review: take a chance on me …

Review : Take A Chance On Me …

✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿

[rwp_reviewer_rating_stars id=”0″]

 

Introduction …

As part of ME Awareness 2021, I am fundraising for The ME Trust UK by taking up one of their challenges.

I am going to read 10 books in 10 months and will review each one once I’ve finished it. Below you will find the review for one of the ten books that I read as part of this challenge.

Why …

I have been sick since 1984. It took till 2001 for doctors to diagnose me with ME. Initially, I was mildly sick then moderately but in recent years I’ve progressed to being severely affected. I am housebound and often bedbound for months on end.

I really want to raise awareness and to raise money to help research #endME.

I am planning on reading ten books in ten months starting 12th May, which is international ME Awareness Day. At one time in my life I could have read ten books in ten days. But this challenge will be hard for me to do.

So please please if you can support me and help raise money for the ME Trust UK

YOU CAN DONATE BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW:

ME Awareness Fundraising : Ten Books In Ten Months

Take A Chance On Me by Beth Moran …

Beth Moran initially worked as a biochemist and then taught antenatal classes before becoming an author. She loves to write contemporary women`s fiction set in and around Sherwood Forest, where she lives with her family.

Book Synopsis … (taken from book cover, can be skipped ↴)

Emma has four younger sisters, all of whom are married or getting married, and an Italian mother who can’t understand what is ‘wrong’ with her eldest daughter, who seems to be stranded on the shelf. Despairing of her own ability to find a suitable husband, Emma agrees to be part of a compatibility project to get married at first sight.

Meanwhile Cooper is struggling to get over his crush on Bridget and seems destined to stay firmly on the shelf too. Perhaps it’s time his fate was taken out of his hands…

Is happily-ever-after just about daring to take a chance, or do you need some extra magic to make love last?

Join Beth Moran, Cooper and the Donovan sisters on this life-affirming and uplifting tale of love, family, friendship, and risking it all for happiness.

Book Genre …

Take a Chance on Me falls into the Fiction, Romance, genres.

About The Book …

See above in the synopsis for additional information.

As well as the kindle edition I bought the audible version just in case I wasn’t well enough to actually read the book.

The kindle edition has 356 pages and at my reading speed a suggested reading time of 6 hours 1 minute.

On audible it has a listening time of 9 hours 44 minutes. It is narrated by: Rosalind Steel who reads well and has a really great voice for the accents and different genders.

The book is mainly about the family values and lives of the Donovan sisters, mainly Emma and her part in a compatibility project by Cooper her project husband, and Bridget her younger sister, as well as the relationship the girls have with their parents. Interestingly, because I am reading it for ME awareness and as well as not knowing prior, the book mentions quite early on about the father protagonist being sick and eventually being diagnosed with ME. Hearing this made me prick my ears up the whole way through just looking for references to ME to see if they were correct or incorrect.

Why I Chose This  Book …

I choose the book based on the fact that the kindle copy was on offer for £0.99. But, due to ill health I ended up buying the audio version and mainly listening to that over reading the actual book.

How I Found The  Book …

I really enjoyed the book and absolutely loved how the author wove in information about ME/CFS in relation to the Donovan sisters’ father. In this regard the author manages to show and express true empathy from a standpoint of having a good understanding of the condition and what it is really like having ME, how it impacts on everything, every aspect of life and family. I will have to research if this author has ME herself or has someone close to her that has it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found it to be well rounded. I also feel very grateful to unexpectedly find ME being discussed and woven in and so thank the author for this too.

Critical Comments …

The family saga element was enjoyable and believable. However, I found the compatibility research project a tad unbelievable although enjoyable to read in the context of relationships.

I seriously love the author for including a father with ME and alluding to its impact not only on the father himself but on the employment, leisure and family time of everyone in and related closely to the family. I cannot praise her enough for this and for also taking advice from someone with ME too because there is so much disbelief and controversy around the realness of this illness that her inclusion is based on truth is extremely important to me.

Lessons To Learn From The Book …

I think I have to dwell on the ME aspect of this book as I really wasn’t expecting it to be there. I feel grateful it is there. But also, I sincerely hope that none ME readers learn from the little bits of illness information included and can appreciate the how regarding whole life changing this illness is.

I feel I must conclude this section with the author’s acknowledgments regarding the ME information source and concluding note.

Acknowledgements Emily Sturgess generously gave her precious time and energy in reading through some early extracts. Her thoughts on the topic of living with ME/CFS were extremely helpful. As always, to everyone who has read my books, taken the time to write a review or get in touch – I’m so very grateful. Knowing you are out there reading and loving my books means more than I can say.

Author’s Note ME (myalgic encephalopathy or encephalomyelitis) is a complex neurological disease that affects up to a quarter of a million people in the UK, and 20 million worldwide, with 25% housebound or bedbound. Historically, ME has been widely misunderstood and research has been severely lacking in funding, so to date there is no known cure or effective treatment. The ME Association has invested over £1million in biomedical research in recent years. For more information or to make a donation, please visit meassociation.org.uk. Similarly, the Open Medicine Foundation (OMF) is spearheading research via collaboration with leading scientists and clinicians around the globe. You can find out more about this vital work at www.omf.ngo.

Favourites Quotes …

he finally got the answer we’d been dreading. Dad had ME, otherwise known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome …

Dad had days he could barely get up on his literal feet, the life he’d given his all to build for himself, and more importantly for his family, began to fade into the past …

‘But Dad can’t.’ Would it stop one day, the reminder slugging into my guts like a slow-moving sledgehammer, stirring up anger and sadness at how my dad was only allowed snatches of normal life, constantly weighing up every activity against how it would impact him for the rest of the week? I hated it. I hated what his life had become …

My Likes & My Dislikes …

See below …

Book Vs Movie …

There is no movie and I’m not sure if it would make a good movie, unless it was a romantic comedy.

Actually, well yes, maybe it could make a nice story line and also have an ME awareness element to it.

A movie might be good.

Final Notes & Recommendation …

I enjoyed reading this book. It was light hearted but also because it discussed ME it felt deeply personal to me. That said, the main storyline regarding the compatibility research didn’t feel believable.

I would recommend the book as a nice and enjoyable read, which as I keep saying also informs nicely about ME.

I found nothing at all that I didn’t enjoy about the book even if I felt it was far fetched at times. My views are reflected in the scores I gave to each area out of 10.

See below for my most important pros and cons in relation to the book.

The Important Bits …

Take a Chance on Me …

[rwp_box id=”0″]

[rwp_reviewer_rating_stars id=”0″]

 

Disclaimer

I bought Take a Chance on Me with my own money and all the views and opinions stated are my own. Anything in the review should not be used as law, it is simply my own honest and personal opinion. It is not medical advice, I am not medically qualified, and should not be used as such.

Please see Reviews Disclaimer … for my full disclaimer policy.

 fragmented.ME xXx