Review: Loved it!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 7, 2013
First impression? The story drew me in immediately. The POV is deep and active. I’m immediately in the head and life of the heroine, Rowena, in modern day, and I like her. I haven’t read She’s Got Dibs yet, but Jezzie in Jezebel’s Wish was a little rough around the edges, I had trouble liking her at first, but Rowena is immediately likable. Her discovery of the closet and the key draws me in, and what keeps me reading is discovering what, exactly, this thing is. Nuest leads us little by little, piece by piece, as the heroine herself figures out what this thing is. It honestly reminded me a bit of the first Narnia movie (sorry, never read the book).And I have to say parts of the heroine’s point of view are frankly hilarious as she tries to understand what she sees when the closet opens. Case in point: from when she first meets Prince Caedmon: “You’d better be careful.” She wagged a finger at him. “Or I’m apt to get busy with some serious despoiling all up in here.”*snort* I still can’t stop giggling at that. Every time I read it sends me into another fit. That’s a moment of genius right there.And the hero, Prince Caedmon. Can I just say swoon? AJ has always written an excellent, swoon worthy hero. Mattie from Jezebel’s Wish is one I still haven’t forgotten. Caedmon is a hero struggling to find his own worth. The son of the king’s concubine, he isn’t the first son and I get the impression he’s treated as less than his brother Braedric. I’m drawn in by him, he’s hero material all the way. He has a good heart, wants to do the right thing, right down to asking Rowena what he can do to prove to her he’s truthful and trustworthy. So that by the time they start the ritual to open the portal, I’m almost screaming at the book. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping and praying that when he puts his hand on the glass, it’ll be him who opens it. And I knew going in that Caedmon was going to be the hero. But Nuest adds that moment of doubt and I’m still right there, fingers crossed. That’s good emotion.The first time they realized they could touch each other through the mirror? Oh my. My toes curled. It was a tiny little moment. Such a small thing. He traces her features in the mirror, because he feels drawn to her. She feels it physically, and reacts and does the same. But it’s such a heart tugging moment. I can see the wonder cross their features, see the beginnings of something wonderful, see the walls begin to come down and the love begin to trickle in. Oh, this is the stuff I live for when I read a romance and AJ does it well.Now, I’ll admit it. In the beginning, Rowena’s disbelief of what she sees and the way she would explain away what was happening went on a little too long for me. It got on my nerves after a while. I’ll even admit that this might be because I knew what would happen and I was anxious to watch it unfold. You don’t get much past me, even watching movies. Ask my family how many times I’ve ruined the movie. Lol But I also can’t say that it wasn’t realistic and that what it actually did was lead me further into the story. It serves its purpose.That being said, by the time they finally begin to talk and the walls begin coming down and all that lovely romance starts trickling in…I didn’t give a fig anymore. Have I mentioned I’m in love with Caedmon?Put this story in the backdrop that teeters between modern day and castle life way back when and as a lover of historical romance, I’m hooked. I adore castle romances and heroes in breeches wielding swords. Oh my. Watching the two of them earn each other’s trust and fall in love was sweet and wonderful.I don’t usually read fantasies, but I may have to start, because this one was wonderful. It was like watching a Cinderella story come to life. Or living one. I will say the ending leaves you hanging, and normally, I don’t like that. I’m not fond of waiting for the next book to come out, but I’ve read AJ before, and I think she’s worth the risk. The other books are also written and scheduled and on their out, so I won’t have to wait long.