No Ordinary Star by M.C. Frank | Re:View

An icy tale of romance and the discovery of new ideas.

*** 

I was intrigued first and foremost by this books cover--it's stunning! But then I discovered it was a sci-fi and knew I had to read it. I also took note that it was inspired by Ray Bradbury's short stories and was even more intrigued.

It's been a while since I've read Bradbury, but I did get the hint of his stories with this novel, as well as M.C.'s classic style.

The story itself has a very simple cast of characters. The soldier, the girl, and the polar bear. I really enjoy the way that M.C. creates tension between her main characters. There are a lot of things that come into play to do this (no spoilers here) but I enjoy the way they change as the story progresses.  I also loved the polar bear because, let's be honest, who doesn't love polar bears?

The plot itself felt a little slow in some parts, as if I was waiting for something big to happen and it never fully did. Then again, this is a series broken up into three shorter books and I think that things progress more slowly due to that fact. I liked the world that was created and described. Harsh, futuristic in some senses (mostly ideals and new cultural norms), and foreign and familiar all at the same time. The clock element still perplexes me, and yet I have a feeling we'll discover more about it on subsequent books.

The last readerly thing to note would be the point of view. This is written in third person present tense and, while I enjoyed it, I also found it a little confusing at times. To me, it creates a bit of a distant feeling to the characters in my mind. I liked that we were able to see from both main characters perspectives and to gain a perspective of their differing personalities, but it may take a little getting used to for readers who are not accustomed to this type of writing.

If you enjoy a Ray Bradbury-type tale with hints of romantic tension and a mysterious element to the story, you will likely enjoy this book! It's got a mild sci-fi feel but isn't hugely technical. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.

*A note for my clean readers: There are a few instances of language in the book.

My rating: 4*
Purchase: No Ordinary Star

Book Description
(from Amazon)

A soldier is summoned to the North Pole, days before the year changes, told to fix the great Clock for a celebration. He has no idea what to do. A girl, hunted for the crime of being born, almost dies out on the ice. She is rescued by the last polar bear left alive. A library waits for them both, a library built over a span of a hundred years, forgotten in the basement of an ice shack. The world hasn't known hunger or sickness in hundreds of years. It has also forgotten love and beauty. The year is 2524. Inspired by the short stories of Ray Bradbury, this futuristic novel is set in a world where Christmas -among other things- is obsolete and a Clock is what keeps the fragile balance of peace. Written in three installments, this is the breathtaking and sensual story of how two unlikely people change the world, and each other, one book at a time. Immerse yourself into the icy cold world of this scorching hot new novel.

_______________
I received this book for free but was under no obligation to post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own. 

Lose Me. by M.C. Frank | Re:View

If you like NA, romance, and serious character tension, then chances are you are going to love Lose Me. 

***

Set mainly in Greece and featuring a half-Greek stunt girl and a handsome heartthrob actor as the main characters, this is the perfect summer-escape read! You'll be lost in the beautiful scenery and cultural experience of the story as much as you'll find yourself wrapped up in the character dynamics.

This book gave me SO many feelings...not all of them good, but not all of them bad either. I was actually mad at the main character for a good portion of the book, but I do think that's what makes a good book. Something that will pull emotions and feelings from its reader. There was something in the way that M.C. wrote that would NOT let me go. I had to keep reading to see what happened.

Ari and Wes. Major *sigh* From the moment you meet Ari you realize she's a different type of character. The best way I can describe it is that she's "distant". For reasons I won't get into, you do come to see more of why she is this way, but that was one of the tough parts of the book for me. I wanted to know more about why she was doing what she was or thinking what she was. Most of it is revealed near the end, but as a reader, I personally don't like being kept in the dark that much. And, along those lines, I'm not a fan of how some of the timeline played out. It was disconcerting for me as a reader to have flashbacks to a supposed "experience" the characters had together (like a date, for instance) only to find out it had already happened and the character was then thinking back on it. It's hard to explain, but in my mind when I was reading, I wanted to experience things as they were happening. I wanted to ask why we were brought "back" to that time period when we should have been "there" during it.

@createexploreread

I was seriously rooting for them though. Man, they had some issues--both personally and interpersonally--but I liked how it all worked out in the end. I'll emphasize here that there is a lot--a lot--of drama in this book. Not in a bad way, just in a very turmoil-inducing type of way. You will definitely feel a lot of things while reading this. (Feel all the feelings!)

I also loved how she incorporated snapshots from Tumblr, text messages, and interviews in between the chapters. It made the experience of reading Lose Me. kind of like I was just hearing a story from a good friend or going through life with someone I cared about. It pulled me in and created great interest.

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes NA and doesn't mind a lot of drama in their reading. If you like your heart to be wrung out (in the best way) and put back whole again, I think you'll really enjoy this book!

**I'll mention here for my Clean Readers that this is NA (New Adult) so there is a lot more kissing/passion/feelings detailed in the book though nothing explicitly depicted. There is also the use of cuss words here and there. I would recommend it for 17+.

My rating: 3.8*
Purchase: Lose Me.

Book Description
(from Amazon)

Jane Austen meets K-drama in this compulsively readable New Adult novel of movie stars, golden beaches and intense romance. "Today is not the day I die." Ari Demos, a half Greek stunt girl, starts her every day with this thought. It's not that her job isn't dangerous, but she's been surfing, training and doing sick water stunts for years. Now, just months after graduating from high school, she's ready for her first job on a real movie set. But on the day before shooting starts, she has an accident. One that almost claims her life. And that's when she realizes that she can't hide from the truth any longer: something big and dark is coming, and she's not sure she will survive it. Then Wes Spencer arrives on the scene with his expensive yacht, glamorous friends and bored attitude. He's a British superstar, the famous pirate of a hit TV show that made girls all over the planet swoon at a glimpse of his dirty blonde hair and green eyes, and he's in Greece to film a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. When he meets Ari, he dismisses her as too unimportant. But as it turns out, she isn't unimportant. In fact, quite the opposite. Will Wes and Ari fall in love Hollywood style, or will they end up fighting for their lives?

_______________
I received this book for free but was under no obligation to post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.