I was in love with The Selection series. The fact that it was almost a tv show (twice) and then wasn't really broke my heart. It had intrigue, romance, and a great ending. When The Betrothed came out, I had high hopes. However, the more I read the lower my hopes fell. I bought The Betrothed's sequel but still haven't had the courage to finish it. I was disappointed in the author. It just wasn't up to par. But then she writes this book and it tasted like redemption. Lennox and Annika are from completely opposite worlds, yet their fates are completely intertwined, and against all odds, they fall for each other under impossible circumstances. The twists were brilliant, the characters were fleshed out, and the descriptions were beautiful. It is a longer book sitting at 576 pages, however, it's only one book. You don't have to wait for a sequel to find out what's going to happen. We really need more fantasy romance standalone in the world. Even if The Betrothed left a bad taste in your mouth too, I would highly recommend you try this one out. It just might be the redemption you were also looking for.

"But you don’t have to take my word for it..."

It’s Vikings meets Romance and Heart. It’s not only hauntingly beautiful and a wonderful story, but brings out a world that we don’t see often in YA/NA: a world of Norse clans and warriors at their peak. All in one standalone novel. Told through the eyes of the main character Eelyn, an Aska warrior, she must brave a winter of captivity in the home of her enemy, the Riki clan, in order to get back home. Living with her newly found alive brother’s new family, she discovers the true meaning of family, loyalty, strength, and love, and uncovers a plot that threatens to destroy both clans if they can’t find a way to bridge the gaps between them. It’s a great story, one I couldn’t put down once I started. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a high-action, slightly romantic, beautifully set novel.

"But you don’t have to take my word for it..."

From the author who wrote The Selection series and Siren comes a book that had the potential to be a wonderful story with a great plot twist at the end (seriously the plot twist was genius). However, it did not meet expectations. I fell in love with Kiera Cass’s The Selection series. She has a beautiful way with words and the settings and descriptions are elegant and so descriptive. Her characters gave lines that were well thought out and rememberable. I am not sure what happened with this book, but everything fell flat. The characters were one-dimensional, the storyline was rushed, and the dialogue was stiff. She also neglected to even describe the main characters beyond height and hair/eye color, so I had no idea what they looked like. I think this had the potential for a great story, but the execution was lacking. Maybe the second book in this duology will be better. I do plan on reading it as I do know the author can do and be so much better.

Would I recommend this book? Only if you are a fan of Kiera Cass and are willing to hold out hope on the sequel. “But you don’t have to take my word for it.”

If you love sweet romance, action, adventure, mystery, and most importantly, chocolate, then boy do I have a book for you. The Sweetest Spell is a wonderful read about Emmeline who is an outcast among her outcasted people, due to a curled foot and being saved at birth by cows, who finds out she has a rare gift. She can churn cream into chocolate (something that has not been tasted in ages) and suddenly she becomes the most wanted to girl in the land. Some wish to use use her, some want to harm her, and one just wants to find her. Join her, as she falls in love, gets kidnapped, and helps save a kingdom with the help of unlikely friends all the while learning more about her strange gift and what it means to be strong. "But you don’t have to take my word for it..."