You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
I'm kinda sad I'm done with all four books... ♥
Another great, fantastical story. This is the first one where both parties knew the girl had actually been brought to another world. Ilsa knew she'd been married to the twin of the guy in her new world, but she also knew she'd lost two children in her world... one of them a direct result of her asshole husband. So how wonderful (uncomfortable?) that those two children had survived in this new world? I'm not sure what Apollo's problem was in the beginning of the story... why he left her and sent her with his men to make her way back to his home, but I suppose it was good in a way. His men quickly recognized that Ilsa was not "their" Ilsa, that she was a completely different person. I kinda liked that they gave her another name, and Maddie is what she ended up using in her new world. I wanted to smack Apollo a few times... they had a few bumpy roads, and it was often from Apollo being a jerk. Sure, he didn't physically abuse her, but sometimes he was mentally abusing her, and I was glad that she pointed it out to him. It was also really cool that Maddie was able to meet the other women of her world, and it was really cool what they were able to accomplish together. Based on how this one ended, I was wondering if there would be more, but I am happy to see that there *is* more in this series.
4 Stars.
This book lost a star because the hero was sort of a dick to the heroine a couple of times. This is usually something I can get over, but in this case the heroine has an abusive ex, so the hero being a dick was a little more of a touchy subject for me. However, I liked seeing all of the characters from previous books and especially enjoyed the "idiot dad" stories the women all told to one another. The resolution to the big drama was a bit lackluster, though. It was fairly easily and quickly resolved, which made all of the build up sort of silly.
This book lost a star because the hero was sort of a dick to the heroine a couple of times. This is usually something I can get over, but in this case the heroine has an abusive ex, so the hero being a dick was a little more of a touchy subject for me. However, I liked seeing all of the characters from previous books and especially enjoyed the "idiot dad" stories the women all told to one another. The resolution to the big drama was a bit lackluster, though. It was fairly easily and quickly resolved, which made all of the build up sort of silly.
This book should be read in a cold room... it is that hot! Apollo was not exactly what I expected, he could be an asshole and I wanted to hit him then, but still I loved him. Ilsa/Maddie was as awesome as the rest of the Dream Team. I hurt for her and all she endured. If anyone deserved a happy ending it was her...
Review originally posted at http://fictionvixen.com/review-broken-dove-kristen-ashley/
Out of all Kirsten Ashley series I think this is one of my favorites. I love that this is pure fantasy and reminds me of the fairy tales I used to read as a young girl. I love that the heroines are transported to another world where they meet strong, handsome men and fall in love. I love that there are elves and dragons and witches and talking animals. I especially love that these women take modern pieces of themselves into this new world and ultimately change everyone around them by just being themselves. I have been anxiously awaiting the fourth book in this series and while I did enjoy this installment, I have to say there were a few things that bothered me.
This is the story of Apollo Ulfr and his search for his dead wife’s twin in the modern world. After meeting several other woman who have themselves been transported to Fantasyland to meet their soul-mates, he decides to hire a witch to find the other Ilsa and bring her to him. Maybe then his grief will lessen and he can find some measure of happiness. But the other Ilsa isn’t at all like his late wife. The other Ilsa has lived a life of pain and suffering and has spent the last several years fleeing the abuse of her husband Pol. Who also happens to be Apollo’s twin in the modern world. This Ilsa has never known a kind, gentle, caring love. Not from any friends, not from her parents and definitely not from her husband. When she is rescued by a strange, cape wearing man right in the middle of a confrontation with her husband and poofed to another world she doesn’t know what to think. Especially when her husband’s look-a-like, who was so sweet and tender at first, turns cold and distant the very next day.
After being basically abandoned by her new savior in a strange world, surrounded by people who she can’t communicate with and with nothing to her name Ilsa decides to turn it all around and take the chance offered to her and create a new life for herself. She befriends the guards sent by Apollo to guide her to his estate, she lives life to the fullest and attends fairs, tries her hand at horse back riding, learns how to cheat at cards, explores all the towns and villages on the way and charms everyone around her to the point that half of her guards are now in love with her. When they finally journey to where Apollo has been waiting it’s been months since Ilsa and Apollo have seen each other. She’s changed from the haunted woman he left alone and she’s now ready to get on with her life and figure out what she is going to do in this strange new world.
Meanwhile all the bad guys from the previous installments have gathered and are moving to force a war with the dream team of fairytale romance. While Ilsa (who now wants to be called Madeleine or Maddie) and Apollo (called Lo by his friends and Maddie) are falling in love, working through their problems and sexing each other up hard-core, all other couples from this series make appearances. In fact everyone who ever had any significant amount of page time in this series makes an appearance. This is definitely a return to the lengthy, overly descriptive KA we all know and love. If you’ve kind of missed this type of KA storytelling then you will be very happy with Broken Dove.
I have to say, while I did enjoy this story and overall was happy with my journey back to Fantasyland there were a couple of things that really bothered me about Maddie and Lo’s love story. The main thing being…. I don’t get the need to somehow diminish how a grieving husband or wife feels about their deceased partner when falling in love again? Why? Apollo so loved and missed his wife that he goes searching for her twin in another world. That’s a beautiful thing. It is. It is also one of the reasons why I so couldn’t wait to get my hands on this installment. So I must say that I was sorely disappointed when he thinks and says things like this:
Or when Maddie thinks things like this:
I just don’t understand why the deceased wife has to become less to make a new love interest appear more or the new romance believable. I wanted Maddie and Apollo to fall in love with each other because they found something new. I wanted him to realize he has a second chance and for her to find safety and passion. This did happen in some ways, but the overall feeling that Maddie was somehow better than the wife he has grieved over for so long bothered me. This feeling made my overall enjoyment of this book dim somewhat.
This is still an enjoyable read and had everything I’ve always loved in a Kristen Ashley romance. There is the classic angst and misunderstandings, lots of super hot sex scenes and the forming of wonderful female friendships that I so enjoy. Maddie has a long journey to accepting her new circumstances and finding her place with Apollo and his children. While I did like her as a heroine I didn’t fall madly in love with her and never completely believed her total awesomeness as described repeatedly by everyone who meets her. I wanted to. I wanted to be blown away by this addition to the series. I wanted to find Broken Dove just as magical as I have the previous three books. While that didn’t exactly happen, I am looking forward to the last book in the Fantasyland series and would urge readers to give this series a try. Final Grade- B-
Favorite Quote:
Out of all Kirsten Ashley series I think this is one of my favorites. I love that this is pure fantasy and reminds me of the fairy tales I used to read as a young girl. I love that the heroines are transported to another world where they meet strong, handsome men and fall in love. I love that there are elves and dragons and witches and talking animals. I especially love that these women take modern pieces of themselves into this new world and ultimately change everyone around them by just being themselves. I have been anxiously awaiting the fourth book in this series and while I did enjoy this installment, I have to say there were a few things that bothered me.
This is the story of Apollo Ulfr and his search for his dead wife’s twin in the modern world. After meeting several other woman who have themselves been transported to Fantasyland to meet their soul-mates, he decides to hire a witch to find the other Ilsa and bring her to him. Maybe then his grief will lessen and he can find some measure of happiness. But the other Ilsa isn’t at all like his late wife. The other Ilsa has lived a life of pain and suffering and has spent the last several years fleeing the abuse of her husband Pol. Who also happens to be Apollo’s twin in the modern world. This Ilsa has never known a kind, gentle, caring love. Not from any friends, not from her parents and definitely not from her husband. When she is rescued by a strange, cape wearing man right in the middle of a confrontation with her husband and poofed to another world she doesn’t know what to think. Especially when her husband’s look-a-like, who was so sweet and tender at first, turns cold and distant the very next day.
After being basically abandoned by her new savior in a strange world, surrounded by people who she can’t communicate with and with nothing to her name Ilsa decides to turn it all around and take the chance offered to her and create a new life for herself. She befriends the guards sent by Apollo to guide her to his estate, she lives life to the fullest and attends fairs, tries her hand at horse back riding, learns how to cheat at cards, explores all the towns and villages on the way and charms everyone around her to the point that half of her guards are now in love with her. When they finally journey to where Apollo has been waiting it’s been months since Ilsa and Apollo have seen each other. She’s changed from the haunted woman he left alone and she’s now ready to get on with her life and figure out what she is going to do in this strange new world.
Meanwhile all the bad guys from the previous installments have gathered and are moving to force a war with the dream team of fairytale romance. While Ilsa (who now wants to be called Madeleine or Maddie) and Apollo (called Lo by his friends and Maddie) are falling in love, working through their problems and sexing each other up hard-core, all other couples from this series make appearances. In fact everyone who ever had any significant amount of page time in this series makes an appearance. This is definitely a return to the lengthy, overly descriptive KA we all know and love. If you’ve kind of missed this type of KA storytelling then you will be very happy with Broken Dove.
I have to say, while I did enjoy this story and overall was happy with my journey back to Fantasyland there were a couple of things that really bothered me about Maddie and Lo’s love story. The main thing being…. I don’t get the need to somehow diminish how a grieving husband or wife feels about their deceased partner when falling in love again? Why? Apollo so loved and missed his wife that he goes searching for her twin in another world. That’s a beautiful thing. It is. It is also one of the reasons why I so couldn’t wait to get my hands on this installment. So I must say that I was sorely disappointed when he thinks and says things like this:
“It feels a betrayal to Ilsa to speak these words, but I am enjoying my time with Madeleine…” he paused and finished, “maybe more.”
Or when Maddie thinks things like this:
I looked exactly like his dead wife. But tonight, I knew I looked better.
I just don’t understand why the deceased wife has to become less to make a new love interest appear more or the new romance believable. I wanted Maddie and Apollo to fall in love with each other because they found something new. I wanted him to realize he has a second chance and for her to find safety and passion. This did happen in some ways, but the overall feeling that Maddie was somehow better than the wife he has grieved over for so long bothered me. This feeling made my overall enjoyment of this book dim somewhat.
This is still an enjoyable read and had everything I’ve always loved in a Kristen Ashley romance. There is the classic angst and misunderstandings, lots of super hot sex scenes and the forming of wonderful female friendships that I so enjoy. Maddie has a long journey to accepting her new circumstances and finding her place with Apollo and his children. While I did like her as a heroine I didn’t fall madly in love with her and never completely believed her total awesomeness as described repeatedly by everyone who meets her. I wanted to. I wanted to be blown away by this addition to the series. I wanted to find Broken Dove just as magical as I have the previous three books. While that didn’t exactly happen, I am looking forward to the last book in the Fantasyland series and would urge readers to give this series a try. Final Grade- B-
Favorite Quote:
“This is us. That was us. We’re here my poppy. We’re alive. We’re together, my dove.”
I LOVED this book! Part of this is because all the danger that has steadily been growing finally happened and was overcome. Part of this is because I love Apollo & Isla/Maddie. I wasn't sure how they were going to be able to overcome both the grief (that Apollo felt) and fear/hate (that Maddie felt), but they did it wonderfully. I think this installment was the most well written, and I'm kind of sad it's over. But I am looking forward to Noc's story!
I don't know where to start! This absolutely amazing, fantastical, and extremely sexy book was terrific from start to finish. I did not want to put this book down. It literally was extremely hard because it was that good. I cried for Apollo and Chris but most especially for Madeleine. Their dreamy yet difficult journey tells the story of two people hurting for different reasons, but brought together for love. Fantastic!!
2.5-3 stars
There are some things KA does EXTREMELY well, I love the relationships she explores between children and their fathers, I love the close knit friendships that both MCs either have already or that we get so see created. There are some moments of tenderness and sweetness and kick-ass-edness that I really enjoy. However, this novel felt...disheveled? at points for me. I have come to learn that almost all of KA's books will have these certain conversations and certain wording and there are times when I am pulled out due to the similarity to another novel. That definitely happened here. I liked this world she had built here, but I wish there had been less about what the castles and clothes looked like and more world building as far as the elves and dragons, etc. So overall, while I do enjoy KA and I've read a ton, this was kind of a miss for me. :(
There are some things KA does EXTREMELY well, I love the relationships she explores between children and their fathers, I love the close knit friendships that both MCs either have already or that we get so see created. There are some moments of tenderness and sweetness and kick-ass-edness that I really enjoy. However, this novel felt...disheveled? at points for me. I have come to learn that almost all of KA's books will have these certain conversations and certain wording and there are times when I am pulled out due to the similarity to another novel. That definitely happened here. I liked this world she had built here, but I wish there had been less about what the castles and clothes looked like and more world building as far as the elves and dragons, etc. So overall, while I do enjoy KA and I've read a ton, this was kind of a miss for me. :(
I put some thought why I’m so in love with this series, and I guess because I love the way KA portray her characters and the way how she develops those imaginary worlds so beautifully that every time I’m left with stricken heart and mind. Characters are always “human”, they are NOT perfect (I don’t mean physically, because male characters are all hot son of bitches). In Broken Dove we met two main characters who are so human, so real, so normal (if you could use normal as a description in imaginary world), but I’m trying to say that their actions and reactions in relation to each other were somewhat familiar ;). I’m saying that I could relate with both of them in most of theirs inner contemplations. And, I would probably act like one of them in most of actions.
I might probably repeat myself but I especially like KA female characters because they are not some naïve youth but more mature ones (physically and mentally). Like Ilsa in this book, she went through shit, not ideal childhood led to not smart choice of a husband which resulted with years and years of her personal hell. And during reading through pages and pages of this story, we also get to see that although she was given another chance “all is not perfect in that wonderland”. This led to some other peculiar situations, so similar to ones from “real lives we are living”.
It would be smart to read previous titles from this book series because there are numerous intervened characters and situations. Because, also, our main male character, Apollo has been introduced in first title of the series and from the start we are introduced with his pain and his loss. So, you cannot believe how surprised I was when he started with his “issues” at very beginning. While reading Broken Dove I was sooo pist at Apollo, because in most of situations he really acted as a stupid man. I wanted to break his neck. Thankfully, he has this high sexual potency which saved his butt, and later he did “damage control”, but not before I came to conclusion that, both in real and in imaginary world, sometimes, males are not being too smart or too bright. But, I really loved reading about how good dad he is toward his son and daughter. And, I really loved reading about all those steamy moments between two lovers. KA really knows how to write them, and they are so goooood, so hooooot, so sensual, and so informative ;).
Anyway, I think that in all titles of the Fantastical series, there is one motive which is, basically, the main premise for all the stories, and that is - second chance. For new life, for new love, for living, for breathing, for experiencing. For being reborn as a new person.
To conclude, KA is in the track with Broken Dove. I might have ini mini tiny issue with the length of the book, because I think that in couple situations there were unnecessary waste of space (words) for describing something that was crystal clear from the start. And maybe I’m spoiled with The Golden Dynasty but this title was not so WOW (you know, that moment when you are in state of “my eyes are bleeding because of what I have just read”). But, nevertheless, it deserved 5 stars all the way.
More on www.peachopolis.com
I might probably repeat myself but I especially like KA female characters because they are not some naïve youth but more mature ones (physically and mentally). Like Ilsa in this book, she went through shit, not ideal childhood led to not smart choice of a husband which resulted with years and years of her personal hell. And during reading through pages and pages of this story, we also get to see that although she was given another chance “all is not perfect in that wonderland”. This led to some other peculiar situations, so similar to ones from “real lives we are living”.
It would be smart to read previous titles from this book series because there are numerous intervened characters and situations. Because, also, our main male character, Apollo has been introduced in first title of the series and from the start we are introduced with his pain and his loss. So, you cannot believe how surprised I was when he started with his “issues” at very beginning. While reading Broken Dove I was sooo pist at Apollo, because in most of situations he really acted as a stupid man. I wanted to break his neck. Thankfully, he has this high sexual potency which saved his butt, and later he did “damage control”, but not before I came to conclusion that, both in real and in imaginary world, sometimes, males are not being too smart or too bright. But, I really loved reading about how good dad he is toward his son and daughter. And, I really loved reading about all those steamy moments between two lovers. KA really knows how to write them, and they are so goooood, so hooooot, so sensual, and so informative ;).
Anyway, I think that in all titles of the Fantastical series, there is one motive which is, basically, the main premise for all the stories, and that is - second chance. For new life, for new love, for living, for breathing, for experiencing. For being reborn as a new person.
To conclude, KA is in the track with Broken Dove. I might have ini mini tiny issue with the length of the book, because I think that in couple situations there were unnecessary waste of space (words) for describing something that was crystal clear from the start. And maybe I’m spoiled with The Golden Dynasty but this title was not so WOW (you know, that moment when you are in state of “my eyes are bleeding because of what I have just read”). But, nevertheless, it deserved 5 stars all the way.
More on www.peachopolis.com