Book Review: Wildest Dreams

• Book Blurb

  Seoafin Wilde was taught by her parents that every breath was a treasure and to seek every adventure she could find. She learns this lesson the hard way after they perish in a plane crash. When she discovers there’s a parallel universe where every person has a twin, she finds a witch who can send her there so she can see her parents again.

  And have the adventure of a lifetime.

  Upon arrival in the winter wonderland of Lunwyn, Finnie realizes she’s been played and finds herself walking down the aisle to wed The Drakkar.

  Instantly thrown into inauspicious circumstances, with years of practice (she did survive that elephant stampede), 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 loathes, 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.

  Seoafin Wilde was taught by her parents that every breath was a treasure and to seek every adventure she could find. She learns this lesson the hard way after they perish in a plane crash. When she discovers there’s a parallel universe where every person has a twin, she finds a witch who can send her there so she can see her parents again.

  And have the adventure of a lifetime.

  Upon arrival in the winter wonderland of Lunwyn, Finnie realizes she’s been played and finds herself walking down the aisle to wed The Drakkar.

  Instantly thrown into inauspicious circumstances, with years of practice (she did survive that elephant stampede), 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 loathes, 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.

• My review

  This book—and honestly, the whole Fantasiland series—changed my reading life. The first time I picked it up, I was hunting for a very specific type of story (think Dragon Bound, Burn, Feral Sins) and couldn’t find it… until I found Wildest Dreams.

  Obviously, this is a 5-star book for me. (And I’ll spoil this tiny non-plot thing: books 2 and 3 in Fantasiland were even better for me. So it’s definitely a series worth reading—and worth reading in order.)

  As an introduction to the Fantasiland series, Wildest Dreams is so solid. It sets up the parallel-world concept and drops you straight into an invernal kingdom setup with:

  • arranged marriage
    
  • magic
    
  • fantastical creatures 

  To Keep in Mind

  To enjoy this book, you really need to enjoy Kristen Ashley’s writing style.

  She writes inner thoughts as inner thoughts—which can come across as repetitive, chaotic, and all over the place. If that style annoys you, it might be a dealbreaker.

  Example:

  “Nope, it wasn’t an oh shit moment. It was an oh fuck moment.”

  She also tends to write heroines who have big outbursts when faced with Ashley’s favorite type of hero (alpha macho man), and that can read as childish, like a tantrum.

  Personally, I don’t care. The plot, the spice, and the macho man hero were more than enough to keep me happy.

  Romance & Characters

  Finnie is a genuinely unique heroine. I can’t think of another FMC I’ve read with her level of thirst for adventure and exploration. She’s fearless, speaks freely, is good at cards, and has this “let’s do it” attitude that makes her stand out.

  “You better go. The cool-as-shit elves are waiting.”

  Frey is peak alpha macho man: possessive, controlling, morally grey. He does questionable things to keep Finnie with him—so if you’re sensitive to coercive/control-related themes, I strongly recommend checking the content warnings for this one.

  Spice Level

  The spice delivers. You get 2–3 full scenes that are H.O.T., plus lots of smaller “falling in love” moments scattered throughout the story. Typical Kristen Ashley romance.

  This book—and honestly, the whole Fantasiland series—changed my reading life. The first time I picked it up, I was hunting for a very specific type of story (think Dragon Bound, Burn, Feral Sins) and couldn’t find it… until I found Wildest Dreams.

  Obviously, this is a 5-star book for me. (And I’ll spoil this tiny non-plot thing: books 2 and 3 in Fantasiland were even better for me. So it’s definitely a series worth reading—and worth reading in order.)

  As an introduction to the Fantasiland series, Wildest Dreams is so solid. It sets up the parallel-world concept and drops you straight into an invernal kingdom setup with:

  • arranged marriage
    
  • magic
    
  • fantastical creatures 

  To Keep in Mind

  To enjoy this book, you really need to enjoy Kristen Ashley’s writing style.

  She writes inner thoughts as inner thoughts—which can come across as repetitive, chaotic, and all over the place. If that style annoys you, it might be a dealbreaker.

  Example:

  “Nope, it wasn’t an oh shit moment. It was an oh fuck moment.”

  She also tends to write heroines who have big outbursts when faced with Ashley’s favorite type of hero (alpha macho man), and that can read as childish, like a tantrum.

  Personally, I don’t care. The plot, the spice, and the macho man hero were more than enough to keep me happy.

  Romance & Characters

  Finnie is a genuinely unique heroine. I can’t think of another FMC I’ve read with her level of thirst for adventure and exploration. She’s fearless, speaks freely, is good at cards, and has this “let’s do it” attitude that makes her stand out.

  “You better go. The cool-as-shit elves are waiting.”

  Frey is peak alpha macho man: possessive, controlling, morally grey. He does questionable things to keep Finnie with him—so if you’re sensitive to coercive/control-related themes, I strongly recommend checking the content warnings for this one.

  Spice Level

  The spice delivers. You get 2–3 full scenes that are H.O.T., plus lots of smaller “falling in love” moments scattered throughout the story. Typical Kristen Ashley romance.

Character & romance details

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