My April-July reads

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

It’s been a while since I posted here, the reason being that I read very few books in the last few months. What with finishing my PhD and all the tiredness that came after that. But now it’s summer, I have two free weeks and lots of evenings to sit in the garden and read (hopefully!)

Here are my reads from April-July

Dot May Dunn – Around the village green        3/5
The memories of Mrs. Dunn about her childhood in a small Derbyshire village during WWII.

I generally really like stories about small-town life in WWII Britain, but this one fell flat somehow. Maybe the narrator was too young to tell really interesting stories; she was mainly running around the countryside with her brothers. There were some good parts, like how the family befriended a lonely German prisoner-of-war, but overall it was just a bit boring.
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July Books

[dantheman23.livejournal.com]

Odd Thomas
by Dean Koontz

I'd never read anything by Koontz before but I know he's a popular and prolific author. My Dad lobbed this one at me, telling me several times it was “weird”. He said it wasn't bad, just very weird. Turns out it's not really that weird (it does deal with supernatural stuff, which Dad isn't really into) and I LOVED it. Great book, read it in 2 days. Odd (that's the main character's actual name) has the ability to see and be seen by deceased people. Yes, like Sixth Sense but as he says at the beginning of the book, he sees dead people but he does something about it. An encounter with a very strange man leads to a plot to attack a busy mall and Odd must race to save the innocents, including his girlfriend who works at the ice cream shop. Lots of twists and turns and overall a real page-turner. Hope the rest of Koontz's stuff is as good as this one was. 4.5/5

The Burning Land
by Bernard Cornwell

I had a monumental struggle trying to read this book; long story but I eventually ended up actually buying it. Buying a book! 58 cents on Amazon ; ) I'm going to pass it along to the gal at work who got me into the series. This series continues to rock. It's interesting because there is lots of foreshadowing and prophecy stuff that lets you know some of the big stuff that's going to happen but there continue to be plenty of plot twists to keep you surprised. 3.5/5

Death of Kings
by Bernard Cornwell

Next book in the series. This one built up to one huge battle at the end with some good twists and turns. Only a couple books left in the series. 3.5/5

The Pagan Lord
by Bernard Cornwell

This one takes place 10 years after the end of the last book. Uhtred is getting up there in years and a tentative peace has come over the land, but a devious plot and bold attack shatter the peace. Uhtred finally makes an attempt to take back his rightful home as well. 4/5

Forever Odd
by Dean Koontz

The followup to Odd Thomas, I didn't like this one nearly as much. This time Odd's best friend is kidnapped by an evil woman who knows about his powers and he must track them down and rescue his friend. The blurb on the cover calls it a “marvelous cat-and-mouse game” but it just felt simple to me. Not much going on, barely anything having to do with the paranormal stuff, and almost no interaction with any of the characters introduced in the first novel. I hope the next book is a lot better. 2.5/5

The Empty Throne
by Bernard Cornwell

Uhtred continues his long journey to his fate, as a powerful ruler dies and creates a power vacuum that needs to be filled. Meanwhile, the Danes are slowly being driven out of Britain, and the vision of the new land of Engaland is becoming closer to reality. Only one more book left in the series, but I'm worried it's not actually completed yet. Pray that the next book ends the series... 4/5

Warriors of the Storm
by Bernard Cornwell

Nope, not the last book in the series! Good read, but Uhtred hasn't even started on his main quest to recapture his home land. But at the end of the book he was heading north, so the next book may be the one that wraps it all up. I was afraid my favorite character was going to die in this one but he didn't so all is well. 4/5

Brother Thomas
by Dean Koontz

Third book in the Odd Thomas series. I wasn't totally into this one at first and I thought I might be done with the series but it got better and better as it went along and when I finished it I was eager to read the next one. Odd decided to hang out at a monastery for a while to try to get some R&R but of course he eventually finds supernatural trouble anyway. Probably the strangest of these books so far, at least until the reveal, when everything is explained and tied together nicely. 3.5/5

The Collectors
by David Baldacci

This is the second book in the Camel Club series. It felt like it took my library FOREVER to get it to me but it was worth the wait. This time the Club is up against a spy ring that uses rare old books to communicate government secrets, a corrupt defense contractor, several murders, and a charming female con artist. Liking this series a lot and the library already got me the next one in the series ; ) 4/5

Books for July: 9
Books for 2016: 32