Kendra Thomas

Sabeara Aigoviel, princess of Aveladon, wants nothing more than for her heart to glow. The Stone-Hearted power that is received at the age of eighteen is her ultimate wish. With a grim curse looming over the realm and a neighboring kingdom's conspiring plans, contentions arise. Moments of danger summon evil forces, sending Sabeara into a whirlwind of adventure, captivity, and even love. Rescued by a handsome stranger in a brown cloak, they navigate the kingdoms to bring her safely home. When her rescuer arrives betrothed to her beloved older sister weeks later, it is all she can do to erase their memories. Will Sabeara be able to defeat the curse on the Stone-Hearted race? And will she be able to forget the memories of her epic ventures with her cloaked rescuer? In this magical fairytale filled with passion and adventure, you will surely be hanging onto every last word.

Granted

This was such a wholesome YA! brought me back to the beginning of my teens when I swooned for the handsome prince hoping to be swooped away. I listened to the audio book for this one. I was pleasantly surprised with the build up, the characters and the dynamic between everyone. Lets not forget about how beautiful the cover is! 

One of the things I really loved was the uniqueness of the names chosen by the author and the beautiful scenery described as the plot unraveled. This is a perfect book for young adult readers looking for introduction to YA world. 

The main character was young, reminded me a bit of my daughter so I will say as a mom there were several times I was like "what are you doing child" LOL but it didnt stop me from wanting to learn more. Which I am happy I kept reading cause her character development was spectacular. This has officially been added to my daughter's and my niece's TBR. Very swoon worthy and filled with action! This book gave me Kiss of Deception vibes by Mary E Pearson, which is pretty great!

Julie Janis

I received a copy in exchange for a review. I thought this story was so gripping and lovely! I loved the magic in it and the swoon-worthy romance that kept me on the edge of my seat. The beginning was a bit slow but it definitely picked up. I'm excited for the next one and definitely recommend to anyone who wants a quick, fun, fantasy romance.

Shelby Goodwin

"𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏."

OMG y'all, I seriously haven't been so engrossed with a YA fantasy to the point where I devour the book in its entirety in ONE DAY. What an excellent debut novel from Kendra Thomas.

Sabeara is a super endearing and very relatable heroine. I loved that she doesn't hesitate for a second to stand up for her sister Jasper. Although she is young and inexperienced, I never once found her to be a naive or frustrating heroine as so often is seen in this genre!

The moments of romance were extremely sweet, and even somewhat steamy, which was a welcome aspect to this book! Even though I predicted the romance plot twists, I definitely still felt all kinds of butterflies during those sultry scenes between Mid and Sebeara!!

The worldbuilding and magical aspects of this series are clearly going to culminate into something aboslutely awesome, so I am immediately jumping into book 2 as we speak so I can keep this adventure going!

Recommended for fans of swoonworthy, action-packed, high fantasy like the Falling Kingdoms series, as well as those nostalgic young adult romance reads with strong female leads, such as The Selection series!

Tatiana Alvarez 

Actual rating 3.5 stars!

Okay but can we just give a round of applause to this cover? I mean, LOOK AT IT! It’s gorgeous!

The book itself was a fun, YA story that fans of fantasy will definitely want to pick up. Since I’m not really much of a YA reader anymore these days, I decided to listen to the audio and I’m so happy I did!

The audio reader was fantastic and captured Sabeara so well! I respected the fact that Sabeara always was authentically herself and usually lead with both her heart and brain. It’s refreshing to see that in YA. 

It ended on such a cliff hanger so I’m excited to get into the next one!

Maria Elena Vitale Zelaia

This book made me feel nostalgic. 

Granted reads like the classic YA story of my heart. It follows Sabeara, princess of Avelandon, on the day of her older sister’s Granting, a ceremony through which the Stone-Hearted people come into their power. However, an attack from a rivaling kingdom sees Sabeara taken and imprisoned. She’s then saved by Mid, a handsome stranger for whom she starts having feelings. Once she’s returned home safely, Sabeara and Mid find out they’ve both been hiding their true identities from one another: he discovers she’s the princess of Avelandon, and she discovers he’s the prince of a different kingdom, betrothed to her beloved sister. *cue dramatic music*

Let me begin by saying that I really loved the concept of this story. The Stone-Hearted earn their magic through these powerful stones implanted in their chests, and the kingdom of Avelandon is led by a young female ruler, who has to take up her mother’s mantle when she tragically passes away and the king grows ever more distant because of it. 

The story is enriched by a nice cast of characters. Sabeara was a great protagonist, who may sometimes come across as a bit young, but who underwent a wonderful character development. I especially loved her dedication to her sister, the young ruler Jasper, though I would have loved to see the sisters interact more because I love sibling interactions. And I really enjoyed the secondary characters—especially Oli and Embrosine, respectively Sabeara’s guard and Mid’s sister, who both have that caring personality that I love in a character. I confess there was a moment where I hoped Oli would be Bear’s love interest because he’s just so sweet! Unfortunately I wasn’t as invested by Mid despite the forbidden love trope, and that could be because I felt like his relationship with Bear moved a little too quickly. I’m all for instant attraction, but I do feel like their feelings were getting too deep too quickly to be only that. 

This was a very good start to a series. There’s the subplot about a curse that is definitely going to get bigger as the story progresses, and the ending had an unexpected twist that make me very happy I already have the second book available!

Thank you to the author for gifting me an e-copy. Opinions are my own.

Chiara Vitale Zelaia

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

GRANTED has all the elements of a classic light, YA fantasy story. We follow Sabeara, princess and second heir to the kingdom of Aveladon, who wants nothing more than to come into her powers. Indeed, the story starts on the day of her sister’s Granting, which is the ceremony through which the Stone-Hearted people come into their power, characterized by colored stones implanted into their chests. However, an attack from a rivaling kingdom interrupts the feast, and Sabeara is imprisoned. She is saved by Mid, a handsome stranger with whom she then spends an intense few days as he, unaware of her real identity, takes her back to her kingdom. Letting go of her burgeoning feelings for Mid is difficult, even more so when, weeks later, he is revealed to be none other than the prince betrothed to Sabeara’s sister. Determined to forget, Sabeara dedicates herself fully to trying to find a way to defeat the curse weakening the Stone-Hearted, but hearts are hard to rule and well…you’ll have to read the book to find out how it ends!

Characters are the strong point of this story. I really enjoyed Sabeara, having a weak spot for rebellious princesses who are loathe to do what they’re told. She does come across as a bit “young” at times, but it’s important to remember she isn’t yet eighteen, so some moments of immaturity are allowed. She goes through a lot of character development in the span of a single book, and I loved that. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters and am especially intrigued by Shar, who seems to be the only one who doesn’t like Bear, which makes my interest pique! Unfortunately I wasn’t as sold on Mid, and thus the romance didn’t particularly woo me. I don’t mind instant attraction, but I do feel like it turned into love a bit too quickly. The forbidden lovers trope had the potential for great angst, but Mid was at times too pushy when Sabeara was only trying to, logically, put distance between them for her sister’s sake, and I didn’t like the way he seemed to refuse to see her reasoning or dismiss it. 

While we don’t see too much in terms of world-building and plot in this first installment, I very much enjoyed what we have! The curse is clearly going to be affecting the series throughout, and this book served as a great introduction. The world is very vast, and I feel like the author is setting up her plot so that we’ll get to see more of the other kingdoms as we progress in the story (maybe with a certain runaway?), which I’m very excited about! The concept of the Stone-Hearted magic is interesting (and pretty for a lover of shiny things like yours truly) and I hope that we’ll get to see more of it at work in the future books!

Overall, this is a very solid first book in a series! I’m not on board with the romance yet, but I’m very much curious to see where the story goes after the ending, which had a twist I was not expecting at all!

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy. All opinions are my own.

Stella Jovinta 

If you've ever wanted to cry tears of sadness and joy all in one read, have ever wanted to explore a magical world that's quite unique and new and not too complicated, then Granted is the book for you.

Thank you Net Galley and Kendra Thomas for a copy of this book. A beautiful magic filled story.

Mirte

2.5 stars

So hear me out. This book wasn't bad, but I just didn't really vibe with it. I didn't connect with the characters, didn't really like the writing style and some parts of the plot were 'meh'. 

What I did like:
- The plot in general was very promising and not bad. It was a lot better towards the second half of the book though. The first half didn't really feel necessary tbh? idk
- I did really like the magic system with the colors and the granting.
- I liked the stuff about the amulet and the curse and the whole mystery surrounding it.

What I didn't like:
- The writing style just wasn't it for me. Sometimes I even wondered if the book was edited? 
- It might have been mentioned once or twice (per page), but I think Mid's eyes are emerald-scarlet. Like okay, we get it, no need to say that every time he's mentioned
- The insta-love -_- honestly the whole dynamic between Mid and Sabeara felt a bit forced

General:
In general, the book wasn't bad (especially considering it's a debut), and I do kind of want to know what will happen in the next book... so I will probably read the second one someday

Andrea

4.5/5 ⭐️

My reaction to this book was love at first sight. Was because of the cover? Definitely. It’s just gorgeous and appealing. After that, I didn’t lose time and I asked the author for a collaboration, who kindly accepted and sent me a digital copy of the book. I thank her so much, not only for the copy, but for reading all the comments that I sent her by DMs on Instagram.

The story is simply wonderful, you can notice from the beginning how the story is going to develop, clear as water. It is true that in some parts it feels like the story it’s getting out of its course, but further ahead you realize that it does contribute something, not only to the drama but also to the plot and the decisions of our main character. Everything goes in a perfect time line, in a relaxed pace but that stills keeps you intrigued. I love the fact that from the beginning of the book you know about the curse and it’s not something that’s reveled half way through, it’s something that it’s clear from the start and you more information along the way.

I loved the worldbuilding, it isn’t very fantastic and it’s very low key in a lot of aspects, but Kendra does make emphasis on some interesting aspects as some cultures, environments and even the story of the kingdoms. From which the last one was one of my favorites, she makes emphasis on the story of the kingdoms because it’s really relevant for the plot. Of course, it’s lacking some information, but I guess we’ll discover them on the second book.

Another very interesting aspect, so much it deserves its own paragraph, is the magic system. It’s simply wonderful and very well planned. I think it’s very different from other fantasy books and in my opinion it’s very unique. This one is divided on different levels of power, and each character has a unique power that matches their personality. I’m definitely fan of the magic system of this book.

About the characters, I could talk about each one in particular, but I would make the review longer than it already, so I’m focusing on our main character: Sabaera. The book is narrated from her point of view, so we can read all of her thoughts and doubts. I think she is a very complete character and she is a great female protagonist; she is intrepid, brave, abnegated and she has clear priorities. But, just the way she has a lot of good qualities, she is full of insecurities, like living under her sister’s shadow or thinking that she is not good enough for what people expect from her; and this was something that I really liked, because it gives her that touch of imperfection that makes the character feel real. There were moments where I wanted to kill her because I wanted her to do certain things, but at the same time I understood that those insecurities stopped her from doing those things. The truth is that I love her, I connected a lot with her.

Another thing that I liked a lot about her and the book in general, is that being the main character, the one who is supposed to save the world and everything, she doesn’t have powers whatsoever, at least not in this book. We have all these powerful characters while Sabaera is normal, because she hasn’t received her powers yet, due to the fact that she hasn’t turned 18.

Talking a little but about the other characters, there’s a great variety: We have more strong female characters, such as Jasper and Embrosine. We have Liony, who is the loveliest one. We have the guys who steal our hearts, such as Mid and Oli. And final but not least, we have characters to hate and a villain who apparently wants revenge. All of them written in an incredible way.

About the romance, what to say. It does look a bit like instant love, but not so much, it’s not exaggerated and the author does develop the chemistry between the characters for a while. But for the rest, it’s a very healthy dynamic and not toxic at all, even though it made me really frustrated and I wanted to scream for things that I won’t say to not give any spoilers.

The truth is that the romance is like the strongest aspect of the book and the other aspects get a little on the background, though it does focus more on the curse at the end. But well, this is the first book of an upcoming series. So I hope that in the next books we get more into the non-romantic aspects; like getting to know new places and cultures, get more into the curse, get to know more about the story, etc.

And because the review it’s turning a little long. I end up saying that I loved this book, and that, even though at the beginning didn’t hooked me, once I got to the middle, I knew I was going to binge read it. I enjoyed a lot and I’m definitely going to buy the paperback. Very recommended.

Manon van Heumen

I absolutely loved this! It took me a little while to get sucked into the story, but once I did, I couldn't stop reading! And that ending, oh my gosh. I need to know what happens next!!

Ashton Reed

This is a funnn read!! If you’re wanting a fast, action-packed read where you can project yourself as the main character, right into all the drama, look no further!

Granted is about Sabeara Aigoviel, princess of Aveladon, younger sister of the future queen. The land is under political unrest after just having separated into four different kingdoms, and Sabaera is soon kidnapped by soldiers of an enemy kingdom. Luckily, she is rescued by a handsome stranger named Mid, who promises to return her home to her family. But they quickly develop a deeper bond, and their inevitable goodbye tears a hole in Sabeara’s heart. But all is not what it seems in Aveladon, and things are about to get wayyy more complicated… 

Soooo I really enjoyed this book! This is one of those books that grabs a hold of your being and doesn’t let you stop thinking about it until you’ve finished it, and even then you want more. There are tropes, for sure, and the plot twist in the middle is crazy obvious, but it doesn’t matter because the drama is on point!! Kinda like a soap opera 😂😂

I will say, the writing isn’t perfect. There are a few grammatical errors and way too many adjectives, especially towards the beginning, which makes it feel a little more telly than showy (yes, I made those up, but you get the gist). But as the story picks up, you stop noticing because the plot starts to project in your head like a movie and you just have to keep going!

I wondered going into this book if there would be the tide-turning insta-love that so many authors fall prey to, but I’m surprising myself to say I didn’t mind in this one. Because it doesn’t feel like insta-love. There is development to it that fits well with the progression of the plot, so it didn’t hurt my testy reader heart.

So basically, if you’re looking for a book with perfect grammar and no tropes, this may not be a book for you. However, I rate based on enjoyment, and this book was gripping and intense! Overall, the plot hit all the points for me and I devoured it. I need the next one, stat!!! That cliffhanger was just evil - I have no idea what’s in store for Sabeara and her squad!




If you enjoyed this review, you can follow me here on Goodreads and on my Instagram/Twitter @ashton_reads! Love y’all!

Sabeara Aigoviel, princess of Aveladon, wants nothing more than for her heart to glow. The Stone-Hearted power that is received at the age of eighteen is her ultimate wish. With a grim curse looming over the realm and a neighboring kingdom's conspiring plans, contentions arise. Moments of danger summon evil forces, sending Sabeara into a whirlwind of adventure, captivity, and even love. ​ Rescued by a handsome stranger in a brown cloak, they navigate the kingdoms to bring her safely home. When her rescuer arrives betrothed to her beloved older sister weeks later, it is all she can do to erase their memories. Will Sabeara be able to defeat the curse on the Stone-Hearted race? And will she be able to forget the memories of her epic ventures with her cloaked rescuer? In this magical fairytale filled with passion and adventure, you will surely be hanging onto every last word.

Granted

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