bookreviews – Page 47 – Sincerely Karen Jo

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Sooo work, adulting, the holidays and just life in general threw me off my blogging/reading/reviewing routine for the last two months. Not that I had a great one to begin with. I’m 10 books behind my Goodreads Reading Challenge and oh just about 34 books behind my Netgalley TBR…

Anyway, I managed to read 5 books in October and 7 in November. Not bad right?! I also did really well restraining myself from buying or requesting more books. I didn’t buy anything from Bookoutlet during Black Friday, but I did browse and added 10 books in my cart. Saving them for the next big sale or whatever’s left of it. I requested only 3 books from Netgalley — they’re Entrangled Teen Crush books, so I know I can breeze through those. And I purchased ONLY ONE book from Barnes and Nobles. So very proud of myself since last year I splurged and bought about 30 books.

I really enjoyed all the books I read. I don’t think I rated any below 4 stars so without further ado, here are the books I got through in October and November.

To read my full review, just click the title of the book.

October

A Messy, Beautiful Life by Sara Jade Alan

5 ★ – SO ACHINGLY BEAUTIFUL

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A Messy, Beautiful Life by Sara Jade Alan is a lovely story about learning to find humor in life despite dealing with something really terrible. It’s riveting, deeply affecting, and very inspiring. While some parts are heartbreaking and just really sad, this book is also filled with so many fun, hilarious, and heartwarming moments that will make you smile and laugh out loud. Everything about this book is just so achingly beautiful. I love this story with all my heart and can’t recommend it enough.

No Plain Rebel by M.C. Frank

5 ★ – INCREDIBLY FASCINATING AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN

No Plain Rebel is just as gorgeous and enthralling as No Ordinary Star (Review). M.C. Frank has created such a unique, thrilling, and heart achingly memorable story about loss, forgiveness and hope. There were plenty of nail-biting twist and turns, fun surprises, and tender moments that kept the story moving. I felt so many emotions with this book that I thought my heart would burst into a million pieces. When Frank writes… she writes with so much passion and purpose. Every single page had meaning, beauty, and most of all – a tremendous heart!

My Sophomore Year of Rules by Jennifer DiGiovanni

My Sophomore Year of Rules by Jennifer DiGiovanni is all kinds of fun and cuteness! Such a lovely read that left a huge dorky smile on my face. I haven’t read the other books in the series, but that’s going to change really soon. If you’re looking for a light, hilarious, and delightful YA contemporary romance, then I highly recommend you pick this up.

A Short History of the Girl Next Door by Jared Reck

5 ★ – SWEET, HILARIOUS AND PAINFULLY GORGEOUS

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This book seriously wrecked me, but in a terribly wonderful way — painful to read, emotional all the way, and so incredibly full of heart. Matt’s unrequited love for Tabby made me feel so many emotions. A Short History of the Girl Next Door is a fantastic story full of heart, friendship, love, loss, and never-ending supply of nerds. It’s beautiful, funny, and sad, but so real in every way.

No Vain Loss by M.C. Frank

5 ★ – WONDERFULLY BREATHTAKING ENDING

I LOVEEEEE this series so much! The FEELS in this BOOK is insanely amazing. Ahhhh so so so much LOVE for this book and series! Full review to come & author interview to come!

November

The First Kiss Hypothesis by Christina Mandelski

4.25 ★ – SATISFYINGLY SWEET AND DELICIOUSLY ADORABLE

I LOVE friends to lovers stories and this one most definitely did not disappoint. The plot was entertaining, hilarious, and had plenty of sweet moments that made me smile. Some parts of story were clichéd as expected and a bit cheesy, but who am I kidding… I LOVED IT ALL! And that ending… that final scene at the beach — gave me insane FEELS.

Offsetting Penalties by Ally Mathews

4.5 ★ – IRRESISTIBLY CHARMING

This book is an absolute delight and I truly adored every moment. The writing was fantastic and easy to read. The storyline was fast paced, funny, and charming in every way. I thought the characters were just wonderful and I enjoyed getting to know them. The romance was just so swoony and cute and obviously my favorite part.

Haven by Mary Lindsey

5 ★ – A DELICIOUSLY DARK, SEXY, AND HEART-POUNDING TALE

I’m utterly and positively smitten with this book. Haven by Mary Lindsey is such an incredibly unique, oddly intriguing, and suspenseful tale that had me reeling and holding my breath the entire time. With a badass, sassy, and beautiful heroine like Freddie, a handsome, tough, and brave hero with a gentle heart like Rain, and a wonderfully spellbinding story that’s hard to forget, Haven gave me the most amazing spine-tingling thrills and chills.

Saving It by Monica Murphy

4.5 ★ – FLIRTY, HILARIOUS AND INCREDIBLY SWOONY

Another cutesy and fun read from Entangled Teen Crush! The plot is also interesting and had plenty of lovey dovey aww moments that made me all fuzzy and warm. And the ending… so stinkin’ cute and romantic and just so wonderfully done that you’ll want to replay the moment over and over. Definitely one of the cutest friends-lovers romance stories.

Busted by Gina Ciocca

4.5 ★ – Super Adorable and Swoony

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This story was so fun and cute. I loved the concept, the drama, the romance and the mystery. I’ll have my full review for posted in a few days

Instructions for a Secondhand Heart by Tamsyn Murray

4.5 ★ – PAINFULLY REAL, INCREDIBLY AFFECTING AND HEART ACHINGLY BEAUTIFUL

Tamsyn Murray created such a lovely story about loss, self-discovery, second chances, and love. The storyline, while full of heart shattering situations, was riveting, sweet and at times even funny. The writing was undeniably moving, laced with beauty and sincerity, and just so utterly gorgeous that deeply affected me from beginning to end.

The Heartbreak Cure by Amanda Ashby

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The Heartbreak Cure by Amanda Ashby is a delightful friends to lovers story that satisfied my endless cravings for adorable romance reads. I’ll be posting my review for this next week as part of the blog tour hosted by ChapterbyChapter.

So, how did you do with your November TBR? What were some of your favorite books? Have you read any of the books on my list? Let me know in the comments down below!

As always, thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely Karen Jo

No Plain Rebel

(No Ordinary Star #2)

M.C. Frank

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5 ★ – INCREDIBLY FASCINATING AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN

PUBLISHED BY CREATESPACE INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING PLATFORM DECEMBER 2, 2015

GENRE(S): YOUNG ADULT, SCI-FI, FANTASY, DYSTOPIA, ROMANCE

PAGES: PAPERBACK 212

BUY AMAZON

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Synopsis

A soldier is summoned to the North Pole, days before the year changes, told to fix a 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 2525.

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.

In No Plain Rebel, Felix finds out the truth. Or so he thinks. He’s trying to come to terms with that, as well as with the fact that the Clockmaster’s shack has been discovered by his fellow-soldiers, but he can’t exactly concentrate.

The match girl’s fiery curls appear before his eyes every ten seconds, distracting him, and then he starts talking to her in his head.

Because she’s no longer there.

The Stadium is looming in the distance.

It’s ten heartbeats to midnight.

Review

No Plain Rebel is just as gorgeous and enthralling as No Ordinary Star (Review). M.C. Frank has created such a unique, thrilling, and heart achingly memorable story about loss, forgiveness and hope. I’m positively in love with this breathtaking series and honestly can’t recommend it enough.

I loved being back with Felix and Astra as they continued to uncover more truths about themselves and the world that had forgotten kindness, faith and love. Some were quite pleasant, others were just sad, while many were absolutely atrocious. Through it all, the plot was fast-paced, insanely intriguing, and amazingly suspenseful. There were plenty of nail-biting twist and turns, fun surprises, and tender moments that kept the story moving. I felt so many emotions with this book that I thought my heart would burst into a million pieces. When Frank writes… she writes with so much passion and purpose. Every single page had meaning, beauty, and most of all – a tremendous heart! Trust me, you will be obsessed with this series so much that you won’t want it to end.

My admiration for Felix and Astra has no bounds. They’re strong, complex, beautifully flawed, and lovable in every way. They both have been through so much pain and loss that it was so wonderful to see them become the amazing heroes you’ll root for all the way to the end. Together, Felix and Astra rebelled against everything they knew and worked together to change the world. Along the way, they also found friendship and love in each other. A love so real and sweet and just beautiful. Tin Soldier and Match Girl have a piece of my heart now and forevermore.

With a powerfully evocative writing style, fascinating storyline, gorgeous world building, and great character development, No Plain Rebel is 200 pages of pure beauty. It’s wonderfully poignant, incredibly engrossing, and so utterly sincere.

It’s ten heartbeats to midnight. Ten heartbeats to the unknown future of humanity and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

As a member of the NOS Street Team, I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest and fair review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Other Books in the Series

ADD NO ORDINARY STAR ON GOODREADS

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ADD NO VAIN LOSS ON GOODREADS

(Releasing December 5, 2017)

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About the Author

(Taken from M.C. Frank’s Website)

mcfrank I am M.C. Frank: writer, reader, designer, editor, physicist and teacher. (To mention a few.)

I have been living in a world of stories ever since I can remember (that’s before I knew how to write). I started writing them down when I could no longer stand the characters in my head screaming at me to give them life and while those first scribblings weren’t exactly good (nor were they books, although I insisted on calling them that), they were enough for me to discover my passion in life.

I started writing seriously a few years back, pursuing my dream of a writing career. I started small, in a magazine, but ever since I’ve been dreaming of doing what I absolutely love for a living, and finally I am getting there! I feel so blessed and happy.

I got my university degree in physics a few years ago. People look at me weirdly when I tell them I’m a physicist, so I say, I know what you’re thinking, and yes, I’m like Sheldon, only a bit crazier! I am now free to pursue my love of reading and writing, as well as my free-lance job of editor-in-chief. I live with my husband in a home filled with candles, laptops and notebooks, where I rearranges my overflowing bookshelves every time I feel stressed.

Which is often, since (as you might have noticed) I don’t pick the easiest subjects for my novels. I put my characters in icy-cold dystopian worlds where kissing is forbidden (among other things), or place them in green forests ruled by evil Sheriffs. If they’re in Jane Austen’s London, they have to be running away from a traumatic childhood, or if they are in our current, contemporary world, they’re scared they’ll die before they have finished high school. That sort of thing.

Don’t worry, though, I know we all are in need of a little hope and joy in our lives, so there’s a good dose of those as well in everything I write.

Follow and Connect with M.C. Frank

Website/ Instagram / Twitter / Facebook

Thanks for reading my review. I hope you get a chance to meet Felix and Astra and discover the beauty in this breathtaking series. I promise you will fall absolutely in love.

Don’t forget to leave your comments down below. I’d love to hear what you think.

Sincerely Karen Jo