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!

Magic Uncorked by Annabel Chase

Kindle Unlimited Audiobook Paperback
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews from the last few years, you'll already know how I always start all of my book reviews: by saying that each book I read and review starts off with the full membership of 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be 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 deem it necessary, but I always give my reason(s) within the review - they don't just disappear.

I loved the description of this book and I'm really hoping it'll give me a warm, fuzzy hug as I devour each page, so let's get going shall we?

Just finished the first chapter and really enjoyed it... could this be a 5 star book in the making already??

Oh dear.  A well-known video website has just been mentioned, so in fairness to other books that I've read and reviewed, the first star is unfortunately starting to wobble slightly.

And now there's a famous alcohol mentioned too, so one more mention of a Trademarked or even copyrighted item and the first star plops off unfortunately.

The end of chapter 2 came out of nowhere!  No spoilers, but is this maybe the kinda time to reach for the tissues already??

I was wrong, I'm sorry, the four female main characters has turned the potential for tears into respectful humour.  There have been mentions of the same trademarked items, but the star is already wobbly because of them, so it's not coming off for the repeated use.

At page 69, the first star is coming off for the use of a trademarked shopping channel on the television, so this is now, unfortunately, a 4 star book.

I'm up to chapter 9 on page 100 and the last chapter was a great one!  I'm not so sure that illegal drugs (at least they're illegal in the UK, I haven't got the faint foggiest clue about the rest of the world) should be included and the author has used some stereotypical language about what she *thinks* witches are like, rather than doing some basic research into real witches and Wiccans, but I guess the author is using the childhood image of a witch rather than a realistic Wiccan.

Chapter 12 is up next and this is a truly great book - the author is really in their stride now and I'm loving every word!

What a way to finish the book... I've barely looked away from the pages since lunchtime and my belly and throat are wondering what's going on lol  It's just about readable in one day... as long as you do pretty much nothing else lol

The Intercessors by D. L. Norris

Kindle Hardback Paperback

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Each book that I read and review starts off with the full 5 stars and I'm forever hopeful that they will all still be firmly routed in place by the time I close the back cover.

Going by the cover alone, it looks like this book is gonna be a pretty spiritual book maybe?  The description got me hooked and I hope it's a positive book to read!

Let's get going shall we?

It's been a bit of a slow start, but maybe that's intentional?  Maybe the author doesn't want the reader to rush through without thinking about every word that they read?  It's been a really good read so far and I'm really enjoying it... have I already, potentially, got a 5 star book on my hands??

I'm 13% of the way through and have yet to find a single negative thing to say, which is always a relief!

Up to 33% now and I'm still loving every word!  I've just finished reading the chapter at 34% and I have to admit that I'm feeling a touch emotional that things worked out so well for them but it also made me wish that I could have been offered that same lifeline or even just recognition while my late husband was alive!

At 51% I'm stopping for lunch... this book, IMNSHO is worth every penny!

Back now and I'm glad I waited until after lunch to read the next chapter 'cos I'm in floods of tears now!

Oh dear.  The author has used the name of a famous criminal and I'm not sure if that's legal or not, but it can't be safe, surely??

What a great end to a terrific book!  Just the right mix of heartbreak and positivity.  The last chapter was perfect to end the book on too.

Definitely worthy of the full 5 stars.

One & Only by Maurene Goo

 Kindle    Audiobook     Hardcover     Paperback

⭐ out of 5

Each book I've read in the last few years I've always started the review off in the same way:  each book I read and review starts off with the full heart of 5 stars and I'm forever hopeful that they will all still be firmly in place by the time I finish the book.  I'm not shy about removing stars if I feel it necessary though, but I always give my reasons within the review - stars don't just vanish.

The author is American, so I'll try and remember not to comment on the missing u's and reading dollars instead of pounds... I just hope she hasn't used any American brands that I've never heard of and any she *has* used are with permission!

It's one of my longer books at just over 300 pages, so I hope the author has written it so that I don't forget what I've already read when I stop for meals and to go to bed etc, 'cos I'm guessing it'll be a 2-day book maybe?

The first star is coming off already and I haven't even read the first word of the book yet!  On my Kindle, the cover of the book is in quarters over the first four pages and there's no way for me to skip past it.  The first page of the story is just as bad because it's got the letter D on the first two lines under the number 11 then the first word is missing it's first letter.  Unless it rapidly improves it'll be a DNF before I even get to the second chapter!!

The second sentence on the first page, the word "lilac" has been repeated after the full stop without a space.  The font is emboldened throughout the first page too, so that's the second star coming off and I'm already getting a headache after reading 2 sentences!!

Oh dear, I'm on the third page and the author has used an American brand that I've heard of, so the next star is wobbly already.  I wanna give this book and author a fair chance though, so unless it's repeated several times, the star is clinging on by its fingernails right now.

And now a fashion designer that I've heard of (and I've heard of barely any fashion designers, so that's saying something!)... I'm giving the author one more chance before the star comes off.

And there it goes after the use of a name of a multi-national, probabbly world-widely famous spreadsheet programme.  I've given the author and book 3 chances which I think is very fair of me, but there have been 3 star losses within the first chapter, so there's only one left to go before it becomes another DNF unfortunately.

Oh boy.  There are all kinds of mistakes, especially the bold font throughout and the extra letters and repeated words fairly frequently.  It could just be my Kindle (although other books are fine on it) but my eyes are aching and getting strained which my optician has recently said to avoid, so the final star is coming off and it's another DNF before the end of the first chapter and at only 2% of the book unfortunately.

The Three Most Important Lessons You've Never Been Taught by Martin Lewis

Kindle     Paperback

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

All of my more recent book reviews have started in the same way - by saying that every book I read and review starts off with the full classroom of stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be in place by the time I close the book.  They also say that I'm not afraid to remove stars if I feel it necessary, but I always give my reasons within the review, they don't just disappear.  Saying that though, I've replaced a star twice so far because of a magical little sentence at the back that has removed the reason I took it off in the first place.

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

Apparently this book will take a smidgen over an hour to read, so hopefully I'll be able to get it finished and this review written before today's deliveries arrive.

I totally agree with what he is saying about fashion... all my clothes are bought when I *need* them and they've literally got holes in them.  The closest I've got to following fashion was to get some non-NHS glasses for the first time in my life because I needed them (my prescription had changed) and I could afford it.  It'll be the same on Thursday with my reading glasses - I need them because my prescription has changed significantly and I can afford it right now.  I'll also use both sets of glasses daily so that I can see and hopefully avoid the eye strain the optician explained about with the reading glasses.  They won't be at the height of fashion but they will be more colourful and upbeat and outgoing that I can wear with any of my current clothes so it'll be worth the extra money to me.

Just finished the first lesson and it's made me think.  I used to be a lot worse with impulse buys and got into huuuge financial debt because of it.  I learnt the hard way that cheaper doesn't necessarily mean worse, it can mean that you're getting exactly the same thing but without the brand name.  I recently discovered that buying a famous brand of "Veggie Fingers" were exactly the same as the supermarket own brand "vegetable fingers" just with a heftier price tag and the only reason I got them is because they were a substitute on my groceries delivery and I needed them for that week's meals!

There have been the usual Trademark issues, so the first star is coming off an otherwise 5 star book again.

It's been a useful book and I understand what compound interest is now and how I got into the financial crisis that I did and why it was so hard to break free from it.

Just finished reading the book and it took *a lot* longer than an hour, but it's been so worthwhile.  I'd say to get the paperback version though, as certain parts were unreadable because they were so small on my Kindle.

All in all, a very worthwhile book.

Fragments of a Decent Man by Christopher Parent

Kindle Unlimited     Paperback

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Each book I read and review stars off with the full five stars but I'm never afraid to remove them and always give my reason(s) within the review.  The usual reason for me heartbreakingly removing a star from an otherwise five star book is because of copyright or trademark infringement.  There is a magic little sentence that has appeared in two books so far where the lost star is replaced thanks to a magic little sentence either at the start or end of the book and I'd love to see that happen each time I feel I have to remove a star.

At the time of starting to read this book, 11 readers have rated it an average of 4.8 stars so I'm trying to remain hopeful that this'll be a great book, deserving of the full load.

Let's get reading and reviewing shall we?

Apparently, at my reading speed, this book will be finished in 4 hours and 6 minutes, so it could potentially be a late night tonight if I can't stop reading or an early start tomorrow morning.

The first chapter was a bit boring, so I hope that doesn't set the tone for the rest of the book 'cos I've already skipped ahead.  If chapter 2 is no better then the first star is coming off through boredom... I hope this won't be my second DNF in 2 days!

Oh boy.  I didn't even finish reading the first page of chapter two before I skipped to the end of the chapter from the absolute boring dullness of it.  The first star is coming off at page 36 unfortunately.

I hope the third chapter is more interesting but I've already skipped most of the first two chapters, so it's not looking good unfortunately.

Chapter three is about sport which is an incredibly boring subject for me, so I'm skipping ahead for the third time in as many chapters.

Chapter four seems to be about running, which is sport, so I'm officially giving up and declaring this my second DNF in as many days unfortunately.   I'm sure that, for the right audience, this would be a good book, I'm just not enjoying it at all unfortunately.

Maybe that's why this book got such a high rating?  The previous eleven readers quickly gave up reading it too but didn't want to disappoint the author if it got better in later chapters?

It's a 4 star book that I DNF.

Becoming Still: A Tale of Wild Places and Inner Reckoning by SEJ SARAIYA

Kindle Unlimited     Paperback

⭐⭐ out of 5

Have you read any of my other book reviews from the last few years?  If so, you'll know that I always start them off with the full packing of 5 stars and that I'm always hopeful that they will all still be stuck firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.  You'll also know that I don't just knock off stars for no reason, I always give my reason(s) within the review.  The most common reason I make a book 4 stars when it should be a 5 is because of copyright or trademark infringement within the book.  I've replaced a lost star twice so far after a magic little sentence right at the back of the book and I'm more than happy to do it again in future if that sentence is there.

I've got high hopes for this book because at the time of reading it has 1 review which has given it the full 5 stars.  I haven't read the review 'cos I prefer to read each book with an open mind, rather than being influenced by others' opinions before I've even opened my Kindle.

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

Ooh!  The book starts off with an "Author's Note" and what she has written makes me think that there are some controversial/discriminatory pieces within her book.  She has chosen to present the work as it was originally written in 2012 so it'll be interesting to see what she has to say!

Just before the start of the first chapter, there's what looks like a long photo and tiny writing which are both unseeable on my Kindle so I hope that's the only image in this book like that so that I don't have to remove the first star already.

Oh dear, there's the brand name of a car in chapter two, so we've got two wobbly stars already!

I'm glad that this is a relatively short book 'cos so far I've been bored out of my brain!  I'm up to page 9 of 77 and I've yet to read anything that takes my interest... if this is the authors dull work from 2012 then I *seriously* hope she's improved now!!

Up to chapter 4 and it's such a dull, boring book that the first star is officially plopping off with the other two still wobbly.  I'm glad I didn't read the review that's already up first otherwise I would have been even more disappointed that he or she had thought so highly of the book!

I'm giving this book until the end of chapter 4 before I officially give up on it and declare it another DNF.

OK, I've just finished the fourth chapter and it didn't improve so I'm declaring it another DNF unfortunately and I'm taking the two wobbly stars off too because they don't deserve to stay on.

Welcome to Amanda's new blog!

Amanda has been a bookworm since childhood and she's now in her late 40's but still has that same passion for books.

This blog will have all of the reviews of books she's read so that she can keep them all together.  There could and probably will be all sorts of book reviews on here because she reads most books.

There will occasionally be ARC and DRC reviews of books that haven't been released at the time of the review.

Every book will be rated in the same way - up to 5 stars and the first paragraph always being an explanation that stars don't just disappear, each star loss is explained.

This blog has been started on 21st January 2026 so each book that I read after that will be on here.

There will be children's, grown-up's and adult books but I'll try not to swear.  There will be fiction and non-fiction and all the types within each of those.  I want to try and read a couple of cozy thriller and cozy horror books to see if they give me nightmares like their non-cozy equivalents do. 

I started to read a book a couple of days ago, but the text was too tiny to read, even with my nose almost touching the screen so I gave it a one star review and let the publisher know why.  That got corrected within hours but there were now numbers at the start/end of every line so I took a few photos and sent them to the publisher who fixed it by the close of business yesterday (20th January 2026) so I'm gonna try and read it again today.  It's a long book with over 300 pages so it'll take a few days, but that will be the first review and I'm hoping the last one with so many niggles to sort out.

Please sit back and relax as you get to know me through each review that I post on here.