequently throws herself off a building). All this horrific violence is to make him a […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Religion Tagged With: #fantasy, between earth and sky, BIPOC, cbr18, emmalita, epic, gods, indigenous, keyword 26, LGBTQIA, Malin, Nowhere Bingo 26, pre-columbian, Rebecca Roanhorse, Religion, the Dark Corner

Malin's CBR18 Review No:21 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Religion · Tags: #fantasy, between earth and sky, BIPOC, cbr18, emmalita, epic, gods, indigenous, keyword 26, LGBTQIA, Malin, Nowhere Bingo 26, pre-columbian, Rebecca Roanhorse, Religion, the Dark Corner ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

“In-Yo would say that the war was won by silenced and nameless women, and it would be hard to argue with her.”

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

February 20, 2026 by Malin Leave a Comment

Nowhere Bingo 26: Novella Dark Corner Selection: January 2026 Chih is a young cleric from the Singing Hills monastery who travels around the country searching for stories and history. At the shores of Lake Scarlet, Chih finds the abandoned dwelling where the former Empress In-Yo (the titular Empress of Salt and Fortune) spent her many years in exile. Chih encounters the elderly Rabbit, one of the Empress’s former handmaidens, who tells Chih stories of her own past and how it intertwined with that of the […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, History, Mystery Tagged With: Ancient China, Award Winning, cbr18, feminism, folklore, friendship, historical fantasy, LGBTQIA, Malin, Nghi Vo, novella, revenge, the Dark Corner, The Empress of Salt and Fortune, The Singing Hills Cycle

Malin's CBR18 Review No:6 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, History, Mystery · Tags: Ancient China, Award Winning, cbr18, feminism, folklore, friendship, historical fantasy, LGBTQIA, Malin, Nghi Vo, novella, revenge, the Dark Corner, The Empress of Salt and Fortune, The Singing Hills Cycle ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“If a book is well-written, I always find it too short”

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

December 7, 2025 by Malin Leave a Comment

4.5 stars CBR17 Bingo: Black (a book with a black cover) I had completely forgotten that I read and reviewed this book back in 2016. My original review can be found here. My plot summary of the more than 200-year-old novel can be found in my previous review. Nevertheless, my reading experience this time around was different enough from earlier times that I wanted to write about some of my thoughts and observations, not to mention some of the points of discussion that came up during my […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Featured, Fiction, History Tagged With: adapted into TV and film, audiobook, cbr17, cbr17bingo, coming-of-age, family drama, historical fiction, Jane Austen, literary classic, Malin, re-read, Regency, romantic, Rosamund Pike, sense and sensibility, Sisters, social satire, the Dark Corner

Malin's CBR17 Review No:66 · Genres: Audiobooks, Featured, Fiction, History · Tags: adapted into TV and film, audiobook, cbr17, cbr17bingo, coming-of-age, family drama, historical fiction, Jane Austen, literary classic, Malin, re-read, Regency, romantic, Rosamund Pike, sense and sensibility, Sisters, social satire, the Dark Corner ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“You take a bunch of people who don’t seem any different from you and me, but when you add them all together you get this sort of huge raving maniac with national borders and an anthem.” (Bingo)

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

September 30, 2025 by Malin Leave a Comment

Nowhere Book Bingo 2025: A book with LGBTQIA-rep CBR17 Bingo: Border (this book is all about a very drawn-out war with borders between the opposing countries constantly changing, depending on who’s currently winning) Spoiler warnings for a 22 year old book. I don’t think I can review it well without revealing some of the more essential plot points. Official plot summary: It began as a sudden strange fancy… Polly Perks had to become a boy in a hurry. Cutting off her hair and wearing trousers […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, History Tagged With: #fantasy, border, cbr17, cbr17bingo, discworld, feminism, friendship, LGBTQIA, Malin, Monstrous Regiment, Nowhere Book Bingo, Terry Pratchett, the Dark Corner, war

Malin's CBR17 Review No:56 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, History · Tags: #fantasy, border, cbr17, cbr17bingo, discworld, feminism, friendship, LGBTQIA, Malin, Monstrous Regiment, Nowhere Book Bingo, Terry Pratchett, the Dark Corner, war ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Not all men, but certainly a lot of them. Especially rich, white ones.

The Change by Kirsten Miller

August 5, 2025 by Malin 3 Comments

4.5 stars Buzzwords Cover Challenge 25: Pattern CBR17 Bingo: Red (A book with a red cover) Official plot summary: In the Long Island oceanfront community of Mattauk, three different women discover that midlife changes bring a whole new type of empowerment… After Nessa James’s husband dies and her twin daughters leave for college, she’s left all alone in a trim white house not far from the ocean. In the quiet of her late forties, the former nurse begins to hear voices. It doesn’t take long […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Mystery, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: buzzwords cover, cbr17, cbr17bingo, contemporary fiction, family, feminism, friendship, Kirsten Miller, LGBTQIA, magical realism, Malin, menopause, murder, mystery, Red, Sexual Assault, the change, the Dark Corner, witches

Malin's CBR17 Review No:49 · Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Speculative Fiction · Tags: buzzwords cover, cbr17, cbr17bingo, contemporary fiction, family, feminism, friendship, Kirsten Miller, LGBTQIA, magical realism, Malin, menopause, murder, mystery, Red, Sexual Assault, the change, the Dark Corner, witches ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments
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