NOWHERE MAN by Deborah Stone #RBRT

 3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: complex domestic, psychological drama

This is the sort of story that makes you keep turning the pages because, even if you're pretty sure what's going on, you suspect that there might be another twist, and maybe even one more... 

Deborah Stone has a relaxed, flowing writing style that made this book an 'easy read'.  The plot was well structured, with the complex web of events and deceptions slotting together nicely, and all the intricacies and character history being woven in at just the right time.   

I did have a few issues with the novel as a whole, though.  For the plot to work as well as it did, both Diana and Angie needed to be unusually insular, with little or no social life, or awareness of anything outside their own tiny corner of the world.  The reasons for this are revealed over the course of the book but, having said that, many of the attitudes seemed to come from another era.  I wondered, at first, if the story was set in the 1970s or 80s.  A secondary character, Julia, I also found problematic; in her first scene she manages to eat almost an entire sponge cake, which was amusingly written, giving the extra detail that fleshes out a secondary character so well.  I thought the pudding was somewhat over-egged, though, her self-indulgence highlighted in almost every scene she was in.  I found the dialogue unrealistic, too, with these characters.

The males, however, worked much better.  Daniel's story was good to read, while Ben and Patrick were convincing, as was Diana's mother.

To sum up, the plot is compelling, and I did enjoy it - I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a cracking plot and is able to suspend disbelief - but aside from a couple of mentions of WhatsApp, the online world with all its possibilities (especially where scammers, tracking people down and the general gleaning of information are concerned) seemed to barely exist.  As a contemporary story, it didn't feel quite feasible.

TIME AND TIDE by Marie Keates @marie_keates #TuesdayBookBlog

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link) 
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I'd read a couple of others by this author.

In a Nutshell: Dunkirk 1940, from several points of view

The time and place of this book, about the evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk in early summer 1940, is so well rounded out, as the author alternates between the story of the Hariph, Bert and Denis, who set out to take part in the rescue effort, of George and his friends in the Service Corps, trapped in the middle of enemy lines - and, lastly, the wives at home in Southampton, England.  The family connections and histories are quite complicated, with many names to remember, but they began to slot into my head after the first couple of chapters - proof that they became three dimensional!  The characters come from the author's previous series, so I did recognise some of them.

Marie Keates is something of an authority on the history of Southampton, and I liked reading such interesting detail as the delivery men at home using horses rather than vans because, unlike in the First World War, the horses had not been requisitioned, and fuel was hard to come by.  I was struck by the people's innocence in this earlier age, despite all they had been through, and also by the fact that their values were focused on the health and safety of others as well as themselves; a less self-centred era.

Time & Tide is a story about the bonds of friendship as well as family, about self-sacrifice, courage and faith.  Now and again I felt opportunities to create atmosphere and tension were missed, though this is a wartime family drama about the people of Southampton, inspired by many of the author's own relatives, rather than a dark action adventure; as such, I'm sure it will hit the mark for many readers.

USS PRIMIS: The First Starship by M H Altis #RBRT

 3 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link) - available on Sept 30.
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Saving humanity by moving it 500 light years away - what could possibly go wrong?

At the start of this book, the story reminded me of Raised by Wolves, an HBO series I thought was inspired, in which androids are sent to a far away planet to raise children from protected embryos, after Earth is all but destroyed.  Great concept!  In the case of USS Primis, it's a team of astronauts with human and animal embryos, and the planet to which they travel in hypersleep is 500 light years away.  I loved the author's idea for how the sun is destroyed - that in a peace treaty, all nations agree to fire their nuclear weapons into space, with disastrous consequences.  No idea if this is what would happen, but it works here!

In a way this was like two novels  The setting up of the story was, I felt, far too long.  The first half is mostly told in captain David's 1st person, in the form of a captain's log/diary, etc.  He gives a description of each crew member, outlining various intricacies of their personality; I think this works on the screen but not in a novel, where it feels like an unnecessary 'information dump'.  In a film you see the face, which makes them more likely to stick in your head.  I prefer to discover a character by their thoughts, words and actions rather than being given an outline of their character traits.  Though the writing certainly flows and is most accessible, David's 'banter' mode of narrative in the first half of the book didn't really work for me.

After the character descriptions was a long section about their two months quarantine before lift-off day, which I found neither necessary nor convincing, as the crew seemed more like a group of students than mature, experienced astronauts, aware of the gravity of their mission.  I felt I was waiting for the story to start, all the way through the first half.

Then, book two.  So much better, and not what I expected at all.  Another great twist in the tale, this time told by an omniscient narrator.  No more details because *spoilers* - you should be as surprised as I was.  I am most interested in the short stories in which the plot moves in a different direction; I'd love to read about life on Nova.

To sum up - I think it needs a good, thorough developmental/copy edit by someone who really knows their stuff, to get rid of errors, and also to think through some of the content - the novel must surely be set far into the future, but the lifestyle and cultural references about the world they've left behind made it sound like they set off in 2024, or earlier.  I was also unconvinced by David not knowing (and being surprised) that the AI could track the exact whereabouts on the ship of any of the astronauts.  Wouldn't that be a most basic facility?  And one of them clearly has extremely dark psychological problems - would she have been chosen for a mission such as this?

However, it's a fabulous basic story with masses of potential, and the writing itself has a great deal of promise.  With input from an experienced editor who really knows their stuff, the best of both could be brought out.   

SIZE ALWAYS MATTERS by Sally Cronin @sgc58

 5 GOLD stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I've long been impressed by Sally's nutrition articles on her blog, so bought this when it came out.

In a Nutshell: Comprehensive guide to weight loss, exercise, nutrition and so much more.

This has to be the best book of its type that I've ever read.  Whether you want to lose a lot of weight, the odd stone, or simply to have a better understanding of nutrition and how your body works, I can't recommend this too highly.  Sally Cronin is a qualified, experienced nutritional therapist.

I consider myself to be an 'old hand' when it comes to nutrition, but the book taught me a whole lot more, and reminded me about (a few too many) aspects that I'd let slip.  I've just eaten a (lightly fried in olive oil) egg, smoked salmon and raw mushrooms for lunch - if I hadn't just read this book, the mushrooms might have been fried too, and I'd have included a slice of toast, albeit sourdough!  Also, for a long time now, when I've bought vegetables to last a few days, I've prepared them and put them in plastic zip-lock bags in the fridge, for easy use later in the day.  No longer - I've just discovered that this practice destroys half their nutritional value.  Who knew?

Sally's book reminded me, over and over again, that most of what we eat needs to be in its natural state, cooked from scratch; if we eat too much industrially produced, ultra-processed food we can suffer from malnutrition while still being overweight.  She includes shopping lists of all we need to obtain every vitamin and mineral, and how to facilitate the production of vital amino acids.  Throughout, she does not just give instruction, but tells you why.

As well as nutritional advice, the book contains detailed chapters about exercise, along with details of how many calories are burned by everyday activities, about the emotional reasons for overeating, advice on how to plan your weight loss programme, and there's an excellent recipe section at the back.  Sally also talks (in a refreshingly honest way) about her own experience - the long road that took her from morbidly obese to slim, healthy and positive.

Take it from one who knows.  This book is an absolute 'must have' for anyone who wants to lose weight and/or take care of their own health.