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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
I absolutely loved this book. I loved the swapping of life's and fulfilling ur biggest wish. Who wouldn't want to go to another world to see love ones again.
I absolutely love Frey and his huge sexy self with the power over elfs and dragons.
When Finne first meets Frey she know nothing about him only that she is put before him to be married. I love how Finne is totally for the adventure and everything thrown in her past she challenges and overcomes.
Frey did not expect his new wife to respond so heatedly but did couldn't help but enjoy it himself but with distrust and hatred between him and Sjofn.
A lot happens in this book so if you don't concentrate you could lose where you were easily but the world is amazing and very well described.
I do feel this book could be a lot smaller but that would probably make the reader miss out of small but enjoyable characters like skylar trying to doing his exam while Penelope swipe her tail across his test annoying him. Would love KA to write about Finnie's girls and Frey's men, Looking forward to more. Great HEA.
I absolutely love Frey and his huge sexy self with the power over elfs and dragons.
When Finne first meets Frey she know nothing about him only that she is put before him to be married. I love how Finne is totally for the adventure and everything thrown in her past she challenges and overcomes.
Frey did not expect his new wife to respond so heatedly but did couldn't help but enjoy it himself but with distrust and hatred between him and Sjofn.
A lot happens in this book so if you don't concentrate you could lose where you were easily but the world is amazing and very well described.
I do feel this book could be a lot smaller but that would probably make the reader miss out of small but enjoyable characters like skylar trying to doing his exam while Penelope swipe her tail across his test annoying him. Would love KA to write about Finnie's girls and Frey's men, Looking forward to more. Great HEA.
Omg such an awesome adventure with so many twists in the plot, ups and downs in the romance and the best ending/beginning for the next books ever! Can't wait to read the rest in the series
Finnie Wilde is a very adventurous woman. She grew up believing in ‘living for the moment’. She is fearless and bold. When she is 15, she lost both her parents in a plane crash. She missed them so much that when she finds out there is a parallel universe where every person has a twin, she finds a witch who can send her there so she can see her parents again.
Her twin, Sjofn, isn’t very forthcoming about what Finnie is going to be getting herself into. She realizes almost right away that she has been tricked. She immediately, within 10 minutes of her arrival, finds out she is to marry Frey Drakkar. Walking down the aisle, she can see right away that he is very overbearing, commanding, and scary. He barely speaks to her after their first encounter at the alter and then he sweeps her off to a remote place. Luckily, she is tough and takes challenges head on!
When Frey Drakkar eventually learns that Finnie isn’t Princess Sjofn, he orders the elves to bind her to his world forever. He prefers her over the real Princess Sjofn. She is kind, loving, and adventurous. Although he had met Princess Sjofn only a few times, their dislike for each other was mutual.
Things are so different from each world, so there are quite a few misunderstandings between them. Finnie is so sweet and kind and thoughtful. She isn’t tough in the way her twin Sjofn was. She didn’t grow up hunting and fighting the way Sjofn did. She is always ready for an adventure though. It was nice to see her grow throughout this book. All the romance and adventures of this book made it hard to stop. I really enjoyed this one. It almost had the feel of a historical romance.
Tillie Hooper was the perfect narrator. Each character was unique and engaging.
Her twin, Sjofn, isn’t very forthcoming about what Finnie is going to be getting herself into. She realizes almost right away that she has been tricked. She immediately, within 10 minutes of her arrival, finds out she is to marry Frey Drakkar. Walking down the aisle, she can see right away that he is very overbearing, commanding, and scary. He barely speaks to her after their first encounter at the alter and then he sweeps her off to a remote place. Luckily, she is tough and takes challenges head on!
When Frey Drakkar eventually learns that Finnie isn’t Princess Sjofn, he orders the elves to bind her to his world forever. He prefers her over the real Princess Sjofn. She is kind, loving, and adventurous. Although he had met Princess Sjofn only a few times, their dislike for each other was mutual.
Things are so different from each world, so there are quite a few misunderstandings between them. Finnie is so sweet and kind and thoughtful. She isn’t tough in the way her twin Sjofn was. She didn’t grow up hunting and fighting the way Sjofn did. She is always ready for an adventure though. It was nice to see her grow throughout this book. All the romance and adventures of this book made it hard to stop. I really enjoyed this one. It almost had the feel of a historical romance.
Tillie Hooper was the perfect narrator. Each character was unique and engaging.
I expected Wildest Dreams to remain on my TBR for a very long time, even after it was recommended to fans of A Court of Mist and Fury. It was $0.99 so I snagged it. I have a hard time saying no to most $0.99 books, even though I’m terrible about getting to the actual reading them part. It was hook, line, and sinker when I found out what this story (and series) was about — there is a parallel universe to our world where your twin resides. Finnie, wanting to find adventure, pays a witch to switch her with her twin so she could reside in this fantasy realm for at least a short time. Imagine her great surprise when she finds herself in this new world, minutes from marriage to an angry, brooding man that she’s never laid eyes on before.
First off, these books are long. But fun. And allllll kinds of romance-y. Finnie had some pretty cheesy dialogue that took me a while to get used to (she says cool and freaking entirely way too much) and there’s some serious alpha-male-ness going on, but when it all comes down to it the world-building was actually pretty awesome and the romance was all sorts of cute.
“You are, my wee Finnie, beyond my wildest dreams.”
First off, these books are long. But fun. And allllll kinds of romance-y. Finnie had some pretty cheesy dialogue that took me a while to get used to (she says cool and freaking entirely way too much) and there’s some serious alpha-male-ness going on, but when it all comes down to it the world-building was actually pretty awesome and the romance was all sorts of cute.
“You are, my wee Finnie, beyond my wildest dreams.”
What a fantastic read! Romance, passion and adventure all wrapped up in a fairy tale setting for a modern day woman. Love it! Anyone who enjoys fairy tales or game of thrones will appreciate this one.
Wildest Dreams (Fantasyland 1) by Kristen Ashley
Fantasy/Romance. First in a standalone series.
I've been saving this series for a rainy day. A day that I was in a book funk and needed something totally different. To be honest, I was a little scared to read Wildest Dreams. Fantasy is not my genre. But it's Kristen Ashley, and I've heard how great the series is, whether you read fantasy or not. But I totally didn't expect it to be better than my wildest dreams! (See what I did there?) And it was. What a testament to Kristen Ashley's talent that she can deliver an amazing KA book in a totally different world. The talent it takes to build a world completely different than ours and suck you right into it is crazy.
I'm not sure I have ever felt this strongly after a book that is a standalone (though the rest take place in the same world). I wanted to go back into this world so badly! I planned on just reading one, because Kristen Ashley books are long, and I literally get NOTHING done while reading one. I planned to wait to read another after Wicked Book Weekend in April. HA! But I was dreaming about the books. I was reading other books that I was truly enjoying, but still just wanted them to end so I could go back to Fantasyland! I couldn't even sit down to write this review until I was back in that world. I needed another fix! I'm actually writing this after reading Golden Dynasty, and like every KA series, this one just gets better!
OK, so here is the premise of the Fantasyland series: It takes place in modern day. But there is another dimension--an parallel universe, where pretty much everyone here has a twin. But this place is different. There is magic. Elves and witches exist, people can understand animals, but there is no electricity or cars or phones or running water. But there are kick-ass clothes, gorgeous castles, princesses, princes, hot as fuck warriors, and the men are MEN (well most of them) and there are dragons!
The whole series is just one romantic, exciting adventure.
"Life was meant to be lived, every breath was a gift, every risk worth taking."
Seoafin "Finnie" Wilde learned from a young age to grab adventure. She is an adrenaline junkie, always up for the next thrill. Her parents taught her that, but they unfortunately died in a plane crash when she was 15. Leaving her lots of money, she heard of a way that she thought she could see her parents again by paying a witch to switch places with her twin in the parallel universe for one year. Her twin in Lunwyn agreed to the switch, they informed each other of the important details via letters through the witch. But the twin in Fantasyland left out many of the details of the life Finnie would be walking into.
Like the fact that Finnie would be a princess and arrive just 15 minutes before her arranged marriage to the brutal but gorgeous Frey Drakaar, leader of the elves and dragons. And the Drakaar hates the beautiful princess because he is being forced into marriage with her though it's known far and wide that she's a lesbian! Not only that, but they must produce an heir to the throne which means dangerous enemies as well.
Here is where I must talk about Kristen Ashley's world. We know her talent for description in her contemporary books. They are even stronger here. The world that Finnie is Princess of is a beautiful winter wonderland. The castle has all of the things castles have. The finest silks, and 4 handmaidens who attend to the princess's every need. So she is thrust into a world where she is a princess dressing for her wedding. You can imagine Kristen Ashley's lush descriptions of the dress and castle. I was easily and immediately sucked in and transported with Finnie.
Despite their really rocky start, it was clear that The Drakaar and Finnie were meant for each other. And I loved seeing the tough pirate warrior's sweet mushy center.
"So here I was, a princess in a frozen world with a very scary yet very hot husband who could really kiss and liked to cuddle."
I don't even want to discuss any more of the story (I only introduced you to the first few pages!) because I want you to experience it yourself, to be transported like I was.
But a few things about the characters. I loved Finnie! She was a bit immature, but the childlike glee she had where everything was "cool" was fun. She was scrappy, adventurous, tough and a perfect KA heroine. Frey Drakaar was a typical KA alphahole with a soft, protective sweet side. Though he did a couple of things that were wrong no matter what world you were in that made me have a little bit of a harder time with him, he was still totally swoony. I mean he was basically the strongest man in the world. The only one who could talk to elves and command dragons.
As always with Kristen Ashley, the adventure is secondary to the romance, but there was a lot of both.
"You are, my wee Finnie, beyond my wildest dreams."
"My handsome husband tasted of peanut butter and marshmallow fluff. Kiss number three in the lineup of our best kisses. Kisses, all of them, better than anything… absolutely anything… even my wildest dreams."
Likes:
- •Kristen Ashley sucked you into this alternate world in the first few pages.
- •The rich details of the world.
- •Finnie was lovable and fun.
- •Frey Drakaar was a delicious alpha hole with a soft sweet center.
- •Great sex scenes.
- •Filled with so much excitement and adventure!
- •How Kristen Ashley made up an entire world with different countries, kingdoms and cultures.
- •So romantic!
- •That the culture was sexually free and was ok with same-sex (unless you have to produce an heir to the throne).
- •Elves! And magic tree bark that works like ecstasy in a way.
- •The world was very brutal, yet beautiful at the same time.
- •How woman could understand some animals and men could understand others.
- •Peanut butter and fluff. Seriously, a girl after my own heart.
Dislikes:
- •Frey Drakaar did 2 things that were pretty unforgivable. And though cultural differences excuse a lot of things, keeping these 2 things from his wife was not cool.
- •It got a little confusing at one point with too many characters to keep straight.
- •I wish there was an epilogue.
The Down & Dirty:
Wildest Dreams was still very much a Kristen Ashley book. I expected it to be a little more "otherworldly" but it wasn't. it was a nice and easy transition into the fantasy world, so I think it would be easy for any fan of her contemporary books to get into this series. I have never felt such a crushing need to go back for more right after I finish a book. I honestly rushed through the other books I committed to, blew off work and had to get to Golden Dynasty right away, and it was even better. Filled with adventure, romance, palaces, wars, executions, kidnappings and even more romance, I'm telling you, if you are a fan of Kristen Ashley, I don't care if you have never read a fantasy or paranormal book before, you need to try this series. You won't regret it.
Rating: 4.5 KA stars, 4 Heat (Kristen Ashley has to have her own scale!)
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The narrative voice was fun, so I'm giving it 3 stars.
But I'm not a fan of the sorts of gender roles Ashley splits her characters into. There's the selfish, sword-wielding, breeches-wearing lesbian Sjofn who is banished in exchange for the gregarious, homemaking, fancy-frocked "adventurer" Finnie (adventurer is quotation marks because besides keeping a cool head and some handy social skills, she has nothing to show for it). My issue is less with either woman than with the implicit value judgement that comes from banishing the one set of traits in a woman nobody misses, and crowning the others in the beloved princess. It might have been something to let slide, were Frey not such a hyper-masculine asshole, further polarizing gender roles. Finnie may forgive Frey in the end, but I certainly didn't.
But I'm not a fan of the sorts of gender roles Ashley splits her characters into. There's the selfish, sword-wielding, breeches-wearing lesbian Sjofn who is banished in exchange for the gregarious, homemaking, fancy-frocked "adventurer" Finnie (adventurer is quotation marks because besides keeping a cool head and some handy social skills, she has nothing to show for it). My issue is less with either woman than with the implicit value judgement that comes from banishing the one set of traits in a woman nobody misses, and crowning the others in the beloved princess. It might have been something to let slide, were Frey not such a hyper-masculine asshole, further polarizing gender roles. Finnie may forgive Frey in the end, but I certainly didn't.
This was cheesy fun. It was silly, a bit crazy and with a heroine that so did not fit in.
Finnie wants an adventure and goes to a parallel world and pretends to be her parallel twin while her lesbian parallel twins goes to our world to have some fun. It seems to be a good idea...not.
It was crazy. Dumped in a strange winter world, made to marry within minutes. Left alone after the wedding to survive on her own. Omg, epic stuff there. She was all f!? And then she just went on with life and had her adventure. She was so cool, and weird.
When the romance finally start. Well, ok so yes Frey is an asshole, but hey in a good way. Of course he does not want a woman who does not want him. But she is all hey there, and he is all is this my wife? Hell yeah. They were amusing to read about, and she is just So Earth modern woman. While he is a barbarian.
Yes he did make some foolish choices. MEN! But I could forgive them, cos shit got real and then you can't worry about stuff like that when true love is around.
A fun fantasy romance that was just...cheesy! In the best possible way.
Finnie wants an adventure and goes to a parallel world and pretends to be her parallel twin while her lesbian parallel twins goes to our world to have some fun. It seems to be a good idea...not.
It was crazy. Dumped in a strange winter world, made to marry within minutes. Left alone after the wedding to survive on her own. Omg, epic stuff there. She was all f!? And then she just went on with life and had her adventure. She was so cool, and weird.
When the romance finally start. Well, ok so yes Frey is an asshole, but hey in a good way. Of course he does not want a woman who does not want him. But she is all hey there, and he is all is this my wife? Hell yeah. They were amusing to read about, and she is just So Earth modern woman. While he is a barbarian.
Yes he did make some foolish choices. MEN! But I could forgive them, cos shit got real and then you can't worry about stuff like that when true love is around.
A fun fantasy romance that was just...cheesy! In the best possible way.
Dear Author,
The use of the word "cool" for the zillionth time was really not COOL!!!
The use of the word "cool" for the zillionth time was really not COOL!!!
This was a DNF for me. I couldn’t get it into it and I HATED how the male love interested called the MC “wife”. I could probably go on a rant about the problems with the male character and his male chauvinistic views but I won’t....for now.