I received an early copy of this but got a bit behind on my reviews.

Annika is a Princess who dreams of fairytales. She also knows how to pick locks and weild a sword. Her mother disappeared a few years ago and her father hasn't been the same since. Her brother, Essex, is the heir. But her father has decided she must go ahead and marry, Nicolas, a man she has known for years but never liked.

Lennox is feared and respected after his father is beheaded on Annika's father's orders. Her mother was actually kidnapped by someone in his outcast community and he was ordered to kill her by their leader.

When Annika and Lennox first meet it's a sword fight, she holds her own but he eventually wins and takes her hostage. She manages to escape which earns her some respect in his eyes and he allows (actually aides) her to get away when they give chase. They should hate each other but after seeking refuge from a massive storm their opinions of the other slowly change but they accept they can't be together and go back to their homes. Her brother & father were injured in battle so she becomes regent while waiting for one or both to recover. She also digs into research trying to find anything in their history books that matches Lennox's stories and eventually finds what she needs in a mythology book.

My first exposure to Kiera Cass was The Selection Series. I keep expecting to feel the same while I read other books she writes as I did with those. I really struggled with The Betrothed so much so that even though I did like it in the end I've yet to pick up The Betrayed. Then I got this book...now it did take me maybe a third of the way in to get into it and actually care about the characters but I like this way more than the last two.

I enjoyed this book, maybe not quite as much as Kiera Cass's Selection books, but I did appreciate that it was not a series and a stand alone. The beginning was kind of long, I think it could have been parsed down a little. It did have decent character development though. Some parts were predictable but I still enjoyed it. An easy read for the holiday season.

I actually read the already-published copy of this book because it took me so long to get to it that it had came out already by the time I got there. Regardless, Kiera Cass’ prose is as gorgeously elegant as ever and the setting of this story is absolutely stunning. It was larger than her other books but flew right by and I must say the physical copy is absolutely stunning with its swirly marble pastel inner papers. I believe it’s a standalone and not connected to any of her other books, though I may be mistaken as I haven’t read everything she’s put out yet. Read it, it’s lovely!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to have this ARC (even if I may have squandered having early access to it!)

I am unfortunately DNFing this book around 35 percent in. I may go back to this book someday because I loved the setting and Kiera Cass's writing style. I just wasn't a fan of the characters. There were two characters that I knew were going to have a romantic relationship later in the book, but there was a scene that happened, and I just couldn't see past it and how anyone would fall in love with a guy who had done what he did. I know that is a preference on my part because I have a hard time with the enemies to lovers trope. I am also a very character driven person so if I don't connect with the characters, I always have a hard time continuing with the book. I'm giving this book three stars because it feels right down the middle, like how I feel about this book.

Reader’s Notes:

– this is told from Annika & Lennox’s points of view

– there is some fantasy war, fighting, killing, & injuries

Review:

For anyone who’s read Kiera’s books in the past, this is a stand-alone and it is about double the size of her past books! The chapters felt like they moved quickly, but it is still a thick book and can take a bit to get through.

I absolutely LOVED this story! Annika and Lennox were such great main characters. I loved how Kiera told this story from both of their points of view so that we could see what was going on in their heads as well as both sides of the fight/soon-to-be fight as it developed. I loved quite a few of the side characters as well and how they supported our main characters in their own ways. The villains of the story were written so well that most of them I disliked right away, others it took me a bit to decide if I liked them or not, and still others I didn’t even see coming! There were so many things woven into this story that made it even more riveting, between the kingdom’s history and the side characters’ storylines that were happening. Some of my favorite scenes/moments included: the cave, dancing, sword training, letting the prisoners go, sending each other messages, and the epilogue.

Summary:

Annika is a princess bound for a loveless marriage to strengthen her kingdom. When she is kidnapped, Annika discovers a plot to destroy the place she calls home and a man with secrets that might destroy her. And when her father decides to go on the offensive, she meets her kidnapper once more and sees him in a different light. Could there be more to him than she thought?

Lennox wants his people to reclaim the land that they were driven out of so they can finally have a place to call their own once more. A step in the right direction is managing to capture the land’s current princess, a woman who is precious to those in power. But when she escapes, Lennox discovers that his goals might have diverted by meeting her.

With war looming on the horizon, both Annika and Lennox know that their love just isn’t meant to be but can’t help but yearn for each other nonetheless. When secrets come to light that could change everything, they’ll have to figure out what they want to do going forward and what that would mean for their love…

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

Things I Liked:

1) The Main Characters
Both Annika and Lennox were well-developed, likable characters. Before I started reading, I saw some other reviews that said their voices sounded exactly the same, so it was hard to distinguish between the two POVs, but I didn't have that problem.

2) The Character Development
I'm a sucker for character growth, and this book did a great job of handling emotionally charged topics, such as forgiveness and family love. As I said above, I truly did connect to the characters in this novel, and I think Kiera Cass gave us some worthy protagonists to root for (unlike the characters in her former series, who I could not care less about).

Things That Just Weren't My Cup of Tea

1) The Worldbuilding
Or rather, the lack of worldbuilding. There was definitely an attempt to provide readers with the background/history of the two characters' land, but it was written in such a rushed and poorly-explained way that everything related to worldbuilding just confused me.

2) The Pacing
This book is nearly 600 pages, and it truly didn't get interesting to me until well over the 50% mark. Also <spoiler> the romance felt a little forced, honestly, and FAST—like, bestie, you had 600 pages to build up a romance and it happens all within, what, fifty pages? They go from being mortal enemies to realizing they're soulmates sooo fast. I actually thought their relationship was sweet and great. It just happened way too quickly, in my opinion. <spoiler>

3. The Resolution
I'm sorry, but the solution to the biggest problem in the plot was so obvious to me. I was literally yelling at the characters out loud in the sanctity of my bedroom to just...fix it. It wrapped up so quickly, because the resolution was SO OBVIOUS AND SIMPLE. Hello!! I'm glad the characters eventually figured it out, but they could have saved 250+ pages of conflict if they had realized it sooner.

One other thing—there were many elements of this book that reminded me of [book:The Selection|10507293], just presented in a different format. Annika and Escalus's relationship reminded me of America and May, and Noemi and Annika's friendship bond definitely gave me Marlee + America vibes. The main kingdom was formed after conflict between smaller groups of people (Illéa?), there is a group of rebels seeking to attack the castle, and there is a childhood friend who is enraptured with the main character (although he was definitely creepier than Aspen and mainly driven by infatuation).

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you are like me and really enjoyed <i> The Selection</i> series, you will probably love this book, because there many similar elements. If you can power through the first half, the last half of the story is fun and includes a sweet romance.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Even though I didn't love A Thousand Heartbeats, I do think some of my high school readers will. I found it a bit long and drawn out and never really connected with the characters. I loved the cover and am a fan of Kiera Cass' novels, but I struggled with this one. I do appreciate NetGalley and the publisher providing me with an ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass is a fictional story about two individuals who live very different lives but have one thing in common -- to put their people above their own lives. Being forced to marry to strength the ties of the kingdom, Annika wonders if she'll ever experience true love as she knows from the books she reads. Miles away, Lennox is forced to go on a commission to win his peoples' land back.

This book is a light, easy read about fight for territory but of course, Cass did not leave out romance in her true fashion. I've read the Selection series by Cass and I was hooked so I decided to give this book a try as well. While it is a standalone book, the ending is satisfactory.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author Kiera Cass, and publisher HarperCollins, for providing me with an ARC, in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Kiera Cass is a favorite author, so when I saw this newest book come available, I couldn't wait to read it. The thing I like best about this book is that, like all of her books, it isn't something I feel can be pigeonholed into a particular style or genre. Rather, she has created a niche all her own. She has taken the romantic fairytales that many young girls grew up reading, and turned them on their heads with strong female protagonists who find love on their own terms and in their own way.

Kiera Cass is exceptional at two things in particular - character development and world-building. A Thousand Heartbeats is a perfect example of both. Annika and Lennox are both flawed, but their love of family, of country, and ultimately of each other is perfect. I love the development of the supporting characters as well, and how they demonstrate a wide variety of examples of love in many different forms.

I absolutely adored The Selection series of books, so I began this one with high expectations.
While it seemed to take me a little while to get hooked on the story, Kiera Cass has delivered another world for readers to enjoy.

Things I liked included how the romance is kept clean and the alternating of perspectives between Annika and Lennox.

Things I didn't like as much: mostly how long it took me to get hooked on the story. But once I was hooked, I was all in to see where things would end.

My favorite trope…enemies to lovers! With the threat of a marriage to her enemy, our hero must figure out away at all costs to survive. Such a wonderful novel. Fast paced and filled with beautiful quotes. Loved this journey!!

DNF @ 40%.

Look, I REALLY wanted to love this book. Truly. The premise reads like a simple, clean fantasy romance, somewhat comparable to a Barbie movie. The only problem is that Barbie movies really aren't that good if you're not a seven-year-old, and this book really wasn't all that enjoyable after the first fifty pages. I think it could have done for being a bit shorter—there's lots of conflict, relationships that could have been omitted, and characters who don't serve any clear purpose from the moment they're introduced.

The relationship, despite giving enemies-to-lovers (or maybe forbidden lovers?) vibes, isn't really developed from the beginning. Their chemistry didn't do it for me. I think some people might like it—just not me.

Initially I was enjoying this book and the plot. However, for a romance book I was just not enjoying the dynamic and progress between the romantic leads. Also, there were interesting and darker themes introduced within the characters, but I didn't think they were developed or addressed well. Overall, I just was not enjoying the book and I honestly didn't like either of the main characters as people overly much.

I ended up DNFing it, but if you like Kiera Cass's other work than you may enjoy this one too. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A Thousand Heartbeats had me at every page turn. Memorable characters, heartbreaking situations, and a twisted plot made it impossible to put down. The connection between Annika and Lennox exists from the first second their world's collide. Readers are on journey where a happy ending is unlikely, yet they cannot stop hoping it exists.

Pitched as an enemies to lovers romance, A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass follows Annika and Lennox. Annika is the well-loved princess of a kingdom called Kadier who secretly trains with a sword with her brother. She has some solid Disney princess vibes with the sword training, love for books, and generally being the type of princess who brings out the best in others.

Lennox is part of a rebel group that wants to return to Kadier - which is their ancestral land called Dahrain. One of the most capable swordsmen, Lennox has a reputation for doing the things that are difficult and that no on else wants to do.

Overall, I found this book to be incredibly boring. It took well over halfway through for the main characters to even consistently be in the same place. Then I had some hope that things would improve but it dragged to the end.

The dialogue was cheesy, the characters emotions and motives changed on a dime, and I felt absolutely no connection between the MCs. To make matters worse this didn't even feel like enemies to lovers. They have like one sword fight and then move to instalove. It was very poorly done enemies to lovers.

It didn't have any of the charm of the Selection series either.

I wouldn't recommend this one.

A cute romantic novel. Its a longer book but thankfully did not seem to drag out. The plot was decent, I just found myself comparing it to The Selection series. There were a few times I had to sit it down and nearly DNF’d it, which I am happy I didn't because I truly enjoyed it…just not as much as I hoped I would.

I love Kiera Cass's Selection series, so I had to get my hands on this one. And luckily, it did not disappoint one bit. Not at all. I had high expectations going in, but they were all met, which was very nice. The romance was to die for, and the characters were flawed and complex.
Anyone who liked the Selection series will enjoy it as much as I did.

A THOUSAND HEARTBEATS
Kiera Cass
YA Romance

This takes place a kingdom with the king who ruled for years and his daughter, a princess has basically been in seclusion her whole life. He wants to match her in a marriage for political gain, but there is change in the air.

Kiera Cass is back with a very different story than her first series. This standalone novel was more about love than her previous books and how true love really can change everything. I would give this book a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

A captivating and all-consuming story. Kiera Cass never disipoints. I hope we get to see more of these characters in the future.

#AThousandHeartbeats #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out! Really solid read.