Books for December
Løbende tjener - Dennis Jürgensen, 4/5, 487 pages
(Running Servant)
Dennis Jürgensen's talent cannot be denied. He writes ridiculously readable books, and this was no exception. It took me all of 5 pages to be hooked, and if I hadn't had Christmas plans I'd probably have finished it in a day.
This is a suspense novel much in the same style as Chris Carter's Robert Hunter series - although fortunately not quite as graphic in its violence. I'd guessed some of the twists ahead of time, but definitely not all of them... and there was also something I'd thought was a twist, but which may just be setting up something for one of the later books in the series. I was slightly disappointed by the ending - it seemed too easy, somehow.
Though the first in the series, it can be read as a stand-alone novel too. The main plot is nicely contained, although there is an overreaching arch that's left open.
Holiday Romance - Catherine Walsh, 4.5/5, 354 pages
I loved this book and read it in just two sittings! The relationship between Molly and Andrew is adorable, and I loved seeing it grow from friendship to something more. The progress seemed natural and believable with that sudden burst of, "Wow! I think I love you in a different way now!"
The setting itself was a bit contrived, but worked within the bounds of the story, and I loved reading about their families and their different ways of doing Christmas, once they made it to Ireland.
It's not high literature, but a sweet comfort read, that I could see myself rereading on a fairly regular basis.
Snowed In - Catherine Walsh, 3.5/5, 384 pages
Not quite as good as the first book in the series. I still really liked both Christian and Megan, but their relationship wasn't quite as adorable as that of Andrew and Molly. I do love a good fake-dating trope though, and when added to the forced proximity of being snowed in together, you definitely end up with a charming story regardless.
The way Megan cut off everybody from her past, as well as people's reactions to Megan returning didn't quite ring true though, but that just may be because I'm not from a "small town community" myself. The Christmas aspect was a lot weaker in this one too.
But I still liked it well enough to finish in two days :-D
The Northern Lights Lodge - Julie Caplin, 3.5/5, Audiobook ~13hrs
Not quite as good as the two previous books I've read by Julie Caplin, but as always she writes her settings so well, that I'm always extremely eager to go visit whatever place she sets her books in - and this was no exception. I actually found myself WANTING to go to Iceland in November when it's cold, dark and wet! Now THAT is a real achievement!
All the subterfuge annoyed me - both with regards to Lucy and her past, as well as Alex and his reason for being there. The latter sort of made sense (and was fortunately explained in the book), the former less so, once Lucy began to make friends with her colleagues, but thankfully she spoke up about it before Bob could end up being too much of a nuisance. And I loved the way first Alex and then the girls handled Bob and Clive!
Heartstopper Volume 4 + 5 - Alice Oseman*, 4/5, pages total
I got volume 5 for Christmas, so wanted to reread volume 4. They're still adorable!
The Roommate - Rosie Danan, 3/5, 336 pages
I liked it well enough, but it was a lot more unrealistic than I had expected it to be - even within its own universe. Too insta-lovey and too much wish fulfillment. The end especially had me rolling my eyes. I actually didn't mind the wish fulfillment part until then, but the final confrontation happening on live radio? Nope - not buying it. Waaaay out of character
Books Read: 112
Pages Read: 22,732
Hours Listened to: 336
Book of the Month: Probably Holiday Romance. It was just plain sweet :)
Biggest Disappointment: The Roommate - it wasn't bad - it was just that I had had higher expectations for it.
(Running Servant)
Dennis Jürgensen's talent cannot be denied. He writes ridiculously readable books, and this was no exception. It took me all of 5 pages to be hooked, and if I hadn't had Christmas plans I'd probably have finished it in a day.
This is a suspense novel much in the same style as Chris Carter's Robert Hunter series - although fortunately not quite as graphic in its violence. I'd guessed some of the twists ahead of time, but definitely not all of them... and there was also something I'd thought was a twist, but which may just be setting up something for one of the later books in the series. I was slightly disappointed by the ending - it seemed too easy, somehow.
Though the first in the series, it can be read as a stand-alone novel too. The main plot is nicely contained, although there is an overreaching arch that's left open.
Holiday Romance - Catherine Walsh, 4.5/5, 354 pages
I loved this book and read it in just two sittings! The relationship between Molly and Andrew is adorable, and I loved seeing it grow from friendship to something more. The progress seemed natural and believable with that sudden burst of, "Wow! I think I love you in a different way now!"
The setting itself was a bit contrived, but worked within the bounds of the story, and I loved reading about their families and their different ways of doing Christmas, once they made it to Ireland.
It's not high literature, but a sweet comfort read, that I could see myself rereading on a fairly regular basis.
Snowed In - Catherine Walsh, 3.5/5, 384 pages
Not quite as good as the first book in the series. I still really liked both Christian and Megan, but their relationship wasn't quite as adorable as that of Andrew and Molly. I do love a good fake-dating trope though, and when added to the forced proximity of being snowed in together, you definitely end up with a charming story regardless.
The way Megan cut off everybody from her past, as well as people's reactions to Megan returning didn't quite ring true though, but that just may be because I'm not from a "small town community" myself. The Christmas aspect was a lot weaker in this one too.
But I still liked it well enough to finish in two days :-D
The Northern Lights Lodge - Julie Caplin, 3.5/5, Audiobook ~13hrs
Not quite as good as the two previous books I've read by Julie Caplin, but as always she writes her settings so well, that I'm always extremely eager to go visit whatever place she sets her books in - and this was no exception. I actually found myself WANTING to go to Iceland in November when it's cold, dark and wet! Now THAT is a real achievement!
All the subterfuge annoyed me - both with regards to Lucy and her past, as well as Alex and his reason for being there. The latter sort of made sense (and was fortunately explained in the book), the former less so, once Lucy began to make friends with her colleagues, but thankfully she spoke up about it before Bob could end up being too much of a nuisance. And I loved the way first Alex and then the girls handled Bob and Clive!
Heartstopper Volume 4 + 5 - Alice Oseman*, 4/5, pages total
I got volume 5 for Christmas, so wanted to reread volume 4. They're still adorable!
The Roommate - Rosie Danan, 3/5, 336 pages
I liked it well enough, but it was a lot more unrealistic than I had expected it to be - even within its own universe. Too insta-lovey and too much wish fulfillment. The end especially had me rolling my eyes. I actually didn't mind the wish fulfillment part until then, but the final confrontation happening on live radio? Nope - not buying it. Waaaay out of character
Books Read: 112
Pages Read: 22,732
Hours Listened to: 336
Book of the Month: Probably Holiday Romance. It was just plain sweet :)
Biggest Disappointment: The Roommate - it wasn't bad - it was just that I had had higher expectations for it.