3*!!! I honestly don't know why I hesitated this long before I took the plunge to read Ms. Ashley's non-contemporary romances. This was truly an enjoyable read for me. Now, 3* is not a bad thing. Goodreads' 3*-rating means 'liked it' and I do like [b:Wildest Dreams|12390650|Wildest Dreams (Fantasyland, #1)|Kristen Ashley|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327913321s/12390650.jpg|17371693]. There were parts of this book that I absolutely LOVED and would give 5* to. However, there were also parts that I didn't like, and parts that I didn't care for. So what's this book about? Seoafin is a beautiful, wealthy, 30-year old woman who is always on the hunt for her next big adventure. One might call her an adrenaline junkie, but for Finnie, she is simply her parents' daughter, thus inheriting their wanderlust and adventurous spirits. Unfortunately, her parents died when she was just 15, and she has been missing them terribly ever since. One day an absurd and crazy opportunity for her to 'reunite' with them presents itself to her and she doesn't hesitate to take it. Apparently, a parallel universe exists where each person has a 'twin'. In THAT world, Finnie's parents are alive and as luck would have it, the 'Finnie' in that world, or Sjofn as she is called, also wants an adventure and they, through the aid of witches, decided to switch places for a year. Simple and harmless, right? Turns out it was much more complicated than what she imagined. First of all, Sjofn left out a lot of details about her world, most especially her true identity and the circumstance that awaits her.
So to make the long story short, Sjofn is actually a princess in that world. Now that Finnie has taken her spot, she finds out that she was also to be wed to The Drakkar that night. Panicked and feeling trapped, Finnie had no choice but to carry on and be Mrs. Drakkar. As if that wasn't bad enough, her new hubby doesn't seem to like her, or Sjofn, and he dumps her in his cottage and leaves her to mind herself on her own for several weeks why he went away 'for business.'
This is where the story of Frey Drakkar and Finnie commence. Suffice to say, they had several misunderstandings and they butted heads often, but soon enough they come to know the truth and get to know each other better. And what they got to know, they liked. *eyebrows wagging*
This is, first and foremost, a romance novel. And as with [a:Kristen Ashley|2958084|Kristen Ashley|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1279995377p2/2958084.jpg]'s other works, we KNOW that our hero and heroine end up together so there's really no spoiler there. I loved how they came to fall for the other, slowly and very, very sweetly. Frey was your typical KA alpha, and in a way, I find that the caveman behaviour actually worked well here since it was a completely different world and KA had the liberty to set the norms.
That being said, I felt that the book somewhat fell off a cliff after the first half. I felt that the story already reached its climax and the other bumps in the road seemed too minor to be a serious plot twist. I was bored for a good chunk of the book after Frey and Finnie got together, albeit there were many moments of swoony bits. And it didn't pique my interest again until maybe the last 15% of the book when the second conflict appears. Even then I thought the resolution was predictable. The ending was, for me, quite weak. Overall, I thought that this book, as a fantasy, was just okay. The world-building had potential, and there were several great characters. But I also found it to be too wordy (and wordy fantasies bore me easily). I found myself having to re-read several sentences to understand something. The ending also left too many strings untied. I would've liked to know what happened to Sjofn! And see more actions from the elves. Frey, as a prominent figure? Major power tripper. I can't really fault KA though, because she is a romance writer and the romance part of the book satisfied me. I also liked Finnie enough and found her funny although she could be quite immature at times. I would definitely still read the next books in this series. =)
"I love you, Frey Drakkar."
"And I you, Finnie Drakkar."