Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Privilege of Time

Skipshock by Caroline O'Donoghue

by Leave a Comment

I really enjoyed this first book in a planned duology. At first it seems like a portal fantasy. Margo is heading to a boarding school in Ireland, when all of a sudden the train she is on changes, and she finds herself in a different world and in the company of salesman Moon. Chapters alternate POVs between Margo and Moon. In this reality, there are different worlds that all have different hours in a day, and people age faster as the day length shortens. The […]

From Prison Cell to Royal Courts

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni

The Blood Traitor by Lynette Noni

by Leave a Comment

Bingo Square: Red (mostly The Gilded Cage but all have shades or hints of reds) I kept seeing this on book reels that randomly show up on my FB and IG accounts – it was one of those books that gets talked about but also isn’t so wildly popular that it’s off-putting. Just enough mentions here and there that it eventually stuck in my head. Overall, I think it’s a decent YA trilogy but like so many others, the beginning seems to be setting up […]

Solid, but I Wanted More

A Language of Dragons by S. F. Williamson

by Leave a Comment

cbr17bingo – culture (of dragons) This was a solid but not fantastic read. I enjoyed the story, it kept me engaged and wanting to know what would happen, but it has some clear weaknesses. It’s set in an alternate 1923 in England, where humans and dragons co-exist. There are some clearly dystopian elements, like a codified class system, and parts of the book hit very close to home considering current events in the United States. Main character Vivien’s (Viv’s) parents are arrested as rebels, and […]

An Indie-Published YA Fantasy

A Discovery of Talents by Phoenix McDonald

by Leave a Comment

This is an indie-published book, which I was excited to read because I want to support indie authors. In this YA fantasy, 16-year-old Marcus discovers that he can travel from earth to another world, called Lysomnus. His father Deacon is kidnapped by someone from that world before he has much of an opportunity to tell Marcus more about this new ability or Lysomnus itself. Marcus sets out with his friends Leopold and Sadie to find his father, and along the way they are thrust into […]

Very Visceral

Heirs of Bone and Sea by Kay Adams

by Leave a Comment

I think I listened to the audio book to Heirs of Bone and Sea because it was a part of the “what’s making me happy this week” segment on the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. This was my first dual narrator audio book in a while. I liked it well enough. The world building is pretty light but the main story of a princess and a queen on the run was fun. Evhen, queen of Vodaerd and Princess Kalei of Marama are brought together when […]

The Scholomance Trilogy (and a Short Story)

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

The Answer Is No by Fredrik Backman

by 2 Comments

What would you do if you were basically in a dark version of Hogwarts, where the semi-sentient school barely cares if you live, and you can’t leave for 4 years? If you’re El, short for Galadriel, you spend the first 2. 5 years of that letting your prickly, angry, bitter exterior prevent anyone from getting close to you. This is where A Deadly Education starts off, about halfway through El’s junior year at the Scholomance. We find out over the course of the novel why […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo