Golden Dynasty Review

What did I think of...

The Golden Dynasty by Kristen Ashley

 

Description: Circe Quinn goes to sleep at home and wakes up in a corral filled with women wearing sacrificial virgin attire - and she is one of them. She soon finds out that she’s not having a wild dream, she’s living a frightening nightmare where she’s been transported to a barren land populated by a primitive people and in short order, she’s installed very unwillingly on her white throne of horns as their Queen.

Dax Lahn is the king of Suh Tunak, The Horde of the nation of Korwahk and with one look at Circe, he knows she will be his bride and together they will start The Golden Dynasty of legend.

Circe and Lahn are separated by language, culture and the small fact she’s from a parallel universe and has no idea how she got there or how to get home. But facing challenge after challenge, Circe finds her footing as Queen of the brutal Korwahk Horde and wife to its King, then she makes friends then she finds herself falling in love with this primitive land, its people and especially their savage leader.

 

 

Genre: High Fantasy/ Magic/ Paranormal romance/ Adult/ Supernatural/ ** Romance/
Series: Fantasyland

Published on: August 22nd, 2011

Pages: 485 pages

Format: ebook- Kindle

Source: Amazon Kindle

Average rating: 4.5 stars
My rating: 5 stars

 

Golden Dynasty was pure gold. Yes, I'm saying that because of the title, but I'm also saying it because its true. The writing, as usual, was so smooth, and so real, and so raw, enabling me to feel this book deep. \

 

Golden Dynasty had a lot of themes that I, and fellow readers, I'm sure, will struggle with. Such as men holding power over their women, rape, and other culturally and morally offensive themes.

 

When reading this book, you do have to remember that the culture of this book, Korwahk, is totally different in all ways and is meant to be more primal and animalistic, and in some ways, it made this book infinitely sweeter, and raw.

 

I'm writing this review some two weeks after I read the book, and I'm still having trouble getting my thoughts together, (and remembering things I wanted to say), but all I can really tell you with this one, is it is totally worth it. This is one of those books that you just delve into, neglect the world, and don't come up for air until its done (or your bladder demands you to). Some readers, I know, struggled with some of the context, but I was not one of those. I think some people need to remember, that these contexts are part of the book, and you and the character's struggle with them is the whole point of the story!!

 

This is definitely one of those magical Kristen Ashley reads, that I just can't even articulate how amazing it was...

 

I leave you with a few quotes from the book! Enjoy and read it tomorrow!

 

 This is my Circe by the way!! ;)

 

 

 

 

 

XOXO,

Kat 

 

 

Wildest Dreams Review

What did I think of...

Wildest Dreams by Kristen Ashley

Description:
Seoafin “Finnie” Wilde was taught by her parents that every breath was a treasure and to seek every adventure she could find. And she learns this lesson the hard way when they perish in a plane crash. But she never forgets and when she discovers there is a parallel universe where every person has a twin, she finds a witch who can send her there so she can have the adventure of a lifetime.

But upon arrival in the Winter Wonderland of Lunwyn, she realizes she’s been played by her twin and finds herself walking down the aisle to be wed to The Drakkar.

Thrown into inauspicious circumstances, with years of practice, Finnie bests the challenges and digs into her adventure. But as Frey Drakkar discovers the woman who is his new wife is not Princess Sjofn, a woman he dislikes but instead, his Finnie, a free-spirit with a thirst for venture just like him, without her knowledge he orders his new bride bound to his frozen world, everlasting.

But at the same time Frey plunges Finnie into a web of political intrigue that includes assassination plots, poison, magic, mystery and… dragons.  

Genre's:

Ohmigod, this book was sooo good! I was immediately sucked into the parallel universe of twins, with Finnie the Ice Queen and Frey the Drakkar.

Here's how it goes.
Finnie is always looking for the next adventure and can't keep still for long. Her parents, of whom she loved dearly, were killed when she was young and when she learns of a parallel universe where there are twins of every person in this realm... she jumps at the chance to switch with the twin of the other realm to see her parents. While Finnie was completely honest about the reasoning behind her wanting the switch, the other one was not. As soon as Finnie lands in the other realm, she is whisked off to marry Frey Drakkar. Very scary. Very hot. Very powerful. Very terrifying. He's is the leader of the elves, and controller of the dragon, and the marriage is to be an alliance, in order to put the true heir on the throne. However, the twin was gay.... and Frey thinks that Finnie is gay when is, well, not.
Very quickly, he discovers that something is amiss, using words like "cool" "dick-headed" and "straight from the movies", especially when she is aghast at the existence of elves and dragons.

However, Frey very quickly falls for Finnie, and hard, and Finnie does the same. Soon, however, there is assassination attempts, dragons, sailing and a little friendly cheating.

Wildest Dreams was beyond my, well, Wildest Dreams. I was so impressed with the execution of this novel, the writing, the characters... everything was just so. Finnie and Frey were so fun to read individually, but together, oh man. I hope the worlds that Kristen Ashley spins with her pen (rather, keys) really do exist, just the way that she tells them... and men like that, too! Can I say, yummy?

Anyway, Wildest Dreams was amazing, and I fully expect to finish this series within a week... if I didn't have four library books due Monday ;)