Broken Dove by Kristen Ashley Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, Pinterest, Newsletter
Series: Fantasyland #4
Also in this series: Wildest Dreams, The Golden Dynasty, Fantastical, Midnight Soul
Pages: 604
Genres: Romance, Fantasy
Goodreads
AMZ US
Far too young, Apollo Ulfr lost Ilsa, his wife, the love of is life and the mother of his two children. The grief of her loss does not settle in his soul, it solders to it. But when he discovers there is a parallel universe where his wife may have a twin, he feels there's hope and sets about bringing her to his world so he can have her back.
But Ilsa Ulfr of our world is married to the parallel universe's twin, Pol, who is not a good man. Not in any way. She's on the run from him and the last thing she wants is to be transported to a fantastical world and be forced to take his side as his wife, even if he is not Pol. And Apollo finds the broken Ilsa nothing like his beloved, and further, wants nothing to do with her.
But darkness is looming and evil is amassing. Apollo must protect his land and keep his family safe, including the new Ilsa.
A fan of fantasy? You bet if Kristen Ashley writes it.
‘Broken Dove’ is Appolo and Ilsa “Maddie’s” story. In ‘Fantastical’ we learned Appolo was heavy in grief at the loss of his wife, Ilsa. He goes seeking help from a witch to bring Ilsa’s twin from the other world to his, hoping to fill the void his wife left. What he found was a woman in danger and one vastly different from his wife.
❝Be careful what you wish for,” he whispered, his eyes locked to mine as I drew in breath. “You might get it.❞
Ilsa had been on the run from her husband ‘Pol’ (Appolo’s twin). He was a physically abusive drug dealer and freaking scary! She was transported from one scary situation to another, a new world, with new languages, a different culture, talking animals, witches, magic and a man who said he would protect her, yet wants nothing to do with her.
Appolo doesn’t find it so easy to connect with “Maddie” and in fact for the first part of the story casts her aside, while vowing to protect her. I didn’t like Appolo for a great deal of the story, the way he treated “Maddie” greatly pissed me off. I also wished Maddie would have stood up for herself more, where Appolo was concerned. However, I can’t forget she was fresh off of an abusive relationship, so she was used to being passive and in protect mode.
While learning to get to know each other, these two have to fight the war that is brewing. The power that the love holds between all men of the alternative universe and the women of the other world is so great, that it is a threat. Minerva and her minions want what the women have and set forth to steal it.
Once they accepted each other for who they were, Appolo and Maddie fall in love. Their romance was tender and sweet, their connection is electrically charged and off-the-charts HOT!!! Appolo gave Maddie what she craved, safety and she gave him what he needed, to protect.
❝This is going very fast,❞ I reiterated.
❝Yes,❞ he agreed, not letting go of my hand or my gaze.
❝It’s scary.❞
❝Yes,❞ he agreed again, and I watched in fascination as his beautiful jade eyes turned hard and determined. ❝And this, my poppy, will be the last thing on this world or any other that you fear.❞
The highlight for me was Appolo’s children. I ADORED them! Their scenes were precious, tender and realistic.
❝Apollo watched as Christophe sat on the sofa at the opposite end to him, arranging his boy’s body in his father’s exact pose as best he could with his much shorter frame. That was to say, leaned back with one leg crossed, ankle resting on the other knee. However, he didn’t have his arms spread wide along the back and the arm of the couch as his arms didn’t reach.❞
This book was long! There were times when I wondered if I would ever get to the end of it, not because it wasn’t good, or that I didn’t love it, but because each time I looked at my progress, I still had HOURS left to read. For me, there were parts that could have been left out, like the rehashing… why he did what he did, her old life, the need to keep her safe, as well as the generous and beautiful descriptions. At times it was just too much.
But when you get down to the story and filter out the other stuff, it was fantastic! I am in awe of Kristen Ashley’s imagination. In this series, she transported us to a fantastical setting, with fantastical characters. With each book, she creates intrigue, suspense, and romance.
I loved this story and love this series!
About Kristen Ashley
Kristen Ashley was born in Gary, Indiana, USA and nearly killed her mother and herself making it into the world, seeing as she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck (already attempting to accessorise and she hadn’t taken her first breath!). Her mother said they took Kristen away, put her Mom back in her room, her mother looked out the window, and Gary was on fire (Dr. King had been assassinated four days before). Kristen’s Mom remembered thinking it was the end of the world. Quite the dramatic beginning.
Nothing’s changed.
Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana and has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus, she’s blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her family was (is) loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write. They all lived together on a very small farm in a small farm town in the heartland. She grew up with Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).
Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.
And as she keeps growing, it keeps getting better.
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