Confessions of a Community Nurse by Lucy Spencer

Kindle Unlimited     Paperback

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

I start all my book reviews in the same way - by saying that each book I read and review starts off with the full syringe of 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they'll all still be stitched firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.  If I feel I need to remove a star then I always give my reason(s) within the review, they don't just disappear.  The usual reason that books lose a star is for potential copyright or trademark infringement which always breaks my heart, especially if it's a 5 star book in every other way, but I need to be fair to other books who have lost a star for that reason in the past.

I borrowed this book via Kindle Unlimited over 3 months ago and am only just getting around to r4eading it.  I've loved the other books in this series, so I have high hopes for this book too.  I'm really hoping that this book, like the others in the series, will be self-contained and easy to read.

Let's get going shall we?

The "About this book" page says that it's got a typical reading time of 2 hours and 21 minutes but I can't see me reading 100 pages an hour, no matter how much I love the book lol

I've read 10 pages in about half an hour-ish so it's looking like 4 hours rather than two, but I'm loving the sarcastic(?) humour already so this is looking like another 5 star book already.

Page 34 after about an hour means that this definitely *won't* be a 2 hour book lol

Gonna attempt to read up to page 50 before I have my lunch.

Up to page 49 and the potential for lots of vomiting in this chapter, so do I risk reading it and being put off eating or wait until I've eaten and join them in the chucking up?  Either way, it's definitely not a 2 hour and 21 minute read, so I'm guessing that there was a lot of skipping forwards by other readers to get that time 'cos although I'm a fairly slow reader, I don't read at a quarter of the speed everyone else lol

I decided to go for it and it was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, so I'm now at page 51 and there's still another 5 minutes to the start of "official" lunchtime for most people, so I can pretty safely read another chapter in that time.

Page 62 and time to stop for lunch... definitely not a 2 hour read considering I'm not even close to half way and I've already been reading for very nearly 2 hours lol

Up to page 95 now and it's well over the 2 hours typical reading time now lol  Like all of the other books in this series, I'm really enjoying it and it's still very much worthy of every one of those 5 stars.

Bang on page 100 and it's time for my tea.  It's gonna be a 2 day book as opposed to 2 hours though  ;-)

I've managed to read 40 pages since I had my tea and I'm still enjoying this wonderful book - some bits have been a bit gross, but not gross enough to lose my stomach contents over, thankfully.  I'll hopefully get to 150 pages before I head to bed, maybe even 175 but it's definitely not a 2 hours and 21 minutes read 'cos I've already done almost triple that lol

I've just read the chapter about the nurse being a poster child for pelvic floor exercises and I really don't know how she and any other professional does it!!

Up to page 177 of 203 on my Kindle and I've loved every page... even the gross ones lol  It hasn't been anywhere near a 2 hour read, but more like a 2 day read which I thought right at the start lol  I've only got 26 pages left to go now so should be able to get it finished in plenty of time for lunch tomorrow.

I'm starting the day off with a huuuuuge "nooooo!!!" 'cos the author has used two characters out of a children's TV series that has been running for many many years.  It's the first Trademark mention so the first star is just wobbly as opposed to being taken off but I'm reeeeally hoping that the magic sentence will be at the back of this book now!

Just finished reading the book and the magic sentence wasn't there so it remains a wobbly 5 stars but I've loved reading this book and the whole series!

In Stitches: A heartwarming and candid memoir of working in emergency medicine by Nick Edwards

Kindle Unlimited     Paperback
 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5 stars

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know that the first paragraph of the vast majority of them is pretty much the same and this book review is no different.  I start all the reviews off by saying that each book I read and review starts off with the full clinic of 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they are all still firmly stitched into place by the time I close the back cover.  I'm not shy about removing stars but I always give my reason(s) for doing so within the review - they don't just vanish into thin air for no reason.

I love reading medical memoirs as they always give me a new appreciation for all the hard, tough and rough work that goes on in daily life of every medical bod in every medical place... I just don't like gross things like blood and poo and vomit lol

I'm hoping this book will have either self-contained chapters or be easy to dip in and out of so that I don't have to re-read the previous chapters every time I need to use the bathroom... I wish I was joking but I'm not!

Let's get going shall we?

The "About this book" bit says that the typical reading time is 4 hours and 23 minutes, so in theory I'll get it finished before bedtime tonight, but at over 300 pages I very much doubt that'll happen.  I'm not gonna rush it, just read at my normal pace to see how far I get before I head to bed tonight and I'm hoping I'll finish it off tomorrow.

It'll be interested to see how my eyes cope with me wearing my new "near" glasses for the first time as I could barely see the text on my Kindle with my "distance" specs on!

So far so good with the new specs and so far I totally agree with this doctor about the silly signage and lack of agency nursing when needed!

I'm loving this book so far!  Self-contained chapters, written accurately and with my kind of humour.  It's already making me shake my head at the management policies that are introduced with seemingly zero time on the ward or in A&E - yes, some things have got better, but surely it cost the NHS more to keep that old man needlessly on the ward for 9 hours rather than using one of the three *available* ambulances and crew to take him back to his nursing home??

Up to page 31 and I'm loving every word of this book so far!  I doubt I'll get it finished before bedtime, but that's OK 'cos the chapters seem to be self-contained, so it doesn't matter if I go to bed part of the way through the book tonight.

Page 39 now and time for my first pit-stop of the book... if I can get straight back into it without having to remember everything I've already read, then I'll be able to confidently stop reading at bedtime, safe in the knowledge that I'll be able to start reading again tomorrow, which I always prefer to be able to do!

Page 42 and lunchtime... a second, slightly longer test - it passed the first one with flying colours.

There's a mention of an international furniture company so, in fairness to other books I've read and reviewed, the first star is, unfortunately, wobbly... I'm reeeeeeally hoping that the magic sentence will be at the back of the book so that it can be a solidly 5 star book like it's deserving of so far.

It's been well over 2 years since I last saw a dentist, so I've definitely been taken off their books now!  lol

Just over a third of the way through the book and I'm really enjoying it... there have been a few "could-be-too-gross" things but the author has handled it incredibly well, so I didn't lose my lunch everywhere.  

Unfortunately there have been a couple of brand names used so the wobbly star is heart-breakingly coming off at 43% and it's another one of my "shoulda been 5 stars" books... only the magic sentence at the back can replace the fallen star now unfortunately.

I'm officially a smidgen over half way through the book now (51% to be exact) and the last (very short) chapter was a description of diarrhoea so I'm gonna be taking my pills and attempting to read and recover from the graphic description before the side-effects kick in and I head to bed lol

Like I predicted this morning, I haven't managed to read the whole book in the time the dialogue box said at the very start of the book this morning, but at 51% I don't reckon I've done too badly.  I'm gonna attempt to read a few more chapters before I head to bed then hopefully finish it tomorrow.

I'm finishing reading for the day at 60% which ain't too bad at all.

I'm starting off the day feeling shocked that children still aren't getting the MMR jab because of the hogwash that the tabloid spouted back in the 80's.  I remember it well because it was around then that I was due to have my own MMR jabs and I was in a constant state of "will they/won't they" get me jabbed and "will I/won't I" get autism if they do.  I got jabbed and didn't get autism but there were a couple of young children who hadn't had it and caught measles in this book.  There is apparently *no link to autism* at all from the MMR jabs but they can literally save lives.

I'm also shocked by hospitals having to close entire wards because there just isn't enough funding to keep them open which makes the bed shortage even worse.  I really feel for the medical bods working in hospitals with patients who should be on wards until they are better, but there just not being enough room for them on the wards!

I agree that out of hours GP's should be brought back too - another way to stop non-emergency patients arriving at A&E or urgent care unnecessarily and taking up a bed that could be used by someone else.

I can see the doctors points and reasons for thinking about legalising cannabis and making medical cannabis legal is a good first step but there would need to be free support available *before* that happened so that the sudden influx of cannabis users didn't suddenly start going to several different places to get their now-legal highs.  I'm thinking that if it was properly controlled then it could be the drug equivalent of smoking cigarettes - safer and support available to quit if the smoker needs help, but because it's so freely available legally in a lot of shops, there is less stigma surrounding it and therefore not quite as "cool" and tempting as it would be if it were still illegal.

Up to 92% and I'm loving this book... assuming that there aren't 3 big woopsies in the last 8% of the book, it's definitely another "shoulda been 5 stars" book.

Just finished reading the book and it's definitely a "shoulda been 5 stars" book because the magic little sentence isn't there unfortunately.  If you enjoy reading medical memoirs and enjoy sarcasm and humour then definitely buy this book - worth every penny!

Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann (Author), Anthea Bell (Translator)

Kindle Unlimited Audiobook

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5 stars

I got this book after a recommendation from my wonderful sister-in-law and it's the first book either of us has ever, in almost three decades (at the time of writing), recommended to the other.  I can't remember what genre I asked for recommendations of, but I'm guessing, judging by the description, that it was maybe crime??  I hope it won't be too gruesome!

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know that I start them all off in the same way - by saying that every book I read and review starts off with the full field of 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be there by the time I close the back cover.  You'll also know that I'm not shy about removing stars if I feel it necessary, but that I always give my reason(s) for doing so within the review - they don't just vanish.  I'm hoping that this'll be a 5 star review after my SIL's recommendation, but I'm going to read with an open mind and not give the book and author any more chances than I do with a non-recommended book.

Let's get going shall we?

At 347 pages, it's one of the longer ones and I'm really hoping that it won't make me lose any meals or drinks - there's a tick by 'cosy crime' so that should be pretty safe, right?

I've just opened it and it says that it'll take a smidgen under 7 hours to read so, in theory, I'll get it finished at around bedtime tonight... I've learnt that I can usually take that time estimate with a pinch of salt though lol

There have been a lot of character names in the first 16 pages of the book and I've already forgotten most of them, but hopefully most of them will be minor characters.  There have been a few potential lunch losses but the author has handled it well so far which is making me hope that this will be a non-nausea-causing book... I hope I'm not wrong!

I've enjoyed the first chapter and haven't spewed yet, thankfully, but 27 pages seems a bit long for the foreword and first chapter combined to me... maybe this is just how it starts and future chapters will be shorter??

I've just scrolled back in my Kindle and chapter 1 started on page 12, so 15 pages per chapter isn't so bad I guess.

I've skipped so far ahead this morning 'cos it's just not my kinda thing, and now that I've had my lunch, I don't fancy revisiting it again.  I'm sure it's a great book for many people, it's just not my cup of tea unfortunately, so I'm taking a star off for that but leaving the other 4 in place for the moment.  I'll try and find other mysteries before my final decision, but right now, I'm glad I've dipped my toe into the water, but it's not for me right now... maybe in a few years I'll change my mind, but right now in the very early Summer of 2026, it's not gonna be a regular genre for me unfortunately.

The first page of chapter 9 is making me feel like the author has only just discovered the word scone and wants to include it in every sentence... you also don't "dip" scones in jam and cream, you spread both gently over the two horizontal halves with a knife!  I really wanted to like this book, but I don't think the author is from the UK and hasn't done much research into how things actually happen over here!

I'm 2-3 pages into chapter 10 now and it's been, almost entirely, descriptions of the front of the building and especially the door.  I get that the author needs to build the mystery, but this is getting beyond a joke now!

I'm up to chapter 14 on page 188 now and I'm really not enjoying this book... I dunno if it's indicative of the genre or just this particular author's style, but it hasn't "grabbed" me yet and I'm spending most of the time flicking forward unfortunately.

At chapter 19 and less than 100 pages left to get through, I'm starting to see why the time at the start of the book was so short for such a long book - the other readers must have done a lot of skipping forward too.

Skipped all the way to chapter 22 now and I think, despite all the skipping today, I know who did it so I'm determined to read the last 42 pages without skipping forward at all.

Ah right.  The author is a German native so maybe the scone thing was part of her research into Ireland that she liked and wanted to include it in her debut novel?  It's disappointing that I had to skip through so much of it though.  She's obviously kept writing after this book though, which I'm glad about.

Overall, an OK book, just not for me unfortunately.

Crash Into Me by Robinne Lee

Kindle Audiobook Hardcover

⭐ out of 5

I was approved by the publisher to read this book before it was published and, as always, it'll be a brutally  honest review of all the highs and, hopefully very few, lows as I read and feel them.  It's one of the well-known, big publishers that I've read and reviewed for before, so they obviously know what to expect and have prepared the author for my brutal honesty!

If you've read any of my other more recent book reviews, you'll already know that I start each one off in the same way, by saying that each book I read and review starts off with the full five stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be stuck firmly in place by the time I close the back cover. 

It's almost my bedtime, so I'll start reading tomorrow morning, but I can't wait to get started.

The publisher has taken notice of my previous comments either within reviews or past comments to them and has put in a first sentence saying that the ARC I've got is a proof copy, not a final one, so I won't mark the book down on things like missed pages or SPaG mistakes... if the magic sentence is included too, that could be a second star saved and I haven't even got past the first paragraph yet lol

My first impression of the book from the first two paragraphs is that it seems to be very old language and scene-setting for 2015 - more like the 1800s rather than the 2010's!  Maybe the author likes, reads and appreciates classic literature, but it's very out of place in a 2015 setting!  The author is setting the scene into 2015 but the word choices are very out of place for only a decade ago.  If it was a classic then I would understand it, but it's making the book very hard to understand already unfortunately.  I'm gonna give it another little while to see if the author changes the feel of the language used, but the star is already wobbly unfortunately.

I'm getting confused about the gender of the "I" in this first chapter... I thought they were female at first, then male and now back to female again - I get that the author is trying to set the scene, but they aren't doing a very good job of it so far, unfortunately. I'm gonna give the author one last chance before I remove the first star, but it's not looking like this is gonna be a five star book already, unfortunately.

That first sentence of the book has saved the star 'cos I'm not sure what "Guhd" is supposed to sound like!  The author seems to be attempting to spell the accent and it is seriously affecting my enjoyment of the book already unfortunately.

And now we've got another character, so that's four characters already in the first chapter and I'm already getting confused between them all, so off comes the first star.

And now there's another one at the end of the first chapter so I'm mightily confused about who is who and how they know or don't know each other now!  If the characters had all been spread out throughout the entire book, then it might have been a good read, but I'm already seriously confused about who is who and what their relationship and need to be in the book so early is, so the second star is already wobbly unfortunately.

Oh dear.  The second page has got the brand name of an internationally famous audio technology company so I'm really hoping that magical sentence is at the end of the book otherwise I won't be able to re-attach the second wobbly star!

The second chapter was relatively short but the years are all over the shop already which is confusing me even more and I don't believe that a reader should have to make notes while they're reading a fiction novel but it's already starting to feel like I have to, so the second star is even wobblier now unfortunately.

And there's another brand name of a media company in the third chapter, so the second star is coming off after less than three chapters unfortunately.  Will this already be another DNF?

Up to chapter four now and this book isn't as good as I was hoping for, unfortunately.  Not the worst by any means, but far from what I was hoping for too.

The end of chapter four came out of nowhere and was a totally shocking surprise!  I was tempted to knock another star off for boredom, but I've changed my mind now!

I'm gonna stop reading for the day now and I'll hopefully carry on tomorrow.

Chapters 5 and 6 were, unfortunately, boring, so I'm skipping forward for a while in the hope of getting some less boring bits.  The third star is significantly wobbly already unfortunately.

OK, I've skipped ahead to chapter 9 and the chapters are too long again, unfortunately, so the third star is on the verge of dropping off unfortunately.

And now we've got celebrity names and internationally famous awards talked about, I'm assuming without permission, so the third star is plopping off unfortunately.  Only one star left before it becomes another DNF for me unfortunately.

I rapidly lost count of the number of pages in chapter 13 but it was waaaay too many and could have potentially made for a very late night if I hadn't skipped forward so many pages again.  I've officially given up on this book now so I'm taking the last star off and awarding it a disappointing DNF - I was really looking forward to reading it, but it's been a huge let down the more I've read.  If the author had carried on in the same way as they did at the start of the book, then I might've been willing to finish reading it without taking so many stars off and certainly no skipping forward as much as I have done today.  Overall, a huge disappointment.

Amazon Alexa: Amazon Alexa: Quick Reference Guide by Steve Wright

Kindle Unlimited

⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Every book I've read and reviewed recently has started off with me saying that each book starts off with the full 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they'll all still be stuck firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.

I bought my first ever Alexa a few months ago and I've been very limited in what I've asked her to do so far, so I'm hoping that this book will give me a few ideas of things I can ask her to do.  I've already set her up, so I'm really hoping this isn't a book telling me how to do that!

Let's get going shall we?

I'm up to page 3 and in those pages, the author has gone from saying that Alexa is "more than just a speaker" on the first page to saying that she *is* just a speaker on page 3... the first star is already coming off for being so confused already and waffling on selling me and other readers the device that we've already got and advertising his mailing list on the first page too!

Apparently Alexa can "Open the Door, Switch on the Light or Play Music" but the author doesn't tell you that those things have to be connected smart devices!  I can't just ask my Echo Dot to open the door or adjust my central heating because neither of those are connected smart devices for me!  The second star is coming off only a page after I removed the first star... this isn't looking good!

At last!  Page 5 has given 5 I can ask my Alexa device, underneath the image that is too small for me to comfortably read - it's only taken 5 pages lol

I've got a lot more requests that I can give my Echo now, thankfully, so the stars are stable atm.

I'm now up to page 31 and I've found loads of things that I can ask Alexa to do, which I was hoping for and is exactly what I wanted.

Just finished reading it and it was more like 8 hours than 1 hour but I've got loads of things to say to Alexa now, which will hopefully keep me going for a while lol

Princess Kate's Brother: James Middleton by 1-Hour Royals

Kindle Unlimited
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know how I start them all off.  Every book starts with the full palace of 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will still be stuck firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.  You'll also know that I'm not shy about removing stars if I feel it necessary but I always give my reason(s) for taking them off within the review - they don't just disappear.

Let's get going with the reading and reviewing shall we?

I've just finished reading the first two chapters of the book and it's breaking my heart that James wasn't given the opportunities to shine or the support to succeed in his education.  I can't help thinking that if he'd been assessed, diagnosed and supported while he was still at school, he could have achieved success in his own right.

It's reading like poor James couldn't escape and relax and be a "normal" youth, even before Catherine became a potential royal!  It makes me wonder how the reporters would feel if it was done to them too!

Just finished and it reads like James found the right person for him and that he's comfortable with who he is now that he's a husband and dad... WTG James!

Further Confessions of a GP by Benjamin Daniels

Kindle Unlimited     Audiobook     Paperback

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

All of my more recent book reviews have started in the same way - by saying that each book I read and review starts off with the full surgery of 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be stitched firmly into place by the time I close the back cover.  I'm not shy about removing stars but I always give my reason(s) for doing so within the review, they don't just vanish into thin air.

I've really enjoyed each of the other books I've read in the "Confessions of" series and I'm really hoping that this book is up there with the rest of the series too.

Let's get going shall we?

Well, no spoilers, but after the first chapter I'm relieved that I didn't start reading just before or just after eating lol

Oh deary me... there's been a very brief mention of a trademarked chocolate bar, so the first star is already wobbly so early on in the book.  It's clinging on for dear life right now, but it's currently like jelly.

I'm up to page 17 already and I'm loving this book so far.  As long as there are no more trademarked or copyrighted mentions, this is already shaping up to be a 5 star book!

There's been a mention of a famous children's film and I'm not sure how copyright and trademarks work on those, so the star is still clinging on, but only just now.

Up to page 41 now so I'm steaming through this book this morning and loving every word again!

Nooo!!  At page 53, the first (and hopefully only) star is coming off for the use of a distance learning university, potentially without permission.  I always hate it when I have to remove a star for copyright or trademark infringement in an otherwise very much 5 star book but I've gotta be fair to all the other books I've read and take the book down to four stars.  The good thing is though, that it's the only star I'll remove for this reason, so the author can quite easily use trademarks and copyrights to his heart's content now!  lol

Those poor nurses and cheeky Mr Lorenzo lol

Page 65 and a good place to stop to go and make my lunch I reckon.

I don't envy the doctor on the appointment that ended on page 104!  lol

I'm immensely glad that I didn't live in a time where they treated an STI with mercury!!

I'm stopping reading for the day at page 135 and hoping to start again tomorrow... it's another one of those "shoulda been 5 stars books" 'cos the words are incredibly absorbing, but the dratted use of those copyrighted and trademarked things meant that the star had to come off this morning otherwise it just wouldn't have been fair on other books that I've read and reviewed.

I'm regretting opening the packet of sweets at the start of the first chapter of the day lol

Poor Danni.  I can see it from both points of view, but that chapter really sounded like she'd hit rock bottom and having her kids back would encourage her to keep on climbing back out of the pit.  I can also see it from the doctors point of view though and he has to look after Danni but also think about what is best for her children's future too.

Page 175 now, so just under 100 pages left to read this afternoon and I'm enjoying every word again!

At page 229 now and it seems to be the end of the book, other than the humourous "notes" bit that was so much appreciated in the first book and the page count on my Kindle says that there are 43 pages left to read.  I think I'm remembering rightly that other books in this series have been adverts for other books in the "Confessions of..." series so we'll have to see if it's the same in this book too.

I was wrong, I'm sorry, there were just a couple of pages of humourous notes and now there are more tales from the doctor... I thought 40 pages of notes were maybe a bit long! lol 

Now *that's* the ending I was expecting to the book lol

Another very very good book and another "shoulda been 5 stars" one too.