"The Carnelian Legacy" Review {Giveaway}

I am so excited to review The Carnelian Legacy, not just because it is an amazing book, but because the author is pretty amazing as well. I met Chery Koevoet while we were both serving as volunteers for MOPS International and I am blessed to call her my friend. (And I am not just saying that because she let me read her book early!

About the book: 

Marisa MacCallum always believed the man of her dreams was out there somewhere. The problem is—he’s in a parallel universe.

After the death of her father, eighteen-year-old Marisa’s life is on the verge of imploding. She seeks comfort on her daily ride in the woods of Gold Hill but when a mysterious lightning storm suddenly strikes, Marisa is hurled into the ancient alternate dimension of Carnelia.

There she meets the arrogant but attractive nobleman, Darian Fiore. With no hope of returning home on her own, Marisa must join Darian on a risky mission to negotiate peace with his cousin and archenemy, Savino da Roca. As she struggles to survive a world teeming with monsters, maniacs and medieval knights, Marisa sees a softer side of Darian and begins to fall in love. But when she discovers he is locked into an arranged marriage, her heart shatters.  

After Savino falls for her charms and demands her hand in marriage in exchange for peace, Marisa is faced with an impossible choice: marry the enemy of the man she loves or betray them both and become the catalyst for a bloody war.

My thoughts: 
To be completely honest with you, I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. Sure, I had a friend who had a book published and I was thrilled for her and I loved the cover, but life has been super crazy over the past year and I am just trying to stay above water... 

Let me tell you: I was blown away with the first few chapters! I noticed right away that Cheryl's writing style is different than what you see every day. I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out who to compare her to, but there is really no comparison! She is incredibly gifted and writes in such a descriptive way, it makes everything come alive in vivid detail. Now I know, this is a fantasy book, but I was so drawn in and involved that the whole book became completely real and believable. 

The Carnelian Legacy is a modern day fairy tale, with a surprising twist! It will keep you reading long into the night (way after you should be in bed!) and you won't want to put it down. I can't wait to share it with my teenage daughters. (Can I say - major bonus that it is something I can let my teenagers read without worrying what they will encounter.) 

I can honestly say it is the best book I have read and is my new favorite. I fell in love with Carnelia and her people and I cannot wait to read book two!
 

About the author:

Cheryl Koevoet was born in a suburb of Portland, Oregon. She began a lifelong love affair with books the same day she entered kindergarten when her teacher read The LollipopDragon out loud.

From an early age she developed a craving for books that wove magical tales about faraway lands, the distant past, and futuristic worlds. Among her favorite stories growing up were The Chronicles of Narnia, the Little House on the Prairie series, the poems of Shel Silverstein, Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little and anything penned by Roald Dahl. 

Cheryl’s wanderlust continued when she traveled to Los Angeles to study Art History at BIOLA University and later continued her education at Portland State University. She met and married a Dutch national and moved to The Netherlands where she still lives today with her husband and four teenagers near The Hague. Her day job and experiencing life in a foreign culture are both unending sources of inspiration for writing energetic stories than enthrall, inspire and entertain.

The Carnelian Legacy is her debut novel and she is nearing completion on its sequel, The Carnelian Tyranny. A third book in the trilogy, The Carnelian Sovereignity as well as a prequel book, The Carnelian Dynasty are both scheduled for release in 2014.

Her next project, The Bulb of Greet Prys is a historical novel about life in Holland in the Golden Age during tulipmania.

For more information, visit Cheryl's website. 

The fine print:
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed are all mine and I was not required to give a positive review.

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