Hands by Lauren Brown - [Review]

Hands by Lauren Brown
[Review]

Print Length: 240 pages
Publisher: HarperNorth

Publication date: 20 January, 2022

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

I didn’t give my hands much thought before they turned against me. They’ve not attempted to snatch away my life in any literal sense – thankfully my unwell brain and its troubled, dexterous agents have never veered in that direction – but at the time I’m, we’re, writing this, it would not be untrue to say that they have been chipping away at my life, slowly, slowly, in a way I could never have predicted.


When an unexpected, life-altering mental disorder upended writer Lauren Brown’s life, she knew the only way to get to the root would be to find the thread – wound, red, around trees, tangled and frayed in places – and start following it with her hands, hands that had betrayed her, back to the root. What emerges is not only an attempt to redirect the anxiety that’s pooled in her fingertips for as long as she can remember, released in odd bursts in caravan parks, on the north-east coast, in school assembly but a journey towards forgiveness, acceptance, and a love-song to the north.

Review

Hands is a memoir of Lauren's life and journey with her struggle with dermotillomania, a form of OCD. This story really took me back to my own childhood as Lauren talks about her music taste, the good old days of MSN and of course DJ Smally! Whilst this book is absolutely hilarious, it really delves deep into important topics of mental health which other people shy away from. Lauren tries to discover the root of her anxiety and I found it interesting to see how her anxiety was present even as a child and how it became more apparent as she got older. This book isn't a self-help manual but is instead a true and raw depiction of how dealing with mental health affects everyday life. Personally, I found Lauren's honesty very inspiring and as someone who also suffers with their mental health, I know that articulating how you feel and putting your past on paper is far from easy. 

Hands explores Lauren's life and how her anxiety affects all parts of it such as school, relationships, her home life and her hopes. Hands deserves a big audience, it's relatable and funny but also takes a realistic approach in regards to dealing with mental health. 

This is the best book I have read which deals with a tough topic that will relate to many people, it's realistic, funny and heartbreaking all at once. I wish Lauren the very best for her future and that all her strength and courage is rewarded.

                              Pre-order Hands now

Amazon Link: Hands: An Anxious Mind Unpicked: Amazon.co.uk: Brown, Lauren: 9780008465766: Books

Foyles Link: Hands: An Anxious Mind Unpicked - Lauren Brown; | Foyles Bookstore

About The Author

Lauren Brown is a 26 year old woman who is from Billingham, Teesside in the North East of England. Lauren now lives and works as a writer in London. Hands is Lauren's debut novel which is to be released on January 20, 2022. 

Follow Lauren on Twitter: @Laurenrbrown95

Broken Sky by L.A Weatherly - [Review]

 Broken Sky by L.A Weatherly 
[Review]

Print length: 400 pages
Publisher: Usbourne Publishing Ltd
Publication date: 1 March 2016

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

Welcome to a ‘perfect’ world.

Where war is illegal, where harmony rules.

And where your date of birth marks your destiny.

But nothing is perfect.

And in a world this broken, who can Amity trust?

From the bestselling author of the Angel trilogy comes Broken Sky – an exhilarating epic set in a daring and distorted echo of 1940s America and first in a new trilogy.

My Review

"We'll make them harmonious even if it destroys them"

This is the first book of L.A Weatherly that I have read and I'm not going to beat around the bush, I loved it! Over the years I have read many YA fantasy books and I am happy to say that this was was like a fresh breath of air. This book is so stunningly original that I fell in love with it before I was even thrown around by all the twists that are packed in this book.

Amity is a peacefighter, just like her dad. Growing up Amity had always admired her father for his job but when he sadly died, she knew she wanted to follow in her beloved father's footsteps and become a peacefighter. In this world, war no longer existed, they fought all their battles by having the opposing countries enter a plane fight and whichever plane is the first to be downed wins whichever rights and privileges they were fighting for, it's a safer alternative to war as the pilots have parachutes and safety methods but it is still a risky business. Amity adores being a peacefighter despite the dangers and she is proud to be preventing war and keeping the harmony between countries whilst winning rights for her country, however, this all changes when Amity realises that the fight that she lost wasn't what it appeared to be and Amity is thrown into a whole new world where her very beliefs are corrupted to the core and she can trust no one.

To my delight, there is no instalove which I find absolutely abhorrent and all the characters in this story are well thought out characters with skills and flaws making them feel all the more real. When Amity's childhood friend Collie enters the scene it is clear that they have a whole lot of history, most of it good but some bad. Amity is reluctant to trust her old friend as she felt betrayed by his previous actions but over time her hardness towards him thaws and they become more than just childhood friends but lovers. The entire time I was reading this book I felt uneasy about Collie, it feels almost too good to be true and I may just be right? Maybe the second book in the series will reveal whether my thoughts on him are right or wrong. 

The main villain in this universe is a charismatic albeit eccentric man called John Gunnison. To me, he sounded very similar to 'Hitler' with the charismatic charm but also the dictatorship, concentration camps and other barbaric activities that he was up to. John Gunnison strongly believes in astrology and has people working for him that tell him who is trustworthy or who is dangerous to his cause based on the star signs and as crazy as it sounds, people believed it and when people were dragged from their homes and their children, they just turned their heads the other way too scared to do or say anything.

This book had me so immersed that as soon as I finished it, I was reaching for the second book in the series. I am not sure what took me so long to read it but don't make the mistake I did, read it now! 

Click here for the Amazon purchase link 

About The Author

L.A Weatherly was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She now lives with her husband and their cat Bernard, in Hampshire, England, where she spends her days -  and nights! - writing. 

L.A Weatherly is the author of over fifty books, including the bestselling Angel trilogy. Her work has been published in over ten different languages. 

Follow L.A Weatherly on Twitter: @LA_Weatherly

Find L.A on Facebook here.

The Scavenger by Aidan Lucid - [Review]

The Scavenger by Aidan Lucid 
[Review]

Print length: 146 pages

Publication date: 16 February 2021

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

"A trio of friends leap into a mystical and dangerous adventure to better their troubled lives in The Scavenger by Aidan Lucid. A coming-of-age story with heavy allegorical elements, this YA novel highlights the power of friendship amidst struggle, and reveals the hidden consequences of chronic trauma, bullying, and abuse in young people. The story may have undertones of “be careful what you wish for,” but the themes Lucid explores are important and timely. Blending fantastical elements with relatable relationships, authentic dialogue, and common struggles too often left undiscussed, this book does what YA literature should always strive for ”" educate, entertain, and inspire." - Self-Publishing Review.

Three Separate Wishes. One Twisted Nightmare!

Just like Hopps Town, their humble home, Jessica Barlow, Jared Duval, and Adrian Cole are fostering dark secrets. Plagued by loss, cruelty, and physical abuse, these friends are kindred spirits, bound by anguish and elusive dreams. They’re soon to find the key to change, but any happy future will demand they face a haunting past and brave a lethal present.

Deep in the forest on the outskirts of town, aging and nearly forgotten, there stands a well from another time. Happening upon this relic, Adrian goads his companions to join him in making a wish. Soon, difficult though it is to admit, their luckless lives do seem to shift. The only problem is, the changes aren’t at all as they’d imagined. Seemingly, they’ve only left the pan to face the fire.

Should they hope to both survive and thrive, they’ll need to pool their wits and draw on mystic inner-power. Solving Hopps Town’s greatest mystery now means life or death.

Review

Be careful about what you wish for

This story is told through the eyes of three teenagers Jared, Adrian and Jessica who are all locals at Hopps Town. The story is dark from the moment you begin it which definitely had me engaged from page one. Jared is from a religious family but his mum is struggling to come to terms with Jared's sexuality as she doesn't view being gay as part of God's plan, however, it is clear from the start that she does love her son. By all accounts, Jared's home life seems like a relatively happy one but at school is tormented by a homophobic bully who is making his life hell, he just wants to escape her grip and find someone with who he can be happy with. One point of concern for me about Jared is that his character seems underdeveloped, the author had a great chance to really dive into the issues surrounding his sexuality but chooses never to really delve into it and it seems like a great lesson that could have been taught was missed, nevertheless, Jared was a likeable character who easily kept me entertained, I just wish there was more depth to his character. A further issue that I had with this character was that the author states that he is a black male which is enough in itself but the author then goes on to make Jared speak completely different to his other friends as if to highlight that Jared is black, it seemed excessive and needless. 

Jessica's home life is in ruins, her mother has completely turned her back on her since Jessica's father disappeared, again I think a more in-depth back story as to why her father left would have been great and why exactly her previous loving mother turned into such an abusive and hateful woman towards her daughter. Jessica's mother seemingly takes a u-turn and become the loving mother Jessica has longed for but there is a much darker reason as to why this has happened. I thought Jessica was an ok character but felt more could have been done to make her character more complex.

Adrian is the guy that all girls swoon over but really he just wants someone beautiful to love. I found Adrian much harder to like, I felt like his whole character was very bland and that he wasn't really necessary for the story.

Overall, the book was very engaging and it's great for a quick spooky read, however, I feel like the author made potentially brilliant characters but didn't develop them enough. I really enjoyed the plot which serves as a warning to be careful about what you wish for. Aidan is clearly talented and I feel with just a few tweaks he could really perfect his work. 

Thank you to Aidan for the copy of "The Scavenger" in return for an honest review. 

About The Author

                                                

Born in July 1981 with a very rare syndrome known as Moebius Syndrome, Aidan has never let that stop him achieving his goals in life. Mr. Lucid began writing back in 2002 after a religious experience. In 2004 after plucking up the courage to send out his material, he was published seven times that year. Over the next decade, Aidan's works appeared in various local and international anthologies, magazines and e-zines. From March to December 2007, Aidan wrote film reviews for the award winning Irish newspaper, "The Kerryman".

In 2019 Aidan's YA epic fantasy novel, "The Lost Son" was published. He hopes to release the sequel in 2020 (Taken from Amazon).

Follow Aidan Lucid on Twitter: @TheZargothian