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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I was sent a copy of this novel by the author in exchange for an honest review. :)
SPOILERS AHEAD!
"It's ten heartbeats until midnight." What a freaking cliffhanger! Please M.C. release No Vain Loss (btw that title gives me heart palpitations, because hello, the talk Felix had with the Rebels.)
I really really really enjoyed the first novel in this trilogy "No Ordinary Star" but man did I love this second novel, "No Plain Rebel." It is so sharp and at times unexpectedly funny and always heartfelt. More than all of that though I think it is an extremely relevant novel, seeing as it is like we are leading up to the point before all of society collapsed. What with all of our technology and detachment from others. It puts up a mirror to society and shows us all of our ugly flaws, our hubris, our greed, our inability to see past our own prejudices and the propaganda we all feed on.
More than the plot I love the characters, Felix, who I started off liking, I now love. He's so genuine, and kind, powerful, and loving, even though he only recently found out what love is. And please for the love of God, just admit that Astra is that unexpected love the Clockmaster was talking about. *Wipes tear away* Astra woke him up and made his heart beat.
Astra is as smart as ever but this time even more endearing. I started off being a little untrustworthy of her character, but I really love her now.
And holy shit, that plot twist... Chairman, I'm looking at you, you piece of galactic poo.
As a side note, I went traversing through the author's website and now feel like I have more of an insight into why Christmas and Fatherhood mean so much to her. And I love those aspects of the plot line even more now.
Do not miss these books. It puts futuristic dystopia in a new class.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
"It's ten heartbeats until midnight." What a freaking cliffhanger! Please M.C. release No Vain Loss (btw that title gives me heart palpitations, because hello, the talk Felix had with the Rebels.)
I really really really enjoyed the first novel in this trilogy "No Ordinary Star" but man did I love this second novel, "No Plain Rebel." It is so sharp and at times unexpectedly funny and always heartfelt. More than all of that though I think it is an extremely relevant novel, seeing as it is like we are leading up to the point before all of society collapsed. What with all of our technology and detachment from others. It puts up a mirror to society and shows us all of our ugly flaws, our hubris, our greed, our inability to see past our own prejudices and the propaganda we all feed on.
More than the plot I love the characters, Felix, who I started off liking, I now love. He's so genuine, and kind, powerful, and loving, even though he only recently found out what love is. And please for the love of God, just admit that Astra is that unexpected love the Clockmaster was talking about. *Wipes tear away* Astra woke him up and made his heart beat.
Astra is as smart as ever but this time even more endearing. I started off being a little untrustworthy of her character, but I really love her now.
And holy shit, that plot twist... Chairman, I'm looking at you, you piece of galactic poo.
As a side note, I went traversing through the author's website and now feel like I have more of an insight into why Christmas and Fatherhood mean so much to her. And I love those aspects of the plot line even more now.
Do not miss these books. It puts futuristic dystopia in a new class.
I’d like to thank the author for sending me a copy of No Plain Rebel in exchange for an honest review!
No Plain Rebel is part 2 of the No Ordinary Star series, and I have to say I liked it a lot better than the first one!
Firstly, it was a lot more plot based. In No Ordinary Star I felt like everything was just being introduced and started and nothing was being accomplished, but in No Plain Rebel there were some significant advancements. In addition to these plot advancements there also seemed to be lots of interesting revelations and secrets which kept me intrigued!
I also enjoyed seeing both Astra and Felix continue to develop and adapt to their new lives. Astra experienced realistic PTSD in her life with Felix due to the horrible things that happened to her as a child in “the box” prison. Seeing setbacks like this in storylines and relationships is refreshing because they are very realistic and thus make the story more realistic too.
I would also like to point out that Felix’s reaction to his first time tasting bread is literally my reaction every time I eat bread! It’s incredible!
I felt like the writing was a little bit choppy, but this also could be due to the small size of the book. I think it would have flowed better if the story could’ve been flushed out more. Either way the intriguing storyline made up for it!
I was not expecting that cliffhanger and now I’m so eager to get my hands on the third instalment, No Vain Loss, when it’s released!
No Plain Rebel is part 2 of the No Ordinary Star series, and I have to say I liked it a lot better than the first one!
Firstly, it was a lot more plot based. In No Ordinary Star I felt like everything was just being introduced and started and nothing was being accomplished, but in No Plain Rebel there were some significant advancements. In addition to these plot advancements there also seemed to be lots of interesting revelations and secrets which kept me intrigued!
I also enjoyed seeing both Astra and Felix continue to develop and adapt to their new lives. Astra experienced realistic PTSD in her life with Felix due to the horrible things that happened to her as a child in “the box” prison. Seeing setbacks like this in storylines and relationships is refreshing because they are very realistic and thus make the story more realistic too.
I would also like to point out that Felix’s reaction to his first time tasting bread is literally my reaction every time I eat bread! It’s incredible!
I felt like the writing was a little bit choppy, but this also could be due to the small size of the book. I think it would have flowed better if the story could’ve been flushed out more. Either way the intriguing storyline made up for it!
I was not expecting that cliffhanger and now I’m so eager to get my hands on the third instalment, No Vain Loss, when it’s released!
I was sent this book from M.C. Frank for a 100% honest review.
I had recently started the amazing adventure with this series and I had flown through No Ordinary Star with flying colours. As for that I was lucky enough to be sent the second book in the series by the amazing author M.C. Frank. Thank god for that because that cliffhanger in book one.. My god it would of been torture not to read this book soon after!
After receiving the second book i flew through it within a few hours.. How amazing!!!
This just proves how beautiful and spectacular the book was. I felt utterly drawn into this book and I loved every second of this, so I spent my time to read the whole book in one sitting without stopping! Yes without stopping at all (unless it was to reply to M.C. Frank on instagram of course)!
I don’t want to drop any spoiler bombs in my review here so i’m going to try and keep it short and sweet… (If I canI honestly want to talk about these books for hours on end)!
No Plain Rebel (book two) is the continuation of No Ordinary Star (book one), so if you want to read this I highly suggest reading book one first.
Felix and Astra’s relationship carries on progressing throughout this book.
Such an amazing read.. This has to be one of my favourite Sci-Fi series as well as M.C Frank being my top author!! To every one of you reading this review, please go buy No Ordinary Star and No Plain Rebel before the third book: No Vain Loss is released (date is still to be announced as of now)!
Well done M.C. Frank for making the most amazing series ever! But also, thank you for creating it, sharing it with the world and letting me review it for you!
Now I’m off to wait impatiently for the No Vain Loss’s release date to be announced and come around so that I can get my hands on the third beautiful book of this series. I also reealllyyy want to know what happens next, there’s still some things I hope to know!! I can’t wait!!! Reading book three will be nothing but the most amazing feeling in the world!
So guys! Please go buy both of these amazing books and show this amazing author some love for me! She’s an amazing lady and one of the most amazing friends to me, such a lovely human being and I can’t wait for more amazing conversations with her!
I had recently started the amazing adventure with this series and I had flown through No Ordinary Star with flying colours. As for that I was lucky enough to be sent the second book in the series by the amazing author M.C. Frank. Thank god for that because that cliffhanger in book one.. My god it would of been torture not to read this book soon after!
After receiving the second book i flew through it within a few hours.. How amazing!!!
This just proves how beautiful and spectacular the book was. I felt utterly drawn into this book and I loved every second of this, so I spent my time to read the whole book in one sitting without stopping! Yes without stopping at all (unless it was to reply to M.C. Frank on instagram of course)!
I don’t want to drop any spoiler bombs in my review here so i’m going to try and keep it short and sweet… (If I canI honestly want to talk about these books for hours on end)!
No Plain Rebel (book two) is the continuation of No Ordinary Star (book one), so if you want to read this I highly suggest reading book one first.
Felix and Astra’s relationship carries on progressing throughout this book.
Such an amazing read.. This has to be one of my favourite Sci-Fi series as well as M.C Frank being my top author!! To every one of you reading this review, please go buy No Ordinary Star and No Plain Rebel before the third book: No Vain Loss is released (date is still to be announced as of now)!
Well done M.C. Frank for making the most amazing series ever! But also, thank you for creating it, sharing it with the world and letting me review it for you!
Now I’m off to wait impatiently for the No Vain Loss’s release date to be announced and come around so that I can get my hands on the third beautiful book of this series. I also reealllyyy want to know what happens next, there’s still some things I hope to know!! I can’t wait!!! Reading book three will be nothing but the most amazing feeling in the world!
So guys! Please go buy both of these amazing books and show this amazing author some love for me! She’s an amazing lady and one of the most amazing friends to me, such a lovely human being and I can’t wait for more amazing conversations with her!
*This book was send to me by the lovely author M.C. Frank as a free ARC in exchange for an honest review, the fact that it was sent to me will not sway my opinion in any way.*
This is where the trilogy continues. There were so many things that I apparently didn’t know and I learned all of that in this book.
You mostly learn more stuff about their past and about the how the One World became what it is.
I thought I had a complete picture of the world and how it worked but I was wrong. But I actually felt like I was there. Learning new things together with the characters.
That was amazing.
Mostly because it’s written as a he/she story I don’t feel like I am the characters but that I’m living silently next to them. I wasn’t always able to look into their minds and know what was going to happen, the same thing in the first book. And I didn’t mind. It was actually nice not knowing what the merc was going to happen. (You might want to read the book to know what I mean with merc ;)
But the ending got me really annoyed! Why?
Because I have no idea what is going to happen and then it ends in a cliffhanger and you just want to continue reading! But you can’t!
This is because the third book of the trilogy isn’t out yet… But I’m absolutely keeping an eye out!
The last thing I want to say about the ending is that it took SO long. This was mostly because the writer was throwing all kinds of new information your way that was almost blowing my mind, that’s how fast it went.
Long. But fast.
And again. I’m very exited for the last book in the trilogy to come out!
This is where the trilogy continues. There were so many things that I apparently didn’t know and I learned all of that in this book.
You mostly learn more stuff about their past and about the how the One World became what it is.
I thought I had a complete picture of the world and how it worked but I was wrong. But I actually felt like I was there. Learning new things together with the characters.
That was amazing.
Mostly because it’s written as a he/she story I don’t feel like I am the characters but that I’m living silently next to them. I wasn’t always able to look into their minds and know what was going to happen, the same thing in the first book. And I didn’t mind. It was actually nice not knowing what the merc was going to happen. (You might want to read the book to know what I mean with merc ;)
But the ending got me really annoyed! Why?
Because I have no idea what is going to happen and then it ends in a cliffhanger and you just want to continue reading! But you can’t!
This is because the third book of the trilogy isn’t out yet… But I’m absolutely keeping an eye out!
The last thing I want to say about the ending is that it took SO long. This was mostly because the writer was throwing all kinds of new information your way that was almost blowing my mind, that’s how fast it went.
Long. But fast.
And again. I’m very exited for the last book in the trilogy to come out!
I was really hoping the story would go somewhere after a ‘meh’ feeling from reading ‘No Ordinary Star.’ There is no doubt that M.C. Frank has a talent for writing, but why she released this trilogy in tiny instalments that aren’t resolved sections is beyond me. It tainted the whole experience.
Jumping around with perspectives of Felix and Astra, in different parts of the timeline, made it difficult to connect with the characters. I loved the descriptions of first time experiences. The alien-ness of customs and objects we use today through the eyes of someone in a dystopian future. It was sheer brilliance. But again, as with the first novel it was too brief, felt out of context, and was difficult at times to figure out where this is all going.
All of this aura of confusion and disjointedness overrides the beautiful writing. And with the addition of a number of grammatical errors, I was left yet again with a bitter taste in my mouth.
I can see from Franks writing the potential, and why many readers love this series; but for me, it's not polished enough, not planned out enough for each instalment to stand on their own and make sense. I kept putting down this short novella and spread it out over a couple of days, when it is something that I could read in hours because I was frustrated and disinterested.
I really hope things start to make sense in the final book of the trilogy ‘No Vain Loss.’
Concept is intriguing, writing style is fantastic, pacing is a bit sporadic, but overall the story was not engaging for me. I did not connect with the characters and kept getting lost in time jumps and flash backs.
Though I will preserve and read the final instalment and hopefully it will redeem my opinion.
Jumping around with perspectives of Felix and Astra, in different parts of the timeline, made it difficult to connect with the characters. I loved the descriptions of first time experiences. The alien-ness of customs and objects we use today through the eyes of someone in a dystopian future. It was sheer brilliance. But again, as with the first novel it was too brief, felt out of context, and was difficult at times to figure out where this is all going.
All of this aura of confusion and disjointedness overrides the beautiful writing. And with the addition of a number of grammatical errors, I was left yet again with a bitter taste in my mouth.
I can see from Franks writing the potential, and why many readers love this series; but for me, it's not polished enough, not planned out enough for each instalment to stand on their own and make sense. I kept putting down this short novella and spread it out over a couple of days, when it is something that I could read in hours because I was frustrated and disinterested.
I really hope things start to make sense in the final book of the trilogy ‘No Vain Loss.’
Concept is intriguing, writing style is fantastic, pacing is a bit sporadic, but overall the story was not engaging for me. I did not connect with the characters and kept getting lost in time jumps and flash backs.
Though I will preserve and read the final instalment and hopefully it will redeem my opinion.
Wow wow wow wow
This is a great second book to this 3 part series.
Felix is growing so much and learning daily about all the lies he’s been fed.
I was really excited when I started reading No Plain Rebel, for one I absolutely HAD to know what it was that Felix and Astra found, and two, I knew there was a good chance that we were going to meet some new characters, and that’s always fun. Quite a few new characters do make an appearance in this book, but I can’t say much about who they are or where we see them without giving up some major spoilers, but rest assured that some of them have the potential to be pretty cool.
This book was so thoughtful and the build up to the ending was so fun and exciting. The journeys Felix and Astra have to go through is so interesting. It's also really cool to see how their pasts look like
I’m so excited to continue on their journey and read the final installment!
This is a great second book to this 3 part series.
Felix is growing so much and learning daily about all the lies he’s been fed.
I was really excited when I started reading No Plain Rebel, for one I absolutely HAD to know what it was that Felix and Astra found, and two, I knew there was a good chance that we were going to meet some new characters, and that’s always fun. Quite a few new characters do make an appearance in this book, but I can’t say much about who they are or where we see them without giving up some major spoilers, but rest assured that some of them have the potential to be pretty cool.
This book was so thoughtful and the build up to the ending was so fun and exciting. The journeys Felix and Astra have to go through is so interesting. It's also really cool to see how their pasts look like
I’m so excited to continue on their journey and read the final installment!
My review for the first volume was hopeful on the strength of the characters, but pessimistic about the strength of the plot.
My pessimism won, unfortunately.
A large proportion of this book was exposition dumps via videos left by the Clockmaster, which is both a structural problem with the narrative--especially when much of it comes in the last 15% of the book--and a plot issue, because now that I know what's going on, why the Clock matters and why Felix is who he is and what he's going to do about it, it all boils down to this:
The villain's plan is Dumb with a much-earned capital D. If the point of the Clock was supposed to be the complete elimination of the human race on earth, after an earlier and equally convoluted attempt also failed...well, with the technology described in the world-building, why wouldn't they just poison the Health Discs? Or "infect" them with a slow-developing virus like the one they wanted to use in the Clock or the Drones? Why would you rely on chancy methods of dispersal when you already make supplements the entire population depends on daily? Wouldn't that be far, far easier, and why did no one think of it?
I'm no longer invested in the stakes, I'm done, not going to read the third book.
My pessimism won, unfortunately.
A large proportion of this book was exposition dumps via videos left by the Clockmaster, which is both a structural problem with the narrative--especially when much of it comes in the last 15% of the book--and a plot issue, because now that I know what's going on, why the Clock matters and why Felix is who he is and what he's going to do about it, it all boils down to this:
The villain's plan is Dumb with a much-earned capital D. If the point of the Clock was supposed to be the complete elimination of the human race on earth, after an earlier and equally convoluted attempt also failed...well, with the technology described in the world-building, why wouldn't they just poison the Health Discs? Or "infect" them with a slow-developing virus like the one they wanted to use in the Clock or the Drones? Why would you rely on chancy methods of dispersal when you already make supplements the entire population depends on daily? Wouldn't that be far, far easier, and why did no one think of it?
I'm no longer invested in the stakes, I'm done, not going to read the third book.
This series continues to impress me. It got pretty exciting when Astra and Felix begin figuring things out. I've never rooted for characters to succeed as hard as I'm rooting for these characters. I feel so connected to them and I just want them to achieve what they are setting out to do, you know to save the world and such.
Astra is still my favorite character in this series so far. Though, her quirkiness didn't shine quite as brightly as it did in the first book. This book answered some questions that I had from book one because it dove into other important characters that needed to be brought in. I love how even though these characters don't know what love is they know they are developing feelings for each other and it's not hate. I couldn't help but smile at their budding feelings for each other.
I see that I have messed up because now I have to wait for book three even though I need it now. After the ending of this book, I'm definitely excited to see what happens next because "it's ten heartbeats until midnight."
Astra is still my favorite character in this series so far. Though, her quirkiness didn't shine quite as brightly as it did in the first book. This book answered some questions that I had from book one because it dove into other important characters that needed to be brought in. I love how even though these characters don't know what love is they know they are developing feelings for each other and it's not hate. I couldn't help but smile at their budding feelings for each other.
I see that I have messed up because now I have to wait for book three even though I need it now. After the ending of this book, I'm definitely excited to see what happens next because "it's ten heartbeats until midnight."
No Plain Rebel immerses you further in to the dream world of No Ordinary Star. It is deeply emotional, elegantly thought provoking, and will have your heart pumping! This stunning installment in the series will have you re-evaluating what you know of futuristic science fiction and fantasies of utopia.
The Plot: Picking up where No Ordinary Star left off, Felix and Astra begin to uncover the deepest secrets held in the Clockmaster's hidden library. In turn, they begin to uncover more secrets about themselves, and what it truly means to be human. It is a race against time for Felix to finish the great clock for the celebration, but can he do the right thing, knowing what the clock is truly meant for?
M.C. Frank continues to impress me with her beautiful writing! I love this one more than the first one! No Plain Rebel delves deeper in to the minds, and histories, of Astra and Felix. It reveals more about the history of the One World, and allows us to learn more about the Clockmaster and his family. There is more of a human connection in this one, along with a revelation of sadness and terror. It is in this book that we truly begin to see what Astra and Felix have missed in their lives, and we learn the terrifying truth of the past, present, and potential future of earth and the One World.
No Plain Rebel symbolizes the importance of waking up from a life of lies. We see Felix become more human and start to realize everything he missed as a drone. This one shows us how disconnected the world is from simple human pleasures, such as real food, music, and books. I find that Felix figuring out how to put the clock together is beautifully symbolic of he and Astra figuring each other out and learning how to be human again.
I am very proud to be a part of the street team for this trilogy! So far, both books have captivated my mind and my heart. The story is rich, bold, and beautiful. No Plain Rebel adds so much depth to the first book and the past and present of our main characters. It adds much needed backstory to the world Frank has created, and makes us see how so many things can go wrong with the creation of a Utopian society in a futuristic setting.
The Plot: Picking up where No Ordinary Star left off, Felix and Astra begin to uncover the deepest secrets held in the Clockmaster's hidden library. In turn, they begin to uncover more secrets about themselves, and what it truly means to be human. It is a race against time for Felix to finish the great clock for the celebration, but can he do the right thing, knowing what the clock is truly meant for?
M.C. Frank continues to impress me with her beautiful writing! I love this one more than the first one! No Plain Rebel delves deeper in to the minds, and histories, of Astra and Felix. It reveals more about the history of the One World, and allows us to learn more about the Clockmaster and his family. There is more of a human connection in this one, along with a revelation of sadness and terror. It is in this book that we truly begin to see what Astra and Felix have missed in their lives, and we learn the terrifying truth of the past, present, and potential future of earth and the One World.
No Plain Rebel symbolizes the importance of waking up from a life of lies. We see Felix become more human and start to realize everything he missed as a drone. This one shows us how disconnected the world is from simple human pleasures, such as real food, music, and books. I find that Felix figuring out how to put the clock together is beautifully symbolic of he and Astra figuring each other out and learning how to be human again.
I am very proud to be a part of the street team for this trilogy! So far, both books have captivated my mind and my heart. The story is rich, bold, and beautiful. No Plain Rebel adds so much depth to the first book and the past and present of our main characters. It adds much needed backstory to the world Frank has created, and makes us see how so many things can go wrong with the creation of a Utopian society in a futuristic setting.