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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Another fantastic book in this series. While I liked Fantastical more, this one was right up there. It was emotional, heartwarming, and smoking hot. Way hotter than I thought, always a plus. Loved having all the other characters from the other books in this one. The series wrapped up nicely and I can't wait to read Noc's story next.
This series is my favorite of KA's and one of the best fantasy series I've read - highly, highly recommend.
This series is my favorite of KA's and one of the best fantasy series I've read - highly, highly recommend.
3.5 stars. I liked the idea of this book and the story was really good. I was really confused with some of the things that were going on. Some of the paragraphs I had to reread because they made absolutely no sense. And there were far too many "okays" "cools" and "awesomes".
Definitely one of my favorite series of all time!! Absolutely love the characters and their stories!
I struggled a little to finish this book. I don't know what happened. I felt like something was missing. I liked the story but not as much as the others, which made me a little disappointed. It was still a good book, but in my opinion, the weaker in this series. I hope I don't feel the same way in the next book.
This is the story of Apollo Ulfr, the cousin of Frey Drakkar from Wildest Dreams - and his story started from the first book itself. He is a man who has lost the love of his life and when he finds out about the parallel worlds he ends up making a decision to bring his wife's twin, Ilsa Ulfr to this world!
But here's the thing - the Ilsa Ulfr of this world hasn't exactly known the best side of Apollo of this world, especially having been married to him. So when she is whisked off to the parallel world by his lookalike, it isn't exactly a bed of roses, especially with the way Apollo treats her at first!
"There would be no winning her. It had only been a day and in that day, her adorable stubbornness, even her exasperating peevishness, he realized he wanted to win her more than he had before."
Ilsa Ulfr aka Miss Madeleine or Maddie is a broken woman. She hasn't exactly had the most fruitful life, with her parents abandoning her, and the choices she made in her love life - she isn't looking forward to be a replacement to woman so obviously loved by her husband and her children, something that she never had in her life.
Apollo, on the other hand, I was a little uncertain of - for he didn't understand that no woman, none at all, would want to be a replacement for another woman. And the way he treated her (even if it was with a bit of indifference!), was a little heartbreaking and I didn't know if he would be able to redeem himself. It didn't take long for him to understand that Maddie and his late wife are two different people.
There are of course more than these two involved in this story, and it took everything in me to actually not break down with the angst in this book and the level of angst is quite high with this one! And not to mention, evil is slowly gaining power and until all the couples get their stuff together, they will definitely win!!
"It takes more than fairytale worlds to fix what’s broken in me. And this is because I live every day knowing it was me who broke it.”
I liked Maddie - she is fragile and definitely sensitive - and how I wished that she had had the strength to actually find her footing like she actually wanted to. She kept reiterating that she needed to find herself, yet she didn't do anything more than just saying it - and I honestly got the fear she had for opening herself up, I did. What I didn't get was, why she couldn't actually find herself, even if she had to do so with the help of people around her!
“It is my responsibility as the man who loves you and wants you to be his wife to mend what’s broken in you … I’ll not forget again that I must treat you with care.”
Now, Apollo was a hard man to warm up to - somehow even if after knowing the kind of life Maddie had led till now, he still went ahead to treat her with a bit of callousness that I certainly did not expect, or even understand even if I did get his POV.
He understood the preciousness that was in his life, a little late and I just wish he had had the chance of actually understanding a bit earlier rather than a bit late in the story!
But when he did? Oh. My. God. He was the perfect match for Maddie, and definitely redeemed himself quite perfectly in my eyes, even if was a little late.
"Love like you build with Miss Madeleine is as she is. It is not of this world. Not of her world. It is beyond the worlds. It is beyond anything."
The plot with evil witches on the other hand, explodes quite amazingly in this one - and it is quite amazing to see that the heroines are the one who rescue themselves rather than actually waiting around for their men to be heroes!
Every couple makes an appearance in this book, and I honestly it was so fun revisiting all the couples and the way they are slowly moving towards their HEA.
Point to be made though is that this one seems to have ended the witches ARC, and I actually thought this was the end to this series, until the Midnight Soul was announced and now I can't wait to see where KA takes the end of the series to!
For more reviews visit For The Love of Fictional Worlds :)
Do come join us at For The Fictional Worlds Facebook Page
But here's the thing - the Ilsa Ulfr of this world hasn't exactly known the best side of Apollo of this world, especially having been married to him. So when she is whisked off to the parallel world by his lookalike, it isn't exactly a bed of roses, especially with the way Apollo treats her at first!
"There would be no winning her. It had only been a day and in that day, her adorable stubbornness, even her exasperating peevishness, he realized he wanted to win her more than he had before."
Ilsa Ulfr aka Miss Madeleine or Maddie is a broken woman. She hasn't exactly had the most fruitful life, with her parents abandoning her, and the choices she made in her love life - she isn't looking forward to be a replacement to woman so obviously loved by her husband and her children, something that she never had in her life.
Apollo, on the other hand, I was a little uncertain of - for he didn't understand that no woman, none at all, would want to be a replacement for another woman. And the way he treated her (even if it was with a bit of indifference!), was a little heartbreaking and I didn't know if he would be able to redeem himself. It didn't take long for him to understand that Maddie and his late wife are two different people.
There are of course more than these two involved in this story, and it took everything in me to actually not break down with the angst in this book and the level of angst is quite high with this one! And not to mention, evil is slowly gaining power and until all the couples get their stuff together, they will definitely win!!
"It takes more than fairytale worlds to fix what’s broken in me. And this is because I live every day knowing it was me who broke it.”
I liked Maddie - she is fragile and definitely sensitive - and how I wished that she had had the strength to actually find her footing like she actually wanted to. She kept reiterating that she needed to find herself, yet she didn't do anything more than just saying it - and I honestly got the fear she had for opening herself up, I did. What I didn't get was, why she couldn't actually find herself, even if she had to do so with the help of people around her!
“It is my responsibility as the man who loves you and wants you to be his wife to mend what’s broken in you … I’ll not forget again that I must treat you with care.”
Now, Apollo was a hard man to warm up to - somehow even if after knowing the kind of life Maddie had led till now, he still went ahead to treat her with a bit of callousness that I certainly did not expect, or even understand even if I did get his POV.
He understood the preciousness that was in his life, a little late and I just wish he had had the chance of actually understanding a bit earlier rather than a bit late in the story!
But when he did? Oh. My. God. He was the perfect match for Maddie, and definitely redeemed himself quite perfectly in my eyes, even if was a little late.
"Love like you build with Miss Madeleine is as she is. It is not of this world. Not of her world. It is beyond the worlds. It is beyond anything."
The plot with evil witches on the other hand, explodes quite amazingly in this one - and it is quite amazing to see that the heroines are the one who rescue themselves rather than actually waiting around for their men to be heroes!
Every couple makes an appearance in this book, and I honestly it was so fun revisiting all the couples and the way they are slowly moving towards their HEA.
Point to be made though is that this one seems to have ended the witches ARC, and I actually thought this was the end to this series, until the Midnight Soul was announced and now I can't wait to see where KA takes the end of the series to!
For more reviews visit For The Love of Fictional Worlds :)
Do come join us at For The Fictional Worlds Facebook Page
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think this was my least favorite of Kristen Ashley's fantasyland series...it was still enjoyable...but Circe and Lahn (book 2) and Tor and Cora (book 3) are still my favorites. I liked seeing the characters from the other novels in this one too (especially Dax Lahn).
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4 stars
“A dove has great beauty, but is easily broken.”
Broken Dove, the fourth book in the Fantasyland series, is the story of Apollo and Maddie. Apollo lost his wife Ilsa, and mother of his children when she died from a sudden illness. Grief stricken for years, he discovers there is a parallel universe, our world, where a twin of his wife is still alive. Apollo also learns this other Ilsa has an abusive husband Pol, so he journey's to this world to rescue her and bring her into his.
This new Ilsa is a disappointment to Apollo, she's not the same Ilsa he expected. But Apollo has approaching threats which puts Maddie in danger, but Apollo will do everything he can to keep her safe.
“It’s my experience that a weakness understood is no weakness. If you know you have it, even if you can’t control it, you can make allowances for it. It is those who ignore or don’t understand their weaknesses who are wasted by them.”
This was actually my second attempt at reading this book, the first time I tried reading it I put it down at 17% with the intention of returning to it later..... and it took a while lol. But with the upcoming release of the fifth book I wanted to be caught up on the series. I enjoyed reading this much more the second attempt, and while it doesn't have the WOW factor the first 3 books had for me, I still really enjoyed this story.
Apollo and Maddie were an interesting couple and had a hard balance for Ashley to pull off but she did. Apollo being in love with Ilsa and then Maddie, you would think there would be a lot of issues but Ashley did a wonderful job of highlighting the differences between the two women and why Apollo fell for them both. He was kind of a dick at the beginning but over time he grew on me and at the end of the book he was amazing.
Maddie was a great heroine, I felt she was very resilient after everything that happened to her and she was strong. This book was also about her struggle regaining her self worth after her husband Pol had beaten it out of her. Apollo helped her with this a bit, but it was mostly a journey for herself.
Anyways, I think this is Kristen Ashley's BEST series, so if you haven't read it yet now is the time as the fifth book is coming out soon!!
“Remember this kiss,” he ordered on a whisper, his eyes staring into mine.
There weren’t many kisses Apollo had given me that I didn’t remember.
I didn’t share that.
I asked, “Why?”
“Because it is special,” he answered.
“They’re all special, Lo,” I pointed out and watched his eyes smile even as I felt his lips do the same.
“They are, dove,” he agreed. “But this one, the first I will give you knowing you return yours with love, will be the one I most treasure for the rest of my life.”
“A dove has great beauty, but is easily broken.”
Broken Dove, the fourth book in the Fantasyland series, is the story of Apollo and Maddie. Apollo lost his wife Ilsa, and mother of his children when she died from a sudden illness. Grief stricken for years, he discovers there is a parallel universe, our world, where a twin of his wife is still alive. Apollo also learns this other Ilsa has an abusive husband Pol, so he journey's to this world to rescue her and bring her into his.
This new Ilsa is a disappointment to Apollo, she's not the same Ilsa he expected. But Apollo has approaching threats which puts Maddie in danger, but Apollo will do everything he can to keep her safe.
“It’s my experience that a weakness understood is no weakness. If you know you have it, even if you can’t control it, you can make allowances for it. It is those who ignore or don’t understand their weaknesses who are wasted by them.”
This was actually my second attempt at reading this book, the first time I tried reading it I put it down at 17% with the intention of returning to it later..... and it took a while lol. But with the upcoming release of the fifth book I wanted to be caught up on the series. I enjoyed reading this much more the second attempt, and while it doesn't have the WOW factor the first 3 books had for me, I still really enjoyed this story.
Apollo and Maddie were an interesting couple and had a hard balance for Ashley to pull off but she did. Apollo being in love with Ilsa and then Maddie, you would think there would be a lot of issues but Ashley did a wonderful job of highlighting the differences between the two women and why Apollo fell for them both. He was kind of a dick at the beginning but over time he grew on me and at the end of the book he was amazing.
Maddie was a great heroine, I felt she was very resilient after everything that happened to her and she was strong. This book was also about her struggle regaining her self worth after her husband Pol had beaten it out of her. Apollo helped her with this a bit, but it was mostly a journey for herself.
Anyways, I think this is Kristen Ashley's BEST series, so if you haven't read it yet now is the time as the fifth book is coming out soon!!
“Remember this kiss,” he ordered on a whisper, his eyes staring into mine.
There weren’t many kisses Apollo had given me that I didn’t remember.
I didn’t share that.
I asked, “Why?”
“Because it is special,” he answered.
“They’re all special, Lo,” I pointed out and watched his eyes smile even as I felt his lips do the same.
“They are, dove,” he agreed. “But this one, the first I will give you knowing you return yours with love, will be the one I most treasure for the rest of my life.”
-Re-read 2/6/20. I stand by my original review. This book is by far my least favorite of the series. I still think Apollo is a jackwad(BTW I love that I called him a jackwad and plan on using that all the time) and I also hated the Maddie had to be the one to fix all the issues just because Apollo is prideful.
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I liked this one. Not as much as I liked the others but it was still pretty good. I can't quite put my finger on it, maybe it's because he has children with Maddie's twin. Maybe it's because I am putting myself in her shoes and I am a jealous little girl and I would have a very hard time knowing how much Apollo loved his wife. And he was a jackwad to her at first. He turned out to be a dreamy man thats for sure and the sex scenes were some of the best of the series but I am not sure I would have been able to get past some of the crap he put her through at first.
The thing I loved most about this book was that the four girls from the other world all got together and got to know each other. I loved how they interacted and how they formed a bond that will last a life time because they know what they are going through. I loved seeing the men together as well. That really is what made the book great for me. I wasn't a huge fan of Apollo and Maddie. I mean I think Maddie was amazing. It takes a freaking STRONG woman to go into a relationship knowing and seeing that a man loved as deeply as he did, so I guess it's not that I don't like them. I just had a hard time putting myself in her shoes. But the rest of the book I LOVED! because I loved seeing the couples together!
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I liked this one. Not as much as I liked the others but it was still pretty good. I can't quite put my finger on it, maybe it's because he has children with Maddie's twin. Maybe it's because I am putting myself in her shoes and I am a jealous little girl and I would have a very hard time knowing how much Apollo loved his wife. And he was a jackwad to her at first. He turned out to be a dreamy man thats for sure and the sex scenes were some of the best of the series but I am not sure I would have been able to get past some of the crap he put her through at first.
The thing I loved most about this book was that the four girls from the other world all got together and got to know each other. I loved how they interacted and how they formed a bond that will last a life time because they know what they are going through. I loved seeing the men together as well. That really is what made the book great for me. I wasn't a huge fan of Apollo and Maddie. I mean I think Maddie was amazing. It takes a freaking STRONG woman to go into a relationship knowing and seeing that a man loved as deeply as he did, so I guess it's not that I don't like them. I just had a hard time putting myself in her shoes. But the rest of the book I LOVED! because I loved seeing the couples together!