M.C. Frank's Blog, page 476

A Book Haul made of Dreams

Finally found a way to order a few special books ;)
Original post here -bigger pics too.
The lovely books
The Blossoming of Rose Campbell by Louisa May AlcottTo Die For a collection of short storiesMiss Billy by Eleanor H. PorterArdently a collection of love declarations from classic literatureRuined by M.C. Frank (my new book -yay!) 
So what do you think of the covers? I love love love 'The Blossoming of Rose one.What about you?

Top 5 Wednesday - Tropes You Hate

Tropics I hate is a very interesting subject, since there isn't much I hate in a good book, and if it isn't good, then I don't love, I don't hate, I don't anything... I just don't care.But as we all know, when you love something passionately, as we all love books and reading, then you will most certainly have developed preferances. Things you adore, things you hate.
It's much easier to list 5 Tropes I Hate, according to the Goodreads scedule for August, than it would be to list things I love since there's soooo much I love in books. Just 5 things I hate.



Also, just an FYI, when I hate something, I really hate it.


1.
Triangles


Just hate them with a passion. The choosing between the two, the whole unnecessary drama, the entire 'I'm so good that everybody wants me" mentality of the girl... Just ugh. In addition I don't think there's any point to a love triangle, just to add to the angst and the 'team something' of the young impressionable teenage girls. And when an author does that... well, let's just say it's very hard for me to respect them as an artist. Because let's face it. There's nothing good about a love triangle. It's irritating in a book and simply heartbreaking in real life. Also a little gross.I mean, think about it. If you had a friend who kept whining that she couldn't choose between two guys who were tearing themselves to pieces for her... well, you wouldn't want to be around that for long, would you?Long story short, I try to read the spoilers and reviews and stay AWAY from these kings of books.

2.Sass

Don't get me wrong. There's no one who loves a spunky, scrappy, sassy heroine more than me. I love reading about them, I write about them, and I try very hard to be one.BUT.There's a fine line between sassy and strong and knowing your own mind and being, to put it mildly a b****. I'm sorry to say I have read quite a few books that seem to make this mistake, in their struggle to make the girl tough and strong they turn out making them sound headstrong and foolish. And annoying. They end up making really stupid choices and hurting everybody, but the rest of the characters are like 'it's ok, you're a strong girl, so since your mistakes aren't due to weakness or fear, they aren't your fault'. It also kind of shows a bit of lack of craftmanship in the part of the author, or else we have all forgotten what it means to be a strong but kind woman -which might be the case, actually, now that I think of some of the messages we've been receiving...

There's more to being a heroine than decalring 'that's just me' and freezing the heart out of your sister. Just sayin.

3.Kids
I have no gifs for that, since the visual isn't invonved here at all. And that's exactly the problem. Let me explain myself. This concerns books strictly. The thing is, some books contain a kid (or several) intending its precense to be comic relief, or something of the sort, as in cutesy, funny and generally adorable. Well, more often than not they end up sounding spoiled annoying and destructive. The thing is, kids are really cute and affectionate, but if you can't see them, just being given a description of golden locks and huge eyes that look up to you while the little girl tears up every pair of pants in your new girlfriend's wardrobe, then I might have a hard time bying into the kid's cuteness. Take the Henry in OUAT, for example. Take Harry Potter, take every kid in every movie (and in every book) who has ever raised hell and made everyone dance to their own rythm. Do we find them annoying? No, we adore them. Because we can see them, and we are taken through their whole lives, their entire day, not just the breaking-things and yelling-for-ice-cream and straying-to-the-middle-of-the-street-so-that-everyone-will-rush-to-save-them phase. But if the kid is just a side character, or a REASON for the mom to wish to save the world or something lame like that, without giving me enough character developement on it, treating it like a pet or something, then yep. I'm pretty much going to toss the book.And the kid along with it.Sorry.

4.The Smarties
There's cute smart, beautiful smart, I-wish-I-was-her smart

and then there's

That one person who knows everything, saves everyone, is always one step ahead. I can't stand it. I have this thing where I find incredibly intelligent people amazingly attractive, whether they are in books or movies, whether they are villains of heroes. But that one person who is 50% smart and 50% judgement, just. No.

5.Now, this is serious
This is not something that I hate, it's just something that's inexcusable, and the fact that such books are out there, being read by young kids just breaks my heart. 
It's the death books. The suicide books, the cancer books, the ones who say "death can be something beautiful, something to fall in love through, something to exploit to make money."Suicide is not romantic. There's nothing beautiful in dying from cancer. Believe me, I've seen both. And I'm telling you there's no place for romance or beauty or anything else there, anything else but a fight with tooth and nail to win over death and live.I know it's harsh, but I also realize that all the authors who write about these subjects have not necessarily held their father's hand while he was taking his last breath, his body torn apart by disease. Nor have they been talked off a ledge, or had their wrists sewn together after the darkness consumed them.I know, cause I have experienced these things, and just by reading one page in these books I could tell it's lies. It's all lies.No one will be able to smile up to the sky, tearfully and yet hopefully after you take your own life. No one will be able to ever look at the place where their dad used to sit, let alone read his letters or whatever, after cancer has taken his life.
I feel very deeply the disrespect these books contain, and I wish they didn't try to convey the message that it can be romantic and beautiful in a heartbreaking way. Because it can't. It's heartbreaking without the beautiful. It's ugly without the romance.And that's it.



There's hope, but it's not in a boy. It's not in a kiss. And it's definitely not in the 'nothingness' of sleeping forever. No one will find the truth in here ever.

Some books get it right -and they literally changed my life. Maybe saved it even, who know? Anyway, that's what I want to leave you with.With the good ones.

My Heart and other Black Holes by Jasmine Wanga
An incredible book about love, Physics, weirdness, mental illness and life. 


Left Drowning by Jessica Park
This book was almost triggering for me in the beginning, but it ended up being really discerning and uplifting. Totally glad I read it.

Just One Wish by Janette Rallison
This book treats illness with respect. It's also really funny and romantic, very sweet and feel-good. One of my favorites.


Black Box by Cassia Leo.
Just an FYI, I'm going to talk your ears off about this book in the following months, probably. It's a book about wanting to die, and having a good reason to.It changed me.From now on, whenever I feel myself sinking into the darkness, I remember what I read in this story and i realize there's a way out. Also, EVERYONE who is dealing with a hurt, fragile, suicidal person should read this now. This is how you deal with it, people.This book changed my life. (Oh, did I say that already?)





What are your hated troves? Did I hit any of yours? Also, don't forget to leave me the links to your posts, I promise I'll read them all ;)

Swoon Reads: the good, the bad and the... well, you'll see

Living under a rock (almost literally) as I am, I'm always the last one to hear about new things. That's why I'm assuming every young adult/new adult reader or writer out there has heard of Swoon Reads,which is basically a platform for new aspiring young adult authors, who have penned a great romance (or at least what they think is a great romance) and want it to be published.Then readers come over to read, rate and comment on these stories, until, a couple of times a year, a list is announced, a list of the few novels that have been picked for actual publication with an actual legit publishing house.For more information, you can basically click on this link swoonreads and everything you need to know is there. 
My experience with Swoon Reads began about six months ago, when I picked up a book published by them in my local bookstore. The book was ok, not great, but I was more interested in the whole Swoon Reads deal which was described in the back cover. (I have since bought a few incredible books published by the swoon reads division

A love story told from many (12?) points of view, including a bench and a squirrel. And there's a twist that will break your heart.

A delicious vampire romance for those of us who have gotten over (or were never into) the popular Edward- theme sparkles. 

 A paranormal romance of many dangers and forbidden love.


Velvet being by far my favorite, and read a few more AWESOME ones on their site, but more on that later.)
At the time, I happened to be polishing up a new adult novel I'd been writing for about a year, and had been planning to make my debut as a self-published author with. It didn't turn out this way, because life, so that novel was almost ready and 'unattached' -meaning I hadn't published it ANYWHERE yet. I took a look at the deadline on swoonreads, and I could just about make it. I didn't sleep for a few days, until finally I pressed their 'publish' button and whipped up a short description.There, it was done.World, my book is yours. Read it, love it, enjoy it.
The first few ratings and comments came pretty soon and I was delighted. Everything was so warm and positive that it felt as though my novel was already being welcomed by readers. Success.And then the months started going by.Now I am at the end of almost six months, faced with a great many questions.What do I do now? Do I take my book off of there? Do I continue to hope? Do I move on with my life? Do I bury my face in my pillow and refuse to get out of bed?
You see, that's the problem with trying something new. It doesn't always go as you planned. Success, or rather the hope of success is the greatest incenticve, but what happens at the end of the road, when your hopes are dashed? Not all writers who put their books out there will be chosen, I knew that from the first. Not all books that are out there are being read, and loved, and discovered by readers. That is also a truth. And lonely though a writer's work may seem to an outsider, believe me, it takes a huge amount of support to get over these small -or larger-failures. To try and look at them from another angle, so that they don't suck the life out of you and your craft. And I, as well as many other authors out there I'm sure, am rather short in that department. No one knows what I am trying to do, since I am living in a country outside of the U.S., which might as well be in another world. No one would understand it if I tried to explain.
There are a few awesome people encouraging me, for whom I thank God daily.But sometimes you just need to shut the windows and rethink your path. So this is where I am right now.
I searched the web for other struggling with Swoon Reads like me, and all I could find was success stories from published authors. I'm not saying my story is a failure story, but it certainly is something I need help with.
Any advice is welcome. For the few final days before I take my book down from there, here it is:

It's called This Kissand it's about kisses and English actors and stunt girls.Well, a stunt girl with a secret that could end her life. It's sad -or at least it's meant to be- and romantic and heart-warming. Or at least it's meant to be.It's also full of my heart and soul, which I put into it, writing about some things which hit really close to me, as I lost my dad a few years ago (I started writing it soon after, sort of as a healing process thing).
Oh, and it's here.
I don't know if anyone is going to read it from now on until I take it down, but if you do, whoever you are, I would appreciate any input. Is the cover ok? Is the book touching your heart at any point? Should I give up writing and become a translator?Just kidding on that last one.
Still, as the deadline approaches, I find myself more and more hopeful about my book.If no one believes in it, I do. Shouldn't that be enough? I think it is.
While we are on the subject, and if you are about to go on the site for the first time and don't know what to read first, here are my top picks -these are really great books, you guys, and I will be really disappointed if I can't put them on my bookshelf one day.
Bookshop Girl by Morgan Rash
there's bookshops and a swoonworthy dude, and a bit of angst... Just wow.

Wrestling Naked by Shiloah Banks
I went into this one knowing nothing about the plot, and I suggest you do the same. It's a unique gem of a book, even writing this makes me want to reread it. It tore my heart in two, just saying. (It's for a bit older readers however, so keep that in mind.)
So, have you discovered any great books on Swoon Reads? Or is your book up there? I'll definitely read it if it is. Either way, please comment. I'm dying to know!

Review Policy/Requests

As of August 2015, this blog accepts books of all genres, including self-published, young adult, new adult, romance, inspirational, mystery... anything basically.

Just send me an emal at alexandrapen@gmail.com with the description, book cover and links to amazon and goodreads, if available. You will hear back from me within 5 business days and, if accepted, your book will be reviewed within two weeks of being received on this blog, amazon, goodreads and christianbook.com (and any other site you ask).

If you are interested, I'd be delighted to do a giveaway, author interview, gest post, or any other ideas you may have for promoting your book or blog.

Only print books eligible.

I'm looking forward to working with you!

M.C. Frank

Review Policy

As of July 2015, this blog accepts books of all genres, including self-published, young adult, new adult, romance, inspirational, mystery... anything basically.

Just send me an emal at alexandrapen@gmail.com with the description, book cover and links to amazon and goodreads, if available. You will hear back from me within 5 business days and, if accepted, your book will be reviewed within two weeks of being received on this blog, amazon, goodreads and christianbook.com (and any other site you ask).

If you are interested, I'd be delighted to do a giveaway, author interview, gest post, or any other ideas you may have for promoting your book or blog.

Only print books eligible.

I'm looking forward to working with you!

M.C. Frank

Ardently -book trailer

Aedently -book trailer

Best Summer Reads for All Tastes

So, here's the thing. I don't know if any of you know where I live, but things are pretty bad here right now. I'm talking closed-banks, don't-know-if-we'll-have-food-on-the-table bad.So what do I do? Read. Escape. Also, write blog posts.And pray.
By the way, if you have a moment to pray for me and my country, I would be very grateful -we need all the prayers we can get. Anyway, in the meanwhile, here are some EXTREMELY AWESOME summer books!Even thinking of them puts me in a good mood, and I'm thinking that talking (writing) about them will definitely do the trick and distract me from all the horror of what is going on here...
Let's start:




Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell


This young adult contemporary (or a bit vintage, to be honest) coming of age needs no introduction. It still remains one of my favorite novels of all time, and I can't wait to reread it this summer. It's the sweetest a story about two teens who are outsiders in their own lives, but end up finding a home in each other -only is it enough?
I can't get enough of their heart-warming, and yet poignant love story, that's for sure.







 Spark by Brigid Kemmerer


And now for a ya paranormal series, sparkling with elements of romance, action and infinite hotness. The series follows three brothers, but the books can be read separately, being more of companions to each other. This one, Spark is a sizzling read about a boy who can control fire and the smart nerdy girl who rescues him from the secrets that threaten to destroy him.
In one word, wow.










The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

And speaking of wows.... WOW.
This book ruined absolutely everything for me by its awesomeness -I couldn't pick up another after finishing this, and my life seemed so dull compared with Iolanthe and the Prince's school days... It is a young adult paranormal, taking place in a school for boys, where a sixteen-year-old girl, Iolanthe has to disguise herself as a boy in order to prevent a pack of mages from ruining the universe. She has the help of Prince Titus, who is, of course, sworn to protect her.
And I say of course, because they end up falling in delicious, forbidden love.
Mmmmmm
I've preordered the next one and can't wait to delve back into this world. Best book ever.








One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker

Moving over to the new adult shelf, this book tugged at my heartstrings so bad... It's the story of a good girl -too good, too perfect, so much so that everyone around her is beginning to think there might be something wrong with her.
But is there?
Enter gorgeous, arrowgan, Princeton fellow-student Ashton, who makes it his mission to turn her life upside down. I was completely drawn into their story, could't put the book down.
It made me smile, and tear up and cheer on.
Perfect summer read.








Making Waves by Lorna Seilstad

This is an incredibly sweet and clean summer read, taking place in 1895 Iowa, that swept me off my feet with its action, romance and historical detail.
 I adored all the sailing and swimming scenes, as well as the mouthwatering main character, Roger Gordon, who was a little bit broken and a little bit too hot -just enough for Margueritte Westing, the heroine to persuade him to give her secret sailing lessons, and then to fall madly in love with him.
It's Christian fiction, too, and although it wasn't excessively preachy, it still was uplifting and encouraging enough that I consider it one of the best reads in the genre.






If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

This is a bit of a more serious read, but I include it in here because I consider it one of the GREATEST books ever written, as well as the best book I read this year so far (with the possible exception of The Burning Sky -see above) .
It's the story of two lost girls, living in a trailer in the woods, and a man who says he's their father when he finds them after a lot of searching. They are at the point of starvation, but the eldest, a teen, can't trust him.
How they slowly begin to live, love, and laugh again, is the most incredible story, written in an elegant, poetic style, still quite raw and honest.
If you like books where life rises from the ashes, wounds are healed by love and kindness triumphs over evil, then this is the book for you.





Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

Okay.
So this is the first book I ever read by Jenny Colgan (I have since collected everything by her, I would even read her receipts, if I could) and I fell instantly in love with this story of new beginnings, spunk and English summer.
Reaching rock bottom, Polly moves to the sea and takes a run-down home that hosts seagulls and sand among other things, and starts baking bread.
That's all. And so much more...
Just do yourself a favor, if you haven't already, and read it.
It will change you. I promise.









His Wicked Kiss by Gaelen Foley

There was no way that this list couldn't contain at least  one Regency romance, and this is one of the most delicious sea-faring historicals I have found -and believe me, I've looked.
It's got pirates, and jungles, and a marriage of convenience.
It doesn't get much better than that, does it? And it's Regency, as I said, although not the ballroom and tea-parlor kind, there's action and ruggedness and hot kisses.
I reread it every now and then, and if you are any fan of historical romance novels, hopefully you'll love it as well.







Have you read any of the books above?What do you plan to take to the pool with you? I'd love it if you'd leave a comment below,
and tell me.Here is a little peek of what I was planning on taking with me on vacation
before the pandemonium exploded... Still, I'll just read them on my bed, no biggie -I'm lucky to still have a home and a bed, after all ;)







Thanks for reading, talk to you soon...

otp #annick

He never lets go of Annie’s hand. Not when they walk, not when they eat. I doubt he ever plans to.
credit


  





All right, she’s strange, but if Finnick loves her, that’s good enough for me. 
source

Ugly Love - Summer Reads #1

Happy Summer everyone!





Doesn't summer sound like the perfect time to culr up with a good book by the pool, the sun warming your toes, little kids giggling in the distance, a cool lemonade sweating in the table next to you?Well, right now, for me at least, this is what summer looks like: eight to ten hours daily in front of my laptop, editing the heck out of my new novel, the airconditioning on full blast, a mug of black coffee to get me properly woken up and 'Pumping Blood' blasting on youtube to get me in the mood.



Still, it doesn't mean we can't indulge ourselves with a few excellent books, right?This is what brings us to Colleen Hoover. Not that her books are excellent or perfect or anything, but I've been craving them a lot lately, and the truth is, if you're looking for a good story with strong, relatable characters that leap out of the page, real as life, and a strong, tight plot that tugs on your heartstrings, you can't do better than her.

First, I read Hopeless . And, promptly, I fell in love with it.
This is a story of a girl who meets a boy. As simple and innocent as that.But then the secrets start to emerge. It ends up being so much more than a romancey-relationshipy book. It's a story of redemption, of facing one's demons, of finding what was lost. It's a story that melted my heart and stomped all over it, changed everything I thought I knew about the characters many times, and ended up wowing me to the point where I had to turn over and start reading it from the start, non-stop. 
As for the main protagonists, Sky and Dean... swoon.
I don't think I can say much more than that without spoiling this beautiful, amazing story. This is one of the books that changes your life, and makes you think differently about a lot of things -yourself, your past, what's happened to you before and how it defines you now.Months after reading it, I still can't get it out of my head. It's by no means a light, summer read, but it is perfect escapism and a little bit of a tear-jreker, although I ended up cheering the characters on with all my might. And a book that makes you do a thing like that is a treasure. 
Secrets, and past links, and a bit of amnesia with a good dose of romance -but not cheesy stuff, we are talking about serious issues and the deep love and caring that it takes to save someone from the abyss... Have I convinced you yet?
Just read it.


And now for Ugly Love .

Although some of the same elements of Hopeless are present in this book, this is a much different, darker story. To be honest I found it a little depressing at times, but that's the whole point of it.
We are told in cryptic flashbacks the backstory of the main character, Miles Archer, until at the very end of the book, his story is perfectly pieced together. Colleen Hoover is a master at that. There is a bit of suspence there, and although it's done in no way that can compare to the mastery of Hopeless, it's done quite well. 
Miles is depressed -that kind of brooding, tormented and secretive guy that looks really attractive in books -not so much in life, but who cares? What's more he hasn't been in a relationship for a really long time. So when he meets Tate, a colleague's sister, there is an instant attraction, but they both (Tate has reasons of her own) decide just to start sleeping together, nothing else.Doesn't sound very appealing I know.Yet that's just the back cover description, the story doesn't focus so much on the physical aspect of their attraction, as much as it does on their issues. Their failures, their disappointments and their saddness.
I loved this book because these subjects are so relevant to my life, and I think they touch many people's lives out there. It's not uncommon for a person, no matter how young, to struggle with failure and feel as though his or her life is over before it has had a change to begin properly. I myself am in this exact position, and that's why this book helped me so much and filled me with hope.
Not to mention the hotness factor, but that's a given with Colleen Hoover's books.This is a story I immersed myself into, and when I finished it I felt like I'd known the characters for years. Not to mention that I felt as though, if there had been a way out of the darkness for Miles, there certainly could be one for me. Now, that's what I call a good book.

found this herecredit to yasminwithane

The most recent book I read by Colleen Hoover was Confess . 

Now this is a really complex, hauntingly beautiful book, very hard to describe. It's part mystery, part romance, part sadness.It's the story of Auburn who is trying to rebuild her life after infinite loss and Owen, an enigmatic painter who owns an art gallery named 'Confess', where he creates works of art based on anonymous confessions people send him -by the way, some of his creations are featured in the book.Sounds brilliant, right? It is. It's also one of the most well-written books I've ever read.Sometimes it's a tiny bit over the top, or that's how it seems, but when the secrets and the truth starts to be revealed, you'll be left with your mouth hanging open all the way to the end of the book. It's that good.
I loved the confessions, the suspence and the sweet friendship that blossomed into a romance. I loved the theme of redemption which is once more prominent, in many shapes and forms in this book, and I loved the hidden meaning of almost every word or act of the characters, when it was finally revealed.This book was like a small treasure trove, and I kept digging up more brilliance with every page.
Not an easy book, but definitely one worth reading. There were some ethical conundrums there that set me on edge as I was reading, and made me either angry or frustrated, but after I finished the book, I realized that I appreciated the characters so much more for making mistakes and being weak sometimes -and that's why their developement was so realistic and important.

I think I want to try the rest of Colleen Hoover's books, until I've read them all. Except for Slammed and its sequel, which I read online and it was just tripe. But she seems to have matured as an author and these three books at least, have been three of my top realistic fiction books ever since I read them. Good stuff.
What are you reading this summer? Anything good? Share in the comments!Please let me know if you've read these books and what you thought of them.And be sure not to miss my 3 giveaways, on the sidebar.Also, don't miss my Swoon Reads novel while it's available for free.

Happy start of summer everyone and stay positive!