YVONNE’S SHORTIES #302 – The Island Home // Cursed #20booksofsummer22

Time for another round of Yvonne’s Shorties! This time around a contemporary I mostly enjoyed and a Nordic noir sequel that was another success for me.

Title: The Island Home
Author: Libby Page
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
First published: June 24th 2021
Publisher: Orion
Finished reading: June 7th 2022
Pages: 474

“I suppose in the end, letting go can be the hardest thing in the world.”

I’ve been meaning to read more of Libby Page‘s books ever since I read and enjoyed The 24-Hour Café back in 2020. I’m not sure why I never did until now, but better late than never right? I decided to pick up her newest story The Island Home first, mostly because I loved the sound of the small island setting. And it is without doubt the Isle of Kip and its many detailed and vivid descriptions that helped make this story a success for me! True, the story started out quite slow for me and it took a while for the pace to pick up. True, I did feel that some of the conflicts could have been solved so easily by just talking to each other. True, the ending felt like it was wrapped in a bow and it was a bit too perfect to be plausible. BUT. The characters in general are very easy to connect to and Libby Page is brilliant at character development in general. Having flawed and likeable characters to follow partly made up for the slow pace and it was easy to grow attached to them and hope things will work out for th. I loved the community feel of the island, and the descriptions of the island and the island life made me want to pack my bags and move there myself. All in all a very solid contemporary that focuses heavily on family and community, while also having a touch of romance to sweeten things up.

Title: Cursed
(Henning Juul #4)
Author: Thomas Enger
Translator: Kari Dickson
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime
First published: September 1st 2014
Publisher: Orenda Books
Finished reading: June 10th 2022
Pages: 280
(Originally written in Norwegian: ‘Våpenskjold’)

“She so wished she could look into a crystal ball and see the future. There was no set answer. The certainty that there was no certainty made her heavy. Sad. Despondent.”

I’ve been having a excellent time with this series, and Cursed is already book number four… Thomas Enger has a writing style that is both engaging, great at creating suspense and very easy to read. He is also great at creating the right atmosphere and his stories really do have that Nordic noir vibe with the setting and descriptions. In Cursed, we even cross briefly to a Swedish forest, but the majority of the story is set in Norway. We get both the city and the countryside; the best of both worlds and I liked how especially the Tønsberg area setting played a role in the plot. The story once again has a multiple POV structure, and this time around we also get to see a lot of Henning’s ex-wife Nora. Henning and Nora are investigating different cases; Henning the fire that caused the death of their son and Nora the disappearance of an old friend. It was intriguing to follow both on their journey towards the truth, and there are plenty of twists and secrets along the way to keep you entertained. The last page of Cursed came as a complete shock; I never would have seen that development coming at all! It’s a cliffhanger ending that definitely makes me want to pick up the final book ASAP.