Cozy Mystery to End the Year

 Evil Eclairs by Jessica Beck 

This was a cute, fast paced, cozy mystery. There were enough suspects that it kept you on your toes and it was surprising when the killer was revealed. I was surprised when it ended up being the producer of the radio show that killed him, but I was not surprised that money ended up being the motive. She did a good job of casting suspicion around on other people. Based on how things went, I would not be surprised if we ended up with Frank or mayor Cam as victims in upcoming books. Suzanne's relationship with Jake is progressing nicely. I hope her business bounces back now that the killer is caught.  I love a cozy mystery!  

Not Good

 Lark and Kasim Start a Revolution by Kacen Callender 

I waited before writing this review so I would have time to sit with the book and really ruminate on my feelings. But after sleeping on it my feelings haven't changed. Neither Lark nor Kasim resonated with me. I understand that I am not the target audience, but that doesn't change the fact that strong characters will resonate. I am not a tall black teenage girl, but I am when reading Legendborn. I am not a gay prince or a bisexual first son, but I am when reading Red, White, and Royal Blue. i am not Hispanic transgender teenager, but I am when reading Cemetery Boys. Strong characters resonate and neither Lark nor Kasim did. And it's not just that the characters didn't resonate, I didn't like the writing style and the story was flat.  I had many of the same complaints that Lark was getting from the literary agents; the writing wasn't cohesive, the story was all over the place, and there wasn't really any point. The main plot was about how people need to be able to grow and change, and how teenagers need to not be on social media because it's detrimental to their mental health. And the story didn't seem related to the title, which is what intrigued me in the first place. My favorite thing about art is that it's so subjective. If this writers style, which was very frenetic and almost stream of consciousness, works for you then you will enjoy it, but it's not for me.   

Sixth Holiday Book of the Season

 Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot 

This book started out so strong; like smiling and kicking my feet but it fell off in the middle. It came back a bit in the end, but it didn't quite recapture the feelings of the beginning. Most of that has to do with Abby; her character growth wasn't as strong as Seth's. But, I did like how her friendship with Freya developed. I understand that she had a hard time building and believing in a real relationship because her parents were a nightmare. However, she would not have realized Seth was really interested in her had she not overheard that conversation between him and his dad. Seth knew her and understood her better than she knew and understood herself. Yes, she helped him grow and change too, he was able to face conflict because of knowing her, but he got there faster than she did in that regard as well. There were multiple times where I was waiting for Abby to have a heart to heart with Bev and it only happened once, at the salon. Seth was extremely patient with Abby and it paid off in the end. I liked being immersed in the Jewish culture and traditions. It was nice that we had Abby explain the importance of the holiday once and then we got to see her decide what was important about it for her. I don't know of any Hanukkah festivals in my area, but if put on by the Jewish community, I think it could be a beautiful way to learn about the faith.   

First in a Fanstasy Trilogy

 Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson 

I like fantasy and everyone says Brandon Sanderson is the GOAT of fantasy and this is where to start with his world, so I decided to jump in. I am not new to the fantasy game, and know that with the first book you have to let the world build, but this was a very slow build. Additionally, I like fantasy, but I do not like sci-fi and there were times that this was very much giving sci-fi. However, once the story finally got going, it was hard to put down. (while it was building, I kept taking breaks) The burning metals thing and the Push vs. Pull, I struggled with and eventually gave up trying to keep straight in my head and just rolled with. I was much more interested in the interactions between the characters than the allomancy. I liked watching Vin grow and learn to trust people. I did not like the age gap between her and Elend; that's gross. I was pissed at Kell. How dare you become a father figure to Vin and then abandon her like everyone else by dying! At least she still has Sazed, Marsh, Ham, and Breeze; and to a lesser extent Clubs. Marsh being alive (sort of) as a Steel Inquisitor and saving the day was a huge surprise! That Elend's father not only plotted to kill him, but then set him up to take the fall when his assassination didn't go as planned and it backfired and he is not King was crazy work. I can't wait to see how that plays out in the next book. That is former fiancee was the would be assassin and that Vin was able to kill her was great! I wish she had more training; stupid Kell dying and not staying alive to help her! This was a great first book to get things started and I am interested as to where the rest of the story is going to go.  

Fifth Holiday Book of the Season

 A Newport Christmess  by Jess Heileman 

I really enjoyed the audiobook narrators for this. Quinn and Landon are both divorced. She has been hired to make the centerpieces for Nikki's wedding. He is the brother of the bride. She is staying in his house, but doesn't realize it's house until he shows up. He is convinced that Nikki is trying to play matchmaker, but Nikki tells them both that she has other people in mind for each of them. When he hears who she has in mind for Quinn, it's an immediate no and he steps in. He proposes that they be each others fake dates to the wedding. But, they start developing real feelings for each other from spending time with each other. He takes her on this hike and while there they run into his ex, and he gets some much needed closure. She is still really struggling. In fact, one day when things are going well, she decides to look at her ex's instagram feed and goes into a tailspin. She posts a photo of her and Landon and then her ex calls. She agrees to talk with him after the holidays because she needs to know why he left. But, then on the day of the rehearsal dinner he shows up. She leaves with him and they end up back at his hotel so they can talk in private. He basically didnt' have a good reason for leaving, but now he's jealous that she's moving on. She has no feelings for him and calls Landon but he doesn't answer. She sees his truck; hes dropping off another girl at the hotel and she gets jealous and hides, then ignores his calls, until she doesn't. She tells him she's staying at a hotel and not going to the wedding with him and ends up in tears in the hotel lobby and said girl comes to her rescue. She finds out that the girl has a boyfriend, that Nikki set her up with. She ends up going to the wedding. She and Landon make up. She spends Christmas with him and his family, and finally stands up to her family about how she doesn't want to be with them for the holiday and that she's stronger than they think she is. The epilogue is several years in the future, with them happily married with kids. She is a successful social media influencer and we can assume he is still a lawyer. I liked that the epilogue was so far in the future; it let us know that things really did work out.   

Crime Series #5

 The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell 

There was a lot going on in this book. First, we have a child victim in a small town that is made to look like the victim from the previous book, the killer is still out there. Then, we have Lucy having an internship at the FBI and her being set up for espionage and terrorism charges, that were eventually proven false and she was able to return to the FBI. Then we have Merino falling for the mom of the dead girl. Then we have Kay having an affair with Wesley, the profiler from the FBI. Then we have the escaped killer from the previous book being seen at the mall by Kay and her running away from him. Then, it turns out that mom was the one that actually killed her daughter and she was in the process of killing Merino, but Kay was able to get to his car, get his shotgun, and kill her and save him. Then there's Dorothy. Kay got Lucy into a treatment center for her alcohol consumption, and Dorothy wouldn't let Kay go with them to drop her off, and Dorothy told Lucy that Kay didn't want to go. Then, Dorothy made it all about her, instead of being concerned about Lucy and her well being, she was just concerned about how this would impact her next book. It was high time Kay finally yelled at her and told her she was a horrible parent. This was a lot. I am disappointed by most of what went on in this book. Lucy is the only character that I'm not mad at; she's still young and can't be faulted for being fooled easily.  

Fourth Holiday Book of the Season

 Nick and Noel's Christmas Playlist by Codi Hall 

This was a cute read, but the characters were very millennial coded for not being in that age group. For being a lighthearted Christmas book, the characters had some baggage. Nick just gets out of the military and immediately gets broken up with. Then, said ex spends the entire book trying to get back together with him. Noel is an orphan who hasn't processed the death of her parents and because of that can't handle emotionally complex relationships. She starts the book finding out her situationship has moved on to a real relationship. She and Nick decide to make out on the dance floor in front of both of their exes to show how fine they are with the situation. But, this complicates things for their friendship. They decide to pretend to date for the town, but not for his family. They get cock blocked twice, which was hysterical. On their first official date Nick helps his ex change a flat tire and when she tries to come onto him again he firmly puts her in her place, but Noel is done. She leaves. Her guy friends take her home, but when they hear what happens the side with Nick and tell her she needs to get her shit together. She does, by making Nick a playlist because that's how they communicate best. They end up at the Christmas concert. His mic is on and the ex tries, again. He gives his great speech about Noel and the whole town gives him a round of applause. They make up on stage. Also, said ex is a bridesmaid in a wedding with Noel and things aren't going well, until after that moment, then they are able to make a truce. Nick and Noel are finally together. This was a little longer than it needed to be, but it was enjoyable enough that I will read his sister's books. 

 

Third Holiday Book of the Season

 Christmas Baggage  by Deborah M. Hathaway 

This was a cute, fast paced book. Claire agrees to spend Christmas in London with her friend Melody. But from the jump, it's no good. A well meaning mad on the plane helps her with her bag, but it's the wrong bag and the bags owner is a jerk about it instead of just realizing that it was a mistake. Then, later that same night, while she is asleep in her bed at Aunt Tasha's house said jerk walks into her room. It's Tasha's son, Liam. So now she has to spend the trip in the same room as Melody and spend the whole trip with the hot jerk who was mean to her at the airport. The first day they all go to a botanical garden and then have Chinese food and Melody and Tasha get food poisoning meaning Liam is forced to take her to the museums. Things start to defrost between the two. Then Melody wants to set up a double date with them and this guy Dean. Dean is a tool and they find every excuse they can to avoid them. Claire and Liam are cute together but they fall in love really fast, like one week fast. But at least the epilogue is one year later. They have made long distance work and now she is moving to England permanently. He proposes at the botanical garden. It was very sweet. I'm glad the epilogue was so far in the future, because the bulk of the story was very fast.  

Misleading Title

 The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 

The title implies it's about all four brothers, but really it's about Grayson and Jameson. I will hear no Grayson slander. We get time jumps and learn a little about what the boys were like as children. But, mostly it's about them now. Nash has proposed to Libby and that's the catalyst that brings them all together; his bachelor party. Jameson gets contacted by his father and is asked to find a way to earn a spot into the Devils Mercy so he can win the game and earn back the house that his father lost last year. Avery has a much easier time getting noticed and invited into the game, but he does eventually get his invitation. They play it together and she breaks one of the rules by getting into a fight so that he can have a chance. It appears that he has lost, but the person that thought they won, didn't and Jameson was able to explain the clue and won. He refused to give over the prize to his father because he realized that he was just a pawn. Also, his uncle was one of the players in the game and he found out that said uncle didn't know about him until right then, and they form a bond. Grayson has been keeping tabs on his sisters and one of them, Juliet aka GiGi, gets arrested. He picks her up from jail, takes her home, and forms a friendship with her to get into the house to search it for any clues his father may have left that indicate his plans about Avery, and that would lead to Grayson. Turns out the other twin, Savannah, has known about him since she was 14, and their mother has known for almost 2 years. The IRS is involved because of tax evasion issues. And mom's lawyer is a huge creep. He has been stealing from and bankrupting her, and trying to find ways to steal from the twins. Grayson is able to stop that, in front of a judge. He's also able to get the mom all of her money back. The truth about his connection comes out and GiGi is ecstatic to have a brother, Savannah takes some time. Grayson is also getting mysterious calls from someone he doesn't know with a riddle he can't solve. And Eve is back. I couldn't really remember who she was when the book started, but by the end, she mostly came back. This was better than book 3 because the format was different than the previous books, so it wasn't quite as formulaic. But I still maintain that Avery made the wrong choice.  

Third in the Historical Romance Series

 The Lady Tempts an Heir by Harper St. George

This was stronger than book 2 and almost as strong as book 1. We are talking: giggling, smiling, kicking my feet. Max is everything you want in a MMC, not just for a historical romance, but for any time period. He was strong, smart, and not afraid to stand up for what was right. Helena was brave and independent and did not care about what society thought about her. Together they were magic. Max's parents were, specifically his father, were meddling, again. This time, Max was to get married or the project that August was working on for the docks was going to lose it's funding. Papa was using August to manipulate Max. He had until the end of the year to get married, or at least engaged. Enter Helena. They agreed to a fake courtship that would lead to a fake engagement, which she would then end when he went back to America, to keep his father happy and to help her secure the funds she needed for her shelter for fallen women. Well, in addition to falling for each other for real, they were both interested in the same property for their respective properties. They came to an agreement: she would get the church for her shelter and he would get everything else for August's project. They got "engaged" and then he had to leave sooner than expected because of a pending strike at the factory. Papa wanted to crush it and all hope from the workers, Max wanted to compromise. He got the board to agree to remove Papa and put him in charge; it helped that Papa was on bed rest from a heart attack. Max was able to compromise and quell the strike. Violet had her baby. Helena ended up going to America to see Max and he told her that he had time to think and while he mourned the idea of never having kids, he would rather be with her. I was convinced that the reason she never had kids with her first husband was going to end up being his fault and was surprised when it turned out that it was actually her that couldn't conceive. Helena and Max reconcile and two years later they return to England for the christening of August's son. This is also the first time they see Papa again, and he has had another small heart attack and learned that he has been too harsh and wants to make amends. Also, Caroline's husband (she's the one who started all of this back in book 1) dies in the bed of his mistress right after Helena and Max get fake engaged, so she's finally free. This was just spectacular. I love this series. I love this author. Anything she writes, I'm going to read.  

Second Holiday Book of the Season

 The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan 

While this was a "Christmas" book, it wasn't JUST a Christmas book. It was an actual story, with an actual plot; there was nothing Hallmark about it. Carmen gets fired when the store she works at closes. She is forced to move back in with her parents and can't find a job anywhere. Enter her *perfect* sister, Sofia. Sofia is a lawyer and one of her clients is struggling with his finances. He's going to have to sell his beloved bookshop, but will only be able to get any money for it if he can finally turn a profit. Sofia convinces Mr. McCreedy to hire Carmen. She is able to turn his shop around and turn a profit and get him to open up and heal some old wounds. But, it's not without some challenges. There is a self-help author who is just the absolute worst, but Carmen likes to flirt with him. There's the live in nanny, Sklyer, who makes the author look not-so-bad. Then there's Oaky, the real love interest. Plus, Carmen and Sofia mend their relationship. Carmen bonds with her nieces and nephew and supports her sister through the birth of her fourth since she goes into labor early and her husband isn't home from his business trip yet. This was heartwarming but had real stakes to it. The only thing I didn't like was that it seemed a bit unfinished. But, I have since learned that there is a second book, which hopefully answers some of the questions that were left hanging. I have requested the book and have high hopes for it!  

Cozy Mystery #4

 Icing on the Murder by Valerie Burns

This was much faster than the previous books in the series; it was a one day mystery. Maddy and company are at a bridal expo both as guests and vendors. Maddy entered herself and Michael into a contest to win a wedding planned by Serafina. Unfortunately, Serafina is the worst. It was obvious that she was going to be the murder victim. Three couples made the final cut and she calls each one up on stage for an "interview" to help her decide which couple she is going to work with, but really it's to embarrass them publicly since this is all a reality show for Serafina. The first couple breaks up. Maddy is second, and she takes Baby with her. Serafina uses footage from when she got stood up at the altar and Maddy handles it well. Michael shows up, takes down two security guards who are trying to get to Maddy because Baby is protecting her from Serafina, and then they continue the interview. We don't get to see the third couple. Serafina is killed with cake skewers that Maddy had and was seen with. There is enough circumstantial evidence to arrest her videographer, Lucas, which is what Patrick, her husband and killer wanted. Maddy and company were investigating and Baby ended up with a sliver of glass in his foot that came from a pair of prescription eye glasses. The only person who was wearing glasses then changed into contacts was Patrick. He was hiding in a closet and heard them figure that out. When everyone but Maddy left, he came out with a gun, made her get rid of Baby and then started monologuing which gave Baby time to go get Michael, who brought the rest of the police force (minus Trooper Bob who had a minor heart attack earlier in the story). Baby and Michael saved Maddy. Patrick got arrested. Maddy started making decisions about the wedding, proving what Michael knew all along; she didn't really need a wedding planner. I love a cozy mystery and this series is so much fun. Light and fluffy with the right amount of suspense.  

Holiday Book

 Write Before Christmas by Julie Hammerle 

This was a cute Christmas story. Not quite a Hallmark level, but close. My favorite thing about it was that the main characters were in their 40s, which is not something you see very often in romance novels, and is even more rare in a Christmas romance. My least favorite thing is that the chapter titles on the audiobook didn't match with the character names. The FMC is Dani, but when it was her perspective the chapter title would say Tanny. That is just sloppy production, especially since it had real people recording the voices and not AI, presumably it would have a real person doing post production and taking care of things like that. DANI is recently divorced and because she was a stay at home mom, she has no money and no skills. She is forced to move back in with her parents. Her 19 year old daughter has been living with them for college, so now everyone is under one roof. Her sister in law and her twins are also there for the holidays, but this story takes place over six weeks and there is never any mention of any of the kids going to school which is weird because college doesn't let out after thanksgiving and neither does high school. But, that's irrelevant to the story. Matt is a famous-ish author who is renting a house so he can finish writing the third and final book in his trilogy. He has to get it done before Christmas because season 2 of the show will be premiering and they are reading to start production on season 3. His assistant Jane encourages him to hire someone to cook and clean, enter Dani. They have met twice while she has been walking the dog and he's been running. She gets the job without realizing who her boss is going to be, which ends up being awkward when she shows up at his house the day after making out with him in the street. They decide to start seeing each other casually, knowing that it's only temporary, because he's leaving after New Years. She ends up being his muse and he gets the book done and it's his best work yet. But the studio is unhappy and they want a bunch of changes. He has to do a lot of rewrites. He breaks up with her because of said rewrites. She caters the premier party, arranges a new job with the head of the hotel, and then leaves. He realizes he doesn't want to make the changes, tells the studio he is leaving the project and writes the book his way, the tries to climb out of his window to get to her but falls and breaks his ankle. The star of the show puts him on the back of his motorcycle and takes him to her parents house, but her daughter answers the door and tells him she's out at dinner. Matt and the actor go to the hospital then the actor takes the daughter to the restaurant to get Dani and then the actor takes her to the hospital. They reconcile and return to the premier, where the daughter and actor are now making heart eyes at each other. The epilogue is one year later and it is perfect. The family has a gift exchange and Matt has it orchestrated with the entire family so that he gets the last exchange so he can make sure Dani gets the gift he wants her to have; an engagement ring.  This was everything you expect a Christmas book to be.  

Silly and Fun

The Big A.S.S. Party  by Susanne Valenti and CAroline Peckham 

This was a fun novella. Geraldine and Max are currently my favorite characters in this series so getting anything from their perspective is a treat. This book starts with the night of the Lunar Eclipse, when Max and Geraldine first hook up. The rest of the book basically takes place in the middle of book 5, since Diego is still alive. Geraldine plans a huge surprise party for the twins. She finds out that Darius is planning something for them as well and storms over to stop it and then invites the Heirs. Then, she finds out that Mildred knows and calls Max and makes him keep her away so they use Darius as bait and trap her so she can't get out and ruin it. The twins definitely think it's going to be a low key party and then have to pretend to be joking about not wanting anything big. Max and Geraldine are crazy about each other, but we find out at the end that Geraldine is engaged to Justin Masters. Max basically begs her to give him two years; they can be public or not but please let them be together. She agrees since she wants to be with him too. But, only until she has to marry Justin after she graduates. These two are going to destroy me. They desperately want to be together but can't for so many reasons, her engagement and their divided loyalties to the throne being the biggest.  This was a nice change from the horror that usually comes with a Zodiac Academy book.  

Lighthearted Mystery

 Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich 

This had the signature humor that you expect from a Stephanie Plum novel, but it also had some existential dread that is new. The book starts with Grandma getting married and her new husband immediately dropping dead. Except he was in the mob and he was the keeper of the keys so now everyone in town is after Grandma. Stephanie has to do her job of rounding up people that skip on their bonds while also watching out for Grandma. Grandma ends up getting kidnapped at a bake sale and it's not anybody that they expected; it's the son in law of the dead guys first wife and neither his wife nor the first wife had any idea. Well, he was hired by two of the dead guys friends and instead of paying him off, they kill him because they're the mob. They're about to start working on Stephanie and Grandma, but they don't have any gas for the blowtorch so off to Home Depot they go. Stephanie is able to find the keys to the chains on the dead guy and get them out and they steal a concrete truck. Morelli and Ranger have called in literally everyone and the traffic chopper finds them first so all the cops converge on them. Grandma is returned home safely, still no idea where the keys are. The next day, the one remaining mob guy who didn't participate in the kidnapping sends Grandma a present, her dead husbands chair from the club. Dad is excited because it's a good chair, only thing is the seat cushion needs to be flipped and lo and behold, there are the keys. That's where the book ends, with Stephanie agreeing with Grandma that they will figure out what the keys open and what the treasure is. Normally these books have a neat and tidy ending, but this one is going to roll over into the next book. That's new and with how long this series has been going on, connecting the books isn't a bad idea.  

Nonfiction

 Beekeeping for Dummies by Howland Blackiston 

I want bees, but this made me realize that it's much more involved that I thought. The diagrams are helpful but because the pictures are not in color it's often hard to really see what you are looking at. While it did breakdown what is involved in caring for bees, it feels overwhelming. I think this is, for me at least, something that I would have to see in order to determine if I could actually be successful at it or not. I went through probably half to three quarters of a container of flags marking up this book and still feel unprepared to care for bees.  

Crime Series #4

 Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell

This was giving Green Mile vibes at the beginning. It didn't end that way, but that was what came to mind when I started it. We have a man sent to death row, given the electric chair, and they have to shock him twice. Then, his fingerprints aren't taken at the morgue. The morgue assistant is making mistakes, blaming on her pregnancy. Then, the guys whole file starts to go missing. Then, we have another body that is staged to look just like the one the guy killed. Then, the morgue assistant is killed and her husband is saying all kinds of crazy stuff to the paper. Also, the morgue administrator is acting shady. It's a whole mess. Lucy is in town and the FBI is letting her help with computer stuff. Mark dies off the page, so now the love interest is gone and his death is being used as a potential excuse for erratic behavior. Kay is being persecuted and they call a grand jury for her; nothing comes of that. And people from the jail start dying. Turns out, the original guy, who was executed, really did commit the first crime; but the now governor is trying to cover up his affair and so he had the jail release a prisoner they weren't supposed to and he's been blackmailing the morgue administrator and assistant, but then he kills the assistant and he killed the kid, and the people from the jail. He gets away but they know who he is. It was all very convoluted. This didn't seem to wrap up as nicely as some of the previous books, but it was still interesting.   

Not Continuing the Series

 Priest by Sierra Simone 

I have very mixed feelings about this book. Yes, I knew what I was getting into when I started it, I have read this author before. But, the New Camelot series had some plot to it, this didn't. Also, when I was trying to find out which brother was the focus of the second book I discovered that Tyler and Poppy get a novella and the description makes it seem like they aren't happy; like their marriage is stagnant. This made the book and its ending feel unworthy, like she was only with him because she liked the thrill of doing something (or someone) she shouldn't; she didn't like him she liked his job and the sneaking around of it all. I am not Catholic, but I felt dirty (not in a good way) with all of the sex happening in the church. When it was his church it at least made sense for the story, but when it was some random church that was not it. And the defiling of the holy objects. Again, not Catholic, but that was a bit much. I can see how some people would be titillated by the taboo of it, but it's not for me. Book two has a huge age gap which is one of my least favorite tropes, so knowing that I will not be continuing with this series.  

Fast YA

 A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass

I really enjoyed this book; it was fast paced, easy to digest, and a good pallet cleanser. However, it's been a while since I've read a true YA book and I kept forgetting that it was YA so I was frustrated with some of the decisions that the characters were making. Annika and Lennox were destined for each other, having met as children and both left an impression on each other. Now, as young adults they are leading their people in different ways; she is the princess and he is the real power of his people, despite being kept down by the current ruler. She gets engaged to distant cousin to secure the throne and Nickolas is lame. While they are out starting their engagement tour of the kingdom Lennox is leading his first Commission with a team that he didn't get to pick, but that ends up having a lot of skills that he can use. His plan is to sneak into the castle and steal the crown to boost morale, but when presented with the opportunity to capture the princess, he does that instead. Nickolas abandons her. Annika and Lennox have some banter before she is put in the dungeon and left without a guard. She knows how to pick locks and is able to escape. Lennox and crew are sent to find her; she is hiding in a hollowed out tree and he finds her, gives her food and his cloak, says he didn't see her, and lets her go. She returns home and tells her brother and father of her escape. Her father sends three soldiers to parlay with Lennox's area and they think that they are setting up a peace accord. Lennox takes them to the sea and makes it so that one of them, Palmer, can escape and free the other two and then survival is up to them. The peace accord is really an attack. Both Annika's brother and father are injured in the battle. Annika and Lennox fight each other until a hurricane rises then they take shelter together in a cave (this is where I forgot that it was YA). While in the cave they not only call a truce but start opening up to each other and fall in love. Once the storm passes they return to their respective sides; Lennox's people are happy to see him (they weren't happy to see their ruler) and Annika finds out her father has fallen ill and her brother, who got shot with an arrow, names her regent and immediately falls into a coma. Palmer returns and gives his accounting of what happens. Annika sends him to Lennox and Lennox immediately defects to Annika. He protects her when his side attacks. Nickolas is killed. Her brother wakes up, their father dies, brother runs away with the maid, leaves a note naming her Queen, she finds a book that proves that Lennox is the rightful ruler of the kingdom. They FINALLY figure out that the way to solve all of their problems is for them to get married and unite the two people. Epilogue is a year later with her having just gave birth. I spent a lot of time yelling at the characters to just make better decisions, but of course they couldn't because 1)they couldn't hear me and 2)if they could hear me they wouldn't have listened because they were like 18-20 years old and therefore incapable of listening. Still, I enjoyed this book, despite the characters making ridiculous decisions that just made their lives harder.