Bogormen

Title: The Bones Beneath My Skin
Author: T.J. Klune
Genre: Sci-fi, LGBTQ+
Rating: 4/5
# pages: Audiobook ~13hrs
Date read: March, 2023

In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he's been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family's summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction.

The cabin should be empty.

It's not.

Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader... who isn't exactly as she appears.

Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible.

Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.


I started out reading this as an ebook, but for some weird reason kept putting it down. Finally I picked it up as an audiobook instead, and ended up listening to all 13 hours in little over a week! So now I have no clue why I kept stalling on it.

Anyway, I really enjoyed it. It's not T.J. Klune's best, but it's very enjoyable. T.J. Klune writes (found) family so well, and that's definitely the case here as well. I loved reading about Alex and Artemis' relationship... and Nate's as well, once they start trusting him more. As most of his other books, it's a lot more character driven than plot driven, but I didn't actually realize that until after I'd finished reading it :-P

Title: The Stranger
Author: Harlan Coben
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 333
Date read: March, 2023

The Stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. His identity is unknown. His motives are unclear. His information is undeniable. Then he whispers a few words in your ear and disappears, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world.

Adam Price has a lot to lose: a comfortable marriage to a beautiful woman, two wonderful sons, and all the trappings of the American Dream: a big house, a good job, a seemingly perfect life.

Then he runs into the Stranger. When he learns a devastating secret about his wife, Corinne, he confronts her, and the mirage of perfection disappears as if it never existed at all. Soon Adam finds himself tangled in something far darker than even Corinne’s deception, and realizes that if he doesn’t make exactly the right moves, the conspiracy he’s stumbled into will not only ruin lives—it will end them.


Harlan Coben is starting to become a new favourite author. His books aren't high literature by any means, but they are so very readable, and I've yet to read one I didn't enjoy. The translation wasn't quite as tight in this one as usual, but still good enough, that I managed to forget about it after awhile, and finished the book in a day.

While the book shifts POV a few times, we mostly stay with Adam, and the shifts work well to give the reader a bit of background, while still leaving Adam in the dark. It is a suspenseful and captivating read. I'm not entirely sure how likely the ending is, but it worked within the book's universe, so didn't seem jarring in any way.

Title: Into the Drowning Deep
Author: Mira Grant
Genre: Horror
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 440
Date read: January 2019, March 2023

Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a "mockumentary" bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.

Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they're not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life's work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves.

But the secrets of the deep come with a price.


It lost it's last half-star it did take me awhile to get properly into it, but after one or two false starts, Mira Grant's magic drew me back in (the same magic that made me actually WANT to read about zombies :-O ) and I was hooked!

But of COURSE Mira Grant had to write about the kind of scary mermaids that nightmares are made of! At about 200 pages I seriously considered putting the book into the freezer for awhile. Don't think my Kindle would have taken too kindly to that though. I was glad to be reading it in the light of day - and on DRY LAND!!! It's absolutely fascinating that we know less about what happens just 1km underneath the surface of the sea, than we do thousands and thousands of km above it! And that makes this novel just that much more realistic than her zombie novels... and thus also that much more scary.

Not that I'm likely to be scared away from the sea because of this, mind you... but I'll perhaps think twice before I go diving in the Mariana Trench :-P

In the end, there were quite a few questions left unanswered, but I'm pretty sure that's to leave room for a sequel at some point. No cliff-hangers though - the main plot was nicely resolved.