I absolutely loved this book. It reminded me a little of The Wrath and The Dawn series by Renee Ahdieh plot wise and I loved that series as well. So if you liked that series you will love this book as well.
Kalista was promised to somebody and had been studying his country and their practices but instead she is married to somebody she's never met. As she is learning about her new kingdom and their language she is slowly falling in love with her new husband. She is part of a prophecy and she knows that any kids she may have will be part of it as well. When she mentions this to her husband he runs off to kill the monster of the prophecy. Will he return? Will they be able to make their marriage work? Will they be happy?
I may have added yet another great author to my list of go to authors. I am so glad I requested to review this book. I have no words as to how much I enjoyed it. It was a great story and I enjoyed reading it. I absolutely look forward to reading more books by Kate sometime soon but I have a lot of books on my TBR list right now so it will have to wait.

3.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a hard one to rate and review. I enjoyed it, but it could have been SOO much better if for one simple fix which I discuss below. All in all, not a bad debut.

What I Liked

What I did enjoy was that the author explored the concept of cultural and language barriers ... which tbh is something most fantasy novels don’t even touch and now that it’s been brought to my attention ... it makes sense that there would absolutely be cultural and language barriers in these types of scenarios (arranged/forced marriages to faraway countries).

The concept and the world was very interesting. The characters were well written. And the plot was spot on. I also really enjoyed the romance. Toward the end, I was definitely invested in their outcome ... buuuuut ...

What I did not like

Honestly, if this had been a duel POV book, it could easily have been a 5 star read. Such a tragic missed opportunity. I don’t think it completely works as a single POV story. Still enjoyable but for the most part uneventful and boring. I did finally start to emotionally attach to the romance in the last 35% of the story, but I feel like it could have been an incredibly emotional story if ONLY FOR DUEL POV!!!

Imagine how much more emotion there could have been. Imagine how many more encounters with danger and turmoil we could have had. Imagine how many more characters we could have understood the complexities of!

Unfortunately, because it was only one POV, the main character couldn’t understand anyone else most of the time and therefore any connection I could have had to any of those character was also lost on me.

In conclusion

I enjoyed this read. It was quick and easy and intriguing. but DUEL POV!!! I hate that it could have been such a simple fix 😭

I really enjoyed this book and I hope to read more from this debut author in the future. Keep up the great job and stay safe!

I enjoyed this book from first time author kate cornell. the heroine, Kalista really grew into her own throughout the book. her interactions with her mentor were the best parts for me. I felt that the romance part was a bit of a let down, only because without dialogue and knowing truly how the hero thinks/feels, it's harder to connect with him as a reader.

This was a unique story because the mc and the romantic interest speak in different languages! I really liked this but wish we would have gotten the male's perspective!

Boring beginning that was t easy to get into. I felt thrown right into a strange land, with no explanation provided. Some world building earlier on would have been helpful. The characters seemed stiff and their dialogue unnatural. Not a fan.

Review can also be found on my blog, *Milky Way of Books*

Finally a book in which the characters not only have to learn each other but also actually try to communicate with each other! Live like legends takes place in a fantasy kingdom in which Kalista has to marry prince Carson as there is a prophecy in which both play a role.

But they don't speak the same language at all and at the same time, there are cultural differences too that they have to overcome. I enjoyed this book very much as it introduced plot details that not many YA have and I wish I could see more.

It kind of reminded me of one of my most favorite mangas ever "From Far Away" where also the main heroine, Noriko, has a language barrier to overcome.

The missing star for me goes to the book being a YA. I would also be thrilled to read this as a standalone NA or even Adult book.

Overall this was very enjoying and I wish this little gem to get more recognition it deserves.

*Deep sigh* I think I was fooled by the synopsis. I was so excited to fall in love with this book, but then it fell flat. I wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t. It made it so hard. Why? Oh, well. Here we go.

Let’s start with the characters. I couldn’t bring myself to care about any of them, least of all the protagonist, Kallista. She spends the better part of the book comparing her new home to her old and the society she should have originally married in. She gets angry easily and is almost immediately infatuated with the husband she was forced to marry. They don’t speak the same language which makes it a bit harder for them to get to know each other but somehow they still fall in love? I just don’t know where the romantic feelings came from. Which also made the nightly scenes a bit weird for me. Before they have sex for the first time, she’s worried but afterwards? Does she reflect on it? No. Kallista just starts falling in love with Carson, sticking to him and feeling safe with him. This was all very love at first sight even though they’ve been married for weeks.
The thing is, I still don’t really know anything about the two of them. Carson fights. He doesn’t like to read and is friendly with his people. Does he have any other hobbies? Does he want to have other hobbies? Why is he friendly with his subjects? How does it all work? We’ll never know.

The only character I took a bit of a liking to was Emmett, the assassin/monk who teaches Kallista the language and customs of the country she now lives in and secretly also how to fight. He’s sarcastic and a bit grumpy, yet supportive and cracks jokes. But here’s where I was fooled by the synopsis: I was excited to read about Kallista and Carson getting to know each other and falling in love and having sexual tension over sword training. But Carson only showed her how to hold a sword once and she was too weak to hold it. The real fighting teacher is Emmett and we didn’t even get to the part where he lets her fight, she’s still in the process of building some muscles. But she knows how to fight anyways? Stab them with the pointy end, I guess.
I was also promised political intrigue. WHERE WAS IT???

Then, there’s the plot and the world building. I usually don’t focus too much on the plot when the characters are well written. But in this case, there were just missing bits on every end. The plot was not exactly anything new, but I could have looked over that if the world building would have been sufficient. Instead, this book gave a bit of a romance, a bit of a monster hunt and a lot of question marks. I didn’t understand this world at all. How many countries are there? How do they work? Are they all monarchies?
And the thing is, Kallista was betrothed to another prince from another country for her whole life but we start the book with her marrying Carson. Because of some prophecy. I would have liked to read that prophecy, and also liked to know where it came from, how people reacted to it and especially how the prince she was betrothed with reacted to it. I mean, it essentially said „only Kallista can kill the evil monster so she has to marry another guy“, didn’t it? Then there’s the journey to Estral and we don’t really get descriptions of anything except that there are mountains and blood. And then they’re in Estral and it’s apparently the coldest country in this world… but they have coffee and citrus fruits?? How? At Kallista’s questions to that, Carson replies with a „I’ll show you someday“ but that someday is not happening anytime in the book. But I’d like to know. Where is that all coming from?

Then there’s also a thing that sets me in a rage everytime I see it: Words, that just don’t make sense in a fantasy world. You can’t just take words that are normal for you in this world and put them in your fantasy world. Check the etymology first. You can’t put „christening a child“ in a book when there is no religion called christinaity and there is also no Jesus Christ. And in this case I’m especially salty because it was only mentioned in passing and it wasn’t even necessary. This is probably just the language nerd in me, but I got so annoyed over this I had to put the book down for a few minutes.

What I really enjoyed though, was the language barrier between the characters. I liked how they had to work around languages to communicate and to find creative ways to get to know each other better. It also spiced up the plot. A bit. A little bit.

But then came the end and it was so fast and after all that drama about the monster and killing it and how it’s so difficult and then the end just didn’t fit. I’m sorry for this rant, but I got really annoyed over this book.

Good idea, exection could have used some work.

I love the basic idea of the novel. I had trouble with the writing.. I kept getting lost. It needed more details and descriptions. Since the center conflict surrounded a language barrier, it would have made more since to create that language at least in part. I've seen this in other YA novels. Not have that authenticity made the narrative feel shallow..

I wouldn't recommend this one, but I hope to see more from the author as she grows as a writer.

This book was great. It was exciting and full of adventure! I loved this fantasy world.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

A really fun and interesting read. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day!

I enjoyed this book though I felt the ending was rushed which was sad. I thought this would be a series but it definitely isn’t. The ending felt really neatly tied up, but quick.

A quick romance centric, light fantasy read that featured an arranged marriage and language barrier between lovers. 

This book started a little weird for me. I am not sure how to really explain it. It could have been the writing and it just jumped right into the story and the words were just off. It also had a slight slow start to catch up with whats going on, but after that is was a quick, easy read. This was an extremely light fantasy that, I would label a romantic fantasy. The romance was the main focus. I didn't 100% love this book and found it to be a little under developed and not super original, but there were aspects I loved! 

Princess Kalista has been preparing her whole life for the arranged marriage to a prince with no chance of being a King, to suddenly have plans change. She finds herself thrust into a marriage with a warrior prince whose lands live under a curse, where a monster runs rampant. Carson was such a cute character. He was so stoic most of the time, but really tries with Kalista and does sweet little things. Seeing their arranged marriage grow into something more all while dealing with the fact that they don't share the same language. 

I feel like so many times in books everyone just automatically can speak the same language/understand each other. I loved the aspects of them learning how to communicate with each other and still being able to fall in love without ever truly understand all the words said. 

I really like Kalista as a character. She didn't really let anyone tell her who she should be or how she should act. She didn't need to hero to save her, but fought along his side as an equal. I loved that! 

I did think that the fantastical elements were kind of lacking and I felt like there were quite a few unanswered questions and holes in the story. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book for the romance and the relationship development between Carson and Kalista. This wasn't the best book I have ever read or have an ever lasting impact on me, but I thought it was light and action packed. There were some twist I didn't see coming and some fun side characters. If you like romance books this is a great Young Adult book for you!

I was able to get an advance copy of this book to read from NetGalley, and I'm really glad I did! This book was great! It was a very quick, easy read, and the story just sort of plunks you down in the middle and drags you straight through to the end. The basic plot is in a world where marriages are contracted by High Priests of Aris a princess suddenly finds that due to a recently discovered prophecy the marriage she has been prepared for her whole life is off- and now she must marry a complete stranger! I thought the lack of a common language between the bride and groom was well handled, and it definitely adds another layer to the whole fish out of water scenario. I highly recommend everyone read this book to find out how exactly Princess Kalista handles her new marriage and her part in the end of monsters prophecy.

INITIAL THOUGHTS

The cover immediately caught my attention. And then I read the synopsis. I love my romance, but I’ve been wanting to read about a kickass heroine, and that’s what Kalista sounded like, so I just had to read it.

WHAT I LIKED

Kalista. She is just badass. I loved her. At first, I felt bad for her because she is just thrown into this unexpected, scary, and violent situation, but I quickly learned that you can throw anything at this girl, and she can handle it. I mean, she didn’t even know the language…at all. But she dealt with it. And I love a girl who can manage a bow and arrow. My FAVORITE scene involves her, a bow and arrow, and other men surrounding her. I had to read that part a few times. I was like, yes! You go, girl!

The romance. I have never read anything like this. This was definitely a unique story all around, but specifically, the romance was one of a kind. They literally couldn’t talk to each other. They spoke completely different languages. You might think, omg, that sounds annoying. But surprisingly, it really wasn’t! It was so authentic. I never once questioned it or wanted to rush either of them to learn one another’s language. We all know that you can’t learn a whole language that quickly, so the slow pacing of the learning and teaching was actually enjoyable. And I just loved how they gradually started to like each other, even though they had never met and they were unable to speak to each other. It was the realistic part in this fantasy world. Plus, the idea of a man protecting his woman even when she can protect herself is just MY FAVORITE.

The suspense. I finished the second half of this book in one night. I just could not put it down. I had to know what happened. It kept me on the edge of my seat for sure. It was unpredictable too. It definitely had some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.

The writing. I am really impressed that this is a debut novel from this author. Really?? Lately, I’ve been really focused on writing style in the books I read. In just the past month, I have discovered things I do and don’t like in writing. For example, I don’t want a book full of descriptions and no dialogue or vice versa. It needs to be evenly distributed. I also need the emotions to be expressed clearly just through the words. I want a clear image in my head of what’s happening. I want to FEEL what I’m reading. And I’m really happy to say that Kate Cornell is the perfect writer, in my opinion. Recently, I have been able to point out irritations here and there, but I really had no complaints throughout this book.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

I was going to mention the lack of background information into Kalista’s life and how this marriage was arranged. HOWEVER, that really didn’t bother me. We get enough information from her telling her story. And I think it actually worked out well to just jump right into this marriage. We are thrown into the situation right along with Kalista. It made it relatable.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I absolutely loved this book! I couldn’t get enough, and I’m disappointed that it’s over. I wish this was a series because I would LOVE to read more about Kalista and Carson and see how their relationship grows further. Anyway, this book has it all: action, suspense, romance, drama, and even humor. It was more than perfect. I’m so, SO happy that I got the opportunity to read it. Kate Cornell, please write more books! I can’t wait to read more from you!

Live Like Legends sounded like something right up my alley and was interesting, but it wasn't enough for me to finish the book. I DNFed Cornell's debut at 66%.

I like how this focuses on the language barriers between Kalista and Carson, and how they have to work on communicating around that barrier. It's not something I find in fantasy all that often and much of the novel is describing the body language used while communicating, which was vital to the book's execution. Cornell utilizes this very well; there isn't a moment that I'm confused about what Kalista and Carson were trying to communicate with each other.

While Cornell describes body language well, some of the word choice used is awkward. Some of it, I feel are intentional to the story as Kalista is shown to be ignorant early on as she is frustrated with the language barrier; she slowly changes as she begins learning how to navigate the various customs in Estral. Other times, like the quotes below, felt awkward and irritating.

"Snarl growl bark!" Carson spit out words so angrily and quickly, even if I knew some of them, I couldn't catch them.

Carson isn't specifically saying the words "snarl growl bark;" it's what he sounds like to Kalista, who is barely at elementary proficiency and can only catch a few words when spoken at normal or slow speed. While I understand the intention of doing this, it could have been better as a description than dialogue.

Carson isn't the one training her as the synopsis says. Emmett is. I don't know if this is an accident or if this happens near the end of the story, but up to where I stopped, Emmett is the one training Kalista on how to fight. And to add on to this, the pacing is slow, as Kalista is still in training when I stopped reading Live Like Legends. I'm not sure how long this will continue, but it feels like the ending is going to rush up and wrap up quickly.

Speaking of Emmett, I loved him! Kalista is quick with her words sometimes and funny, but Emmett is super blunt about his thoughts and he's funny. He's probably one of the only reasons why I read as far as I did.

The world-building is kind of, sort of there. Instead of the prince she was being prepared to marry, she gets forced to marry a prince that no wants because she is their savior from the beast that roams their lands according to a prophecy. Readers aren't aware of what this prophecy says exactly. There's also not much backstory of Reeves, where Kalista is from and who she was. We get snippets, but barely. We find out Reeves is a culture that seems to be a polar opposite from Estral, and that Kalista isn't well-liked at home.

I wish I could have enjoyed Live Like Legends more, but it just isn't my cup of tea.

I was sold on the blurb. This book was totally up my street. A princess, a prophecy and a legend.

Kalista has been training to be the perfect betrothed since she was a child. She learnt a new culture and language. After an ancient prophecy is set in stone everything she hasn’t learnt becomes useless. Her arrange marriage is to a Prince from another land but not the one she expected. Now she must learn the legend and navigate a new path.

Kalista thinks monsters are just stories but she was wrong.

This is a romance novel with a touch of magic and horror.

I really enjoyed this book although felt it was slow in parts. The relationship between the princess and her prince was sweet and I liked the language barrier. It has a happy ever after and a kickass heroine.

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great enemies to lovers book. With language barriers which made it all the more interesting. Throw in a beast, and you've got yourself a legendary story.

Kalista was born to bring peace. She was betrothed to the prince of another kingdom to bring peace between their people. Then a prophecy was spoken and she was suddenly betrothed to another man. Carson did not speak her language and she didn't speak his. They married knowing that she was prophesied to bring down the beast that had been killing people on his lands for as long as anyone could remember.

Their party was attacked by the beast as soon as they crossed into Estral. Her tutor/Arihan guard managed to slow the beast and they made it to the castle unscathed. She practiced to learn his language and how to defend herself should the beast ever attack again. The bits and pieces she picked up about court life just didn't make any sense to her. Things didn't add up.

How was she supposed to defeat a beast when armies had failed? Why did she have to marry an Estral to do it?

Fave quote:
I am looking for my missing cow. 😂

Thank you, Netgalley and Entangled Teen for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Live Like Legends is a typical starter YA fantasy with a stronger focus on romance. The story is a fun, entertaining, and engaging read that you can easily pick up and finish in a day. While the world-building and character arcs are not fleshed out to their fullest extent, the story still managed to capture my attention and keep me interested till the end. I liked how the story took two characters from different cultures, backgrounds, and languages and used the marriage of convenience trope to fulfill a prophecy. The whole idea of an immortal beast destroying the country by killing the royal family added to the dark theme of the book. Kalista and Carson's interactions were interesting to watch. The storytelling would have been more effective when it comes to understanding their conflicts and emotions if we had Carson's POV as well. Emmett was my favorite character in the book and I wish we had more time with him. The lack of the complete story of the beast, Kalista's ancestor, and connections to another character caused the story to feel a little incomplete in my opinion. Overall the story is interesting and engaging and I would recommend it to newer fantasy readers. If you are looking for an entertaining and quick light fantasy read with less world-building this book will suit you. I gave the book 3 stars and I enjoyed reading it.

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for sending me a complementary e-arc of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I would give this book 4.5 stars.

Princess Kalista was promised to marry a prince from the peaceful land of Latak at a very young age. Since then, she spent her days learning the language and customs of Latak and preparing to the perfect bride for prince Byron. But everything changes when Kalista finds out that she instead has to marry the prince of the cursed land, Estrel.. Suddenly Kalista's years of training and education feels completely pointless. She knows nothing about the land of Estrel or it's customs and language. Prince Carson is just as much of a mystery to her. On the top of that, the prophecy predicts that she would be the one to slay the monster that haunts the land of Estral and lift the curse.

I absolutely loved this book. Kalista is a fun character to read about and I adored her relationship with Carson. I love marriage of convenience romances and this book delivered that beautifully. I loved how awkward they were with each other initially. That felt very realistic. The language barrier between them was kind of frustrating to read but it was beautiful and immensely satisfying to see them learning to communicate and understand. each other without words. It was a slow burn romance and I enjoyed every bit of it.

However, this book fell a little short in the fantasy aspect. There was not much world building and I would have prefered to know a little more about the origin of the monster or a clear explanation to what it actually is.. The character also lacked depth and complexity- I want to know more about Carson, Emmett and Luke. I feel like I barely know them. I was not a huge fan of the writing. Some of it felt pretty vague.

That being said, this book was very enjoyable. I loved every minute of it. I was so invested in the relationship that I did not care much about the other aspects of the book.

If you are looking for a beautiful marriage of convenience romance, I would highly recommend this book. But if you want a fantasy, this is probably not the best choice.