Good Choice Reading: Review: Sword & Verse by Kathy MacMillan (ARC Giveaway)

SWORD AND VERSE
by Kathy MacMillan
Hardcover, 384 pages
Expected publication: January 19th 2016
by HarperTeen

Amazon † BN

Raisa was just a child when she was sold to work as a slave in the kingdom of Qilara. Despite her young age, her father was teaching her to read and write, grooming her to take his place as a Learned One. In Qilara, the Arnathim, like Raisa, are the lowest class, and literacy is a capital offense. What’s more, only the king, prince, tutor, and tutor-in-training are allowed to learn the very highest order language, the language of the gods. So when the tutor-in-training is executed for teaching slaves this sacred language, and Raisa is selected to replace her, Raisa knows any slipup on her part could mean death.

Keeping her secret is hard enough, but the romance that’s been growing between her and Prince Mati isn’t helping matters. Then Raisa is approached by the Resistance—an underground army of slave rebels—to help liberate Arnath slaves. She wants to free her people, but that would mean aiding a war against Mati. As Raisa struggles with what to do, she discovers a secret that the Qilarites have been hiding for centuries—one that, if uncovered, could bring the kingdom to its knees.

Sword and Verse takes readers on an unforgettable adventure. Not only is this book amazing from the first word to the very last, it is also unpredictable, and has the PERFECT romance.

When I first saw the cover to this book I immediately knew I had to get my hands on it. Then I read the blurb and I was sold! I knew it would be one of those books that would keep me up all night reading, and would leave me with that craving for more. I honestly did not expect to be so into the story, and completely captivated with the characters like I was. It was all I thought about. Every single time I had to put the book down, I would get upset. I could not wait to dive back into Raisa’s story. It is THAT good.

One of the biggest things I love most about this story is the way the author wrote it. The story starts with Raisa as a young girl, and ends with her as a grown smart woman. I did not get lost once with the timeline. The author did an excellent job piecing it all together. For some reason this was a huge plus for me. The way the characters grow, the romance between Raisa & the Prince, the suspense whenever Raisa and the rebels were together, it was just flawless!

I will say that a little more than half of the story is romance. Of course, me being a romance junkie, this just made me fall in love with the book ten times more! I can’t describe the emotions I felt. Prince Mati & Raisa’s feelings for one another bled off the pages and I absorbed every bit of it! At one point, the author had me worried. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to them as a couple, and was about ready to scream, but in the end I was happy with the outcome. Every detail, event, emotion, all happened at the right time, and all flowed together like putting the pieces to a puzzle together.

SWORD AND VERSE is a GOOD CHOICE FOR READING! It’s a story that you will devour and never forget. At least it was for me. Kathy MacMillan is officially on my MUST-READ list. If her other books are written anything like this one, it will be a sure read!