Keeping Kinley by Annette K. LarsenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Source: Kindle Scout
Genre: YA Fiction
Book Descripition: "Rylan made me feel like things were possible. Like I was possible, and he was possible, and we could be possible together."
Kinley is content tending her apple orchard, until a chance meeting with a childhood friend changes her priorities. Spending time with nobility is not socially acceptable, but Rylan rejects the norm. He pursues her with an easygoing charm, though she doesn’t dare hope that their relationship will be a reality.
When Kinley’s livelihood is threatened, any thoughts of a relationship are set aside as she’s thrust into Rylan’s world, where commoners and nobility don’t mix. The Rylan she encounters there is not the quirky and carefree friend she thought she knew. Can she trust what her heart has told her and believe in him, or will she be forced to accept that her dreams are only that—dreams?
My thoughts: I have loved every installment of the Dalthia series. This is book five and is not about a noble. Kinley is the younger sister of Gavin, who we met in Just Ella. This is a series that focuses on a family in a past, make-believe time period. Each book can be read on it's own, but I loved having old characters show up, so I would recommend reading all of them.
Kinley is a spirited young woman who thrives on taking care of her orchard. She is thrifty and industrious, she is not afraid of physical labor and enjoys having a good time. She is the perfect match to the stuffy, bookish young gentry that she is introduced to when she worked at his house as a maid. This book takes place five years after they met.
The trial for both is their different economic stations. The upper class do not want to accept a common laborer into their ranks. The divide goes both ways. The laborers are proud and do not want to accept charity from nobility.
This is a fun story about what you would do for love. It is a story about perseverance and treating others as equals regardless of financial station. I would say that you could add that appearances could be deceiving.
This is a great book for anyone who loves the fairy tales of the common girl and the noble. It is clean with some kissing. It would be appropriate for teens on up.
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About the Author: (Taken from Goodreads) I was born in Utah, but migrated to Arizona, Missouri, and Virginia before settling in Idaho. Though I dabbled in writing throughout school, being an author seemed like an unattainable dream. It took me seven years to write my first book, Just Ella. During that time, I taught myself how to write a novel. Not the most time effective method, but it gave me an education I wouldn’t have received from a class or a how-to book. Something about the struggle of writing without a formula or rules worked for me.
I write clean romance because I love it. Jane Eyre is the hero of my youth and taught me that clinging to your convictions will be hard, but will bring you more genuine happiness than giving in ever can.
I love chocolate, Into the Woods, ocean waves, my husband, and my five littles. And I love books that leave me with a sigh of contentment.
Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoraklarsen
Follow me on twitter: @AnnetteKLarsen
Author Stacy Lynn Carroll
Stacy Lynn Carroll has always loved telling stories. She started out at Utah State University where she pursued a degree in English, learned how to western swing, and watched as many of her fellow students became ‘True Aggies’. She then finished her BA at the University of Utah where she got an emphasis in creative writing. After college, she worked as an administrative assistant, where she continued to write stories for the amusement of her co-workers. When her first daughter was born, and with the encouragement of a fortune cookie, she quit her job and became a full-time mommy and writer. She and her husband have four children, two dogs, two rats, two fish, and a partridge in a pear tree.
