Looking for a woman who is on the precipice of coming into her own? Hoping for a guy who will fight for his kingdom, fight for his people... maybe even fight for the woman he cannot love?
Princess Annika is all you could ask for in a leading lady. She loves to go into the library. She aches for her mother who went missing under a veil of intrigue. She is willing to sacrifice her own life to marry a man who will bring safety and peace to the people of her kingdom even though she does not love him...and neither do we.
Lennox, living in a kingdom Annika knows nothing of, is fighting battle after battle of his own to convince his mother to turn away from the man, Kawan, she is choosing to partner even though Kawan is the man responsible for the death of her husband. Lennox is fighting to prove himself to Kawan and when he hears he has been chosen by Kawan for a Commission, Lennox believes his time has come.
Then Lennox discovers he's being saddled with a band of outcasts and misfits, handpicked by Kawan to be sure Lennox fails. Outcasts or not, Lennox is determined and the group sets out on an adventure that could risk lives.
Who can be trusted? Are the hopes of Annika and Lennox handing them a destiny of forever being each other's most feared enemy?
Delightfully, the clues that will reveal the truth of each character are sprinkled in along the way, only giving so much to us at a time. Equally delightfully Annika can take care of herself.
This is one of the Kiera Cass books that you get your chocolate out, your beverage of choice depending on the time of day, and you hope it's raining so you can dedicate some satisfying hours to escaping into this glorious story. Cass respects her readers and creates wonderful characters who overcome their images and their pasts, who find the bravery within, who are willing to risk any and all for the better of others. Best of all she knows how to give us a romance we can thoroughly enjoy.
576 pages 978-0062665782 Ages 13 and up
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
Keywords: fantasy, romance, sacrifice, girls and women, power, kingdom, 13 year old, 14 year old, 15 year old, enemies to lovers
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#1 New York Times bestselling author of The Selection series Kiera Cass is back with her most epic novel yet—a sweeping enemies-to-lovers standalone romance.
“Love has a sound. It sounds like a thousand heartbeats happening at the same time.”
Princess Annika has lived a life of comfort—but no amount of luxuries can change the fact that her life isn’t her own to control. The king, once her loving father, has gone cold, and Annika will soon be forced into a loveless marriage for political gain.
Miles away, small comforts are few and far between for Lennox. He has devoted his life to the Dahrainian army, hoping to one day help them reclaim the throne that was stolen from them. For Lennox, the idea of love is merely a distraction—nothing will stand in the way of fighting for his people.
But when love, against all odds, finds them both, they are bound by its call. They can’t possibly be together—but the irresistible thrum of a thousand heartbeats won’t let them stay apart.
Kiera Cass brings her signature sparkling romance to this beautiful story of star-crossed lovers and long-held secrets.---from the publisher
