A new stand-alone story from well-known author Kiera Cass, A Thousand Heartbeats, introduces readers to two would-be lovers who come from different worlds. Princess Annika appears to live a charmed life, at least at first glance. Further inspection, however, finds her bound to duty and hampered by the dictates of a once-loving father who curbs every freedom. In a country on the outskirts, Lennox lives a very different life where one earns freedom at the edge of a sword. A hardened warrior who finds himself serving a master he does not respect to gain what his people lost, Lennox is determined to overcome his circumstances. A tangled, enemies-to-lovers story emerges when fate throws the two main characters together. Well written and worth reading, Cass once again proves herself a master storyteller.

DNF 35%

I can’t. I tried but why waste my time with a book this boring and irritating. So boring! I read other reviews and it does pick up about half way but this book is over 500 pages long. I don’t have the patience to keep reading. Bland characters. This is supposed to be fantasy but I just can’t picture it. So many things and plot points don’t make sense. Far too easily resolved. I was over this book at about 15%. Awkward writing that isn’t selling the fantasy aspect and the dialogue was so meh.

I just can’t force myself to read a book I’m not even enjoying and find as a pain to pick up and read. Loved The Selection series but I just can’t with her other books.

*Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

First things first: dislikes…
I honestly can’t think of anything I disliked. It was a book I would probably reread, which isn’t an easy list to make.

Likes:
Dual POV. If you know me, you know I LOVE me some dual point of view!! I want to know what the characters are feeling from their perspective. I don’t want the mystery, because I’m the reader. I like being spoiled. 😂🤷🏻‍♀️ Not to mention, Lennox and Annika are both remarkably comfy minds to live in. I enjoy the way they think, the way they face thief difficulties. Just love it.

Tropes! Tropes! Tropes!!!
Ok, so enemies to lovers is usually something I can take or leave. It’s not a favorite for me. But this was IMPECCABLE. The slow trust build. The fury to curiosity. LOVED it. Throw in some star crossed lovers, and forced proximity?? I AM HERE FOR IT.

Family. We have tight knit familial ties all around. Sibling bonds, friendship, found family. It’s beautiful, and I’d love to see some of these side characters in another story. Very cool.

Political intrigue… something I feel Cass does very well is build up political intrigue in her worlds. It’s complicated in a plausible way, and I enjoy that.

It’s a one and done! The story is finished. Don’t get me wrong, I love a series, but when it doesn’t drag out it is SO good. No questions unanswered, no longing for more details. Just a beautifully wrapped up story.

Definitely check this one out. It releases in November!

I was really excited to have gotten approved for this story. Books about royalty are in my top favorites. Unfortunately this book fell a tiny bit flat for me at times. It took a little bit to get into it, and because of that it dragged on at some points. I also had a little trouble connecting with the main character but it might just be because I’m not the right audience for this book! I still will look forward to other books by the author :)

This is a really great book for teens. It has all the elements to really draw someone in. A forbidden love, secrets, and a main character that is tortured by his past.
Annika is adored by all, but not in a way that makes the reader roll their eyes.
Lennox believes everyone hates him, and he chooses to be that person.
In this story, they choose to better themselves by choosing each other in more ways that one.
They both believe their kingdoms to belong to them, and have always put their kingdom first. Annika is determined to right a wrong, and Lennox is determined to choose himself and happiness for once. I really liked the characters, and hated when they were apart! I have never read the selection series, but I will be now. This is an excellent stand alone.

I have read many of Kiera Cass' books. This one has a similar flair and vibe as all of her other books. This book started slow. I had a hard time getting into it but once I passed about 40 percent I was pulled in! The love story is fun but feels a little hard to believe at times.

I was excited to read Kiera's new book. I'm usually a big enjoyer of royalty and enemies-to-lovers (at least to a certain extent).

I think the biggest disappointment concerning this book is me. I didn't really enjoy the experience. At the 50% mark (or a little before), I wanted to DNF. I was bored most of the time, dreading even picking up my kindle to read more.

I didn't really care for the romance (considering what happened to Annika's mother).

I'm sure other readers will like this book more than I did though.

Annika has lived a pampered life, but as a princess and the spare heir, she knows that her life is not her own. The next task she must undertake? Marry a man she does not love. Miles’ life has been the opposite. He has trained with the Dahrainian army and wants to help reclaim the kingdom that was stolen. Lennox doesn’t have time for anything else … even love. When these two are thrown together, love sparks, even though they both know it is impossible. What will these young people do next? Who will end up in control of the kingdom?

A Thousand Heartbeats is a stand-alone romance told in alternating voices. Readers will experience a full story as the point of view switches between these two protagonists. Cass has created a wonderful world with believable characters and a captivating story. Although this is a stand-alone novel with a firm ending, this newly created world has hidden depths and I wouldn’t be surprised if more books are released. A good romance that wasn’t too long and wasn’t risqué at all.

𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘥, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's in exchange for an honest review.

I'd heard of Kiera Cass' The Selection series before but haven't gotten around to reading it. I was quite excited to be gifted this ARC as it had an interesting premise and similar cover vibes.

A Thousand Heartbeats is a standalone novel (yay!) so there are no cliffhangers or worrying about what's next. Though this makes the book much much longer than your usual YA novel.

Marketed as an enemies-to-lovers romance, Annika and Lennox come from two different worlds. A princess and a pauper but both fighting for a kingdom they believe in and a better future. Unfortunately they are both aiming for that same kingdom. Annika comes off a bit like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, but a princess version.

The story is told from alternating POVs which honestly felt quite annoying to read plus the language and way that Annika and Lennox spoke were quite similar and simplistic which made it hard to get into the story at the start. A lot of the characters have overly complex difficult to remember names as well. Or some names just sounded incredibly made up.

It took awhile to really get into the story to have a feel for who the characters are, their motivations and the star-crossed romance. It is a little bit of a slow burn as it takes about half the book for them to get to a point of realisation of who they are to each other but over three quarters of the book to decide how their different motivations can get them to the end. It's not a quick read by any means but being a standalone, I wouldn't expect anything less.

I, like many others, thoroughly enjoyed Kiera Cass's Selection series. I was excited to read another book by her. But, sadly, this book fell short in many respects.

First, it dragged on. I love a long book, but in long books it is important to get the pacing right. The first third or so of this book just dragged on.

Second, while I wasn't that surprised by the ultimate conclusion, I don't think that the author built the logical leaps along the way. I don't want to spoil things too much, but nothing surprised me in this book, but also things weren't well developed. This is especially true as to the world-building.

Third, I just didn't love the characters. Annika and Lennox were ok, but just ok.

Thanks Netgalley and publishers for the free e-arc. I wish I loved it more!

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books, and HarperTeen for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review. (Publish Date: November 29, 2022)

Kiera Cass is one of my favorite YA romance authors, so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of her latest book “A Thousand Heartbeats.” And, as with all the books I’ve read from this author, I was completely obsessed with this story from the moment the main characters met!

The beautiful writing and realistic world-building was absolutely captivating. Although the ARC I received didn’t include a map, there was a page listed that’s going to include one at the beginning of the book once it's published. I think readers will really benefit from having the map since the characters change locations throughout the story.

Princess Annika is a fantastic heroine! She’s incredibly likable, brave, smart, and sweet. I loved how the chapters flip-flopped with duel POV between her and Lennox so I always knew what was going on with each of them when they were apart. While Lennox is also an undeniable hero, Annika really shines in this historic tale as a coming-of-age princess who often choses to make selfless decisions for the good of her people.

The hurricane/cave scene of the story was so emotionally raw and gorgeously written that I’ve re-read it multiple times and still swoon! The author is a master at expressing into words the layered feelings when falling in love – especially between two people who are supposed to be enemies.

This standalone book thankfully ties everything up delightfully at the end (although the epilogue shares a glimpse of the future for the characters that led my mind to wonder, “What if…”). I would happily read a sequel to this story if the author felt inclined to write one, because the main characters were incredibly captivating and magnetic.

I applaud the author for writing a YA book that is swoon-worthy romantic while being completely age-appropriate for young readers. It’s refreshing to read a book where the main characters can fall in love and have passionate moments together without any graphic details going beyond kissing and appropriate touching. It’s sometimes nice to let the imagination fill in the gaps.

Overall, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who loves a historically royal story with an enemies-to-lovers twist. It was so good that I would consider it one of the best books of 2022, and I certainly will be purchasing this book once it’s available so I can read it again and again!

I had high hopes for this novel as I LOVED "The Selection" series. However I was really disappointed. I struggled with the characters and the names and had a hard time truly understanding what was happening at first. Once I got about halfway through it did pick up and I became more invested. I typically really enjoy novels like this but this one just didn't hit the mark for me.

DNF @ 25% - okay so the selection series is absolutely my guilty pleasure comfort series, I seriously could re-read those all the time!! so when I received the ARC from kiera cass’ standalone fantasy novel, I was OVER THE MOON 🥰

except, I was so bored that I had to force myself to keep picking it up and continuing 🫠🫠 and I really wanted to love this new and fresh love story but it just fell so flat for me

I felt like I was reading a completely different book by another author!! I may pick up this one again in the future when I’m more in a YA (bordering on extremely young) mood.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you so much for the ARC! I really enjoy Kiera Cass' work, and her Selection series is always a big hit in middle school, and early high school ELA classrooms. This new work is equally well done. The enemies to lovers narrative is really engaging. The character development is complex and yet so easy to read and enticing that is challenging to put down. I would highly recommend for fans of Kiera Cass or new readers alike.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

I love Kiera Cass' books so when I saw this I had to request it! I wasn't sure in the beginning...I was a little bored. But I genuinely loved Annika and Lennox and Kiera Cass makes these worlds feel so effortlessly magical. It definitely got better and I enjoyed the slow burn, enemies to lovers trope done here.

Cass’ new book releases in November. While I loved her Selection Series-I feel like all the other books just don’t measure up.

But-this book was pretty good for a younger YA audience. The story is a typical enemies to love interest. The two main characters (one a princess the other a soldier for the enemy) are brought together by chance and release they could be better together than as enemies.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperTeen for providing me a complimentary eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow.... Where do I even begin? I loved this book so much. It had everything I enjoy in a book....
-Enemies to Lovers
-Slowburn Romance
-Dual POV
-Standalone
-Forced Proximity
-Plot Twist
And so much more....

Annika and Lennox were so easy to root for. All characters in the story were well-developed. They shared a love that defied all odds.

This was my first Kiera Cass book, but it certainly won't be my last!

I enjoyed her Selection series, and I enjoyed this one as well. I love the worlds that this author creates, and I just fly through her books. Absolutely can’t wait to read more

I felt iffy starting this book as the last book I read of Kiera Cass' was The Betrothed, which I didn't like. If that is something that is holding you back from reading her new book, don't let it. Kiera Cass has redeemed herself with A Thousand Heartbeats.

The story is told in three parts. We get alternating points of view every chapter between Annika and Lennox. It is an enemies to lovers story. I enjoyed every single moment of this book. I

Years ago I read the Selection Series by @partylikeawordstar so when I saw this on @netgalley, I knew I had to request it. I no longer read Young Adult novels (haven’t in over a decade) but I will make an exception here. I’m glad that I did. It was a beautiful romance with no spice, just sweet love and lots of action.
It’s about love (which feels like a thousand heartbeats) and two very different people trying to create peace in a kingdom filled with chaos. Lennox is from a not so privileged land, while Annika is a princess. The two have loved each other king than either of them knew.

Add this to your list, even if it’s out of what you normally read. It kind of had a slow start, for me, but it picked up, and I quickly enjoyed it.