Review: Great YA PNR read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 19, 2014
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*In a world where elementals, mystics, powerful warriors, and shafeshifters are the norm, a queen is born to rule. A queen who is the representation of Gaia on Earth. But for sinister reasons, there hasn't been a queen in over 200 years. They had been killed before they could ascend to the throne. Sacred Promises doesn't take place in a completely different reality. Those magical beings live amongst us, puny humans, without our knowledge, of course.Abbey is the new queen born. But in order to keep her safe, her guardian hid her away in the human world. Growing up in orphanages and foster homes hasn't been easy on Abbey, but because she's the future Queen, she doesn't have time to dwell too much on that. When she turns 18, her guardian takes her to a special school where Abbey will finally interact with her own people. She's assigned a mentor, Kaleb, who's like hotness personified. His physical description sounded a lot like Jared Padalecki and I wondered if Jennifer Hines was thinking of him when she wrote Kaleb.Abbey quickly falls in love with Kaleb and they fight their feelings for each other in the beginning. But of course everyone knows that it's a battle they can't win, with raging hormones and all. Unfortunately for readers who like thinks a little bit spicy, they won't get that. Abbey has a purity vow. She's only allowed to sleep with a mate chosen by her people. If she does the deed with Kaleb, it's bye-bye special Queen powers (meaning she doesn't get to be Queen). So there is an obstacle for the love birds right there, they won't be able to be together in the future because of those silly rules.The start of the book was a bit slow because it showed Abbey acclimating to her new life. A bad guy is introduced and he's going to be the bane of her existence until the very end.The romance between Abbey and Kaleb is sweet but things get more complicated when she meets the mate her people chose for her, and what do you know, she starts to develop feelings for him too. Love it! The romance aspect needed some more angst.I really liked the book and the reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because it hit some pet peeves of mine that have nothing to do with the quality of the work. I would totally recommend it to my friends. Can't wait to read the second book!