Book Review: You Can Stop Humming Now by Daniela Lamas

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

You Can Stop Humming Now is a non fiction memoir of sorts that takes us through the wonders of modern medicine by examining various patients past and patient under the care of Daniela Lamas. Rather than baffle you with science and facts, Lamas takes us on a journey through the emotional and physical side effects of people suffering from long term or chronic illnesses that 5, even 10, years ago they might not have survived due to the amazing advances in medicine. It's a very human approach to an often aseptic topic.

As a student I was always taught the importance of evidence based practice. We can only continue to improve and grow as a profession within medicine if we have the means and foresight to continually expand our knowledge and abilities. This book is a perfect example of that. Lamas speaks with passion and empathy as she relays the stories of several patients who've directly benefitted from such treatment, and what it knw means to survive past an expected 'expiration date'.

Patients include a kidney transplant recipient who found his donor through Facebook, a woman with cystic fibrosis nearing her 40th birthday when she wasn't expected to live past 30, and a number of patients suffering from chronic pulmonary or cardiac diseases who fought through time in ITU with the help of various ingenius machines or devices to reach a purgatory existence on the other side. Lamas has a history in ITU care, and as such most of the patients discussed have some form of background spent here. This was a refreshing side to understanding medical care which I haven't read before, and it was also nice to hear from a medical professional across the pond. As a stoic advocate for the NHS, the American 'care' system baffles me greatly, and this resonates throughout the book with some mentions of limited insurance payouts for rehabilitation centres and endless cycles of paperwork for pharmaceuticals. Thank goodness we don't that kind of health system.

Getting back to the stories themselves, it's clear that Lamas has a passion for healthcare and a high regard for all the patients and colleagues she speaks of. There's some lovely little snippets of stories that show levels of dedication that go above and beyond the duty of care and endless warmth for patient care that shines through.

An interesting read, and one I would highly recommend for people interested in the amazing advances in medicine that are greatly changing the face of modern medicine as we know it.

You Can Stop Humming Now is available to purchase now from: Amazon

 - 3 stars

Book Review: The Museum of Second Chances by AE Warren

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the premise for this, a post apocalyptic world with bad ass genetically enhanced humans, but I felt the story got a little lost in the details.

Elise is a Sapien, living with her family within a small community of other Sapiens - humans not genetically engineered, and held responsible for the destruction of nearly all life on the planet. Due to near extinction, and driven to preserve life, a series of higher life forms have been genetically engineered - those with a few 'extra traits' and those so altered they have ceased to resemble humans as we knew them. Faster. Stronger. More intelligent. They rule over the lives of Sapiens, and seek to regenerate the earth by bringing back to life those animals that have since been made extinct. A second chance. But this second chance comes as a price, as Elise soon realises when she seeks employment within one of the museums that houses these animals.

The plot was well written, well paced, and there's a decent build up of action and character building to the final scenes. The world's back story was also reasonably well described, slough I would have liked more insight into the supposed rebellion Elise's parents were a part of, and what happened to the rebels. It's all left very much up in the air. Also, not much is mentioned in the way of the 'outside' world, other than the Sapien community Elise is a member of and the main base where 'her' museum is. The other 'bases' are mentioned briefly, but not much is known about them or expanded on, which would have been helpful to the plot. I did like that they were named after the nucleotide bases of DNA though. It strangely reminded me of the film GATTACA with Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke (watch it, it's really good).  There's also a rather large 'information dump' near the beginning of the plot when Elise joins the museum which didn't really hold my attention very well. It was too much all at once and left me a little confused.

The main thing I enjoyed was the camaraderie between the characters. Elise is a solid main character, although I was unimpressed with her supposed 'hidden talents'. I thought they were unnecessary and didn't add anything to the plot. However, she's likeable and has Kit's best interests at heart. Samuel is socially awkward, clever and reserved. I liked that although there was a hint of sexual tension between the pair, it never fully took over the plot and the friendship progressed naturally and wasn't forced. Georgina was one of my favourite characters. She is good natured, outgoing and warm hearted, sacrificing her position to be friends with lowly Sapiens. Kit by comparison is the most enigmatic, and I felt the least connected to him. He communicates so infrequently with Elise, for his own reasons, that I felt as emotionally unattached to him as everyone else. He only really comes into his own at the end of the book.

Fintorian, in comparison to the main group of friends, seems more like a bit of a pantomime villain. We see him so infrequently that I never really forged an opinion of him other than he's suppose to seem almost ethereal. It perhaps would have helped to have seen some other members of his 'race' to gain a better insight into whether his personality was really so bad, or if that is the general concensus of his species.

I did have some niggling bugbears throughout the novel too. One involved a scene with Kit and Elise, where Kit shows Elise a carved statue of a baby Neanderthal wrapped in a shawl. Kit is a Neanderthal who has been kept completely secluded from the outside world, unable to even visualise anything that falls outside of the time period in which he originally inhabited. He has also never been allowed to hunt or kill other animals to make clothes. If this is true - how does he know what a shawl is? To me, the description of a shawl means a knitted garment, or something more modern. That's just a personal issue however, and in no way reflects the overall well written story.

I did think that the story itself finishes quite abruptly however, and things are left a little unfinished in my opinion. I like a story that's all wrapped up at the end, and this felt more like it was building to a crescendo that never fully arrives. I had just got really into the story, and grown to enjoy these characters and then it stops. The story could have done with being slightly longer, and I would have liked to have seen more of the world outside the base.

Overall, a good story but left a little unfinished for my liking.

The Museum of Second Chances is available to purchase now from: Amazon

Book Review: All That Remains by Sue Black

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m (yet again) finding it difficult to organise my thoughts surrounding this book. It’s an intense, sometimes clinical, portrayal of death in a very pragmatic and scientific way. It’s equal parts cold and without feeling in its descriptions of death as if from a textbook or courtroom, yet also simultaneously deeply emotive and always fascinating. I found that at times I had to step away from it, because although fascinating, I found myself becoming too attached to the cases. I’m also deeply in awe of the author’s knowledge, enthusiasm and respect for the subject she teaches.

This is a very personal look at the many faces of death as described by one of Britain’s leading forensic anthropologists, and covers everything from the various ways a body can be buried or preserved, what happens to a body after death, and how forensic anthropologists can establish any number of things about an individual from their remains. It also goes into detail about various interesting cases the author has been directly involved with, and how forensics have helped to build a case or resolve a mystery surrounding an individual’s death or that of a major disaster. It was these chapters I found the most interesting, as it builds on knowledge the reader takes from earlier chapters. I do think it helped that I have an anthropological/medical background however, as some of the terms used are quite medical in nature.

The book also documents the author’s time spent in Kosovo and some of the atrocities witnessed there. I think it was these chapters that effected me the most deeply, as the descriptions of some of the scenes Sue Black is involved with are, simply, horrendous. However, it again highlights the invaluable work undertaken within the profession.

I suppose I was less taken with the small sections near the beginning of the book that seemed to be more like a familial memoir or history rather than delivering facts and experiences. Although there was always a reason for them, such as a device to further expand the readers understanding of various biological processes etc., I just wasn’t that taken with them in comparison to the later chapters.

That said, I really enjoyed this. It was informative, well written and interesting. As Sue Black herself states, ‘humans cannot fail to be affected by the stories of other humans’, and when you’ve lead a life as full as this, it’s hard not to agree. Read it. You won’t be disappointed.

 - 4 stars

Book Review: Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake Book 2) by Rachel Caine

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had some trepidations before going into this book. I'd liked but not loved the previous novel 'Stillhouse Lake', but was intrigued enough to know more. I'm glad I did. This was a great dramatic thriller with some excellent characters and plot.

This follows almost directly from where Stillhouse Lake finished. Gwen Proctor, ex-wife of serial killer Melvin Royal, is trying desperately to keep her children safe while playing the hunter and the hunted to Mel and his followers games. With the help of Sam, neighbour, sometimes lover and brother of one of Mel's last victim, she's determined to get one step ahead of the race and kill or be killed in the attempt to track Mel down.

This felt a lot more polished than its predecessor. The characters are more refined and intelligent. Gwen, far from playing the victim or merely trying to hide her children from harm, takes front seat and centre stage here. She's proactive, self assured and just so much better than before. The character development is excellent. Sam is also a strong lead. He's pragmatic, yet suffers internally with what happened to his sister and his guilt I've whether he can trust Gwen or not. It was also a masterstroke to have chapters from his POV. One of my faults with Stillhouse Lake were that is was all from Gwen's perspective, and often her internal monologue got a little grating. To have another view point kept the story fresher.

That said, I was less enamoured with Lanny and Connor's storyline. I often found myself skipping chunks of their story arc so I can return to the faster paced action involving Sam and Gwen. Unfortunately I just found them both slightly irritating and gullible. I got annoyed at their lack of trust in their mother, and the easy way Connor is manipulated- although I can understand why he is. Melvin's looming presence over all the Proctor family is still abundantly clear, and keeping him largely out of the storyline other than through phone calls and texts keeps him as an enigma.

The plot itself, as mentioned, is well paced and entertaining throughout. There are plenty of twists, some which took me by surprise, and I really enjoyed the ending. Again, as with Stillhouse Lake, the use of technology in crime and blackmail was unique and very well done, taking things even further than they were previously.  The whole novel had a sort of 'Black Mirror' feel to it, especially the episode 'Shut Up and Dance' where people are blackmailed via anonymous hackers into doing various misdemeanours.

One of the best thrillers I've read in a while.

Killman Creek is available to purchase now from: Amazon

Book Review: The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

The Vanishing Season follows Ellery Hathaway, small town cop and one time serial killer victim, as she's faced with the awful truth that her past may be coming back to haunt her. Ellery was abducted on her birthday 14 years ago by a notorious serial killer. Now in a new town, where no one knows her past, for the last three years she's been receiving mysterious cards, followed by a missing person report almost like a birthday gift. Can she stop whoever it is before the next person is taken?

Ellery is a deeply flawed and interesting character. We get to see how the traumas of her past are manifesting in her present life. She's vulnerable - nailing her closest shut so she'll never be forced into one again, and she never invites a man into her home. I loved her relationship with 'Speed Bump' in particular, and it showed that although she's been through an experience few have ever come back from, she's still able to love on an emotional level. Bump in return is a wonderful little character. Although his interactions were relatively few and far between, each one was delightful - especially his liking for Reed. 

The novel itself is short at just over 200 pages, meaning the action is succinct, to the point and fast paced. However some of the character development suffers because of this. Reed, we don't know much about other than he's a workaholic with family issues. I wanted to know more about his personal relationship with Ellery, but other than a small flashback we don't see this. We also don't know much about the other towns people, meaning it wasn't too difficult to work out the ending. I also wanted to see more of Rosalie and her abusive husband. I felt that Ellery's involvement in their situation was very brief, and didn't add all that much to the plot. 

The ending felt a little rushed. There was a lot of build up, with a variety of plot developments and twist, then the conclusion took two pages. I felt a little bit let down by that, and felt the execution could have been better. Overall however, I thought this was a relatively well written novel that kept me interested all the way through.

The Vanishing Season is available to purchase now from: Amazon

 - 3 stars

Book Review: Off The Deep End: A History of Madness at Sea by Nic Compton

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise for this; Off The Deep End scrutinises the effects of the sea on mental health- whether that be to seamen, navigators, or modern day sailors. Nic Compton manages to include a vast number of conditions that could negatively impact mental health, as well as covering a broad timescale from the dawn of ships, to the explorations of 'uncharted waters' and beyond.

The early chapters are easily the best. I loved the explanations on the optical illusions known as 'Fata Morgana' and how this may have led sailors to interpret the phenomenon as The Flying Dutchman - leading to superstitions and religious fervor. From this point we are then introduced to Darwin, and his doomed captain and navigator aboard the Beagle, with suicide and madness. Then we jump to shipwrecks, whales with grudges, and cannibalism. It was certainly interesting - and after reading I can certainly see why seamen have such a high proportion of mental illness rates. It would seem everything is set against them - including even the rations and living quarters!

Everything is well researched and goes into some detail about various voyages and navigational terms. I appreciated this to some respect, as it's clear the author has spent a great deal of time carefully getting all the facts to help construct his arguments, but it also made the text heavy going at some points. It wasn't a light read, and I found myself dipping in and out of it in between other books. The text, as you might imagine, is also quite dark at times. There don't seem to be many happy endings for sailors.

I didn't enjoy the more contemporary chapters as interesting. I'm a history nerd at heart, and these just didn't hold my attention as much. Because of this, I found myself wishing there were more chapters on British naval history, and the stigmas attached to sailors of this time rather than now. However, I do understand that it's an important subject to broach, as the struggle against mental illness continues. I'm all for raising awareness.

An interesting topic.

 - 3 stars

Book Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Violet is a surrogate, born with unique gifts to shape the world around her, yet bought and sold to the highest bidder in a world where royalty rules all. This had a lot of flaws, and unfortunately it really hindered my enjoyment of what could have been a good story.

The main issue I had was just how unoriginal I found the story. Reading this felt like deja vu. Poor yet beautiful girl with unique gifts brought into a different world? Check. Evil ruling power that manipulates said girl? Check. Dull and one dimensional love interest leading to instalove? Check. I also think I rolled my eyes several times over the names of some of these characters. One character is called Cinder. And her brother is Ash. Seriously.

My other main issue was Ash. The love interest. The story takes a significant dip after his introduction, as he's so dull with no definable characteristics or charm. He's basically Finnick from The Hunger Games without the emotional depth. When Violet starts fawning over him after meeting him for all of ten minutes, I knew this story wasn't going to end the way I wanted it too. I much preferred the relationship between the various surrogates and their 'owners', and the dynamics and rivalries that are barely explored but had so much potential. I didn't think there was any need to introduced Ash at all. If anything, he hinders the plot. I found all of his scenes very cringy, and I often skim read them. Violet as a main character is also severely lacking in personality. She goes from petulant teen to submissive slave with no in-between. She's got no emotional depth, and bumbled from one scenario to the next, relying on other people to rescue her.

Several times I was also confused by the world itself. We don't see anything outside of The Jewel except very briefly at the beginning. The rules of the world aren't explained very deeply either, and are often contradictory. Why treat some surrogates well, others badly, yet always have them dressed up like dolls all the time? Why are they repeatedly drugged? It felt like an easy cop out to explain any passage of time. What are the various Auguries, and why do only poor girls have these powers?  They weren't explained well, or integrated well into the story, and I often felt confused when Violet uses any of them. Also, their use with regards to childbirth is just...odd.

This really wasn't for me. The potential was there, but the execution fell flat.

The Jewel is available to purchase now from: Amazon

2 STARS

Book Review: A Time of Dread by John Gwynne

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. This is how you write fantasy.

The plot opens with a blood feud battle between two clans, several years before the main bulk of our story. It's full of vigour, great descriptions of the action, and sucked me straight in with the mixture of violence and brutality on an epic scale.

The main events of the story start several years later, where the majestic angels, the Ben-Elim, rule the majority of the land from their fortress of Dressil. Here they train and continue to hunt the remaining Kadoshim - the race of evil that came through the rift so many years ago. The story follows four main characters on their various travails as the increasing danger of the Kadoshim threatens to undue the uneasy balance of peace the Ben-Elim have fought to uphold for so long.

Drem is my favourite character of the bunch. We meet him in the first chapters as he hunts with his father Odin in the Wild - the land to the North outside the Ben-Elim's rule. He's naive, with an innate goodness and moral compass. He won't kill if he can help it, even when faced with a fight with a man attempting to hurt his friend. His relationship with his father is also lovely. You can feel the deep amount of love and respect he has for Odin, and his desire to follow in his footsteps. You really feel for Drem, and I was constantly willing him to succeed as his storyline just got better as it progressed and developed. By the end I really thought Drem had grown so much as a character, and I'd taken that journey with him.

Riv is a human, raised within the walls of Dressil. She has an undying love for the white wing armies, the people who fight solely for the Ben-Elim, and wants nothing more than to be a warrior and fight the kadoshim. However, is unable to control her anger and rashness in battle. I liked this rashness and lust for battle, although sometimes I did think she was a little 'brainwashed' by the Ben-Elim. Her story was the one that took me most by surprise, and I ended up really enjoying it. She has a strong relationship with her mother and sister, and it was nice to see them take a position of power and respect within the White Wings as unit leaders. It created a strong family unit deeply embedded within this culture of fighting without necessarily needing a strong male role model. I wish more fantasy writers would take this stance.

Bleda is the son of one of the clan chiefs seen in the opening battle. Taken as a ward by the Ben-Elim as punishment, he is raised under their watchful eyes in the hopes he will one day return to his clan as leader and a dedicated follower to the Ben-Elim's cause. Bela's storyline I enjoyed the least, and I felt we see the least progression in his character, although I liked that he's so insecure about his nature. There's often an internal struggle between the culture he was raised in, and the need to withhold all his emotions, and the obvious respect he holds for his captures. This leads to a lot of self doubt. It's his growing relationship with Riv however that I found the most interesting, as they're at heart such opposing characters. The hot headed Riv and quiet and thoughtful Bleda. Their blossoming friendship over a bow is great to see unfold, and there is potential for it to grow as events develop further down the line.

Sig is the most fearsome of the four. A giantess, fiercely loyal to those she calls kin, and a glorious warrior. However, I felt the least connected to her. She feels the least rounded of the four (which is knit picking really as all of these characters are wonderful), and although her storyline packs plenty of punch, violence and action, I felt that I never really got to see another side of Sig. She was in full on warrior mode for most of the story, and I wanted to see some vulnerability or weakness that the other main characters had.

After the initial opening battle scene, this has rather a slow start - but it takes a long time to build a world so wonderfully crafted. I felt fully immersed, and knew everything I needed to about the lay out of the lands and its vast history and cultures. I hadn't read anything by Gwynne before, and in some respects I felt I may have missed out on some of this rich past and history that readers of previous novels would relish to read about.  This never detracted from my immense enjoyment however, but I definitely felt I could have had an even better reading experience if I'd started with [book:Malice|22288664]. This shows the quality of the writing here, as it takes a clever writer to be able to create such a colourful world and gently guide us through hundreds of years of history without confusing the reader and allowing themselves to get distracted by meandering side stories. Everything that is written here has a purpose, whether that's to develop a character or flesh out the storyline.

I can't write a review for this without mentioning that ending. It takes a lot to surprise me, and this took me in a direction I didn't see coming for a number of characters. It's also tidied up in such a way that I felt satisfied by the end, yet desperate for the next adventure. I really enjoyed this, and I will be looking for more John Gwynne to pick up as soon as possible to tide me over until the next instalment. If you enjoy dark fantasy (and this does get dark) this is easily one of the best stories out there at the moment.

A Time of Dread is available to purchase now from: Amazon

 - 4 stars