Save Me by M C Frank

173 pages, contemporary/new adult romance, kindle unlimited

Karen’s Magic Review

I was recently invited to join a group on Facebook. The idea being that I could look for reviewers for my own books, especially The Power of Love as it has no reviews on the UK Amazon site.

Before I could dive in, I needed to also be a reviewer. The cover of Save Me immediately drew me in. Plus, the post mentioned it was a short romantic read, and so I applied for it.

I duly received an email from the author with the ARC enclosed along with instructions for reviewing. It said – ‘No spoilers. Say nothing about the plot. You can mention what it says in the description. Concentrate instead on how it makes you feel. And definitely do not mention the big twist at the end. Lastly, it said the book was an accompaniment to a novel, and if I wanted to read that too, I could request it.

I have reviewed from ARCs (Advanced Readers Copies) before, and had never been issued with so many instructions. I was also a little concerned at being left on a cliffhanger. I prefer a satisfactory ending.

However, I did as I was asked, and left a generic review on Amazon and Goodreads, but also mentioned how I reserved the right to review as I saw fit on my own blog. I soon found myself in an awkward position. When you don’t like a book, but are obligated, so I ploughed on.

I don’t leave negative reviews, and apart from giving it three stars on Amazon and Goodreads, I didn’t. So, let’s start with what was good about it.

As mentioned, I loved the cover. The face of the main character, Spencer, also appears just above the words chapter one. I have never seen that done before, and it was a nice touch He was now firmly in my mind’s eye. The story unfolded in the first person point of view by Spenser. The setting of the story was mainly in Greece, and beautifully described by the author. I wanted to go and experience it for myself.

Based on a film set, Spenser was a child star now grown up. The idea fascinated me. I can honestly say I’d never read anything like that before. It was exciting, and could be very interesting to know what goes on behind the scenes.

Instead, Spencer spent pages and pages depressed with what felt like teenage angst, even though he was twenty two. It turned out he was in love with a girl from the film he was working on. His declarations of undying love were endless. He constantly talked about his feelings, and it became a tiresome tirade as I found myself skipping words to get to the end of the chapter in the hope it would change. It didn’t

It was also confusing as his thoughts and speech rolled into one. I wasn’t sure whether he was thinking it or saying it at times.

I began to suspect what the ‘big twist’ was. When it came, it was no revelation or surprise.

There wasn’t a cliff hanger ending as such, but there was a very unresolved situation. I had no desire to find out what became of the apple of his eye, the girl who broke his heart. It would probably be more of the same. I could not connect with Spenser at all.

Maybe it is subjective, you may love it. A fair number of reviewers on Amazon did.

Who knows, you may enjoy it, too.

Description

“You saved my life.”
“I did. Now I’m the one who’s drowning.”

I was playing Mr Darcy in a modern Pride and Prejudice film adaptation, shot on a Greek island. I was Hollywood’s golden boy, Wes Spencer. A billionaire. One of the youngest Academy Award nominees. A prodigy.

She was just a stunt girl from Greece, surfing and diving into the azure waters of the Corfu beaches between my takes.

There was no reason for us to meet. The stunt girl and the actor. Our worlds should have never collided, but they did.

We went from a near-death experience to indifference, from indifference to hate and from hate to… to something I never would have imagined.

She changed my life and then she disappeared. I guess nearly dying in my arms scared her too much, and she couldn’t come back from that. I was scared too. I still have nightmares about losing her, but this… this is worse than all my nightmares put together.

Losing her is breaking me. Without her I am constantly suffocating.
But how can I get her back, when she won’t even talk to me? When she won’t even tell me what I did?

Save Me is a companion book to Lose Me, written from the point of view of everyone’s favorite British movie star, Wes Spencer. It’s a new story.