Senseless

** spoiler alert ** "

A quote:
“Beth was so tired of this. How many times did she have to remind them? Signing British Sign Language was not just gesturing and repeating what you heard. It was translating from English to another language.” (Quote from ARC)

This is a very compelling story of what it means to be a sign language interpreter – with glimpses into deaf culture and how deaf and hearing people see/apprehend the world differently – and also a great depiction of a young man living with multiple sclerosis.
I really liked the take on the difficulties and challenges of moving between two different worlds and languages, whether you’re a sign language interpreter or a translator, and the professional ethics and obligations of these jobs.
I found the romance a bit underdeveloped – Beth and Sam only meet halfway through the book – but the portrait of a young and very troubled woman trying to excel at BSL, without patronizing her clients, is amazing.
I loved the hero – although I would have liked to see more of him. It’s unusual to find such a wounded hero, and the description of the ups and downs of his condition was very believable.
With his optimism and strength, firefighter Sam turns out to be an endearing and strong character.
The heroine’s struggles are, in a way, more difficult to watch, but still realistic. I guess depression, alcoholism and casual sex are less interesting conditions/inclinations in terms of fiction, but her traumatic past and hidden scars make those issues understandable.
I enjoyed the British setting and the secondary characters too.

Very good book about figuring out who you and where you are headed. Well written and engaging it will definitely stay with you long after the last page. Definitely pick up this gem of a book Happy reading!

"Senseless" by Anna Lickley.

5 stars.
I loved it! A real page turner!
Well written, easy to follow, believable, interesting story, good characters you get to know and care about...
Unlike most of the things you read this is based on the author's real issues, so it makes details, everything interesting and believable. This feels real, this IS real! It will change the way you see people with disabilities, how you interact.

This is a good book you will enjoy!

And I want to tell you, Anna Lickley, you are talented, you are brave, you don't want pity, you want to help others with their disabilities! Amazing! Congratulations!
And keep writing, I will keep reading!

Thank you NetGalley and Unbound for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

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I absolutely LOVED this book! It features a main character who is a sign language interpreter and also multiple characters with various disabilities. Finding books with accurate portrayals of disabilities is so rare these days. As someone with a physical disability, there are many accurate portrayals of what it looks like to live with a disability, but this one is getting it right so far. Heck yeah, Anna Lickley!