Wildest Dreams (Fantasyland Series Book 1)

I have to admit that I was hesitant at first to read this series. And I also had a hard time getting through the first chapter but I kept on and I absolutely LOVED Frey & Finnie. Such a great story. Loved them. Definitely a must read.

OMG, horribly bad bad bad! I purchased this book on kindle based on the premise of a woman switching places with her parallel universe self. I read about 10% or so and had to stop, I could not make myself continue. The main character is supposed to be in her late twenties early thirties but she speaks as if she's an uneducated, never picked up a book in her life 13 year old girl (no offense to 13 year olds!) Every other word/phrase is "freaking awesome!", "cool as s***" and let's go "hang". "Freaking amazing" also figures quite often. She sounds like a complete and utter moron! And the parallel universe doesn't have our modern conveniences (no electricity, horses instead of cars and outhouses) but it's sooooooo cool!!! I feel like this book could've been done better if it was a time traveling novel and our heroine was dumped into 1980's southern California....she'd fit right in with all of the Valley girls. If that were the case I might like this book a teeny bit better but I'd STILL want to gag myself with a spoon. I hated having to give this book one star; couldn't I give it a corner of a star? Or even negative stars? How about former stars? Like black holes? Because that's how I felt while reading this book; that I was being sucked into a massive waste of time and space.

!!!!!!!!Spoiler Alert!!!!!!!!

Why? Just why? It was pretty good until the climax, I was like "Oh s$#%, she about to rip him a new one. Here this guy just force her to stay in his world but also impregnated her with out her consent! And just when she's telling him off Boom they get attacked. It was the biggest " Oh come on!" Moment ever. TTTTHHHHEEENNN she's guilt tripped in to accepting the baby because He died! That was so lame, I mean I sure she would have kept the baby any ways but that was just lame. But wait it get worse it turns out he's alive and every thing is wonderful. It just so sad.

I will read anything KA writes. Usually twice. I was hesitant to start Wildest Dreams because Fantasy genre is not usually for me. KA did not disappoint. She can write a strong, heroic man like no other and that is exactly what kept me engaged in this book.

I loved this story!!! I'm not usually one to read fantasies but since it was KA I had to give it a shot. And now I'm very happy I did!! Finnie is a beautiful woman who lost her parents early. She is also addicted to adventure as her parents taught her. When she discovers that a powerful witch can send her to another world where there are twins to everyone in Finnie's world, she knows she has to go. The chance to see her parents again, or at least their twins, is too good to pass up. Her twin agrees to make the switch because she is unhappy in her world. Finnie sends her tons of information about the world she will find so her twin will be prepared. Unfortunately, her twin doesn't return the favor. There is a LOT she neglects to tell Finnie. So when Finnie arrives in the other world she finds herself minutes away from getting married!! From that moment on Finnie embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. She will find love, friendship, parents, hardship, and pain. I was simply amazed from page one!!! Please don't let the fact that this is fantasy put you off if you normally wouldn't read from that genre. Grab the book and hang on for the ride!!!!!

Paranormal books are really not my cup of tea and this book being no exception. At the insistence of a friend I bought and read this book hoping it would be all that and a bag of chips. But what I found myself doing shocked me especially being a book from this author. You found me skimming the pages hoping for it to end. The love making scenes did not get my juices flowing and I would find myself wanting more. I really wanted to like it but I couldn’t.

Wow, loved this book but I am also a fantasy reader so it sat perfectly within my comfort zone. Many KA readers would probably not like it simply for the heavy amount of fantasy in this book.

As per usual with this brilliant author my stomach dropped and my heart soared throughout the story. I can't wait to read the next in this series!

i read the Unfinished Heroes series by Kristen Ashley and really liked them, so I thought I'd give this one a try. Maybe it is just me, but this just seems like someone else wrote it, and I can't even finish it--much less think about getting the rest of the series.

An enjoyable addition to the series. Having read out of order, I didn't really mess the series up. It clearly didn't matter in this case. I liked Frey immensely and Finnie too. This is an unusual tale as you might expect but it's told in true KA style. There's harshness and sensitivity, battle and peace, strange occurring and good events. This is quickly becoming a favourites series and one I'll re-read.

I really like KA's Fantasyland series, although I can see why some people don't. I can suspend belief enough to not take my romances seriously. I love them, they entertain me, make me sigh with happiness when Frey and Finnie fall in love, but I don't think more than a few romances reflect real life romance. Mostly, it's entertaining! I adore my alpha males in my books and KA definitely delivers again!

I loved this book. I was hooked by the description of the other world and the bravery of the main character. I immediately took a liking to Frey Drakkar and the connection between him and Finnie.
Although the plot is slightly dragged on, the romance and mystery of a new world makes up for it. Loved this book.

I enjoyed the author's style and creativity with her stories but the lead males are extremely chauvinist which made it a bit hard to completely love/care for him. There is little character development and unfortunately the action was fairly steady until the end which felt rushed and predictable but the world the author created was entertaining. overall, glad I read it.

This book was obnoxious. The main character had a vocabulary limited to 'whelp' and 'cool' and quite frankly she was so immature I was hoping she would be dumped and he would find someone less irritating.

cute sexy fun touching and awesome fantasy romance book.
(spoilers!------------------------------->)if you like this i recommend the other series they all eventually connect which is cool gets you wanting to know why!

This is a very charming and interesting book, with a very! Alpha male and a funny and sweet girl.
I have never written a review before, but this is too good a book to pass up. Well worth the $3.99 it
cost.
Kathleen

This book has fantastical elements: alternative parallel universe, elves, dragons, animals that talk and well the common elements that Kristen Ashely is known for: alpha male, hot sex and romance.

I really enjoyed this book, it reminded me of the game of throne serie

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING I LOVED IT!!!! TRULY THIS BOOK WAS ONE OF THE BEST I HAVE EVER READ. I AM AN AVID FANTASY ROMANCE READER AND THIS BOOK IS GREAT. IT NOT ONLY WAS OVER 400 PAGES LONG BUT IT HAD ME ENTHRALLED ALL OF THOSE PAGES. I WAS SAD WHEN IT ENDED IF A BOOK CAN GIVE YOU AN EMOTIONAL REACTION THAN IT IS TRULY SOMETHING SPECIAL. THIS BOOK IS SPECIAL.

**Spoilers below**

This book was over 500 pages but, after reading it, I feel that the story could have been told in 200 pages.

Finnie, the heroine, goes from our world to a parallel one with dragons and elves. But the dragons and elves barely appeared in the story. The elves appeared for a few pages near the beginning and in the middle, and the dragons appeared for a few pages near the very end. And considering that much ado was made about the hero's position (as the first in a millennium to control both species), it was disappointing that they were more props than actual characters.

In fact, most of the characters in the story besides Finnie and Frey were just props. Only in the story at strategic times to show how lovable, loving, clever, brave, adaptable, adventurous, etc. Finnie was. Because her main reason for going to this parallel world was to go on adventures (her parents, having been rich adventurers that died young, passed this same drive on to her).

So rather than a cohesive plot, where every scene is meaningful to the story, it felt like the author created a checklist of "adventures" for Finnie to go on. Such as, have Finnie:

Go to a magical kingdom and marry a handsome adventurer. Check.
Enjoy a sleigh ride through charming snow capped villages. Check.
Charm the residents of a small, rustic town. Check.
Drink beer, learn to become a card shark and charm all the manly men she meets in the story. Check.
See an elf in real life. Check.
Learn she can communicate with certain animals. Check.
Bond with her alt-parents. Check.
Go to a ball in an expensive and pretty dress. Check.
Escape an assassination. Check.
Have an adventure on a boat. Check.
Befriend her husband's band of loyal adventures and earn their undying respect. Check.
Visit a cool chalet owned by her wealthy husband who has properties all over. Check.
Etc, etc, etc.

Then later the author tried to loosely string those adventures into some type of plot involving political intrigue. Of which Finnie is supposed to be a key character, though she doesn't care whats going on around her in the slightest (except as it affects her "adventures"). But at the end of the story I was left wondering what the point was. The plot seemed to get lost in all of Finnie adventures. And then after spending copious amounts of time focusing on trivial details earlier in the story, it's like the author looked at the word count and sent the story into overdrive skipping from one thing to the next to get the story wrapped up asap.

At first the whole point of the book seemed to be that Finnie (having replaced her counterpart as the parallel world's princess) needed to bear her new husband a son to one day take over as king (and keep her parents kingdom from falling into the hands of her wicked uncle, who ruled the neighboring kingdom - the two kingdoms used to be one and were split by the two king's father). Finnie's alt-parents only had a daughter, who could not take over as their kingdom's ruler, and apparently the only man fit to marry her didn't want the job of king. So it was up to Finnie and Frey's future son.

But then in the end, Frey unilaterally forces the evil uncle to sign a paper abdicating his throne and going into exile. Then he decides to make Finnie's mother the first female ruler (after her husband dies) until he and Finnie have a son that comes of age to rule. Because his position as Frey Drakkar (ruler of elves and dragons) puts him politically above kings and queens.

So with that being the conclusion, I can't help but wonder why Frey couldn't have exercised his apparently unilateral decision-making ability to shape kingdoms and do this from the beginning. All the hundreds of pages of vague, poorly explained political intrigue and machinations seemed to be for naught, except:

Involve Finnie in a convoluted power scheme between two kingdoms, which she has no hand in solving. Check.

But the book is not 1 or 2 stars because for the most part I enjoyed the personalities of Finnie and Frey and seeing their relationship and interactions. It was the best part of the book for me, and we got to see a lot of it. I just think the book would have been better and more honest (and also shorter), if Finnie hadn't been a princess in the parallel realm and involved in convoluted schemes with a man who was technically a king but not actually a king, apparently. Nothing of substance in the world of the story, or the life of the characters, would have been different if Finnie had just been a regular woman who hooked up with a ship's captain and had an adventure or two. It would have been just as meaningless as the story we actually got.

like I did. I have read ALL of KA's books now, but I put off reading the fantasy ones. I didn't thing they would be as good as her others, or that I would like this style of book. I was so wrong! Everything she writes is awesome!

At around 500 pages for a price-tag of only 99 cents, I think this book was a pretty good casual read. It's nothing super special or amazing, but I read it over the course of two days and saw it had some merit. The story isn't bad and the baseline of the characters isn't bad; in fact, I think I liked the plot and setting a lot. It was entertaining enough to hold my attention. I like fantasy and I like romance, so this was a worthwhile casual read. The editing was pretty good, I didn't notice many mistakes if any, and I think the author is pretty good at formulating a plot. This book had a lot of story; much more than I normally expect from a book filled with several erotica scenes.

But I'll be totally honest I knocked off two stars for a few reasons.

Firstly there's some sexism and not-okay things happening. The book sort of shirks Frey keeping Finnie trapped in the other-world without her knowledge and consent and then tampering with her birth control as "well, cultures are different and we can't judge them as right or wrong!" which is absolute nonsense. I don't care what culture you're waving in my face, any that seeks to limit, restrict, or otherwise deny autonomy and liberty solely on the basis of gender identity or sex is awful and wrong and not justified. Then there's also "men can have affairs after marriage but not women because they gotta be moms and not have the paternity called into question" like please, spare me this outdated sexism that tries to justify why women shouldn't have affairs because they can get pregnant as if a man impregnating a dozen girls isn't irresponsible and bad. At these moments I was just rolling my eyes and groaning. At the very least the author made their sexual relationship completely consensual and didn't try to romanticize rape and abuse (which is why I don't want to even consider book #2 which, from reviews and what I can discern from this book and the blurb on the the store page, is absolutely all about justifying the rape of women as just a "cultural thing" and something that could be romantic/forgivable in the right perspective and that's disgusting). But I still held issue with this book, especially since Finnie was willing to forgo her justifiable anger and hurt over what Frey without there being any atonement or explanation or anything she was just "whelp I thought you were dead but since I now want to stay and have your baby it's okay that you previously denied me the right to have a choice." I dislike heroines who are so quick to belittle and demean their own justifiable feelings for the sake of a man yet will hold onto really childish, petty feelings that aren't justifiable until the end of time.

One other point of complaint I have is that the language could be a little annoying. Finnie uses some odd, colorful phrasing that seem weird coming from the mouth of a 30 year old woman. I think the book would have done better if Finnie's speech was more refined because it would have matched it better, but it's a minor, personal opinion overall. I also think that some of the plot near the end was a bit rushed and that the author did skim over a handful of events so she could skip around to Frey/Finnie time exclusively, which took away from the fantasy aspect of the novel because we hear about all this political tension and looming turmoil and such but only get a little bit of this stuff overall so that there's just nonstop focus on Finnie learning how to shoot a bow and then having sex with Frey, whom she calls "baby" and "honey" two terms of endearment that seem really awkward and out of place in this novel (I actually thought Frey would have been all "Why are you calling me an infant? Is it an insult? Are you demeaning me?" or something along those lines when Finnie started it up).

Anyway, though despite these two main points (sexist plot devices and language choices that could have fared better) I still found the book to be okay. Perhaps the next books get better, but I'm not sure if I'll be trying any of the others. Book #3 looked interesting, and from what this book says the various stories link up loosely because they're all based in the same world and the politics of the lands all intermix a bit, but I'm a bit hesitant after reading this one and seeing what could have gone terrible wrong and what the author's choices were and after seeing all the disturbing things regarding book #2. I think for now, I'll chalk this up as an okay 99 cent price for a quick read and resume looking for more books to read in another series and by another author.

if you liked the title you'll like the book - I'm not 10% in and can't read anymore, imagine going back in time to medieval England and hearing words like - 'totally freaking hot' and 'freaking awesome' and 'hot dude' it is so bad I can't get absorbed because the main girl is a nitwit and although I don't know yet, I assume is 14 or 15 years old because that is how teens talk. its just so obnoxious I can't continue. yuk. I mean lol, omg its so gnarly gross dude!

I usually don't write reviews but I felt the need to for this one because I feel duped by all the positive reviews for it. I always check the reviews before I purchase so I thought I was getting an okay deal when I paid $3.99 for Wildest Dreams [Kindle Edition]. Oh how very very wrong I was. In fact, after finishing the book and re-reading some of the reviews that convinced me to purchase it, I am thinking the reviewers didn't read the book at all, or were paid to do so.

I'd also like to qualify that I am not looking for perfection in a PNR/fantasy romance. I have read a lot in the genre and can accept some cheese, plot holes and shallow characters and still enjoy the book. That being said this book is absolutely awful.

The positive:

+ World Creation - meaning both the physical description of the settings and the  mythologies / histories / laws that govern this world.

The negatives:

- Characters were undeveloped, not believable. I didn't buy a lot of the emotional reactions/interactions of the main characters. Characters seemed to react in a way that was most convenient to the story line and not in the way that their traits/circumstances would likely dictate. One of the biggest issues for me was (spoiler) I didn't buy that the main character's other-world parents would so easily roll-over on ever seeing their real daughter again. Even though their world was very sexist, she was still their daughter! And unless they are supposed to be cold-hearted or examples a messed-up home life (unlikely given their later interaction with the heroine) it should be impossible for them to let go of their real daughter after one conversation with the hero. I agree with an earlier review that dubbed the characters props.

- The world is very sexist, and the ending rectified this like a bandaid on a bullet wound. (Spoilers) after marriage a husband can sleep around but the wife is expected to be faithful. If a wife wants her husband faithful it is up to her to please him sexually so he doesn't stray. No thought is given to her pleasure or that maybe men stray for reasons other than sexual pleasure. Also it is the male in any relationship that gets to determine if birth control is used. If he says use it and she gets pregnant, she is in trouble and it is punishable by law. Likewise if he doesn't want her to use birth control she is not supposed to use it. An episodic example of this is when the hero switches out the birth control supplement the heroine is using with an ineffective placebo without telling her. In explanation for this we learn that this is "his right". This might be ok if our "strong female lead" stuck up for some rights or tried to make some changes but she doesn't.

- The Heroine is a door-mat. I get the sense that she was supposed to be the strong adventurous type but the author was afraid of making her too much the cold the storeian. So instead the character was made the adventurous, positive-outlook with the ability to compromise type. The trouble is she is too compromising, and she doesn't go on very many adventures. (Spoilers) She stay in a lot of cabins and castles. Even when she is traveling with the hero on his boat she stays in his quarters a lot and never goes adventuring ashore unless forced or unless they have reached the destination of another cabin/castle.

- The Heroine is annoying, most especially as a narrator. Too much repetition of "oh my god" and "cool". She is supposed to be 30 years old --15 years old when her parents died plus 15 years since she has seen them means 30-- but her dialog and internal monologues stunt her to 19 max. (Her asides are also irritating)

-Too much wardrobe description. It was ok the first time and when a new setting was introduced with a new manner of dress I could understand it, but there were many more descriptions of "getting dressed" in this story. I don't care that she wore the cream colored gloves again unless they have some impact on the story (see Cinderella's glass slipper).

- No story arc, no rising action, just a string of events with a hasty attempt to tie it together at the end. Other reviewers have pointed this out.  It is unfortunately true.

I don't know how I made it to the end of this book. I sincerely wish I hadn't because it is a huge waste of time - and this is coming from someone who regularly reads PNR. I can tell you now that the plot line of this story is like catching what you think is a really majestic fish. You got it on the hook and your really excited as you reel it in, faster and faster, but then then it pops out the water and does a nose dive right into the floor of the deck next to you quicker than you thought. It flippity-flops around for a little bit, gasping for air from pages 5-400 as it slowly dies in tedious agony. Softly you think you hear it whisper to you, so you get closer, leaning your ear down towards it "please!"    Its hoarse  whisper pleads with you "please find me an editor to gut and rework me into an enjoyable book!" And then it dies its fishy death. And you think for a moment on the poor fishes demise only to look down and see you have been talking to a mass of seaweed the whole time. The End!

DNF @ Chapter 10

I skimmed, I skipped, I jumped. Imagine my surprise when after the skims-skips-jumps, I saw "Chapter 10". What?!!! That's it? Ho boy...

And then, I freaking lost it.

Awesome, it wasn't.

Really, it was really not cool. Freaking un-awesome/un-cool/un-whatever!

Chapter 10? Of 32?

And then, I said, "BB, you must not do a DNF"

And I said, "BB, what will people think? And what about Finnie's clothes? The ice-blue gown with the bell sleeves? Then, the cloak- picked for its warmness(?)- and all the platinum threads and silver this and dark wood that? Huh? Surely, you can take more?

Eek. Whelps. Ho boy. Oh God. Squeeeee (Okay, that last one is all me). The point being, I need to take a step away from this book lest I gouge out my eyes.

Finnie, at 30, had the speech pattern of a 12-year-old. Frey, the H, was sterile, devoid of any gravitas (beyond his hunk-ness status).

Don't misunderstand, the story and plot were exciting and different. Finnie pays a million dollars to magically teleport from present day to medieval times, hoping to connect with her long-deceased parents. This medieval world ran parallel to hers, more than this, there lived another version of her in said world.

Teleport, switch places, stay for a year, afterward, beam-me-up-Scottie, back to the present she goes. Except, in the other world, circumstances are not as expected. Sounds freaking cool, right? Yes, one would think so. Until it wasn't, and I blame the author's use of the basest, most simplistic vocabulary. Look up the word prosaic and a picture of this book should accompany it. Un-freaking-believable

I understand this book is 500+(dear lawd) pages long.... I imagine half of that can be done away with had the editors done their job. To fill a book with colloquial and idiomatic phrases etc is vexing to this reader.

Questions swirled in my mind. Could this be the reason KA is such a prolific writer? Pick 20 words, switch them up, repeat at close intervals, then BAM, 100,000 words done and published? Huh?

There it goes......my last nerve.

Well that was definitely an interesting ride! I appreciated that our protagonist Finnie was competent to begin with and became moreso as her adventure progressed. She's impressively even-keeled about the ridiculous situations she ends up in. Frey Drakkar, our love interest, is kind of a lot, but honestly, they suit each other, so okay. I'm side-eyeing some of his more egregious alpha male moves, but there are real consequences to his actions in this story. The side characters in Fantasyland are also compelling. Queen Mum Aurora, in particular, is a total graceful political badass, and I love her.

On the negative side, I feel this could've used further editing - there were some weird grammatical quirks and I'm not sure we needed quite so much clothing and architectural detail. I also did not feel like the reader - or Finnie herself - had much of any reason to care about her old life, which made one of her main internal conflicts ring hollow. (I am, on the other hand, immensely curious how Sjofn got on in modern America, but I hope she found a nice girl and probably some therapy.) Also Finnie is a terrible nickname, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

One other important note: DRAGONS. The politics and legends of this realm don't honestly make a ton of sense, but dragons.

I don't even really know where to start, the story is that awful. The heroine reminds the reader constantly that she is an adventuress and she wants to have fun and explore this new world she finds herself in, but mostly she just stays in castles/lodges and gets it on with the hero. She also speaks and narrates like a teenager with stuff like "That's so cool!" and "freaking awesome!" which gets old really fast. The icing on the cake however is when the heroine finds out that the hero has trapped her in this other world without her knowledge or consent AND has also knocked her up against her explicit wishes because he is her husband and she has no right to refuse him the heroine gets mad for a minute and then all is forgiven. The hero doesn't even apologize, he just takes her acceptance of these events as his due. She has less spine then a wet dishcloth.

I just binged 8 of this author's books (including this series). Her female characters are for the most part childish (for their age), dominated by the male hero and all will need rescuing. The women can only win over the hero by cooking, housekeeping and sex. They have no other redeeming atributes except their ability to be self depreciating and occasional responding with sassy remarks. The males are egotistical, sexist, domineering and are easily won over by great domestic skills and lots of sex. These books are not written for modern women.

I’ve read several of this author’s contemporary books, but had yet to try her older fantasy series. When it released in audio, I was eager to take this chance to satisfy my curiosity about Kristen Ashley’s flexibility between genres. I was not long into this one before I realized that the writing style, the feel of the characters, and even the dialogue was very familiar even if the setting and plot were true-blue fantasy. Dragons, elves, witches, hot alpha warrior men, and a high-strung yet compassionate sassy heroine. What more could a KA fan want?

This was the start of a new series highlighted by a powerful, match-making witch, parallel realms, magic, intrigue, and great passion.

In this book, Finnie Wilde desires the ultimate adventure and she gets one when she approaches powerful witch, Valentine. Valentine has promised to send Finnie into another realm much like earth, but with differences and in the process Finnie’s double who lives in the fantasy realm will get an adventure on earth. Each realm has a twin in the other realm. Finnie wishes to switch with Seoafin because in the fantasy realm the twins of her parents are still alive. She will get one year and then return.
Seconds after Valentine performs the switch, Finnie learns that Seoafin kept a lot of details from her. For one thing, Finnie is now a princess and for another, she is getting set to marry the feared Frey Drakkar. Seoafin didn’t want to marry The Drakkar so swapped with Finnie to escape. Finnie ends up married to a man who doesn’t seem to like Seoafin and only married for the good of the realm. Now her husband drops her at his hunting lodge in the forest and takes off to go back to business as usual with his men. This was definitely not how she imagined her adventure going. Nor were the very different parents as welcoming in this realm as her own had been even though they thought she was their daughter, Seoafin.
But Finnie makes the most of her isolation by doing for herself around the hunting lodge and getting to know the villagers nearby so that when Frey Drakkar returns he gets a surprise in more ways than one.

Frey went against the advice of several and his own better judgment to wed the Winter Princess, Seoafin Wilde. In a drunken moment, he learns that she prefers the love of women and wants nothing to do with him. He goes through with the match, but from the moment he met his bride in the church, he senses a difference. She is warm-hearted and smiling. She seems confused by Lunwyn ways. But he figures she is playing him and drops her off at his hunting lodge and is amused to think the pampered and spoiled princess will be roughing it while he is off on his ship raiding and trading.
His return to the lodge proves him so wrong. Seoafin is not struggling, but has fixed up the lodge, does the chores including cooking, and is a favorite of the village. She is sunny and bright and so very different. His rougher warrior ways frighten her and she is squeamish around hunted game meat when everyone in the kingdom knows that she learned riding and hunting skills from her father. Something isn’t right and only a visit from the elves sets him straight.
He has wed the bride of the prophecy, but his bride is from another place. Frey is not disappointed by the switch and grows to love and appreciate his compassionate, fun-loving, and adventure-seeking Finnie. He takes actions with great repercussions to keep this beautiful woman.
Meanwhile, unrest fills the lands and Finnie’s life is in danger as some seek to end the reign of the House of Wilde. Frey must do all he can to seek out from which direction the danger comes. All the while, the clock is ticking down for the time Finnie must return to her own world. Only now she isn’t sure she wishes to, for she has fallen in love with Frey Drakkar not knowing he is keeping secrets.

Alright, this one is an engaging fantasy romance adventure. I loved this realm with it’s magic, dragons, elves, and people much like those of earth. It wasn’t a unique backdrop, but familiar in the way I love about fantasy. I enjoyed the inclusion of the court intrigue and warring lands to make it all more interesting. But the real tension and build up was between Finnie and Frey.

Frey is an alpha male of the first water. He is a leader and makes plans with decisiveness as a result. He is unused to consultation about his plans and doesn’t pay much heed to the differences between his and Finnie’s world. Finnie is also one to go her own way and is quite used to consulting no one either. This leads to several clashes. They are both keeping secrets out of necessity and naturally these secrets come back to bite them in the butt. Both aren’t great at communication and do a lot of assuming. Finnie has a hair trigger and goes off which in turn causes Frey to dig his heels in and get stubborn. The reader is well aware how things are going to go down when the secrets all come out though it is fun times watching these two find their way and be together.

Like is generally the case with this author’s stories, there is a certain style of thought and dialogue that is familiar. I won’t say I appreciate it so much as I’ve adjusted to it. There is a reason this author’s books are a hundred or so pages longer than perhaps necessary. So many extra words and thoughts from the heroine. I think I was going to go through the screen of my phone at some point and shake Finnie until her teeth rattled if she did the ‘um’ thing one more time. The reader gets this long monologue in the heroine’s mind and ‘um, um’ as she can’t find her words. But with adjustment, I tolerate this because I enjoy the rest of the story.

As to the narration, Tilly Hooper did a great job. She has the tone and timing and the emotions down. Her male voices were rather interchangeable with their gruff and guttural sound so the listener has to pay attention as to which man was speaking, but nothing that was distracting or annoying. I thought there was good continuity since this was a longer story.

So overall, this was a winner. I would definitely enjoy continuing on with the Fantasyland series and spending more time with the many colorful characters, the world, and the new stories to come especially after that set-up scene near the end for the next couple.

My thanks to Audible.com for providing the story in exchange for an honest review.

This is such an amazing story. Seoafin aka Finnie has lost her parents and is still grieving their absence in her life. She learns about a parallel universe where every person has a twin so she seeks out a witch to assist her in reaching this place. Princess Sjofn is slated to marry the Frey Drakkar. They both dislike each other so Sjofn took the opportunity to switch places not telling Finnie she was to marry Frey. When Finnie got to Lunwyn she was sure of one thing everywhere was different and she had some learning to do. Will she be able to pull off her deception to everyone around her and will she get the chance to have that familial relation ship with the king and queen that she had with her parents and what about Frey will she pull off fooling him?

I’m a big fan of Kristen Ashley her books but I must confess that this series of her wasn’t high on my TBR pile. I didn’t really know what to expect from this fantasy series. But then one day I decided to read book two (The Golden dynasty) of this series and I just fell in love with it. So after reading and loving ‘The Golden dynasty’, I really wanted to read more of this fantasy series and this time I started with book one, Wildest dreams.

Seoafin ‘Finnie’ Wilde has lost her parents when she was young but if there was one thing that her parents left her, it was their love for adventure! Finnie loves nothing more than going on an adventure so when she learns that there’s a parallel universe where the twins of her parents live, she wants nothing more than to go there and meet them. Luckily for her, her own twin ‘Sjofn’ (who lives in that parallel universe) wants the switch too.

But when Finnie arrives in Lunwyn, she discovers that her twin ‘Princess?!? Sjofn’ forgot to mention a few things to her, one of those things is that she’s a princess in this parallel world and is about to get married to Frey Drakkar ‘The Drakkar’. Frey Drakkar is a very alpha and handsome man but it’s also very obvious that he doesn’t like his soon to be bride (princess Sjofn)! But Finnie wouldn’t be Finnie is she didn’t see this as a new adventure and just goes for it.

But Frey makes it very difficult for her to like him when he leaves her alone in an isolated cabin in a foreign land just after their wedding. But Finnie does what she always does, she just makes the best of a bad situation, something that Frey didn’t expected and is surprised to discover on his return.
And day after day, Frey discovers new sides and new things about his new wife. Things that does him question who his bride really is and when he finally discovers that Finnie isn’t princess Sjofn, he is really happy about that. He’s so happy with ‘his’ Finnie that he decides to bound her to his world for good!

Finnie is slowly realizing that this new world is very different then her old world but she loves it just as much if not more. Because here in this ‘new’ world every day exists of a new adventure and she has also find something special, she has find love. But this new world also hold danger, because not everyone is happy with her marriage to the powerful Frey Drakkar and they especially don’t like the fact that the marriage is slowly becoming something more than just a contract between two powerful houses . Some people even want Finnie dead! Luckily The Drakkar won’t let that happen but can he really save her from the many dangers and what will Finnie do when she discovers that she can’t go back to her own world?! Can Finnie forgive her Drakkar for making this big decision without consulting her? Can love really overcome everything?

Just like in Kristen Ashley’s other books you have this alpha man, who can be tender with the woman that he loves but who will do everything in his power to protect her. And then you have Finnie who is a very gentle, friendly and very adventurous woman but she can also be fierce if she has too.
I loved the fact that Finnie didn’t complained when ‘bad things’ happened to her. No! She just made the best of every ‘bad’ situation. This series is a little bit different because it’s a fantasy series and thus you have magic, elves and even dragons in this story but even with all that, this series is really a Kristen Ashley series with moments filled with humour, with much emotions and many great side characters that complete the story and I just love that!

Wildest Dreams (Fantasyland Series Book 1)
Wildest Dreams (Fantasyland, #1) Kristen Ashley
Adult Fantasy Romance Suspense
5+ Stars cause I really, REALLY! loved it. I could not stop reading it. All the characters, the world build, the writing, the flow of the story, every nuance was amazing.
Every element that makes a good story a Great Story, is in this story. There are surprises, there is emotion. There is non-stop action. It will make you laugh, cry and gasp.
The romance is definitely Adult, but not Erotica. The characters throughout and the main characters of this story are intriguing and an absolute delight to read about. There are twist and turns throughout the story that keep you on your toes, so you don't KNOW what will happen next.
I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
July 4, 2017 – Finished Reading
July 1, 2017 – Started Reading

OMG! Kristen Ashley can do no wrong and if you’ve read her books you know exactly what I’m talking about. I started on the Kristen Ashley train late, but I’ve been binge reading her books. Since I started, I have made a pretty significant dent in her collection. When I first started reading her books and looking at the many books she has written (52 as of right now), I thought I would not reading her Fantasyland series, that’s just not my thing. Then a couple of my friends were reading them and telling me how great they are. So I gave in (quickly) and by chapter one, I was hooked!

Wildest Dreams is your standard KA alpha male with a heroine that will make you smile from page one. Our hero Frey Drakkar is the commander of elves and dragons. Yes, I said elves and dragons. How cool is that? And to make this warrior even more awesome, he is so sweet and gentle with his wee Finnie that you will swoon for much of the book.

Seoafin “Finnie” Wilde is one of my favorite heroines written by Kristen Ashley (at this moment in time). It is no wonder that Frey fell in love with her. Finnie is always looking for a new adventure and she definitely found it when she bought herself the adventure of a lifetime when she traded places with her twin in the Winter Wonderland of Lunwyn.

I loved seeing this new world through Finnie’s eyes. Almost nothing could get Finnie down with her thirst for life and adventure. Her exuberance made the experience come alive and definitely helped get me into a book that I thought I wouldn’t like. Silly me. I should have known Kristen Ashley could write fantasy. This world is beautiful, and you need to keep an open mind and take your time reading and experiencing it. It took me a little longer to read because I wanted to absorb everything about it and for the most part, I did. There were a few times that my brain could not imagine the scene, but those were few and far between, and it was of no fault of KA’s; it was my limitations. I don’t want to give anything away in this fantastic book. It was perfect from the romance of Frey and Finnie to the twists that will take you for a roller-coaster ride. It’s Kristen Ashley perfection.

I LOVED Wildest Dreams and can’t wait to read the rest of the Fantasyland series! I will be rereading this favorite many times and can’t wait to get it on my bookshelf. Now onward to The Golden Dynasty!

This book surpassed all my expectations. Wildest Dreams is the first tale in Ms Ashley's Fantasyland series and if you enjoy being sucked into a whole new world then this book will knock your socks off! Yes you have to believe in magic as right from the start the author throws her readers straight into this fantastical story but if romance and adventure are what you are seeking then this tale delivers in spades!
Finnie lost her parents as a teenager, she's wealthy, single and still looking for that certain something to satisfy her soul. Discovering a witch can send her to an alternate reality where her parents are still alive Finnie arranges to switch places for one year with her 'twin'. Crazy? Oh yes but what if the other Finnie has reasons of her own for wishing to switch?
Finnie arrives to discover she is getting married IMMEDIATELY! Her groom is Fray Drakker, a huge intimidating angry man who clearly has no love for the Finnie of his world. Frey drags Finnie off and literally dumps her in a run down lodge alone for six weeks but Finnie is not exactly the lazy hot house flower Fray was expecting.
Finnie is a fun character with a runaway mouth and a lust for life. She seems to charm nearly everyone ( which is odd as at times she acts/sounds very juvenile) but is somewhat nonplussed by her new husbands reaction. So not the best start to a marriage but there's no doubt that sparks fly between the couple. Fray is autocratic and frankly rather crass initially but as the story progresses we see a sweet side to him, I'd go as far as to say this alpha male is almost gentle, scary but gentle! So we have an adventurous heroine with gumption, backbone and a good heart. Our hero is drool worthy, at times a total armpit but when he's good oh boy does he melt this readers heart. Mixing a kooky modern heroine with an almost barbaric hero just sounds so cheesy and yet I was so pulled in I resented having to put this book down at times. Magic, elves, dragons and political machinations as well as plots to assassinate Finnie! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this romantic adventure and can't wait to dive into the next book Golden Dynasty

Well... Holy hell I don't even know where to start with this one!!

"One could say this is an adventure. Definitely."

First of all if you pride yourself on reading quick-ish, like me, I generally get through one whole book and start another in one day, well prepared to feel inadequate!! Lol. Be ready to commit fully because while this is only my third Kristen Ashley book but I'm finding out they are loooong. And that's not a bad thing because from the content of the story, Kristen's attention to detail, her smart story telling and the length you are getting more than your moneys worth. My pride is just hurt it took me close to three days to read it lol!

I'm at a loss of words. I don't know where to start or what to say about the story or how I felt! There was so much, so good!

"Life was meant to be lived, every breath was a gift, every risk was worth taking."

Trying not to repeat the synopsis but Finnie/Seofin has a craving for adventure just like her parents had! But they died through their love for adventure and missing them and left with their love for adventure, when she finds there's a whole other world, a parallel universe with a twin for everyone on the other side and the chance to swap places with her own twin and spend time with her parents 'twins' for a limited time she's more than ready.
Frey Drakker agreed to wed Sjofn. He's livid with the choice and what hand he's been dealt and gets angrier with what he's agreed. Mix that with in with the confusion that since the wedding the Sfojn he has briefly got to know isn't the warm and enthusiastic one now living in his cabin.

Both are soon to realize nothing is as it seems. Love, mystery and deceit join them while they continue their adventure together.

Gah! I loved these two together so much.

"I'll never stop loving you, my winter bride. Not ever. You, everything about you, is beyond my wildest dreams."

Finnie! Oh man! I loved her so much. Her enthusiasm for this new world and the new things she was discovering was so infectious! I found myself with a big grin on my face at her excitement. And she was always happy to discover new things and enjoy life in the moment, she had her raw and vulnerable moments though and at times it crushed me. Her need to have her parents acceptance, approval and love even if they weren't the parents she had grown up with was heart breaking but seeing the relationship between them grow and evolve was great! She was fierce, a warrior and all round great character, one of my favourite heroine's. She was strong but because of all of her traits and that's who she was and she wasn't too much or just strong because these days heroines aren't allowed to be anything but or they're weak and meek. Finnie just felt so authentic to me and I loved her so much. I loved seeing her with 'the girls' oh they were such a great bunch! They constantly made me smile!! I was hoping the next books were going to be about the characters we've grown to know but I don't think that's the case.

"Holy freaking moly! This world had elves and I was married to their lord, a man who, for some reason (magic?), didn't suffer cold or heat.
How... freaking... cool!"

Frey Drakkar, holy intimidation. that man was so intense and so freakin' hot for real. We don't get a lot from his POV but the ones we do get, you eat up every word. He's powerful and all Alpha, every part of him! And I'm beginning to realize Kristen Ashley's alpha's are freaking frustrating with their decision making but they're so addicting!! Frey was no different he had my anxiety through the roof but I love him so much and really didn't hold it against him for very long. Oh and can I just mention, I don"t know why but Frey just simply calling Finnie Wife done crazy things to me. Loved it!! *sigh*.

"Kiss me, wife."

Before I end the review with the good stuff I had a niggle or two.
- so the whole Viola thing and the whole "I'm a man I'll do what I want" thing. They were in the heat of an argument but afterwards he never cleared it up or said he wouldn't be going off with anyone but her! Yes its a small thing but I'm picky ha!

Ok just two more things!
- I would've loved to got some Sjofn insight!
- I totally needed more of the elves Lol!!

This really was a great story! An adventure and the love story between Frey and Finnie is just beautiful. I love them together. How they have to learn a lot about each other and the two worlds they come from/live in. The whole world was amazing to get lost in, I read paranormal but not fantasy like that, nothing close to that kind of world Kristen Ashley has introduced us to. Looking forward to reading the others!

I am NOT a fantasy reader, but have relented (in this case) since this series is penned by a favorite author. I can't speak from experience, but it would seem that this is fantasy-lite fiction. That is probably what kept me reading and enjoying. The fantasy facet read more like medieval historical fiction (with a few elves and dragons thrown in.) All of that was perfect for this fantasy novice, since I am reading more for the romance than the fantasy aspect.

As has been droned on about in previous reviews, there are egregious inequalities between men and women of this parallel land along with all of the signature KA romance tropes (alpha-male/strong, but sometimes clueless female.) Personally, I am accepting and forgiving of this behavior, because it is, in fact, NOT America where this behavior would be abhorred. I didn't have to like it, but I could accept it in a fictional story and enjoy watching how the MC's worked their way around it. As the story nears conclusion, we get to witness the strength and leadership of a few different women which very well may mean a future of increased equality between sexes. This is all conjecture, but it's MY vision of their future. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will, most assuredly, look forward to the rest of the series.

Phew, keep your local (sexy) fireman handy to put out the fires this book will cause.
I'm not sure what could make this book more perfect??
Finnie- my dear Finnie, my heart ached for her. Her need for adventure and the chance to see those she loved most again? To be brave, wise, bold and beautifully stupid and careless at the same time; that is how I would describe Finnie and her decision to visit the great unknown and take that huge risk. I would have done the same, in a heart beat, were I Finnies position.

Frey, well, Frey could be an ass. But he was also kind, gentle, loving, protective and loyal. I didn't feel as angry at Frey for in his world, things are different, but he too, took note of this and in stride still went on with his decision even when counciled to how unwise it actually was. But he loves Finnie, and he loves her fiercely. I do hope their story continues because I would love for all her dreams to come true and their family to adventure together.

I have read Wildest Dreams three times, and I am just now sitting down to write a review for it. I have said before that a lot of Kristen Ashley books seem to be the same, and maybe that’s why I don’t always write reviews for them. What I can say about Wildest Dreams is that it’s unlike any other KA book that I have read. The Fantasyland series is just that, a fantasy book. I am a huge huge fan of the fantasy genre and with Kristen’s amazing ability to write romances, Wildest Dreams is one of my favorite KA books.

The whole premise of this series is that there is a parallel universe to ours where our “twins” live. Basically, each person has a twin in this parallel universe but that doesn’t mean they have the same mannerisms as we do. Seoafin, aka Finnie, lost her family at a very young age, and when she finds out about this parallel universe she jumps at the chance to switch places with her twin and hopefully see her parents again. This would be fine except the her twin didn’t let Finnie know anything about this alternate universe and the fact that she is moments away from being married to Frey Drakkar.

Of course, since this is a Kristen Ashley book, Finne and Frey end up falling in love (eventually) but it won’t be easy. Wildest Dreams has everything you would come to expect from Kristen Ashley. You have a heart melting romance and tons of action. You will never be bored in this book because there is constantly something happening. Whether it’s a murder attempt, kidnapping, or executions Wildest Dreams will keep you turning the pages.

Frey and Finnie are two of my favorite characters from Kristen. Finnie is adventurous and just really really sweet. She isn’t one to let the men take care of it. She’s willing to learn and fight for herself and for those she loves. Then you have Frey who talks to elves and commands the dragons (YES! THERE ARE DRAGONS!). He’s tough and pretty much the most powerful person in the entire world (again, he commands the dragons!). Both characters make really big mistakes but both are willing to own up to them. Plus, they are just so sweet together.

So if you are looking for a great fantasy/romance book then start this series. I have read all the books in the Fantasyland series, and they are all just as good as Wildest Dreams.

Seoafin "Finnie" Wilde was taught to seek out adventure and live life to the fullest. After her parents died in a plane crash she has doubled her efforts to seek out adventures. Finnie learns that there is a parallel universe where every person has a twin, she then finds a witch who can send her there to have an adventure of a lifetime. Upon arrival in Winter Wonderland of Lunwyn, Finnie realizes she has been played and finds herself walking down the aisle to be wed to The Drakkar. Since Finnie can remember every challenge thrown her way she has bested. This is no different.

At first I was a little hesitant on readying the Fantasyland series because it is a different genre of KA's than I was used to. I should not have been worried, KA is an amazingly talented writer and every story she writes is a wonderful experience. She pulls you in and completely colors your world with her words. Every character is like a friend and you want to know more and more about them. Finnie is an amazing woman who creates her own adventure and you can't help but adore and respect her. The Drakkar, Frey Drakkar, is an alpha who is strong and scary at times. Through out the story he becomes more approachable and you learn more about his back story. This series has become one of my favorites but who am I kidding I love them all.

EVERYONE has been telling me to read this series. I’ll admit, I judged on the cover and storyline. It seems PRETTY out there, but Kristen Ashley usually wins with me so I went in.

I did the audio version of this book. I usually don’t like long audio books, this one was 18 hours, but I couldn’t “read” this book and I also needed an easy book to listen to while I work. I’m really glad I went with the audio version. I could pick it up whenever I needed to and I never felt lost. It took me weeks to finish, but I was fine with that.

I really liked the narrator. She read well and conveyed the emotions and voices to the way I thought it should be. I hope she does the rest of the series.

I highly suggest the audio book, I feel like it made my experience a lot better.

Wildest Dreams is a standalone and is part of the Fantasyland series. I hear the second book is the best, but I needed to read this one in order.

I started the book and it took me a good 15 minutes to get into it. I was kind of confused to what was going on and I was questioning all the people that recommended this series to me. Once I got past it, it has been nothing but greatness.

Finnie lives in the present day, the real life and her parents are dead. But there’s another life, I guess another parallel universe that has her twin. She makes an agreement to switch places with her twin so Finnie can see her parents on the other universe.

The only thing is, she doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into.

The best thing about the book is the writing, it’s completely cute and adorable. It’s very much like Kristen Ashley writing style.

The hero is alpha male and very swoon worthly. Frey is very old fashion, considering the other world is old fashion and it adds a little something to the story. Finnie is to wed Frey and the story takes off from there.

There are a lot of cuteness that happens in the book and I never wanted it to end. I love reading the dynamics of Finnie and Frey and I can’t believe it took me so long to read this book.

It’s an amazing story filled with potions, sword fights, ships and elves. You’ll see.

I'm giving Wildest Dreams by Kristen Ashley a 4.5 Stars... Why? Because something was... amiss. Although this book held all, of what us KA fans love about her books, there was still something... and I'm not entirely sure what, but something that failed to make it 100% KA perfection. Instead it was more of about 96% KA magic.

I'm not sure if it was the fact that it was a fantasy genre... but I don't think it was, since I really did enjoy breaking away from the norm and entering a magical realm...

It could be that there was just too much going on... which I'm more inclined to think over the aforementioned... since it was rather confusing at times trying to get everything puzzled together and clearly placed in my imagination... yes, I'm thinking that was the issue.

Which, is not a bad thing, it's just a lot to take in all at once and since it's a complete made-up fantasy it does become a little disheartening to picture everything and then still understand and then follow what's happening and remember all the characters and who they are. There were a couple of times, I had no idea who was being referred to and I had to stop and think back and... sometimes it came to me and other times it didn't, so I left it at that.

Never-the-less, I freaking loved Finny. She's amazing. I loved her character and her desire for life and adventure. She's one of my favorite KA female characters by far.

I liked Frey... but I admit, that although he was essentially perfect in every aspect, since he genuinely was a good man right from the start... I can't deny that he didn't grab me as deeply as the usual cookie-cutter KA Alpha's... but that just dampens it's slightly for me and doesn't really make me not like him. Because I do... I'm just not In-Love with Frey and that's another reason why it's a 4.5 instead of a 5, since I always fall in love with KA Alpha's... always.

"You are, my wee Finnie, beyond my wildest dreams."

In brief (although the synopsis pretty much sums it all up), Wildest Dreams is about, adventure seeking, darling Finny, whom I adore, who takes her thrill for life to the next level by traveling to a parallel universe, in order to swop places with her 'twin', from that universe, and spend a year in her shoes. This happens right at the beginning of the book, which is great. Therefore no time is wasted getting right into the thick of things and another great aspect... is that we are introduced to Frey pretty much four pages later. I adore it when both character's come in early. I hate the anticipation of waiting, so this is a huge bonus for me.

As in all KA books, there are lies, tears and heartache... this book doesn't disappoint in delivering any of those in absolute abundance. It gives us hot and steamy as well as warm and fuzzy and I totally enjoyed that!

I'm excited to move onto the next book in this series, The Golden Destiny, and I'll be getting into that pretty soon so keep a look out :)

This is book one in the Fantasyland series by Kristen Ashley and boy is it a winner! I was told about this book from a friend of mine who knows me well and we share very similar tastes in books.This book has checked all of my romance boxes: (1) it has paranormal/fantasy theme, (2) it has fully developed characters and story line, (3)the heroine is strong and capable with a good sense of humor, (4)the love scenes are just steamy enough without going too far, (5) it's part of a series that is very open ended, (6) it's very well written, (7) it's not a piddly little book it's a very respectable 464 pages, and (8) all of the books so far are under $5! They are each $3.99 at the store at the time I am publishing this. This first story is about Seoafin "Finnie" Wilde who discovers that there exists a parallel world where her parents are still alive and it's possible for her to trade places with her doppelganger. Finnie naively yet courageously takes the plunge and finds herself being forced to marry a stranger who turns out to be The Drakkar and she has to learn all on her own exactly what that means. Frey Drakkar is not best pleased to be marrying who he thinks is Princess Sjofn either and from there the adventure begins. I really like the way that Ashley has written her characters and her dialogue and descriptions left me very happy. This series is a gem and a bargain to boot!

I absolutely loved this book!! Now on my favorites list, as I am expecting the whole series.

Imagine that there are two worlds. One that we live in now...with no magic. And another dimension full of elves, dragons, animals that talk...a beautiful winter land!! In this land, everyone in our world has a twin.

Seoafin, who likes to be called Finnie, is a millionaire in our world. She craves adventure. She is sweet, kind, and lost her parents at a really young age. She finds out about this world and that her parents are alive in this world and pays a million dollars to trade places with her twin in Lunwyn, the Winter Magic Land.

Princess Sjofin (Finnie's twin) loves her land but she cannot be herself there. Sjofin is a lesbian, which is not necessarily frowned upon, but since she is a princess it is her duty to be betrothed to a man of power and produce an heir. When she finds out that Finnie wants to switch with her...she jumps at the chance.

So they switch....

Finnie comes to Lunwyn on the day that she is to marry Frey, The Drakkar. He is a powerful, HOT, man that controls elves and dragons. He doesn't want to marry Sjofin because he knows of her sexual preference but does so out of duty. He doesn't know that he actually married Finnie. After their marital kiss (which was hot), he drags her to his cabin and leaves her there for weeks....

When he returns, he gets to know her. It is hilarious when she tries to cover up lies because she is still trying to pass for Sjofin. She does however tell Frey that she is not a lesbian and they start a physical, sexy, relationship...They fall in love!!

"I love you, Frey. I'm in love with you. So in love, I'll never stop loving you. Not ever. You, everything about you is beyond my wildest dreams."

He shows her his world...how to cheat at cards...

"It is the man who can best cheat who wins not only the game but the respect of his opponents."

I am not sure how I felt about his attitude when I read this statement, what kind of man is he??

This book is full of adventure: sword fights, sea voyages, balls,...it is really cool. It is also funny to have a woman from our world (with all of her slang) be a princess in that world.

This book changed who they both were...

"...never look back. Always look forward. Always look where you're going; never waste time on where you've been. You've been there so you don't have to take that time and wasting any time, even a breath, is a mistake."

We have Finnie, a bright, adventurous woman with no thought to her safety (seriously, some of the things she does border on reckless). But because of this, her attitude towards life is that it should be lived fully--and makes her so much fun to read about.
Frey is, like all of KA's men are, an alpha man. Add onto that the huge responsibilities and power he has and he's amazing. I fell in love with him quickly.
Wildest Dreams has danger, however. Finnie, or rather Sjofn, has enemies because she is a princess. Add onto that the enemies of Frey, and, well, that's a lot of enemies. All of these enemies want to kill Frey and Finnie, so there's a lot of high-paced action here.
But this story is a love story. As Frey and Finnie fall in love, my heart just melted. I sighed, I cried, and I laughed throughout this whole book.
Add onto that magic, dragons, and elves and you've got a freaking amazing tale. I've always enjoyed KA's books but I loved this one because of the fantasy factor. I am a huge fantasy fan so to have elves, dragons, and magic in this book plus the love and adventure meant that I was riveted from start to finish.
At the end of this book, there is a sneak peak at what will happen in the next book, but this book can be read as a stand-alone seeing as these two specific lovers' love story is over. But, as for me, you'll catch me reading the next book. And the next.

Seoafin "Finnie" Wilde had lost her parents when she was fifteen. Now she had found a witch who had found her double in a parallel world who was willing to exchange places for a year. Best of all in the other world her parents were alive. Finnie's best friend Claudia had tried to dissuade Finnie from this as the witch Valentine was asking a huge amount of money for this, plus as she had constantly repeated to her friend this was all a scam, nobody could be in contact with people in another world. But Claudia was here with Finnie to support her anyway. Finnie had left detailed notes and instructions about her life for her double, and the same was going to be there for her in the other world. Valentine got down to business and began to work her magic, then the next thing Finnie knows she is in a totally different room and people are banging at the door demanding she open it.
This is a really great read from this author who is fast establishing herself as a firm favourite with me. The descriptions and detail of Finnie's travels through this new and amazing world are brilliant. Immediately upon arrival she realises that her other self had been less than honest as she is a princess here and her parents are the king and queen, and she is minutes away from marrying Frey Drakkar, a warrior lord who although really hot seems to really dislike her. As straight after the ceremony he dumps her alone in his hunting cabin in the forest to fend for herself. I heartily recommend this book, it is a hot, romantic and passionate read. Having read a few books now by Ms. Ashley, she really writes really hot alpha heroes, and spirited, brave and beautiful heroines.

I've read just about every book that Kristen Ashley has written except this series simply because I really have to be in the mood for paranormal romance. But I was craving a shot of KA and decided to give this series a chance. I loved how the modern, somewhat flighty, free spirited Finnie meshed in Frey's rigid, cold and pretty backwards realm. I can appreciate the whimsical vein of writing and the often light hearted dialogue that is signature Ashley style! I definitely will continue on with the series! Told in dual POVs with a happily ever after.

Finnie lost her parents when she was young and seriously misses them. She inherited their thrive for adventure so when she learns of another realm with twins of her and her parents she decides to take a year long trip to this other realm. When she gets there it is not at all what she expected because her "twin" didn't give her all of the information needed about her life, but Finnie just goes with the flow and ends up marrying Frey Drakker the Dragon. I really loved Finnie, I love how she lives life to the fullest and isn't afraid to take a risk! Once she and Frey form a good relationship it turns out to be an awesome romance! Now Frey is seriously a jerk at first but I sort of do not blame him. Once he realizes Finnie is different than her twin he starts to give her a chance. This book has lots of romance, funny times but it also made me cry towards the end! It got really sad for a little while I won't spoil it though so you just have to read to figure out why. Can't wait to read the next book again KA is an awesome author, and she did a really good job creating this other realm with Elves, magic and Dragons!! :)

This is a book that for whatever reason I've never reviewed. This was the start of the Fantasyland Series, it has great character's Frey and Finnie plus loads of others, it takes us to another world where magic is common place and animals talk. It's a fantastic book and it leads to Golden Dynasty which is amazing. If you want to lose yourself in fantasy filled with romance, adventure and hot fantastic characters and not forgetting humour then this is the book for you,
These days I find myself re-reading Kristen's earlier books since I've not been that impressed with her latest ones, I'm hoping this is just a blip and not the sign of things to come.

Reading Broken Dove prompted me to re-read Wildest Dreams and I'm so glad I did I'd forgotten just how good this book is and how much I enjoyed it the first few times.

The story is complex, filled with action, adventure, court intrigue, and romance. The characters a multi-layered. Frey is an incredible Hero. His sweetness toward his "Wee Finnie" is incredible and countered with his high handedness and selfishness. Finnie in one of the most optimistic, adventurous and genuine characters I've seen in a long time. She sees life as an opportunity to have an adventure and for making friends. It is meant to be lived to the fullest. She does just that with Frey and he opens his world to her and in doing so opens her heart to him. The the depth of their relationship is profound. The side characters are not to be overlooked. They are bright and colorful, adding to the story without taking over the Hero or heroine. This was a hugely satisfying book.
Highly recommended series
Adult read

For more reviews please visit [...]
[...]

4.5 stars....

I love my wee Finnie and Frey ( Frey can only be described as a mid evil Tack Allen LOL).

This was my first KA paranormal read and I was hooked from the get go. Elves and dragons and Frey...OH MY. He is one hell of a hot piece of royal ass. I love it when a tough, gorgeous scary dude gets all romantic and unleashes all his alpha macho goodness.

This book sets up a chain of events that continue throughout the series....pay attention to events and names.

“It was behind anything I could have wished it to be. You are, my wee Finnie, beyond my wildest dreams”.
DROOL...

Magical, beautiful, and otherworldly romantic. Wildest Dreams is as epic as a love story can possibly be.

Wildest Dreams was indeed beyond my wildest dreams. I am, for whatever reason, a skeptic of the fantasy genre. Even though I’ve read many a fantasy novel that I’ve loved, I still am not immediately drawn to it. Even if it has Kristen Ashley’s name on it. Well, damn did she ever teach me a lesson!

This book is one of my all-time favorite books, hands down. It has to be one of the most absolutely romantic books I’ve ever read. My heart feels so full. Frey and Finnie will forever be two of my most favorite characters.

This story is so imaginative and unique; I couldn’t get enough of it. I was so drawn in to this amazing Fantasyland. The characters are complex and interesting, each one bringing something special to the table. The beauty of the world that Kristen Ashley creates is truly breathtaking. Few authors can spark and stimulate my imagination the way that she can. I haven’t fallen in love with a book or its characters this hard in a long time.

Finnie’s character is wildly charming, and her spirit for adventure is contagious. She’s funny and sweet and so lovely. I couldn’t help but fall in love with her. But Frey is something else altogether. He’s strong and formidable. But as Finnie will discover, he’s also kind, gentle, sweet, and soooooo very romantic.

I never wanted this story to end and I wanted to savor it but I couldn’t stop myself from devouring page after page. I’m a huge Kristen Ashley fan and for the most part I’ve come to know what to expect from her. But she blew me away. Wildest Dreams is so different, yet also chock full of what I’ve come to love about her. Whether you are a fantasy reader or not, this book is an absolutely must read.

This was fun, fast paced, well written, and steamy! The thing I love most about it is that it is an excellent representation of marriage and working things out as a couple. Some serious stuff goes down between them. I absolutely adore that despite other serious stuff goes down, the issues and wrong doings are not swept under the rug. I loved finnie and her beautiful spirit.

Okay, I'll admit that KA's writing bugs me and at times I can't stand it but this was freaking amazing! Even if there were moments where I wanted Finnie to be a little more mature in her thinking - everything was cool and her thoughts were full with holy moly's but still the world she was thrust to was freaking epic! Kings and Queen, magic, arranged marriage and beautiful epic world, just my kind of books!

This was a great book! I really enjoyed the plot. A woman ends up in a world far different from her own yet parallel to her own. In this world, she has many obstacles to overcome partially due to preconceived opinions that the people in "the parallel world" have of her. I love the conflicting ways of life that cause rifts in the relationship she develops with a particular hunky male character.

I’m not a huge fantasy reader. I don’t mind reading it every now and then, but it is not my genre of choice. Wildest Dreams makes me want to change that! I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, but I loved this book! Oh Frey... he was just amazing!!! And Finnie was pretty great too!
I had so much fun reading this book! It felt like an adventure in itself. I’m really excited to continue with this series!!!

Filled with plot, humor, and plenty of action, I felt like this is one of those stories that will stay with me for a long time to come. This is my first Kristen Ashley book, and I can say with absolute certainty that it's definitely not my last!

Ok, I wasn't expecting much from this book based on how my friend described it but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that I really enjoyed it. Very interested in some of the other characters so I will be continuing with the series.

Wildest Dreams is one of my favorite books, and I am extremely happy that the book is finally available in print. Reading has always been an escape for me...so when reading this book I was happy to be transported to another dimension. I love the world Kristen Ashley created and being describe with such detail is was not hard to imagine. I loved the lead couple and the struggles they went through. To me there wasn't a moment that the book dragged because there was so much going on, you were always entertained. I can not wait to get this book signed by definitely one of my favorite authors in June!

Wow, wow, wow. This book is oh so very good. In my opinion, a cross between Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and Chronicles of Narnia all rolled together with a heart melting romance mixed in. Finnie is one of my favorite female characters I've read and Frey is captivating. Clearly I liked this book. I think it has made my favorite books list, although Frey will not make my favorite males list... I did like him though.

This is only my third Kristen Ashley book but I think I'm about to go through a KA faze. If you're a fan of fantasy romance, definitely give this one a try. Next up for me is The Golden Dynasty, the next in this series. Happy reading!!

I am currently trying desperately to get through this book in the audible format. With about 4 hours to go I have to force myself to try to listen. This book hasn't held my interest at all Not enough excitement & I definitely haven't developed any affinity for the characters. Not sure what else to say except I'm not sure I will even finish it.

This author is freaking awesome. Each and every one of her books totally ROCK!!! Highly recommend anything written by this author. All of her books are sexy, fun, and totally enjoyable. Each series is well worth the read!!!

One of my all time favorite Kristen ashley books. I've read it at least three times, probably more

Wildest Dreams has already secured its place in my Kindle re read collection where it will never be deleted. You should add it to yours as well.

Kristen Ashley doesn't disappoint in this story. She is the absolute best when it comes to depicting the alpha male!! Wildest Dreams is an action pact, romance with a little bit of suspense added to the mix. A definite must read!!

I enjoyed this book. The world was beautifully created and I enjoyed getting to know the characters. I do think the next two books are the best in the series, but this one was a great light hearted read.

Hi Everyone.

This book was a good story (I ignored the editing), but it could have been Waaay better. And there were so many things wrong on so many levels....

The Hero and Heroine stuck in my craw at the beginning, but I thought I'd stick it out. However at (SPOILER_ "Get used to it as it will happen again" - Frey. And "This is a burden we women must bear" - Mom _SPOILER) I locked off. She is made a doormat by the people in the novel and (Horror of all Horrors) she LIKES it! :(

Frey gives her no room to breathe or make her own choices. She doesn't even think for herself for half the time. I could swear she came out of 15c England and not 21c America, what with the way she behaves. And when she makes reasonable demands that any woman in a marriage has a right to make, she is 'taught better' and made to see that she is wrong. By Everyone.

She should have kicked his a** and left him at Viola.

I'm sorry, but I can't help compare this book and Golden Dynasty (which I read first). (SPOILER_Circe stood up for her 21c beliefs and she stopped at nothing to get Lahn the Egotistical Barbarian to agree. Circe is my fav - as is Lahn because he took the time to understand where is wife was coming from. Even when he didn't know she was not from his world._SPOILER) That is a man - Frey is not. Frey did NOT treat his wife right.

If you want to read the book, I'm saying that it's a good story but it could and should have been better. The author had all the right tools and story strings to make a novel full of romance AND conflict. Instead it is a flat description of a series of unfortunate (because the Hero and Heroine pi** me off) events. It's not the best book out there, but not the worst. And be prepared for major editing errors.

If you do read... enjoy the novel. But get The Golden Dynasty by the same author. You will never be disappointed.

Honestly some people may love this book, I was really hoping I would. But some things I just couldn't get past.
This contains some spoilers.

1. the internal monologue of "Oh my god! totally oh my god" all the time. Sometimes it would have been quirky or cute but it just got plain annoying. I can't count the times she said "oh my god" and "ho boy" in her head.

2. Finnie NEVER stuck up for herself. She let him boss her around all the time and she never did anything about it. I'm sorry this is a poor excuse for a book with a main character that is supposed to be independent and strong. She was weak, and only let her lady parts act for her self. He bound her to the world FOREVER without her consent. He also decided to switch her powders for birth control WITHOUT HER CONSENT. She was mad at him for 2 seconds then since he got hurt she felt guilty? UHM WHAT? That doesn't change the fact that she is now stuck with a baby she didn't want and in a world she didn't want to be bound forever to. Wow what a romantic guy.

3. Seriously, did no one see the first night they were to actually have sex as potential rape? The way that all of a sudden she announced she wasn't a lesbian which made him say they HAD TO HAVE SEX ASAP. Whether she liked it or not. Uhm, what? Why the hell didn't she just wait to tell him then? Oh because she didn't mind being degraded and used as a tool.

4. The plot didn't really have anything going on. It would have interesting sex chapters, then randomly skip months CONSTANTLY. There was no steady plot or pace. The only exciting part was when Finnie slit someone's throat and escaped prison (finally she did something courageous at the end)

Sorry if you like weak, annoying protagonists who have no self respect or regard for themselves, and inconsistent plots, this is your book.