Nobody Does it Better by Samantha Chase
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A battle of hearts that will have readers rooting for love. Nobody Does It Better brings the sweet to a sassy romance. Chase turns an uphill climb into a trek that proves well worth the travel. From mortal enemies to unpredictable attraction, Ryder and Peyton are a wild ride that plays the heart and teases the senses. Irresistible indeed.
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Since You've Been Gone by Samantha Chase
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Since You've Been Gone is a welcome reminder of the genius that is Samantha Chase. She leads with heart. Tempts with humor and seduces with romance. Emmaline and Garrett take emotions on a tumultuous ride of love, life and heartache that will tug at the heartstrings. Small town romance with big personality.
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Non-fiction
This is an alternative therapy book based on serious study of therapeutic sound. It asks the fundamental question, how does sound affect our well being?
It has been established scientifically that we respond to music or to abrasive sounds with our moods, but the premise of this book is that sound also has a physical effect on us. When you think about how our nervous system is affected by sounds from relaxing music or the purring of a cat, to grating noise, the idea of physical effects becomes plausible.
The first chapter will be most accessible by those who have studied music theory. While the author repeatedly assures the reader that it isn't necessary to have studied music to use sound healing, the frequent references to the effects of "a perfect fifth" and other musical terms left me feeling like I was missing something.
The subsequent chapters define what is meant by the word 'healing' and some history from different parts of the world of how sound has been used for meditation, including Tibetan spirit bowls and chanting. In the fourth chapter the Om chant that is familiar to most people gets a basic explanation.
In the fifth chapter we are told what happens in a sound healing session. The author writes about using voice intoning, Tibetan spirit bowls, gongs, drumming and a crystal version of the spirit bowl. Different effects from high and low tones are mentioned, but to my surprise there didn't seem to be detailed techniques. It sounded pretty much the same as hippy/Pagan/Alternative practices.
The subsequent chapters cover attentive listening, some expansion on rhythms and self-experimentation and further resources, including the author's website where CDs and MP3 downloads are for sale, the British Academy of Sound website where courses are available and several other website addresses.
While the book gives a good overview of sound therapy, I would like to have seen more detail about both application and how it works. It strikes a balance between 'new age' techniques and scientific study, but I felt that it only touched on the latter and could have expanded more.
Still, I'd say it's a good starting off point and the subject probably takes extensive study to become a sound therapist. I'd still like to know what constitutes a 'perfect fifth' and how that resonates with the nervous system to create effects.
by Myron Uhlberg
Non-fiction
This is the story of a boy with normal hearing growing up with deaf parents and the issues that caused in a time when disability awareness was significantly less than it is now. It's a very personal story and the situation put a lot of responsibility onto a small child that was often stressful and at times heartbreaking.
Acting as an interpreter between his parents and the hearing world from the time he could talk, young Myron was sometimes put in the uncomfortable position between his father's temper flashes and people he didn't want to insult. Worse, when his younger brother developed epilepsy, he was the one who was expected to deal with seizures that his parents couldn't hear happening.
It was a lot to expect of a child and prevented him from having a normal childhood. Often the cruelty of ordinary people was such that they referred to the parents as "dummies" because they couldn't communicate in ways the general population were used to. It's an ongoing problem today with companies that only offer customer service by phone, assuming anyone deaf can afford specialist equipment for phone communication and not catering to the hard of hearing at all.
It was well written and gave insight into the life of a person born into unusual circumstances. I felt it ended at just the right point too, though I wonder how his parents got on after he grew up and moved away. I think this kind of story is useful for people to get insight into what it's like to grow up in a family where disability creates special circumstances, so those who haven't had this experience can develop empathy for the diversity of people who live among us.
From heart tingles to heartaches, Magnolia Sound is the premier destination for swoonworthy romance. Samantha Chase started something special with a little slice of heaven, irresistible characters and tempting storytelling. From heroes that dare to dream to heroines determined to make their mark and emotions that will forever endure, Magnolia Sound just keeps getting better. And Then One Day, let's readers revisit own friends while finding new ones. Court and Dean turn what if into a sentimental ride into forever. A heartwarming love story that's been years in the making.
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