Review: Really good start to the series :D
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 18, 2013
4-4.5 starsThis was a really good story. I loved Finnie and Frey is great despite of his tenancies to be rather autocratic. This is the first KA book I've read that's in an alternate universe and I think she did a great job with this genre. I'm anxious to read the next in the series.Finnie was born in our world and is a very kind and sweet person. She loves adventure and meeting new people and her passion for life and kindness show through so that people can see it and like her for it. She lost her parents when she was 15 yrs old and misses them a lot. When she finds out there's an alternate universe that has twins of her parents still alive she pays a witch to send her to this universe. The witch arranges for her to switch places with Finnie's twin (with the twin's knowledge) for the span of a year. Finnie doesn't realize that as soon as she is transported to the new world, she's getting married to a man called Frey Drakkar (aka the Dragon) and worse off is that neither him or her parents seem to like her very much. Obviously Finnie's adventure doesn't start out very well.Frey isn't a bad guy but he hasn't had an easy life. When he's pushed in to a marriage with a woman he can't stand being married to, he doesn't take it well. Thinking that Finnie is her twin, he marries her and then dumps her in a filthy hunting cabin without hardly a word (and the few words he used weren't exactly nice). He leaves for 6 weeks on a mission and comes back to find his wife is not at all what he's known her to be. He finds she's someone he likes and knows something is up. Upon investigation he discovers the switch between Finnie and her twin and that it's only supposed to be for a year. He also finds out that Finnie (and not her twin) is his destined Bride that was foretold as the will of the Gods so he instructs the Elves to magically bind her to his land so she can never leave and then sets about to gain her trust and love.Despite their rough start, Frey starts being sweet to Finnie and things smooth out. He doesn't push her but gives her time to get used to him before they get physical (although they do sleep together from the start). She finds that she likes him and is also attracted to him so she allows things to progress as they may. Things are going pretty good between them but there's an assassination attempt that ends up being the start of a political plot to take control of the country (as the son that Frey and Finnie have will be the next King and someone doesn't want that). They end up traveling around for various reasons and there's danger along the way but there's also lots of good stuff to. Finnie gets to know her "Mother and Father" and it's really cool to see her get to get back a bit of the relationship she lost when her parents died. Also, Finnie gets to have adventures as Frey takes her on his ship and to new places when she can see new sights and explore. She helps and abused boy and takes him under her wing and she also learns archery and knife fighting from Frey's men.Frey and Finnie grow together in love. Finnie is a very cool heroine in that she has backbone and a soft heart and uses both of these with Frey as needed. Even though she wasn't supposed to stay she didn't fight falling for Frey. Frey was very sweet with Finnie and treats her well, not hesitating to show her affection (along with a healthy dose of his protection as well). There were a few times when Frey acts like a jerk and made decisions about her future he should have talked to her about first (like the binding her to his world). But in Frey's defense, in his world the men make a lot more decisions and are a lot more autocratic about things than typically is ok in our world, especially concerning their wives. However when Finnie finds out about his actions she isn't ok with them.As things culminate to at the end of the book there's some major drama as Frey and Finnie are attacked and Finnie is kidnapped. She manages to escape but Frey is thought dead and the country is in a fight to retain it's sovereignty and things look pretty bad for a while. The end is great and although there's some sadness with a few deaths, in the ends the political issues are resolved and Frey and Finnie are safe and happy.Overall I really enjoyed this story and was very happy I bought it. I think KA did a great job with a fantasy story line and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. Finnie and Frey are a great couple that I happily rooted for and the story was interesting and engaging (I had a hard time putting the book down). I'd recommend this book. Thumbs up! :D