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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Okay first, I had SERIOUS doubts going into this book I would like it. Parallel universes? Seriously? So I delayed reading this series. After finishing Rock Chick, Colorado Mountain, Dream Man, Ghosts and Reincarnation series' and then reading the first in the Three series, and all the stand alones, I really was debating whether to get this book. I just wasn't confident I would like it.
Thank god I was once again proven wrong. This book was FANTASTIC!
First, I got the whole parallel universe thing. It made sense in a PNR sort of way so I dug it. And two, the world KA presented was gorgeous. I loved it, like LOADS! And, being the gamer I am, I couldn't help but think of some of the lands in World of Warcraft in her descriptions--the snowy world where Finnie's twin came from, the scorched and barren middleland area, the sea, *sighs* It was gorgeous and I want to live there.
Third, let's talk about Frey. Oh.My.God. I <3 Frey. I love him, I love him, I looooooove him! Holy bad ass alpha man with a heart of gold. I want one. Now.
Sure he messed up...BIG TIME. And I was SERIOUSLY, as in SERIOUSLY, pissed at him for two things he did which I will not reveal since it would be way too spoilery. But, I got over what he did. One because he is FREY, and two because Finnie got over it too. Also, I had to remember, even though I was so ridiculously mad at the decision he made for Finnie without even consulting her, that this was a different world she was living in, with different morals, rules, and laws. I had to remember that Frey, even though he was in the wrong from my point of view and from Finnie's, his actions would be seen as okay in his world. (I did love how his friend tried to talk some sense into him though, trying to remind him she came from another world with perhaps different ideas and such. I so wanted to high five him there! lol)
And I loved how Aurora and Finnie had those heart to hearts and Aurora helped her to understand things. And Frey, even when he messed up, he made up for it. He too had to remember that Finnie was not from his world and had different ideas, values, etc and he didn't account for that. But he did apologize, even when she said towards the end he didn't have to. I loved that he did it anyways-his errors in judgment were not swept under the rug and the two confronted them. Everyone makes mistakes after all and the alternative, a life without Frey, would have been unacceptable. (to me anyways. I mean, if the man didn't get it, after the chat the two had, THEN I'd be all "get out of my face caveman". But he did. So yeah, definitely forgivable!)
On to Finnie. I loved her too. She was so adorable when she would get excited about things she discovered in Frey's world. Her reaction to the elves, and the cat, oh my god I was laughing out loud. It was so cute! Instead of being scared, she just took in all in stride and welcomed each new experience. She wasn't ever afraid to show how excited she was. And the way Frey reacted to that was priceless. (And don't get me started on his nickname for her. Dear god I wanted to swoon out of my chair!) I saw some reviews that knocked off points because Finnie acted immature in her reactions to things. I saw none of this and don't think it was immaturity showing at all. I mean, really, if I was suddenly in a parallel universe and learned of the existence of elves I would be even more excited than Finnie was. And way less patient about meeting them. As in I would be all "Frey, I want to see the Elves, like NOWWWWWW". And then he would go all sweet and bossy, and likely try to convince me to be patient. But I don't know if I would be able to. I mean...ELVES! And DRAGONS! I almost forgot about the dragons. DRAGONS PEOPLE!!!! How freaking COOL is that?!
And even when she was devastated emotionally by what happened (again, not going to say what happens, but it's heartwrenching and gut twisting and I cried), she still had the strength to kick some serious bad guy asses all over the place. You go Finnie--I got your back girl!
I will say that this book is not without some bittersweet moments. This world in which the two lived had some turmoil going on and some characters I never expected met an untimely death. It was sad, but the way KA handled it was beautiful.
Oh, and also, Apollo. Oh my. Oh FREAKING my. His story has a tentative release date of March 2013. *starts marking down the days on the calendar*
Anyways, I cannot wait to read the other two books already out in this series. I should pace myself since the fourth book (Apollo's) isn't out until March, but I doubt I will be able to. I need to read more about this world, like NOW! :) This whole book was truly just such an amazing heartwarming love story and if you can use your imagination and get into the whole idea of a parallel universe (which isn't too hard since books about vamps, werewolves, and all sorts of PNR are so popular), you will likely find that you will really, really enjoy this series.
Thank god I was once again proven wrong. This book was FANTASTIC!
First, I got the whole parallel universe thing. It made sense in a PNR sort of way so I dug it. And two, the world KA presented was gorgeous. I loved it, like LOADS! And, being the gamer I am, I couldn't help but think of some of the lands in World of Warcraft in her descriptions--the snowy world where Finnie's twin came from, the scorched and barren middleland area, the sea, *sighs* It was gorgeous and I want to live there.
Third, let's talk about Frey. Oh.My.God. I <3 Frey. I love him, I love him, I looooooove him! Holy bad ass alpha man with a heart of gold. I want one. Now.
Sure he messed up...BIG TIME. And I was SERIOUSLY, as in SERIOUSLY, pissed at him for two things he did which I will not reveal since it would be way too spoilery. But, I got over what he did. One because he is FREY, and two because Finnie got over it too. Also, I had to remember, even though I was so ridiculously mad at the decision he made for Finnie without even consulting her, that this was a different world she was living in, with different morals, rules, and laws. I had to remember that Frey, even though he was in the wrong from my point of view and from Finnie's, his actions would be seen as okay in his world. (I did love how his friend tried to talk some sense into him though, trying to remind him she came from another world with perhaps different ideas and such. I so wanted to high five him there! lol)
And I loved how Aurora and Finnie had those heart to hearts and Aurora helped her to understand things. And Frey, even when he messed up, he made up for it. He too had to remember that Finnie was not from his world and had different ideas, values, etc and he didn't account for that. But he did apologize, even when she said towards the end he didn't have to. I loved that he did it anyways-his errors in judgment were not swept under the rug and the two confronted them. Everyone makes mistakes after all and the alternative, a life without Frey, would have been unacceptable. (to me anyways. I mean, if the man didn't get it, after the chat the two had, THEN I'd be all "get out of my face caveman". But he did. So yeah, definitely forgivable!)
On to Finnie. I loved her too. She was so adorable when she would get excited about things she discovered in Frey's world. Her reaction to the elves, and the cat, oh my god I was laughing out loud. It was so cute! Instead of being scared, she just took in all in stride and welcomed each new experience. She wasn't ever afraid to show how excited she was. And the way Frey reacted to that was priceless. (And don't get me started on his nickname for her. Dear god I wanted to swoon out of my chair!) I saw some reviews that knocked off points because Finnie acted immature in her reactions to things. I saw none of this and don't think it was immaturity showing at all. I mean, really, if I was suddenly in a parallel universe and learned of the existence of elves I would be even more excited than Finnie was. And way less patient about meeting them. As in I would be all "Frey, I want to see the Elves, like NOWWWWWW". And then he would go all sweet and bossy, and likely try to convince me to be patient. But I don't know if I would be able to. I mean...ELVES! And DRAGONS! I almost forgot about the dragons. DRAGONS PEOPLE!!!! How freaking COOL is that?!
And even when she was devastated emotionally by what happened (again, not going to say what happens, but it's heartwrenching and gut twisting and I cried), she still had the strength to kick some serious bad guy asses all over the place. You go Finnie--I got your back girl!
I will say that this book is not without some bittersweet moments. This world in which the two lived had some turmoil going on and some characters I never expected met an untimely death. It was sad, but the way KA handled it was beautiful.
Oh, and also, Apollo. Oh my. Oh FREAKING my. His story has a tentative release date of March 2013. *starts marking down the days on the calendar*
Anyways, I cannot wait to read the other two books already out in this series. I should pace myself since the fourth book (Apollo's) isn't out until March, but I doubt I will be able to. I need to read more about this world, like NOW! :) This whole book was truly just such an amazing heartwarming love story and if you can use your imagination and get into the whole idea of a parallel universe (which isn't too hard since books about vamps, werewolves, and all sorts of PNR are so popular), you will likely find that you will really, really enjoy this series.
Re-read 11/13/14
Re-read 7/2016 - I'm sure I read it at least once more in between Nov 14 and now, but I must have missed updating.
Re-read 7/2016 - I'm sure I read it at least once more in between Nov 14 and now, but I must have missed updating.
July 26, 2022 reread: I think I liked this so much more than the first time. I changed my rating from February 2018 (four stars) to five five stars.
I am never really disappointed by anything this author writes. I did feel this story was a little too long but loved it otherwise.
I am never really disappointed by anything this author writes. I did feel this story was a little too long but loved it otherwise.
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Dnf @ p234 of p442
This is the only English novel that came up when I hunted for otome isekais. And I'm gonna say I almost shelved this as faves from the first chapters, but then the middle happen, and I just can't anymore.
I feel like the writer is trying very hard at the explicit scenes, but OH BOY! She kinda sucks...and not the good kind. The moment I read 'Yes,yes,yes,yes,yes" paragraph here, then another "Yes,yes,yes,yes" sprinkle it with the words 'undies' and, by the grace of the lord, 'baby"–that word – you bet your silly arse it's a definite drop. Not to mention they're going to talk about it to people how amazing it was when it was a pure nightmare for me... capital CRINGE-FEST.
And Jesus H. Christ! don't get me started on the homophobia and sexism. Shamefully, I was already warned about how there's a bit of them. And I was so smug cuz I said to myself, if there's little, I could take it. I mean, I read a lot of Historical Romances, after all.
Let me get this straight. There isn't a little bit of homophobia and sexism here, readers. There is a giant cockatoo of 'em. Literally, every time the main characters interact, it stinks of sexism! and every time the thoughts veer to the original ice princess, the homos be snatchin'.
So that's it, I'm out.
This is the only English novel that came up when I hunted for otome isekais. And I'm gonna say I almost shelved this as faves from the first chapters, but then the middle happen, and I just can't anymore.
I feel like the writer is trying very hard at the explicit scenes, but OH BOY! She kinda sucks...and not the good kind. The moment I read 'Yes,yes,yes,yes,yes" paragraph here, then another "Yes,yes,yes,yes" sprinkle it with the words 'undies' and, by the grace of the lord, 'baby"–that word – you bet your silly arse it's a definite drop. Not to mention they're going to talk about it to people how amazing it was when it was a pure nightmare for me... capital CRINGE-FEST.
And Jesus H. Christ! don't get me started on the homophobia and sexism. Shamefully, I was already warned about how there's a bit of them. And I was so smug cuz I said to myself, if there's little, I could take it. I mean, I read a lot of Historical Romances, after all.
Let me get this straight. There isn't a little bit of homophobia and sexism here, readers. There is a giant cockatoo of 'em. Literally, every time the main characters interact, it stinks of sexism! and every time the thoughts veer to the original ice princess, the homos be snatchin'.
So that's it, I'm out.
I discovered this book from a list of “underrated books” and yeah I liked it. Very descriptive world-building and eager to find the sequel.
I again started a book without knowing what it was about. So I was a bit startled about the whole "other realm" thing. And while trying to adjust, I found it difficult to imagine that Finnie would be so open to the adventures and adapt so easily to a very different world. That being said, I was sucked into the plot and found myself wanting them to have a happy-ever-after. There were several typos/grammatical errors that I found distracting, but this time they didn't take away from my enjoyment as much as the last book I read that was chock full of them. I was surprised at the end how much I wanted to immediately read the next book in the series (although not a cliffhanger), so I probably will continue at some point in time.
Instagram Review: https://www.instagram.com/p/BH2GsS7hmyk/?taken-by=thegeekyblogger
Actual Rating: 4.25 (Overall), 4.00 (Story), 4.50 (Character); Narrating Rating: 5:00 (not part of the overall rating)
#listenedforfun Wildest Dreams by Kristen Ashley /Narrated by Tillie Hooper
#instareview : Really had fun with this one! Would have been a 5 but the hero got off a little easy for some pretty big a**hole moves. Audiobook Listeners you will not go wrong with this!!! Tillie freaking nailed it. #bookshots
Actual Rating: 4.25 (Overall), 4.00 (Story), 4.50 (Character); Narrating Rating: 5:00 (not part of the overall rating)
#listenedforfun Wildest Dreams by Kristen Ashley /Narrated by Tillie Hooper
#instareview : Really had fun with this one! Would have been a 5 but the hero got off a little easy for some pretty big a**hole moves. Audiobook Listeners you will not go wrong with this!!! Tillie freaking nailed it. #bookshots