This book is not within my typical wheelhouse, it's listed as a Fantasy book but honestly it should be more listed in the romance section. The author skipped the important information on this book which made it almost impossible to read.

I really loved the concept of this book but ended up struggling. Maybe a little bit "out there" for me and I disliked all the characters. It reminded me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers in parts.

Thank you for providing a copy of this book for review however I was unable to open the file for this document unfortunately! Apologies.

One person's quest to figure out a virus that is killing men and discover its origin before they are all obliterated.

When Samantha Davis and her boyfriend are in a car crash, his recovery seems to be a miracle. The same day a new virus is discovered, which affects men. Sam must decide what to do to stop this and choose who’s life is more important.

A great sci-fi book, with lots of twist and turns and honestly I had no idea where the story would go next! Definitely a different kind of story than the usual sci-fi out there.

I'm honestly not sure what I was expecting from this book when I got it from NetGalley, I guess I just thought it had the possibility of being an interesting afternoon read. 

This story starts off really slow, and strangely. The accident happens and I expected the world to go to hell faster, but it didn't. It takes a long time for the main character to notice something is wrong with her boyfriend. 

On top of that I didn't feel connected with Sam. Once her boyfriend starts to change he becomes more dominant and cave man-y, which in consensual relationship is okay, but the way he acts is just gross but for some reason she likes it. She and all of her girl friends start swooning for their now alpha-male boyfriend...Which is so weird! And I was uncomfortable with it.

Once the story does start to pick up I just found it confusing and problematic. There are a lot of abuse and rape or almost rape scenes in the book. The main character is as interesting as a pile of dirt, her one consistent trait is that she's flawlessly beautiful. I could go on but I think you all get the point. 

1 Star from me.

"Still Life" by Isobel Hart begins as if a psychological thriller is about to unfold. Samantha Davis is driving home from a wedding with her boyfriend, whom she has just encountered having a fling with another woman. That that ride is cut short by a catastrophic car accident caused by an eerie fog that suddenly mysteriously plagues London everywhere. As she tries to wrap her mind around the tangled mess of her boyfriend's betrayal and the car accident that has shaken up their lives, her boyfriend struggles to survive. Her disgust of the sudden enlightening of his true character forces her to question her own obligations to him after the accident. Is she really expected to stay with him and help him recover, as everyone, especially his parents, expects? Or should she move on and never look back as she had resolved to do in her mind during the antipathetic conversation with him in the car? Then, suddenly, her boyfriend takes a turn for the worse and dies...oh, wait...nope. Close call, but alas he is a fighter! The entire ordeal leaves Sam with a battle of the conscience, especially when he awakens after the struggle with his own life anew and seemingly morally transformed.

This is an intense beginning to a very intriguing plot that shifts into situations you could never imagine. I was engrossed in the constantly shifting plot that kept me invested in turning the pages. The book was very well written with characters of substance, all while calling into question the very social dilemmas being faced in today's society. I would suggest this book to anyone that enjoys a good dystopian, sci-fi, or even psychological thriller.

A bit of a twist on the old idea of how would men survive if women went "off". THe men have all been infected and the women have to learn to cope. Or learn to conquer.

Thanks to NetGalley and Livi Shaw Solutions for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After catching her boyfriend in the act with another woman at a wedding, Samantha is furious. She has had enough of Edward and his cheating ways, and this time she is done with him for good. But before Samantha can break up with Edward, move out of his apartment, and leave him behind forever, the two are in a serious car wreck. While Samantha suffered relatively minor injuries, it is unknown whether Edward will pull through.

The car accident just so happens to occur on a day when a mysterious pink fog has blanketed the world, cloaking everything in its hazy clouds. Officials don’t believe the fog to be dangerous, but it is just so strange ... what exactly is it?

While the world is still puzzling over the peculiar, ubiquitous fog, Edward does a complete 180, recovering from his horrific injuries. Samantha, who feels responsible for Edward’s care considering she caused him to suffer these injuries, reluctantly returns home with Edward only to learn that he’s not the same man that he was before. Edward is much more considerate and caring now, character traits that he never seemed to possess before. Samantha has heard of people recovering from car accidents completely changed, but is that what happened to Edward, or is something more sinister at play?

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Isobel Hart’s Still Life explores the aftermath of an alien virus attack on Earth. Earth’s men, when exposed to the virus, change into primal beings whose sole focus and purpose is to reproduce and take over the world by filling it with their spawn.

Still Life, a mix of dystopia and science fiction, reads surprisingly easy considering the genre. The story flows along nicely and doesn’t get bogged down in a lot of scientific and technical details. Hart also gives a lot of focus to Samantha and Edward’s relationship and the interactions between them, making this a compelling toxic love story as well.

Nonetheless, I had major issues with Still Life, most particularly in the latter half of the novel. The premise of alien men taking over the Earth and forcing women to have sex with them repeatedly was too much for me. Hart’s approach felt cheap and crude, and frankly not at all realistic. The women in this story were shallow and inconsistent. Samantha can’t decide if she loves Edward or hates him, switching back and forth between the two emotions within pages. Additionally, her jealousy of the other women that Edward was having sex with was preposterous. She knows that this man is not really Edward, yet she wants to carry his child and is envious of other women who receive his attention?! There was also a lot of girl-on-girl hate in this book, which did not bode well with me. Our societal structure falls, men act like animals, and as a result, all of the women turn on each other? Seems to me that this would be a prime time to band together, which would have made a much more powerful novel. As it stands, Still Life is too focused on pitting women against each other, and men salivating over anything with a vagina to ever be taken seriously.

This book had a really slow start and while i didn't hate it in the beginning it was not gripping...however, the story slowly evolved and about half way through i was hooked. It was at this stage the author seemed to get her grove...I however was rather frustrated to find that it was part of a series and will have to wait to see what happens next as the last 20 pages were the most interesting of all.
overall...an OK book...but i know a few people will have the patience to get to the gripping end.

Loved the concept on this. Kept me intrigued the whole time.
Realized about 90% in that this is going to be a series and can't wait to follow this.

amantha David and her boyfriend are in an argument over his infidelity at a wedding when a car crash in a mysterious fog changes their lives. Both injured Edwards appears to die but then comes back…actually a nicer and more affectionate man than before. However, Samantha starts noticing his controlling behaviour and others at his hospital out patients support group appear to have their own plans in motion. This sets up a global conspiracy theory with a huge element of romance.

The first half of the novel I think is quite interesting as I think Samantha initially comes across as very realistic character trying to work out what happened to the man she once loved and who appears even better than he was before. Several small mysteries are set up and as a group of men who all nearly dies that day appears to find each other and start working together there is a sense of tension towards something building up. Samantha finds Edwards have a darker agenda and are prepared to kill to preserve their secrets as he focuses on her getting married and having children. Added in the mix is a very charming hospital Doctor Elliot who Samantha confides in and has an obvious chemistry with.

Unfortunately, the second half of the novels falls apart as Samantha ends up captured and a previously engaging character seems to lose all agency and has to wait on others to save her be it Elliot out in the world trying to convince others of a revolution and Edwards who seems unusually attached to Samantha and willing to cross methods of the group to keep her to himself. The group in many ways appears a group of MRA activists but the themes get muddied in favour of the way Samantha becomes so desirable to the group.

Overall a less than satisfying reading experience and I don’t think I will be willing to read any more as to where Samantha’s fight to save the world goes.
‪Still Life by Isobel Hart https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2018/6/23/still-life-by-isobel-hart‬

Though I finished this book about a week ago, I just haven't been able to say something nice about it. And though I obtained this book through NetGalley for an honest review, I can't give it a good one. But thanks anyway.

Give me a good mindless zombie story. Don't give me a reason to read rape and abuse scenes and blame it on a virus. Please don't read this if you have issues with either of those. If you can get past that you might feel intrigued to see what might happen in book two. Me? Not so much.

Let's start with the strengths: this book has a gorgeous cover and an intriguing premise. However I felt like the book glossed over some of these interesting parts. Ultimately it is more romance focused than dystopian sci-fi, which I personally found less appealing. In general, I felt like this was an OK book that maybe had a GREAT book living inside it.

For example in this world, during a weird weather event a deep, pink fog occurs. It is through this fog that all men on earth catch a virus that is (in effect) hatched when the hosts die. When that happens a new consciousnesses take over the man's body--this new person is more prone to violent rages and more focused on sexual reproduction.

Sadly though, our understanding of this fog remains at that level. There is no further info on where the virus came from, what it smelled like, what it was like to be exposed to it, etc. All we know are the facts, because our hero, Samantha only sees its affects firsthand on one person, never hears fully about that person's experience, and never experiences it herself.

Sam, our hero, is a complicated character who I found difficult to connect to (especially from a romance standpoint.) Her relationship with the new "Edward" was a little hard to take. Even though he is frequently rapey and aggressive with her, and even though she knows that the real Edward is basically dead, Sam remains somewhat attracted to and possessive of him. I get from a narrative standpoint why this was choice was made, just didn't love the story going in that direction.

I also found her relationship with Eve, one of the "brood mares" to be hard to swallow. In the midst of basically a war and an attempt by an invasive species to take over the world, Sam is focused on catty girl fights and who Edward likes more? Kind of sad. Thankfully her other romantic relationship seemed more healthy/interesting.

I think, in the end, this book maybe just wanted a good match for my interests. For me, there was a lot happening in this story "off screen" (who are these warrior women? how do the creepy men invade the government? where did the virus come from?) and I really wanted to know more about those things and more world building rather than relationship/reproductive drama and Sam's thoughts. I'm sure there will be readers who feel very differently though.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

** spoiler alert ** **Received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

This book was not my cup of tea.



First of all, while marketed at Sci-Fi/Fantasy, this was definitely not either.



The premise is that the main character Samantha is dating a TOTAL D*****BAG who gets a virus that turns him into a non-traditional zombie.

Within two pages you find out she's walked in on him sleeping with someone else at a wedding. Then they get into a car accident and both end up in the hospital. She puts on a facade that she hasn't just caught him cheating and acts like the perfect girlfriend to his parents while he's recovering. (Also..his parents just disappear partway through the book...where did they go?) He wakes up, they go home - like she didn't just catch his cheating a**!! She pretty much immediately goes back to sleeping with him.



Then, in a classic domestic violence situation - he tries to kill her and she finally leaves him. Because walking in on him screwing someone else isn't enough reason.



Sam is made out to be this women who is so stunning she literally has men fighting over her - but she's one of the least likable characters I've read in a long time. The author tried to make her some kind of modern woman badass - in her 30s, not married, not really looking for marriage, apparently a kick boxer. But at the same time, she's just kind of on autopilot - she's dating a guy she knows is cheating on her, she hates her job but she won't go after what she's really passionate about -she's kind of extremely boring. For example, towards the end of the book the author writes this:

"'...Apparently they have plans for a chick flick night or something. Sounds horrific if you ask me.'

'I agree,' I muttered. It sounded like something Heidi would enjoy, but was my idea of hell. I'd rather have gone to a kickboxing class."


This woman has been kidnapped, nearly raped, and she hasn't fought back and now you find out she's a kick boxer?!



Shortly thereafter, she uses her magical kickboxing skills to get away from someone attacking her. It's like the author forgot she was a kick boxer, had her kick box some a**, then promptly forgot again - when she's attacked. AGAIN.



A few other reasons why Sam is so unlikeable:
-She's selfish - she routinely is able to have an impact and chooses not to. There's not even an internal struggle that's presented, like maybe she considered the selfless thing and feels guilty for being selfish. Nope.
-She bounces back and forth between guys, even though one cheated on her and tried to kill her and, oh, yeah, is a ZOMBIE!
-She's "perfect" -so beautiful all those zombie boys want her
-She has no depth.
-There's no character growth.
-She's kind of useless.

The book actually has a great premise - and totally could have been an amazing sci-fi book. Instead it's a book about a selfish, shallow girl who didn't want kids, accidentally gets knocked up, and runs away with a man who will take care of her and her baby, potentially screwing over the rest of the world. But that's okay, because who cares as long as she's safe?

She's probably a more realistic portrayal of how most people would react in those situations. She's definitely no sci-fi heroine and that, unfortunately, made for a long and painful read.



Lastly, the main thing I can't really forgive this book for and the main reason I gave the book 1 star instead of 2 or 3 (rounding up from 2.5) is how it handles some really sensitive subjects, like rape, misogyny, domestic violence, etc. These are real issues that impact real women every. single. day. The author could use this story to really bring to light how women are treated across the globe - instead she makes glib comments about Saudi Arabia and men holding positions of power instead of using the storyline to make women (and men!) readers question the state of the world today.

The way rape, especially, was handled in the book made me sick to my stomach. Again - great way to use that part of the story to dive deeper into how that impacts a person, the pain and trauma associated - instead of acting like it's NBD. It felt very inconsequential.

And as to the sequel?

Samantha Davis has had enough of her cheating boyfriend, Edward. They have been together for two years, but recently the relationship has slowly been declining. The last straw was catching him with another woman at a wedding they were both attending. On the drive home from said wedding, a heavy pink fog made driving difficult and eventually caused Samantha and Edward to be involved in an accident. While Samantha had nothing more than some bruises and a broken leg, Edward’s life hung in the balance. Rushed into emergency surgery, doctors were convinced he would not make it out alive. Imagine everyone’s shock when Edward pulls through and miraculously recovers.

Samantha feels guilty about the accident and ever since his surgery, Edward has been acting like a changed man doting over Samantha. Their passion is reignited, but little by little Samantha notices signs that Edward is not acting right. He is increasingly moody and has a violent streak which scares her. One such violent episode causes Samantha to flee Edward and land into the arms of Dr Elliott Harvey.

Together, Samantha and Elliott race against time to figure out why a virus in the pink fog is integrating itself into the male DNA. They are not alone though, there are others who will do everything in their power to silence both Samantha and Elliot or anyone else who gets in their way.

Still Life by Isobel Hart really surprised me. I wasn’t sure how the story was going to unfold and what direction the author would take with the story. The first few chapters really set the stage and introduced us to a virus, that according to health officials, was not dangerous. We all know how that goes, right? So, now my mind is swirling with all of these possibilities, scenarios, and reasonings behind the virus and what it was capable of. Is it Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The Walking Dead? Aliens? A cult? What is going on!? There were just too many to choose from that I was starting to sound like a conspiracy theorist. Which kind of made me giggle a bit. I am happy to say that Isobel Hart took elements of different possibilities and wrapped them all up into one neat little package. Phew! I was going crazy there for a while trying to figure it all out. I do have to say though, Isobel Hart really shows how quickly a virus can spread to the population which lent an air of realism to it even though the story is purely Science Fiction.

Samantha is a character I had a love/hate relationship with especially when it came to her cheating boyfriend, Edward. I know she felt guilty about the accident, but come on he still cheated! Girl, move on! She just came out as so wishy washy to me in the beginning. Yeah, yeah love is blind and all that, but cheating is a swift kick out the door for me. I also think Samantha and Elliot would have made better friends then trying to get involved romantically or maybe it was just the fact that I don’t think it was explored deeply enough for me/felt kind of rushed. I did really like Elliott though. He was a stand up guy and really cared for Samantha. Also, Samantha does really redeem herself as the story progresses.

The plot has a really slow build up which kept me flipping through the pages while trying to figure everything out that was going on. There was so many elements to the story that I felt gave it some originality and kept me totally engrossed. The romance aspect between Samantha and Elliot sort of lagged for me a bit, but then it picked right back up even stronger around two-thirds into the story. There are just so many things that worked for me in this story and I found myself really enjoying it. I was trying to figure out how the title would be used in the body of the story and when I noticed it, it totally made sense and really had me thinking.

Still Life is purely Science Fiction that is cleverly crafted with elements of the “what if…..” The author really hits a lot of points with a slightly dystopian feel that makes you ponder the possibilities of a changed society. Although the story does hang on a bit of a cliffhanger, you will be happy to know that the story will continue in the next book, Still Born, and I can’t wait to get my greedy little hands on it!

This is the story of Samantha Davis who joins with others to understand and solve the virus that is infecting their men and changing them after they had died and miraculously come back to life.
Samantha had decided to breakup with her cheating boyfriend Edward, but when their car crashed going through a mysterious fog. They end up in hospital, Edward is rushed into surgery but dies on the operating table and then miraculously comes back to life.
Dr Elliot is working on Edwards case and he soon becomes close with Sam as a shoulder to cry on. But going home with Edward she starts to see difference and then he turns on her.
This was a good story, and how Elliot and Sam get together to investigate the attitude changes and how the fog is connected to it all.

An interesting story, it started really well and I was hooked for the first half of the book.The rest was simply ok for me I lost my interest in some part too.Although it was refreshing and unique!

Note to self, stop reading books that compare themselves to "A Handmaid's Tale".



I don't know why I keep expecting to find a novel that haunts me as much as Margaret Atwood's classic book. It just isn't going to happen.



But still, when I see a book that seems reminiscent of Atwood's plot, I tend to jump on it, usually without the results I'm hoping for.



"Still Life" was one of those. I saw it described on NetGalley and requested it based solely on the premise: a woman's boyfriend dies and is revived after as serious accident. After, he seems completely different. Her investigation into the miracle of his survival leads her to discovering a virus that affects men of reproductive age.



Sounded cool.



But nope, this is a poorly written romance novel. Samantha isn't sure what to make of Edward, her former philandering boyfriend - it was really unclear why she stayed with him so long - when he returns from the hospital and is completely devoted to her, even wanting to marry and have a child. When his extreme mood swings turn him against her, she flees to the handsome doctor that treated Edward. They begin to put the pieces together: a mysterious fog that descended over the world, men who should have died of disease or accidents surviving and wives/girlfriends confused at the personality changes in their partners.



All of this adds up to... well I'm not entirely sure. An alien invasion? It was never fully explained who the parasitic lifeforms saving and controlling the world's men were. The science behind this wasn't super convincing. The whole dystopian/sci fi premise was really just an excuse for Samantha to be in the middle of a love triangle between Edward and the doctor, Elliott.



The dialogue was terrible and the writing style immature. It felt like the time I tried to read "50 Shades of Grey" but never even got to the "good stuff" because I was so turned off by the terrible writing.



That brings me to a second note to self: life is too short to keep reading bad books. I don't know why I didn't just put this one down. I wanted to but I also felt I should read and review it since I received an e-galley from NetGalley for free. It's my responsibility to review the books I receive. "Still Life" was a quick enough read, so it wasn't like I was wasting my time for weeks on end, but still, ugh.



Annoyingly, the book is set up to have a sequel. I will definitely be skipping that one.

I'm going to give this book 3.5 stars because I loved the idea behind this book and truly enjoyed about the first half of this book. First I will say that this is a romance and not science fiction. There are bits that touch on sci-fi in this book. I enjoyed the beginning of the story very much. It was a fast paced start with seemingly interesting characters. I loved that the story just started with some crazy things happening. As the story went on I had a hard time staying really interested in what was happening. I was hoping for sci-fi medical or aliens. I really didn't want a sort of romance at the time. I also had an absolute dislike of Samantha. She is way too judgemental towards the other women. It made me sad that not only was she a completely different person from the beginning of the story but I couldn’t find even one thing to like about her. If you enjoy romance with a touch of science fiction this might be a good book for you.
received an advanced copy