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popthebutterfly 's review for:
No Vain Loss
by M. C. Frank
Rating: 5/5
Genre: YA Dystopian
Recommended Age: 14+ (violence, trigger warnings for slight mention of sexual and physical abuse)
I received a free arc of this book in exchange for my honest review. This did not influence my decision in any manner.
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 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by the short stories of Ray Bradbury, this futuristic novel is set in a world where Christmas -among other things- is obsolete and a Clock is what keeps the fragile balance of peace.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. In No Vain Loss, the third installment, war is about to erupt. Who will be left standing when the stars begin to fade? Immerse yourself into the icy cold world of this scorching hot new novel. – Amazon.com
This is a book I’ve been waiting on for the past few months, the last book in the No Ordinary Star series! I was so pumped to receive this book and I want to thank the author so many times over for letting me read and review this amazing book! I love Felix and Astra so much and it hurt me and made me happy to read about them again and if anyone has read this book then you know exactly what I’m talking about! While this was the last book we were introduced to some new characters. The character development was well done for the new characters and for the existing ones as well, especially for Astra and Felix. The plot developed nicely and there were many twists and turns at the end that I did not see coming. The pacing was well done as well and the writing was very fantastic and very easy to read and follow through with. I liked that for the most part, the book is from Felix’s perspective but that we have those chapters from Astra as well. While I wouldn’t mind a book from Astra’s perspective most of the story focuses on Felix and he is one of the more important parts of this book. I also like how the book explores Felix’s emotions and how developed he became as a character throughout this whole series.
However, I did feel that Astra needed to be a bit more developed as she was a main character in this series. I’d really like to explore her more as a character, especially her life before her father’s death and her escape from The Box in the time period before the first book. I think her arc is so intriguing and I’d love a prequel involving just her. I also felt that while the world building was pretty good that sci-fi lovers might like more explanation into how the science in this world works and more about the world in general.
Verdict: This book and series as a whole are one of the best YA dystopians I’ve read. I feel that the world is something that could be within that realm of possibility and that while the book does get into some sci-fi esque things that it’s not weighed down with overwhelming information about the sci-fi parts. While this was a plus for me since I’m not a big sci-fi reader, it might not be for those who like sci-fi. I also felt that while I had a really good grasp on how the world worked that the world building could have been a little bit more expanded upon. Even with those complaints I love this series and I loved this book. I felt the book and series ended appropriately, but it still had a bit of that openness to it that leaves room for interpretation as to what comes next and wiggle room for the author should she want to go back and write more books in this series (hint hint prequel for Astra). If you’re a YA dystopian lover, this is the series for you!
Genre: YA Dystopian
Recommended Age: 14+ (violence, trigger warnings for slight mention of sexual and physical abuse)
I received a free arc of this book in exchange for my honest review. This did not influence my decision in any manner.
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 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. In No Vain Loss, the third installment, war is about to erupt. Who will be left standing when the stars begin to fade? Immerse yourself into the icy cold world of this scorching hot new novel. – Amazon.com
This is a book I’ve been waiting on for the past few months, the last book in the No Ordinary Star series! I was so pumped to receive this book and I want to thank the author so many times over for letting me read and review this amazing book! I love Felix and Astra so much and it hurt me and made me happy to read about them again and if anyone has read this book then you know exactly what I’m talking about! While this was the last book we were introduced to some new characters. The character development was well done for the new characters and for the existing ones as well, especially for Astra and Felix. The plot developed nicely and there were many twists and turns at the end that I did not see coming. The pacing was well done as well and the writing was very fantastic and very easy to read and follow through with. I liked that for the most part, the book is from Felix’s perspective but that we have those chapters from Astra as well. While I wouldn’t mind a book from Astra’s perspective most of the story focuses on Felix and he is one of the more important parts of this book. I also like how the book explores Felix’s emotions and how developed he became as a character throughout this whole series.
However, I did feel that Astra needed to be a bit more developed as she was a main character in this series. I’d really like to explore her more as a character, especially her life before her father’s death and her escape from The Box in the time period before the first book. I think her arc is so intriguing and I’d love a prequel involving just her. I also felt that while the world building was pretty good that sci-fi lovers might like more explanation into how the science in this world works and more about the world in general.
Verdict: This book and series as a whole are one of the best YA dystopians I’ve read. I feel that the world is something that could be within that realm of possibility and that while the book does get into some sci-fi esque things that it’s not weighed down with overwhelming information about the sci-fi parts. While this was a plus for me since I’m not a big sci-fi reader, it might not be for those who like sci-fi. I also felt that while I had a really good grasp on how the world worked that the world building could have been a little bit more expanded upon. Even with those complaints I love this series and I loved this book. I felt the book and series ended appropriately, but it still had a bit of that openness to it that leaves room for interpretation as to what comes next and wiggle room for the author should she want to go back and write more books in this series (hint hint prequel for Astra). If you’re a YA dystopian lover, this is the series for you!