Book Review: The Hunger Inside by S0rceress0

Image:  An alley at night with rundown buildings on the left side.

Note:  I received this book to review.

Sam, a respected chief in the military, develops PTSD in the line of duty and retires to live life as a civilian.  After a false start, a string of bad luck, and the help of some unlikely people, Sam discovers something that gives her purpose… opening a restaurant in a rundown section of a city.

I liked Sam.  She’s a tough, biracial heroine who is confident, yet flawed.  She doesn’t take anyone’s crap and keeps the drive to obtain her goal even with a myriad of obstacles in her way.  She learns lessons from those she meets with a humble, open mind.

There were only a couple of tiny grammatical errors that didn’t distract from the story at all.  There were also no real formatting errors, though there were a few times the scenes jumped without a cut to indicate the scene change which was (only briefly) confusing.

The pacing in the beginning of the book seemed a little awkward at times, speeding through some aspects like they weren’t a big deal (though they affected Sam’s actions) and slowing down where it felt unneeded.  Once the book gets rolling, though, the pace feels just about right.

This book is great at showing equality and the difficulties in people`s lives, but there are some scenes and conversations that are only used as a way to bring up social issues with no other real point, even introducing characters for one such discussion and then having them disappear, never to be seen again.  Sam does learn things from these conversations, but it doesn’t always seem to benefit the story.  The dialogue beyond that issue (and a few info dumps) is fine, even witty without pretention, in spots.

The minor characters in the book to stay were quite eclectic and charming. I especially loved Elizabeth, a young woman with Down Syndrome who comes to work as a part-time employee. 

There was a section of another story within this book because Sam, at the time, was reading a fantasy novel.  I must be honest here, it pulled me too far out of the book and I thought things would be better served without it.

The settings were vivid.  Everything was detailed (sometimes, it felt a little excessive).  The restaurant seemed like a second main character and I could picture it clearly.  I wanted to go in, sit down, and talk to Sam for a while.

PTSD was portrayed well, I thought, as were the other disabilities/neurodivergences present in the novel.  They weren’t more focused on than the characters that had them, but weren’t swept into a corner, either.  It kept my eyes on the person, what they may do differently, and why it doesn’t matter one damn bit.

There was absolutely no romance or sex in this book, which I found refreshing. Outside of a mention of Sam finding a man attractive, that was the end.

And speaking of the end, it didn’t feel cheap… or easy.  It felt right, though other readers may not agree.  The last page makes an impact.

This book is a worthwhile read.

Interested?  Grab your copy here:  The Hunger Inside at Amazon.com
You can also visit her website.