Review: ‘Save Me’ by @mcfrankauthor
‘Now it’s two stories unfolding. My story with Ari and my story with Greece. (…) Two love stories.’
Actually, there’s a third love story going on: mine with this book. It’s been five years since I first fell in love with ‘Lose Me’ by M.C. Frank - the story of Wes and Ari: a British movie star and a half-Greek stunt actress, who meet on a beautiful Greek island while shooting a modern adaptation of ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Now all the feelings that flooded me while reading LM came back, as I was reading the author’s newest book: ‘Save Me’, which presents Wes’ point of view. It was a delightful experience to get into this young man’s head - and by ‘delightful’ I mean: heartbraking, poignant, making me laugh, cry and fall in love with this character all over again.
Wes seems to have everything: money, fame, beauty, he’s even nominated for the Academy Award, but it all comes with a price. As they say, money can’t buy happiness, and the pain can’t be drowned in alcohol. His life starts to change when he meets Ari and saves her life, but it turns out she’s not the only one who needs salvation.
Obviously I loved this book and this one sentence could sum up my whole review, but there’s a couple of things I want to write. First of all, 'Save Me’ completes 'Lose Me’ perfectly, filling all the blank or blurred spaces. For example, in LM we see that Wes is going through a major transformation, but only from SM we learn what was the whole process like, what caused it, how hard was Wes’ inner struggle. Each book can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading both of them, because only together they become one beautifully crafted, full story.
Secondly, SM is a story about many different kinds of love: the romantic one, the family love and the thirst for it, the Love that transforms people’s hearts, but also about falling in love with Greece. Through this book the author draws attention to the problem how her country and its people are seen by the rest of the world.
It’s truly heartbreaking to see how one of the greatest nations, whose cultural and scientific achievements still influence the modern world, is being ridiculed and hated by the western culture. I’m ashamed to admit I wasn’t aware of the scale of the problem, so I’m thankful for the opportunity to learn.
Thirdly, I’m a huge fan of M.C. Frank’s writing style and SM was no exception - it was beautifully written. The emotions of the main character felt so real, I believed his every word. Every part of the story: the romance, action, setting, dialogues or inner monologues prove that Frank is an excellent writer. I loved revisiting Wes and Ari’s story, meeting them again, getting to know Wes better. I only wish the book was longer, so I could spend more time with them! But what are rereads for, right? ;)
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Review: ‘Frosted’ by M.C. Frank
I like to read books from different genres, for example: YA sci-fi, historical romance, contemporary NA, retellings of classic stories and legends, but I rarely encounter an author who feels comfortable in all of them and creates equally wonderful stories, no matter if they’re set in the past, the future or in our era. Well, M.C. Frank does. Each new book she publishes is an unforgettable adventure, full of emotions, romance, complex and relatable characters, and important matters bigger than them. Her newest novel: ‘Frosted’ is no exception and I adored it from the first sentence to the end of the Author’s note.
Set in the Regency era, ‘Frosted’ is a story about the ice-cold lady Stella DeWinter, hiding all her secrets (and herself) behind the closed doors of her house, and Captain Timothee Vaughn - a pirate with the face of a Greek god. What these two could possibly have in common? 5 years ago they were engaged, but the wedding never happened. Now Vaughn is about to get married against his will, and he’s in a desperate need of a miracle - that’s when Stella reappears in his life. Is it true what they say, that a line between love and hate is very thin?
First of all, I loved how this novel was constructed. The author throws us right into the centre of events, just before Vaughn’s wedding, and only when we’re dying to know what happened between Stella and Timothee 5 years earlier, she takes us back to show us how these two met and fell in love. And what a lovely story it was! Whenever Frank writes about two people falling in love, it’s always deeply moving and beautifully written. But, as it usually is, they have to go through a lot before they’re allowed to be happy.
Both Stella and Timothee are loveable characters, perfect in their imperfection, and each of them goes through a major transformation. I’ve become really attached to both of them and reading their story was an emotional journey - I felt their pain, I cried with them, my heart was breaking along with theirs and I wished for nothing more but to see them happy, because they deserved it after all the suffering life has brought them. But don’t worry - it’s not all sad, there are funny bits as well. One time I almost laughed out loud in the bus while reading. And you shouldn’t think that this novel is boring just because it belongs to the historical romance genre - it’s not all ballrooms and high-society events, but it also has its fair share of action, dangers and pirate ships ;)
I’ve always admired M.C. Frank not only for her amazing writing skills and her wit, but also for the natural way she manages to weave into her stories matters that are vital to her, like her faith or her Greek heritage. From this novel I’ve learned about the Greek Revolution, resulting in Greeks winning their independence from the Ottoman Empire, and I’m really grateful for this history lesson. It looks like Greece and Poland have more in common than I thought.
I could go on and on, but I’ll try to make it short: read it! Especially if you’re a fan of Jane Austen or Bridgerton, and you’re looking for a new heart-wrenching novel to stay in your heart for long.
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The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield - this Polish edition is gorgeous!
I dont watch queen's gambit but that dude kinda looks like Harry styles
He’s Thomas Brodie-Sangster, he appeared in such hit movies like Love, Actually or The Maze Runner.