Review: The Carnelian Legacy by Cheryl Koevoet

The Carnelian Legacy 
Author: Cheryl Koevoet
Series: Carnelian (Bk 1)
Release: January 28th 2015 (2nd printing)
Publisher: Abbott Press
Source: I received a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Genre:YA Paranormal RomanceRating: 5 wonderful heart-melting stars!!!
Website: http://www.thecarnelianlegacy.com/

Marisa MacCallum always believed that the man of her dreams was out there somewhere. The problem is—he’s in another dimension. 

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 through the woods of Gold Hill, but when a mysterious lightning storm strikes, she is hurled into the ancient, alternate dimension of Carnelia where she is discovered by the arrogant but attractive nobleman, Ambassador Darian Fiore. 

Stranded in a world teeming with monsters, maniacs and medieval knights, Marisa is forced to join Darian on a dangerous mission to negotiate peace with his cousin and archenemy, Savino da Rocha. Along the way, she starts to see Darian's softer side and finds herself falling in love. But once she learns that he is locked into an arranged marriage, her heart shatters. 

When Savino falls for her charms and demands her hand 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.   

"Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be." ~Job 8:7

The above quote is in the beginning of the book & sums the story up beautifully.

My thoughts on this heart-melting book...

Here I am, enjoying a steaming cup of tea, minding my own business when 3am decides to sneak up on me! I mean seriously, I wasn't doing anything wrong but enjoying a good GREAT book, why couldn't you wait a bit before you sneaked up on me time?!? The world within the pages will swallow you up & immerse you in it's pages, I must WARN you, you may lose track of time and forget what's actually going on around you for extended lengths of time! I was powerless to stop the pull The Carnelian Legacy had over me! Who needs the real world when there's Carnelia!?!

Let me just say, I LOVE the cover of The Carnelian Legacy! The cover caught my eye as I was browsing, but the first two lines of the summary are what pulled me in. "Marisa MacCallum always believed that the man of her dreams was out there somewhere. The problem is—he’s in another dimension." Any story where the protagonist travels to another time or dimension, my interest are immediately piqued!

Now let’s get to the world building. Cheryl has created this beautiful, majestic land called Carnelia. It’s refreshing to see  how Cheryl managed to intertwine science and fantasy together, I haven’t come across a story-line like this & I enjoyed the original take on other dimensions. In fact, this story is even for those of you who usually shy away from fantasy, she makes it so believable! If I had magical powers I’d transport myself to the land of Carnelia and live happily ever after! I love this beautiful world because chivalry is still alive & kicking, we could learn and thing or two from Carnelian society! Celino,  one of my favorite characters sums it up nicely!

“This world is still ruled by the principles of chivalry. And before you go and get all mushy on me, I’m not talking about some romantic notion as defined by our world. Here (Carnelia), the concept of honor, courage and justice encompasses all people, ensuring that even the weakest members of society are treated with dignity and respect.”

Speaking of characters, Cheryl sure knows how to write a diverse cast! We have the main cast:

1. Marisa MacCallum
2. Darian Fiore
3. Arrigo Macario (Arrie)
4. Adalina Fiore
5. Matilda Da Rocha
6. Savino Da Rocha

From the start my heart goes out to Marisa, she’s just lost her father and is in a great deal of emotional pain. I love how Cheryl wrote Marisa’s character, the way she handles her grief is very believable. At times I got frustrated with some of Marisa’s decisions or thoughts, but I had to take a step back and remind myself that she’s still grieving the loss of her father. She feels she needs time to herself to clear her head so she takes her horse on a ride through the woods, there she stumbles through a vortex into Carnelia. Pretty much as soon as she gets her bearings she meets Darian & Arrigo. I don’t want to give away too much to you the reader, I want you to meet these characters for the first time wondering and guessing just as I did!

I must say, the ending was incredible, in fact I'm going to say this is my favorite book in terms of swoon-worthy romance of 2015 so far! This story has everything, absolutely EVERYTHING I could ask for in a book! I can't wait to read the second book The Carnelian Tyranny: Savino's Revenge!

I loved this quote! 

"Any man in his right mind would be a fool not to offer you the world." ~Darian Fiore

Check out the book trailer...