19 June 2013

To Stand Beside Her by B. Kristin McMichael

(Click image to take you to Goodreads)
Format: Kindle
Publishers: Indie
Published: 24th January 2013
Pages: 348
Genre: Romance, YA
Main Characters: Leila, Nalick
Date Read: 26th May - 13th June 2013
Rating Given:
 photo four.jpg
 

Blurb from Goodreads:

To be the best courier in the world, eighteen-year-old Benét Leila follows three simple rules: always work alone, never stay in one place too long, and never fall in love. Too bad she didn't follow her own advice.

Leila is a courier. To the people she takes from, she is seen as a common thief; to the people she helps, she is a savior.

Nalick is your typical king. He's rich, powerful, and always assumed to be right. When Leila crosses paths with King Nalick, she finds herself trapped. In a rush to save her best friend Kay from a prison sentence for a crime Leila committed, Leila trades her hand in marriage in exchange for Kay’s freedom.

Tomboy Leila does not want to grow up, but in three months’ time, she will be married to King Nalick, if Nalick can keep his end of the bargain. First, Nalick must make Leila fall in love with him, a hard task since Leila is not ready to love again after losing her first love to a greedy king. Second, Nalick must keep her safe. He is not the only king trying to hold onto her. Leila has made many enemies over the years, and even more admirers that want her as a prize. Lastly, Nalick must convince Leila that ten years of love is better than a lifetime without. Unless Leila can trust her destiny, she might not reach her wedding day at all.


I asked to read this for review and I was really pleased that I was able to grab myself a copy, however I was also expecting it to be a New Adult book as it was a NA group on Goodreads I got it from, but, it was a YA so I was a bit disappointed about that.

I do like the cover especially the tones that have been used it gives the cover a striking effect. It did take me awhile to figure out what the significance was to the story but now writing the review I notice it and it does tie in with the story which I have always loved.

It did take me awhile to get this book read but it wasn't because of the book being bad in fact once getting over the not being a NA book I really enjoyed it, I just didn't have the time to read. There was times when I was about to read another chapter when I wouldn't want to read it but once I started reading it again I started enjoying it all over again. I loved the slow build up in the romance department and made it very believable. That was the only thing that was believable as I found that quite a lot of the story was a bit far fetched and that's coming from someone who loves fantasy but for most part they story just wasn't believable.

I really enjoyed the characters especially Nalick as he had the most change throughout the book which was really nice to see. Nalick started off being the King that everybody feared and he didn't seem that nice but the more we found out about him and his past I started to understand him and then when Leila came on the scene he became even more likable. Leila seemed like a strong independent person from the get go but again during the story there was cracks to her hard persona. I also found the other characters a good edition to the story especially the children they were so sweet.

Overall I really enjoyed this story although the ending I was a bit disappointed in as I felt it needed extending.