Official Review: Missing Pieces by Michael Golvach

Seraphia Bunny Sparks · Post by **Seraphia Bunny Sparks** » 26 Jun 2016, 12:30

Really enjoyed reading your well written review. I really appreciate you giving us a heads up about certain aspects of this story in case anyone might have a problem with. Overall it sounds like a good book to check out despite some of the issues you pointed out. I am a fan of romance from time to time so this might be a book that I pick up and check out.

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 26 Jun 2016, 13:00

mgolvach wrote:Thanks to everyone for their replies, comments and support I'm really very appreciative of it all.
Today, for some reason, I'm a little backed up on properly replying to people, but I'm getting there... I think

Thanks

Mike

-- 26 Jun 2016, 12:16 --

Hi there,

Just feel I should write this. It's not a criticism, but just for explanation.

Missing Pieces DOES deal with disturbing subject matter, but there's nothing in it that doesn't need to be. It was my intent to not go over the top, while at the same time not dishonouring the subject matter by describing it in such a way that it became cartoonish.

That being said, we all have different limits. What's tolerable to me may be too much for you.

No judgement being doled out here. Just a little explanation. The last thing I want is for anyone to think this book is about "Shock Value" and not about story.

Thanks

Mike

No worries there, Mike. Even with some of my reservations of the graphic scenes, I decided to get the book. I can't stop thinking about it, which in it of itself, told me that I should just give it a try! Can't wait!

mgolvach · Post by **mgolvach** » 26 Jun 2016, 13:05

hsimone wrote:
mgolvach wrote:Thanks to everyone for their replies, comments and support I'm really very appreciative of it all.
Today, for some reason, I'm a little backed up on properly replying to people, but I'm getting there... I think

Thanks

Mike

-- 26 Jun 2016, 12:16 --

Hi there,

Just feel I should write this. It's not a criticism, but just for explanation.

Missing Pieces DOES deal with disturbing subject matter, but there's nothing in it that doesn't need to be. It was my intent to not go over the top, while at the same time not dishonouring the subject matter by describing it in such a way that it became cartoonish.

That being said, we all have different limits. What's tolerable to me may be too much for you.

No judgement being doled out here. Just a little explanation. The last thing I want is for anyone to think this book is about "Shock Value" and not about story.

Thanks

Mike
No worries there, Mike. Even with some of my reservations of the graphic scenes, I decided to get the book. I can't stop thinking about it, which in it of itself, told me that I should just give it a try! Can't wait!

Thank you so much

I really appreciate your kind words, and - of course - wasn't meaning to single you out (Although I'm glad you picked up the book and hope you really like it - love it

- I just wanted to be sure no one picked up this book with the sole intent of reading "disturbing content". I'm aware that there are books out there like that (The slang term for them is too crude to put up on here), and this would be a terrible disappointment to fans of that sort of prurient exploitation fiction.

Thank you again, and enjoy

, Mike

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 26 Jun 2016, 13:14

mgolvach wrote:
hsimone wrote:
mgolvach wrote:Thanks to everyone for their replies, comments and support I'm really very appreciative of it all.
Today, for some reason, I'm a little backed up on properly replying to people, but I'm getting there... I think

Thanks

Mike

-- 26 Jun 2016, 12:16 --

Hi there,

Just feel I should write this. It's not a criticism, but just for explanation.

Missing Pieces DOES deal with disturbing subject matter, but there's nothing in it that doesn't need to be. It was my intent to not go over the top, while at the same time not dishonouring the subject matter by describing it in such a way that it became cartoonish.

That being said, we all have different limits. What's tolerable to me may be too much for you.

No judgement being doled out here. Just a little explanation. The last thing I want is for anyone to think this book is about "Shock Value" and not about story.

Thanks

Mike
No worries there, Mike. Even with some of my reservations of the graphic scenes, I decided to get the book. I can't stop thinking about it, which in it of itself, told me that I should just give it a try! Can't wait!
Thank you so much I really appreciate your kind words, and - of course - wasn't meaning to single you out (Although I'm glad you picked up the book and hope you really like it - love it - I just wanted to be sure no one picked up this book with the sole intent of reading "disturbing content". I'm aware that there are books out there like that (The slang term for them is too crude to put up on here), and this would be a terrible disappointment to fans of that sort of prurient exploitation fiction.

Thank you again, and enjoy

, Mike

No worries, I did not get that impression at all!

I'm looking for the love story and the healing the main characters go through.

mgolvach · Post by **mgolvach** » 26 Jun 2016, 13:35

hsimone wrote: No worries, I did not get that impression at all! I'm looking for the love story and the healing the main characters go through.

Thank you so much. That's exactly what the story is about. Love and healing from abuse. Thanks, really. I love it when I hear that people get that <3

, Mike

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 26 Jun 2016, 13:41

mgolvach wrote:
hsimone wrote: No worries, I did not get that impression at all! I'm looking for the love story and the healing the main characters go through.
Thank you so much. That's exactly what the story is about. Love and healing from abuse. Thanks, really. I love it when I hear that people get that <3

, Mike

MandalynnJDG · Post by **MandalynnJDG** » 26 Jun 2016, 15:57

Thank you for your detailed and honest review. It is best to be aware of what you are getting into if you are a sensitive reader...especially if it is a tedious second half. While I am not sure that this would be my cup of tea, it does sound like it could be a great love story.

kayd29+ · Post by **kayd29+** » 26 Jun 2016, 16:14

Based on the description this seems to be a book i would enjoy. I like when an author is discriptive. Its seems to show to different characters world colliding.

ilovebooks2 · Post by **ilovebooks2** » 26 Jun 2016, 16:45

This quote from the review makes me really want to read this book:
"I loved it, and I hated it. It made me want to cry in happiness, sob in misery, gasp in surprise, and gag in disgust. I have a feeling that this is one romance that I will not easily forget."
I got it with my $5 gift card.

adria_charles · Post by **adria_charles** » 27 Jun 2016, 14:40

I have finally finished the book. I must say I agree with the ALynnPowers about this being a romance novel that will not be easily forgotten. Although the graphic content I felt clouded the actual romance part, once the story got past all that, about 3/4 of the way through, the story became much more captivating. I am happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading the end of the book and am glad I stuck through it. I still have a hard time understanding Mandi as a character, but I feel that may have been intentional of the author.

mgolvach · Post by **mgolvach** » 27 Jun 2016, 15:40

adria_charles wrote:I have finally finished the book. I must say I agree with the ALynnPowers about this being a romance novel that will not be easily forgotten. Although the graphic content I felt clouded the actual romance part, once the story got past all that, about 3/4 of the way through, the story became much more captivating. I am happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading the end of the book and am glad I stuck through it. I still have a hard time understanding Mandi as a character, but I feel that may have been intentional of the author.

Thank you for your kind words, Adria.
My favourite parts (the ones I like to listen to/read over and over again) are pretty much the same. For me, the beginning makes those parts what they are, but certainly, in any story, there are lots of roads to "happy". This was a very hard book for me to categorise, but it is a love story, at its core, even though it also touches a lot of other genres (into which it just doesn't fit) - Thankfully, it's pulling its own in the "Literary Fiction" niche, which is about as specific as I could get since there doesn't seem to be a "Literary Romance" niche on Amazon. I had to go with "Contemporary Romance" because the book doesn't follow the Romance genre's rules.

MAYBE SPOILERS BELOW HERE (TRYING NOT TO):
Strangely enough, the biggest complaint I get is that the ending parts are too slow, but it was an artistic decision on my part (Not necessarily commercially the best) to mimick the trauma and four stages of wound healing (Delineated by the Part names) which don't follow the traditional arc-climax-end formula and to also choose an antagonist that isn't human but a condition of being human. The second stage of healing (Endocytosis - which includes Phagocytosis -- cell drinking and eating - literal killing of bacteria and other harmful elements) is, essentially, the most violent (and traditionally would be the end - And it is, insofar as the prop-antagonist is concerned). The stages of proliferation of new tissue (Neoplasia) and programmed unneeded-harmful cell death (Apoptosis) are more conducive to traditional Romance. All of the "healing" - of course - isn't literal (Because, hopefully, the book isn't like one big wound
Before I write way too much...
If you have any questions about the characters or story, I'm happy to answer them. Maybe in another thread where spoilers aren't an issue. Mandi's character is hard to track, mostly because I went to insane lengths to make sure she was as realistic as possible, psychologically and otherwise, given her situation. I have a deconstruction of the novel that I'm happy to share with anyone. I actually had to write it for myself to track the 34 thematic threads and help me get rid of lots of story that contributed nothing.
END OF MAYBE SPOILERS

Thank you, though, again. I'm glad you made it to the end and that you enjoyed that part

, Mike

-- 28 Jun 2016, 20:08 --

Hi ALynnPowers,

Just in case it's a problem, I included a link to your review when I updated my website today (removed by mod). If you'd like the link removed, just let me know. Hopefully, it's helpful

Take care,

Mike

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 28 Jun 2016, 22:21

Sorry! We can't link to personal sites or blogs. Self promotion is highly frowned upon around here.

mgolvach · Post by **mgolvach** » 28 Jun 2016, 22:34

ALynnPowers wrote:Sorry! We can't link to personal sites or blogs. Self promotion is highly frowned upon around here.

Hi ALynnPowers,

Sorry about that. I just wanted to be sure that it was okay that I linked your review from there. Didn't mean to abuse the board

Peace,

Mike

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 29 Jun 2016, 05:28

mgolvach wrote:
ALynnPowers wrote:Sorry! We can't link to personal sites or blogs. Self promotion is highly frowned upon around here.
Hi ALynnPowers,

Sorry about that. I just wanted to be sure that it was okay that I linked your review from there. Didn't mean to abuse the board

Peace,

Mike

I think it's perfectly fine to link to our reviews. Encouraged, even!!

mgolvach · Post by **mgolvach** » 29 Jun 2016, 12:37

ALynnPowers wrote:
mgolvach wrote:
ALynnPowers wrote:Sorry! We can't link to personal sites or blogs. Self promotion is highly frowned upon around here.
Hi ALynnPowers,

Sorry about that. I just wanted to be sure that it was okay that I linked your review from there. Didn't mean to abuse the board

Peace,

Mike
I think it's perfectly fine to link to our reviews. Encouraged, even!!

Sweet! Thank you! It's done

, Mike