Bogormen

Title: On the Island
Author: Tracey Garvis Graves
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 328
Date read: April 2022, April 2024

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family—and a stack of overdue assignments—instead of his friends.

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island. Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter.

Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.


It's been a long time since I dove into a book and got so thoroughly hooked that I finished it in a day! But though I can see its flaws, this book just worked for me, and I couldn't put it down.

The writing style took a bit of getting used to. It seemed almost diary-like in style, and occasionally glossed over things, without going into depth with them. But to be fair, that was necessary for this kind of book! The plot took place over the course of 4-5 YEARS, and it would have been way, way too long (not to mention tedious) to be detailed about everything. Some parts were somewhat unbelievable, but they worked within the scope of the book, so I'll allow it ;)

The relationship really worked for me. I know some people will have reservations about the age difference going into the book, but trust me - it works. It's tastefully done, and faced head on.

I tend to love Robinson Crusoe-type stories, and this was no exception. That it also had shades of two of my other favourite books (a Danish one, and one that is still unpublished) only improved my reading experience.

This might just have to go on my wish list for books to add to my physical library.

Title: Stay Close
Author: Harlan Coben
Genre: Crime
Rating: 2.5/5
# pages: 399
Date read: April, 2022

Megan is a suburban soccer mom who once upon a time walked on the wild side. Ray used to be a talented documentary photographer, but now finds himself in a dead-end job posing as paparazzo. Broome is a detective who can’t let go of a cold case.

Three people living lives they never wanted are hiding secrets that even those closest to them would never suspect. And as each confronts the dark side of the American dream—the boredom of a nice suburban life, the excitement of temptation, the desperation and hunger that can lurk behind even the prettiest facades—they will discover the hard truth that the line between one kind of life and another can be as whisper-thin as a heartbeat.


The third book I've read by Harlan Coben and unfortunately the weakest. Can't put my finger on why exactly, but part of it is definitely that it came across as a lot less realistic than the others... especially when it came to 'Ken' and 'Barbie'.

I'm glad this isn't the first book I've read by him, or I probably wouldn't have continued with any of the others. Now I'm more inclined to give him another chance.

Title: Tell Me It's Real
Author: T.J. Klune
Genre: Romance, LGBTQ
Rating: 4/5
# pages: Audiobook ~10hrs, 350 pages
Date read: June 2019, April 2022

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Paul Auster doesn't. Paul doesn't believe in much at all. He’s thirty, slightly overweight, and his best features are his acerbic wit and the color commentary he provides as life passes him by. His closest friends are a two-legged dog named Wheels and a quasibipolar drag queen named Helena Handbasket. He works a dead-end job in a soul-sucking cubicle, and if his grandmother's homophobic parrot insults him one more time, Paul is going to wring its stupid neck.

Enter Vince Taylor.

Vince is everything Paul isn’t: sexy, confident, and dumber than the proverbial box of rocks. And for some reason, Vince pursues Paul relentlessly. Vince must be messing with him, because there is no way Vince could want someone like Paul.

But when Paul hits Vince with his car—in a completely unintentional if-he-died-it'd-only-be-manslaughter kind of way—he's forced to see Vince in a whole new light. The only thing stopping Paul from believing in Vince is himself—and that is one obstacle Paul can’t quite seem to overcome. But when tragedy strikes Vince's family, Paul must put aside any notions he has about himself and stand next to the man who thinks he's perfect the way he is.


Unlike the other books I've read by T.J. Klune so far, this is very much "just" a romance. I don't mean that in a negative way, but merely that there's very little going on plotwise other than Paul and Vince's budding relationship.

But honestly? That's fine! T.J. Klune writes relationships (romantic, friendly and familiar) so well, and as always it's a delight to read how the different characters (not just Paul and Vince, but also Sandy, Paul's family, Darren and even Vince's mum) interact with each other.

It wasn't an instant favourite like "The Lightning-Struck Heart" or "How to Be a Normal Person" were, but it's a great comfort read nonetheless. And as always, Michael Lesley does a brilliant job of narrating the book.