christianreader | Kiwiria's August Adventures

Shelter in Place - Nora Roberts, 4/5, 439 pages
I by far prefer Nora Roberts' suspense novels to her romance novels. Sure, there's an element of romance in all of them, but she understands how to balance it properly, and writes suspense really, really well. I thought this a fascinating account of the aftermath of a mass-shooting - how different people handle the experience differently, and how people employ more or less healthy coping-mechanisms in order to move on.

There was less of a twist in this book than in some of the others I've read, but I didn't mind that part. And I loved reading about Simone's art as well as life on the island. Cici was just amazing, and Barney not half-bad either. Simone's fall-out with her family seemed slightly unrealistic, but their way of making up didn't, which really appealed to me. It's seldom reconciliation is written well.

Parts of this novel reminded me of Louise Bagshawe's novels... just with a lot less fluff!

The Outsider - Stephen King, 4.5/5, 577 pages
A stand-alone novel in the "Finder's Keepers" universe. You can read it without having read the Bill Hodges trilogy, but it will spoil both the first and the last one.

Every bit as good as I've come to expect Stephen King's newer novels to be. There was definitely an element (understatement of the year!) of the supernatural in this one as well, but as the precedence for that had already been set in the last Bill Hodges book, I was prepared and didn't mind as much as I had there. I liked Ralph Anderson (despite his bad decisions in the beginning) and was really pleased to see Holly again!

It was spooky, captivating and thrilling. Stephen King didn't pull any punches, and killed off some people I wish he hadn't, but as a whole the story really worked for me. And I'm really pleased that he gave the book a proper ending, rather than leaving it open like he would have in his younger days.

The One - John Marrs, 4.5/5, 416 pages
I was absolutely captivated by this book. Didn't want to put it down, and couldn't stop thinking about it when I had to.

The plot focuses on 5 different people/couples and jumps from one to the next between each chapter - something that would usually really bother me, but which worked very well here, and there was no one story line I was more interested in following than the others. Some of the twists I had guessed ahead of time - others, definitely not!

The resolution of some of the story lines came a bit too easy or had a few too many details glossed over, which is what brought it down that half-star, but as a whole I absolutely loved it!

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli, 4/5, 325 pages
Really cute teen romance. Well-written and charming and does a good job of being LGBTQ+. It's a fairly typical YA, but I enjoyed it a lot and thought the characters engaging and believable. I did think the end was a tad quick compared to the slow build of the rest of the novel, but it's a minor nitpick.

Feedback - Mira Grant*The Keepers of the Library - Glenn Cooper*, 4/5, 384 pages
The third book about Will Piper, and just as I had hoped, this one focused on "The Horizon" in 2027. I'm not entirely sure what I thought of the resolution... it didn't come entirely out of the blue, but unlike most things in book two, there were no hints of it in the previous books either.

However, it did leave the door open for Glenn Cooper to continue his series, so I'm not entirely unhappy about it either :) I've loved the three books so far, and would be very eager to read more, should he decide to continue it. Sure, the first one was the best, because of the mystery of Area 51, but suspense-wise I thought the other two just as good.

Heidi - Johanna Spyri*, 5/5, 237 pages
I don't know why I read Heidi so seldom - it's an adorable book! I actually don't think I've ever read the entire series, but might have to remedy that... although it is nicely self-contained.

Just like most children in this kind of book, she doesn't have a mean bone in her body! (Similar to e.g. Pollyanna) It's refreshing to read about, but somehow doesn't seem terribly realistic.

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card*, Audiobook ~12 hours
I've read this more times than I can remember, and I still love it. A shame the sequels aren't nearly as good. I did like "Ender's Shadow" though, and may reread that one soon too.

The Magician's Nephew - C.S. Lewis*, 3.5/5, 221 pages
I read this several times as a kid, but this is my first reread in 13 years! I still remembered most of it, obviously, but it was fun to reread and get the details straight. Not my favourite Narnia book, but not my least favourite either. I like this different way of getting to and from Narnia, and am extremely intrigued by all the other worlds accessible from the forest. Would be fun if somebody explored some of those in a fanfic :-D

Book of the Month: Lots to pick from, but I think The One. It certainly stayed with me more than any of the others.
Biggest disappointment: None. I enjoyed all the books I read this month.