Books I read in April
April was the month in which I attempted to read many books, but only managed to finish two. Sometimes I can be a real lazy reader and if a book doesn´t manage to grab my attention within the first few chapters I can´t be bothered to continue reading. That happened to me a lot last month.
Luckily, I do have 2 more books to add towards my goal of reading 30 books this year. At the rate I´m going I´m slightly behind schedule, but I´m sure the summer holidays will help me catch up. The two books I read were another crime novel and a lesbian fantasy novel.
Ice run by Steve Hamilton (crime/suspense)
I can best describe Ice run as a good choice to pick if you need something to read on the train or plane. It´s a nice crime novel, nothing more and nothing less. It´s not as good as many of the crime novels I have read, but it did manage to keep me entertained throughout.
Ice run tells the story of a former PI Alex, who after a lot of bad luck in life decides to move back to the small town where he grew up. Of course, life doesn´t really stay quiet and his help is needed time and again. On his last job he came into contact with Natalie, a former cop who´s also had too many bad cards dealt to her.
The two of them embark upon an affair of sorts. Soon it turns out there´s many things from Natalie´s passed that Alex doesn´t know about, some of these things have come back to hunt them. Luckily they both have plenty of skills to sort it all out - but will their relationship survive? And do we really care?
It´s not a very well thought out plot. Even though the story is captivating in general, some of the parts I found rather boring. Like Alex spends a lot (!) of time plowing snow. This is described over and over again. At some point I wanted to scream: "I get it, it snows there a lot! Stop mentioning it!" I also thought Natalie could've been portrayed a little less annoying. I had a hard time understanding what the hell Alex saw in her. Besides that, it's not a bad read.
Saint Olivia by Jacqueline Carey (fantasy, lesbian)
This novel was such a nice surprise. It started out a little boring, but after that I couldn't put it down. Saint Olivia tells the story of a nowhere land between the United States and Mexico, where the US military rule things and life is rather restricted. The military have been experimenting on creating so-called Wolf-men who look just like men, but have the strength of wolves and also have absolutely no fear.
One of wolf-man gets involved with a woman of the town and Loup is born. Loup looks like other girls, but is ten times as strong and ten times as smart. Most of the book is about her life, how she tries to stay hidden and pretend she is just like everyone else, but at the same time longs to be herself. Being herself involves using her abilities, showing her strength, and being together with the girl she loves.
Before she gets to do this, she has to go through a lot. After her mother and brother die, who have always protected her, she has to go to an orphanage. She ends up having great friends there though, and together they figure out how to make a life for themselves in the military town.
I loved this story and especially the main character Loup. I'm not usually a big fan of fantasy novels, but I liked that this story had enough reality in it for me to be able to get into it. It was a really interesting book and a great read, which made me think I should read more novels that don't fall into the crime domain.
Luckily, I do have 2 more books to add towards my goal of reading 30 books this year. At the rate I´m going I´m slightly behind schedule, but I´m sure the summer holidays will help me catch up. The two books I read were another crime novel and a lesbian fantasy novel.
Ice run by Steve Hamilton (crime/suspense)
I can best describe Ice run as a good choice to pick if you need something to read on the train or plane. It´s a nice crime novel, nothing more and nothing less. It´s not as good as many of the crime novels I have read, but it did manage to keep me entertained throughout.
The two of them embark upon an affair of sorts. Soon it turns out there´s many things from Natalie´s passed that Alex doesn´t know about, some of these things have come back to hunt them. Luckily they both have plenty of skills to sort it all out - but will their relationship survive? And do we really care?
It´s not a very well thought out plot. Even though the story is captivating in general, some of the parts I found rather boring. Like Alex spends a lot (!) of time plowing snow. This is described over and over again. At some point I wanted to scream: "I get it, it snows there a lot! Stop mentioning it!" I also thought Natalie could've been portrayed a little less annoying. I had a hard time understanding what the hell Alex saw in her. Besides that, it's not a bad read.
Saint Olivia by Jacqueline Carey (fantasy, lesbian)
This novel was such a nice surprise. It started out a little boring, but after that I couldn't put it down. Saint Olivia tells the story of a nowhere land between the United States and Mexico, where the US military rule things and life is rather restricted. The military have been experimenting on creating so-called Wolf-men who look just like men, but have the strength of wolves and also have absolutely no fear.
One of wolf-man gets involved with a woman of the town and Loup is born. Loup looks like other girls, but is ten times as strong and ten times as smart. Most of the book is about her life, how she tries to stay hidden and pretend she is just like everyone else, but at the same time longs to be herself. Being herself involves using her abilities, showing her strength, and being together with the girl she loves.
I loved this story and especially the main character Loup. I'm not usually a big fan of fantasy novels, but I liked that this story had enough reality in it for me to be able to get into it. It was a really interesting book and a great read, which made me think I should read more novels that don't fall into the crime domain.
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