Books I read in June
June was a good month for reading. It helped a lot that I had my summer holidays and while in Barcelona (which is an awesome city btw - if you've never been you should definitely remedy this soon) we even dedicated entire days to doing nothing but reading (and eating, of course - oh how I love Spanish tapas!).
The result is that I managed to finish 5 books last month (yay for me!). All of these books were from authors I had read books from before, so they were all enjoyable to read. Some more than others though, because when a favorite author just keeps writing more books about the same topic there's always the risk of it all starting to sound the same. You start a new book and it feels like you have already read it.
The faithless and The business by Martina Cole
Unfortunately, Martina Cole's novels have started to fall in this category. I used to be a big fan of Cole's novels about the poor and the criminal of London. However, after having read more than a dozen it's starting to get rather boring. Not only is the topic of the story pretty much the same every time, with these two books it's also felt like the characters keep being the same and even some of the same names are used.
For example, in every novel there's always a woman who is so full of envy or selfishness it ruins her life and everyone else's. There's always a bloke who's very strong but very dumb; there's always a guy who is a psychopath etc. etc. Even the stories start sounding the same.
The faithless and the business are different books with different outlines on the back covers, yet they felt very interchangeable. With the exception that the business was extra boring! It read like it could have been told in half the number of pages. In fact, I found out if I just read the first sentence of every paragraph I could still follow the story line just fine! Such a disappointment. Stay away from these books!
Fractured and Fallen by Karin Slaughter
I've also read more than ten books byKarin Slaughter, yet I never get tired of these. They are always on the same topic as well (or actually about the same people, in the same towns), but every new book is another great read. Why? Because they are well written, I love the characters and the story lines which are always suspenseful and never boring or predictable.
Fractured is the second novel in the Will Trent series and Fallen is the fifth and is also is the latest novel by Slaughter in paperback. I've already written many review on these books, so I am not sure what to add, besides that they are definitely worth reading. If you enjoy crime novels, start with the first of the Grant County series and see if it will keep you entertained until the final Will Trent book.
Brand new friend by Mike Gayle
I first discovered Mike Gayle when I came across his novel about making the ultimate to do list. I wasn't so much interested in the story, but what I really was looking for was inspiration for my own to do list. As it turned out, it was quite a fun novel as well. The same can be said for Brand new friend.
It tells the story of a guy who moves from London to Manchester to move in with his gf, leaving his life and friends behind. He then has to find some new great mates, but this task is a lot harder than it seems. After a lot of time and effort he finally makes a new friend, only she is female.
A lot of time is devoted to the question whether men and women can really be friends, which I found rather annoying. Especially when it turned out in every single male-female friendship in the book there were feelings of love/lust involved. Besides that, it was a really fun read. Nothing more and nothing less.
The result is that I managed to finish 5 books last month (yay for me!). All of these books were from authors I had read books from before, so they were all enjoyable to read. Some more than others though, because when a favorite author just keeps writing more books about the same topic there's always the risk of it all starting to sound the same. You start a new book and it feels like you have already read it.
The faithless and The business by Martina Cole
Unfortunately, Martina Cole's novels have started to fall in this category. I used to be a big fan of Cole's novels about the poor and the criminal of London. However, after having read more than a dozen it's starting to get rather boring. Not only is the topic of the story pretty much the same every time, with these two books it's also felt like the characters keep being the same and even some of the same names are used.
For example, in every novel there's always a woman who is so full of envy or selfishness it ruins her life and everyone else's. There's always a bloke who's very strong but very dumb; there's always a guy who is a psychopath etc. etc. Even the stories start sounding the same.
The faithless and the business are different books with different outlines on the back covers, yet they felt very interchangeable. With the exception that the business was extra boring! It read like it could have been told in half the number of pages. In fact, I found out if I just read the first sentence of every paragraph I could still follow the story line just fine! Such a disappointment. Stay away from these books!
Fractured and Fallen by Karin Slaughter
I've also read more than ten books byKarin Slaughter, yet I never get tired of these. They are always on the same topic as well (or actually about the same people, in the same towns), but every new book is another great read. Why? Because they are well written, I love the characters and the story lines which are always suspenseful and never boring or predictable.
Fractured is the second novel in the Will Trent series and Fallen is the fifth and is also is the latest novel by Slaughter in paperback. I've already written many review on these books, so I am not sure what to add, besides that they are definitely worth reading. If you enjoy crime novels, start with the first of the Grant County series and see if it will keep you entertained until the final Will Trent book.
Brand new friend by Mike Gayle
I first discovered Mike Gayle when I came across his novel about making the ultimate to do list. I wasn't so much interested in the story, but what I really was looking for was inspiration for my own to do list. As it turned out, it was quite a fun novel as well. The same can be said for Brand new friend.
A lot of time is devoted to the question whether men and women can really be friends, which I found rather annoying. Especially when it turned out in every single male-female friendship in the book there were feelings of love/lust involved. Besides that, it was a really fun read. Nothing more and nothing less.
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