"Of Crowns and Cantytowns" by Kirsten Fichter

About this book:

  “She’ll trick a pauper into wearing her crown to satisfy her own wanderlust.
    Princess Sarina’s greatest dream is to travel, but her overprotective father insists on keeping her close to home. Simply running away isn’t working, since she never gets very far before she’s caught. When she fortuitously meets a pauper girl who looks like her twin, Sarina believes she’s found the missing piece to make her travel plans come true. All she has to do is trick the pauper into taking her place so nobody will realize the true princess is gone. Then she’ll be free to see the kingdoms to her heart’s content – at least, until the switch is revealed.
     Alec Hendon has been a mercenary fighting on foreign soil for seven years, and now he’s finally ready to go home. Once back, however, he begins to think he shouldn’t have stayed away so long. His beloved home of Carabas and his family are not the same as he’d left them. Additionally, the pauper villages, known as Cantytowns, are more numerous and teem with dangerous gangs and slave traders. People from all the classes live in a growing fear of the king. And the worst part of all? When he finally sees his cousin again, she doesn’t remember him.
    In all her great travel plans, Sarina didn’t count on running into a retired mercenary who believes she is his cousin (the very pauper she tricked into switching places), but can he save her from the perilous road ahead?”


Series: Part of the “Twist of Tales” multi-authored series, but is not connected to any other books.


Spiritual Content- Psalm 37:5 at the beginning; A Scripture is referenced; Prayers & Thanking God; A couple talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Sarina has wondered if God made a mistake in making her a princess, *Spoiler* but realizes at the end that she can use her position to help her kingdom’s people *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of God/the Creator & His will; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking and praising God; Mentions of abbeys/chapels, going to chapel, & priests; A few mentions of blessings & being blessed; A mention of a miracle; 
             *Note: Mentions of evil people & their actions (including slave trading); A few mentions of luck & being lucky; A mention of a possible ghost at an estate.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: An ‘idiot’ and two ‘blasted’s; Fictional phrases like “beards/wigs be torn” (x5), “by the Orders” (x2), “what in the kingdoms” (x1), and “curls and coiffers” (x1) are all said; The phrase “a pain in my petunia” is also exclaimed once; Someone swears by “every knights’ white beard”; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Fighting, Being attacked, Threatened with a knife, Threatened with being sold as a slave, Being tied-up, Being knocked unconscious, Injuries, Pain, Blood/Bleeding, Fainting, & an Earthquake (up to semi-detailed); Helping someone escape from a slave trader; *Spoilers* Alec meets a family member who is a part of selling and trafficking slaves; The man justifies it because he needs the money and that the people would be glad to leave their land, but Alec is firm that it is evil and a crime to do this; Alec is distraught by this family member’s behavior; The family member and his group are arrested at the end of the book *End of Spoilers*; *Spoilers, about a parent’s death* Past halfway through, Sarina is told that her father has passed away and isn’t sure how to react; She decides that she will miss him, but they weren’t close and isn’t grieving over his death *End of Spoilers*; Sarina pushes someone twice (including into the water once) and tricks others into believing someone else is her (so she can travel like she wants); Sarina steals fruit from an orchard (believing that the owner would be pleased to feed her); Many mentions of gangs, thieves, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of slave traders, a slavery ring, & people (including children) being kidnapped/taken by slaver traders to sell; Mentions of deaths & grief (including of loved ones like parents and extended family members); Mentions of executions; Mentions of torture, punishments, & receiving lashes (including those who speak badly about royalty facing these); Mentions of earthquakes, property damages, & people being killed in earthquakes; Mentions of fights, weapons, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of arrests & dungeons/jails; Mentions of threats & blackmail; Mentions of Sarina running away from the castle; Mentions of gambling; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of rumors & gossip; A few mentions of a war; A few mentions of a fire, deaths, & burns; A few mentions of hunting (including slave traders for people to kidnap and sell); A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of a kidnapping ransom; A couple mentions of taverns; A mention of the death of a pet (dog); 
             *Note: Two comments that women sold in the slave market do not always have it “easy” and that they are not promised a good home as it is “dependent on the buyers”; Mentions of people having a “mind disease” (also called “madness”) that causes them to lose their memories & there being treatment and medicine to help with it; A mention of a couple unable to have biological children.
 
 
Sexual Content- An embrace; A few blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of crushes/romantic feelings; A couple mentions of flirting; Very light potential love in the future & the emotions.
 
-Sarina Terridan
-Alec Hendon
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        204 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This book was barely 200 pages, but it was an adventure! I don’t think Sarina or Alec caught a single break throughout these pages with all the problems they faced, but I was satisfied by the ending. 

 

Blame the Barbie movie, but I’m always excited to learn about new “Princess and the Pauper” retellings. So much so that when reading about this book, I was confused how it was gender-bent like the rest of this multi-authored series because in my mind, that is the original edition. Ooops, sorry, Mr. Twain! 😅

 

At the beginning, I was afraid I wouldn’t like Sarina. She had her moments that made me want to sigh as she is very selfish and spoiled. But it’s truly because of how she was raised, so it actually made sense for her character. Didn’t mean I didn’t want to shake some common sense into her, but I could see glimpses of why she was the way she was. Sarina tricks the pauper to switch places with her against the pauper’s will or wishes. Because of this, she can come across as selfish and spoiled between that and some of her comments of being of importance. It was a little eye-rolling at times because I knew it wouldn’t go well for her (it never did) until there were some important realizations, but Alec was a very good Male Main Character and kind to her during the whole book.

 

This book was on the shorter side and a lot happens. That said, I do wish there had been a “happy ever after” kind of epilogue to see how the kingdom is doing years later. I would have enjoyed seeing more faith discussions between our main characters as I was a little surprised when Sarina brought up about God halfway through the book as there hadn’t been any signs of her believing in Him until then. Alec was steady in this regard which endeared him to me more. I didn’t quite buy the romance between the two of them, but it’s a very light element to the book. I’ll be nit-picky and say that I wish there had been another 50 pages at least to have these elements explored a little more. However, I did end the book mostly satisfied and would be thrilled to see another book set in this world as I found the setting interesting with all the knights and colors. 

 

As a note for potential younger readers and their parents: There is a very light romance thread in this book—so light there isn’t even a kiss, which I think worked well for the characters and how short of a time they have known each other—but there are mentions of slave traders and people (including children) being kidnapped and sold by them to other countries. One side character justifies running a slave trading ring because he needs the money, but the main characters look upon it as the evil it is and call it just that. There’s no mention of what will happen to those slaves (whether it’s physical or sexual slavery) besides the possibility of not going to a good place. It could be an introduction into talking about human trafficking without details being shared as it is a real and sad thing in our world. For younger readers, though, I leave it to a potential reader and her family to make the decision about what age would be best for her to read this book.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Safe Friends" by Laura Lond

About this book:

  “She is under a vow to never marry. He is engaged. Knowing that, they can be friends, without assumptions or rumors… Can’t they?
    Maristella Westen would have been the star of every ball with no shortage of suitors, but she has a secret, something that is only known to her and her parents. The secret makes marriage impossible. To avoid inspiring false hopes in young men, as well as forming an unwanted attachment herself, Maristella keeps away from social gatherings. Used to solitude, she finds joy in simple pleasures like reading, taking walks in the garden, riding her horse, and occasionally fishing — something her strict parents frown upon.
    When the wealthy Lord Shelberton comes for a visit, bringing with him his three sons, Maristella is told to stay away. This time, she is not even allowed to meet the visitors. However, the lord’s eldest son happens to bump into her in the garden. Described as “impossibly handsome” by Maristella’s sister, Kalvistan is engaged to be married, so he would be “safe”, Maristella safe from falling for her. She should be safe as well, knowing that he is pledged to another. Kalvistan seems to share the sentiment. Having been promptly informed that Maristella is under a vow not to marry, he sees nothing wrong with becoming good friends with her and enjoying each other’s company.
     Will the friendship last? Is it as safe as they think? And why does the mysterious fountain that seems to favor some people pick Maristella and Kalvistan?”


Series: Part of the “Love Stories of Elves, Merfolk, and Men” series. I could not tell if it is connected to the other books in the series.


Spiritual Content- Prayers; Praising & Thanking God; Most ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Many mentions of nuns, monks, monasteries, serving God, & vows; Mentions of God & His will; Mentions of prayers & answered prayers; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A couple mentions of faiths; 
             *Note: While there is no “magic” shown or mentioned in this book, there are mentions of merfolk & legends about them; *Major Spoilers* At the end, it is revealed that there are people who marry merfolk and when they are married, one transforms to match the other (such as a human turns into a merfolk and a merfolk would turn into a human); The children of such unions sometimes become humans who have scales (called a “Elmion”) & can only have biological children with others like them *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of a fountain that has legends about granting wishes or giving blessings (and appears to grant them; *Major Spoiler* It is actually connected to merfolk and seems to grant the wishes of those connected to the merfolk *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of luck & being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Some eye rolling; A few lies & secrets (including Maristella keeping a few secrets from her parents about her friendship with Kalvistan); Self-defense, Seeing a fight, & Injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths (including from a shipwreck; for parents); Mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of the possibility of being robbed or kidnapped; A few mentions of injuries & blood/bleeding; A few mentions of taverns (no alcohol is mentioned); A couple mentions of wanting to murder someone who harmed another; A couple mentions of a drunk; A couple mentions of rumors; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of possible disobedience to one’s parents (due to a secret); A mention of gambling; 
             *Note: Mentions of a character’s “deformity” (*Major Spoiler* Which is actually due to the character’s biological parents and a well-kept secret involving one parent being a merfolk *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of things being “unfair” (based on one’s gender and what is considered to be proper).
 
 
Sexual Content- a hand kiss; A few touches, embraces, flutters, & nearness (not considered cheating; barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Some noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Maristella feels like Kalvistan is a “safe friend” as she has a vow not to marry and he is engaged to another woman; After being friends, she starts to fall for him, but tries to ignore those feelings as she believe they will go away (she tells no one about them and treats him the same as before); *Major Spoilers* Maristella is told that Kalvistan is in an arranged marriage and does not love the young woman (this is not said by him, but by a family member); Maristella is concerned that she could be viewed as a threat to Kalvistan’s marriage and no longer feels like he is a “safe friend” because of it; Kalvistan’s father tells Maristella that he arranged Kalvistan’s engagement because the young woman said she fell for Kalvistan, but when she found out he couldn’t have children and wouldn’t inherit a title, she wanted to cancel their wedding; Kalvistan’s father has paid the young woman’s family to keep the engagement, but Kalvistan does not know this detail; Kalvistan does not act on his feelings for Maristella until he finds out the truth from his father; He plans to go to the young woman and confirm she wants to break the engagement, but has not by the time he confesses to Maristella (it’s implied his father will pay the young woman’s family to break the engagement) *End of Spoilers*; Maristella’s sister teases her about a married man staring at her (which makes Maristella uncomfortable); Mentions of a young woman being after a man who is engaged (he pays her no attention); Mentions of flirting & blushes; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of broken hearts; Mentions of handsome men; A couple mentions of young men physically fighting over a young woman; A mention of a woman possibly being violated; Very light love, falling in love, trying to ignore those feelings, & the emotions;
             *Note: Maristella has made a vow not to marry, but only her parents know why (*Spoilers* Because of the vow, she does not plan to get married or have children; *Major Spoilers* This is because of a “deformity” she has that is actually connected to her biological parents *End of Spoilers*); Maristella goes swimming in a lake in her chemise and is seen by a man (not sexual and no details); Mentions of women’s figures; Mentions of a side character wearing low-cut gowns and receiving attention from young men because of it (it’s said that her dress’ neckline could be called a “breast-line” instead because of how much it reveals; Other women show dislike for the young woman’s clothing and actions; It’s noted that two married men do not pay attention to the woman & that the mothers of the young men paying her attention receive veiled lectures and punishments); A few mentions of being unable to have biological children.
 
-Maristella Westen
                                P.O.V. mostly of Maristella, but also of her sister a few times 
                                                        135 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This ended up being a bit different than I was expecting! Our main character, Maristella, was such a good and decent girl, so because of her, I enjoyed this story. I was really impressed with Maristella’s answers and thoughtfulness—she had a very good head on her shoulders and handled things well. She was diplomatic, but also sincere at the same time, but made her an interesting character and one I enjoyed reading. 

 

When the author first contacted me about possibly reviewing this book, I was I concerned about the possibility of emotional cheating in this story—because Maristella’s new male friend is engaged to another woman—but the author let me know some details and after reading the whole book, I can say there technically wasn’t and their friendship was handled very carefully. We do not get his POV, which makes a big difference in that regard, but they are truly friends first. Maristella starts to have some romantic feelings for him towards the end, but she does her best to nip it in the bud and ask questions about his fiancée. I would have liked a couple changes at the end regarding this, but it was decent enough. *Spoilers* I would have preferred to have Kalvistan to go the young woman he is engaged to and break the engagement liked he planned rather than him taking his father’s word that it can be canceled and going ahead and confessing his feelings for Maristella. It’s a slight difference, but I think that would have removed any possible angle of cheating because he was technically still engaged to the other woman when he confesses to Maristella. He didn’t love the other woman and she didn’t truly love him, so it worked out for Kalvistan and Maristella to be together, but having it be a little clearer in that regard would have been better, in my opinion. *End of Spoiler*.

 

There were a few formatting elements and typos that caught by eye, but nothing major that distracted me from the story. Because Maristella is often kept at home during this book, there is a lot of telling what has happened—usually by her two sisters. I would have enjoyed seeing more of the events on-page, rather than just being told about it, but it made sense for Maristella’s situation.

 

This book was very clean, but I’m still going to suggest ages 14+ for it due to mentions of a side character wearing low-cut gowns and flaunting herself to different men. It’s definitely shown as distasteful, but she still does receive attention from most of those men that encourages her actions and lack of clothing in the neckline area. 

 

I was really enjoying this book until some parts at the end; I had honestly forgotten that there were mermaids/merfolk in this world besides a couple comments about them at the beginning, so the ending caught me by surprise with more mentions of them and them apparently being real. I thought it was just talk/rumors. It wasn’t my favorite element as the rest of the book and world’s setting felt like just a medieval, non-magical fantasy book. Honestly, though, there was an “and they lived happily ever after” vibe to the ending to this story that I want for all my fictional couples, so I can’t complain. 😉

 

 

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.

"Of Knives and Nobility" by E.G. Bella

About this book:

  “He’s determined to rescue her. She knows it’s impossible.
    Two years after the invasion that ended his betrothal to the Cabranian princess, Prince Fenrick of Pethaylia watches his younger brother marry and longs for love of his own. When the borders between Pethaylia and Cabrana finally reopen, whispers circulate of the beautiful princess still awaiting a victorious suitor, and Fenrick resolves to try once more for her hand. Surely The Tests can’t be as difficult as rumors claim.
    Still grieving the unexpected loss of her father, Princess Ellina of Cabrana is a captive in her own home. Resolved not to soften her heart to any of the suitors who attempt her mother’s corrupt tests, she wants nothing to do with the eager prince from Pethaylia. He’ll fail and leave her again, like everyone else. Perhaps it’s better that way.
    As Fenrick fights to earn her favor, he realizes that failing at The Tests will lose more than her hand, but her hope as well. His efforts and unending kindness light a spark in Ellina’s chest, but how can anyone overcome the queen’s deception? As stakes rise and lies twist, more than their own happily-ever-afters hang in the balance.”


Series: Part of the “Twist of Tales” multi-authored series, but is not connected to any other books.


Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God, loyalty to Him, & trusting Him; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; When she doubts it, Fenrick tells Ellina that God is always with them and to trust Him; Mentions of God & loyalty to Him; Mentions of prayers & praying; A couple mentions of a minister; 
             *Note: Mentions of luck & being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: Some lies (mostly done to protect others; guilt is felt after saying some of them); Some eye rolling; Fighting, Holding someone at knife-point (x2), Being beaten and tied-up, Injuries, Pain, & Being knocked unconscious (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Being grabbed & locked in a room (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing fights & others knocked unconscious (barely-above-not-detailed); Grief (Ellina for her father, barely-above-not-detailed); Fenrick is ordered to kill others (thieves and someone who committed treason) as part of the test, *Spoilers* but does not as he does not want to murder innocent men; He finds a loophole in the first task; In the second order, he is tempted for Ellina’s sake, but cannot do it and asks God to forgive him for thinking about doing it *End of Spoilers*; Mentions of murders, orders to murder, possible murders, & a body being washed ashore; Mentions of deaths & grieving (Ellina for her late father & her mother’s mistreatment); Mentions of a plague, deaths, & countries closing their borders because of it; Mentions of possible deaths, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of threats of harm & death; Mentions of jail, arrests, & possible hangings; Mentions of thieves & stealing; Mentions of flooding & damages to homes; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of manipulation (from a parent); A few mentions of invasions/wars; A few mentions of kidnappings & ransoms; A mention of an assassin; A mention of hatred; A mention of a rumor; 
             *Note: Ellina’s mother is very controlling and manipulative towards her, which is shown by her belittling Ellina (on both her appearance and implying Ellina isn’t smart), not allowing Ellina to leave the castle, having Ellina locked in her room, ordering guards to grab and closely watch Ellina, & Ellina is malnourished from a lack of food; *Spoilers* Fenrick and others help Ellina escape the castle for an afternoon (she’s very concerned that her mother will find out); Fenrick gives Ellina a knife to protect herself from her mother and *Major Spoilers* at the end, Ellina uses it against her mother; Her mother tries to manipulate her again by apologizing (not sincerely), but Fenrick tells Ellina to not listen to her; The queen is grabbed by guards and it’s said there will be a trial for her actions *End of Spoilers*.
 
 
Sexual Content- A head kiss; Some touches, hand holding, embraces, nearness, & blushes (barely-above-not-detailed); A bit of noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Fenrick tells someone that true love should “never cause you to abandon goodness” and it “allows both parties to challenge one another, to grow together, to become stronger through life’s tests”; A few mentions of crushes & being smitten; A couple mentions of a couple kissing at a wedding; Light love, falling in love, & the emotions; 
             *Note: Ellina and Fenrick secretly meet in a room with that has a bed in it, but nothing sexual happens; Ellina’s mother criticizes Ellina’s figure when she is eating (a couple times).
 
-Ellina Thorell
-Fenrick Norlander
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        177 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This was overall a sweet story! There was a sad undertone because of Ellina’s mother’s actions and cruelty toward her daughter, but the main characters/couple were wonderful. Fenrick was a sweetheart! He had such a kind demeanor and heart, especially towards Ellina which was much needed after years of manipulation and never receiving love from her mother. I saw that the author called Fenrick a “morally admirable hero” on her website and I don’t think I’ve ever loved an idea more—and now I need more Male Main Characters like him who can be described that way!

 

This non-magical fairytale retelling was a gender-switched version of ‘The Princess and the Pea’—instead of her going through tests including a bad night of sleep to become a princess, it was him going through tests to win her hand and heart—but also had elements of ‘Rapunzel’ with Ellina’s mother keeping her locked up in a tower (her name wasn’t Gothel, but her actions were pretty close!) and also had some parts that reminded me of ‘Snow White’. It’s wasn’t a full retelling of any of them, though it had bits and pieces of those three in a very unique way. Our main couple is really what sold me on this book because I greatly enjoyed both of them and their hearts. There was unexpected humor that caught me off guard and caused me to laugh out loud—the knee popping scene especially! I wished the ending had been a little longer, but was overall pleased by the ending and seeing our Ellina being positively influenced by Fenrick to have courage and loyalty to God. I particularly liked their prayers for the Lord to give them strength in hard moments and appreciate the amount of faith content in this story. I honestly hope there will be another book set in this world so I can see glimpses of Ellina and Fenrick again!

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Decree" by Tricia Mingerink

 This review has spoilers for the prior books in the series, please read with caution.

 

About this book:
  “The Adventure Continues.
    Discover more of The Blades of Acktar in this collection of novellas and short stories.
    The Blades as They Should’ve Been
    A test and the Gathering of Nobles will decide Leith and Martyn’s futures. Can they fight to become more than the Blades they were? Will Keevan accept the man who attempted to kill him as family?
    The First Mission
    When Martyn visits Surgis, his past seems determined to haunt him. Can he figure out how to forgive, especially when confronted with an enemy in need of his help?
    To the Far Great Mountains
    A death sends Leith and Martyn far beyond the borders of Acktar. Will they be able to arrest their quarry before they are caught themselves?
    From the story of how Leith and Martyn met to Ranson’s search for a life outside of the Blades, these stories will answer plaguing questions and expand the world of Acktar in this fifth and final book in the series!”


Series: Book #5 in the “Blades of Acktar” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here, Book #2 Here, Book #3 Here, Book #3.5 Here, and Book #4 Here!


Spiritual Content- Psalm 78:72 & Psalm 119:67 and 71 at the beginning; Prayers & Blessings over food; Witnessing & telling about someone from the Bible; Talks about God, trusting Him, His will, & faiths; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; A young Martyn doesn’t think God is listening to his prayers; An older Martyn wonders why something bad/cruel had to happen, but someone talks to him about the good things that have come out of the years of hardships; Mentions of God, Jesus, His grace, trusting Him, faiths, & forgiveness; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of churches, church going, & ministers; Mentions of Christians; Mentions of Heaven; A few mentions of Christians being executed for their faiths; A couple mentions of a cross necklace; A mention of being blessed; 
             *Note: A cruel minister kicks a child out of his church; Mentions of evil in the world; A mention of being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dashed’, a ‘shoot’, an unfinished ‘what the—‘, and two ‘blasted’s; Mentions of curses (none are not written out & some are treated with soap after being said); A couple lies; Some eye rolling & sarcasm; Eavesdropping; Fighting, Stabbing, Knocking others unconscious, Being attacked and beaten, Being held at knife-point, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, & Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Guilt from killing (in self-defense and in war, up to semi-detailed); Imagining someone being killed by a slit throat (including a baby, barely-above-not-detailed); In one of the short stories, a young Martyn is abandoned by his parents at a church (*Spoilers* Martyn grew up believing that they chose his younger brother over him, however, his brother later shares that their parents were trying to give Martyn a chance of survival believing they would die soon, and when they survived, they went back for him, but were told that Martyn died *End of Spoilers*); Many mentions of fights, battles, beatings, torture, someone nearly being burned at the stake, slit throats and arrows in the throat, dead bodies, pain, injuries, blood/bleeding, & passing out; Many mentions of murders, assassinations, & assassins; Many mentions of criminals, thieves/bandits, stealing, & stolen items (including food to survive); Mentions of deaths & grief (including for parents, a wife for her husband, parents for their son, & parents for babies that were miscarried or stillborn); Mentions of executions & hangings (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of children watching their parent’s death (including by battles/wars and executions); Mentions of kidnappings & ransoms (including a little girl being kidnapped); Mentions of arrests & jails; Mentions of bullies; Mentions of taverns & alcohol; Mentions of lies, lying, Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of hatred; A few mentions of a father beating his wife and son; A few mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of eavesdropping; A couple mentions of possibly starving to death; A couple mentions of gambling; A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of there not being much left to a body after wild animals got to it; A mention of an injured horse; A mention of manure; A mention of jealousy; 
             *Note: Mentions of miscarriages & stillbirths (and grief from the families).
 
 
Sexual Content A fingers-to-lips touch, nine cheek kisses, four forehead/hair kisses, an almost kiss, eight not-detailed kisses, and a barely-above-not-detailed kiss; Wanting to kiss, touch, & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Nearness (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); A man tries to close Michelle in against a wall and hassles her (this causes her to have fear later when thinking about what could have happened); Michelle has a reputation of being a flirt, but in her novella, she’s turned away from being that way; *Spoiler* Michelle realizes that she’s gone too far in the opposite direction from her old self who flirted and flaunted by now dressing “in a way that was taking responsibility for the hearts of others” and can only control her own actions *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of couples sharing kisses; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of flirts & flirting; Mentions of crushes & “mushy” feelings for someone; A few mentions of men “having fun” with a woman (which does not happen) & leering at her; A mention of a man snatching a woman (Book #1, implied could have been sexual assault if it wasn’t stopped in time); Love, falling/being in love, & the emotions; 
             *Note: Michelle dresses in boxy dresses to hide her curves and stop accusations about her character; A few mentions of dresses hugging women’s figures; A mention of a teen boy’s voice changing (puberty).
 
-Leith Torren/Grayce
-Martyn Hamish
                                P.O.V. switches between them, Brandi, Keevan, Shadrach, Kayleigh, Michelle, Ranson, Annita, & Laurence
                                                        434 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Aww. The end of a series. It’s always bittersweet, but this one was mainly sweet with seeing the characters happy after everything they’ve been through in the previous books. 

 

To be fair, the novellas and short stories in this collection went back and forth between heartbreak and happiness. I think I nearly got whiplash over some of the differences. 😅😭 It was really good to see these characters and their found family continue moving forward with their futures. The past will haunts and hurts them, but they are doing their best to put one foot in front of the other and focus on having justice and God’s grace rule in the country. 

 

I have to say, this author writes the depth and struggle of forgiveness very well. It was apparent in some of the prior books of this series, but even more so in this collection with a few of the stories. 

 

I’m going to need every series to have a short story collection or bonus novellas about the characters being in love, happy, and with a growing family. It just makes my Found Family trope loving little heart sing in happiness. 🥰 This collection was a great end to the series! I would still say this series is better for older teens due to the violence in the first three books of the series especially, but I can get the love and hype for this series that so many of my book friends have for it.

 

 

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.