To Stand Beside Her Tour - Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

Hi everyone! Today I have a stop on the To Stand Beside Her blog tour. I have a review, excerpt and giveaway for you all.

To Stand Beside Her

By: B. Kristin McMichael

Blurb

To be the best courier in the world, eighteen-year-old Benét Leila follows three simple rules: always work alone, never stay in one place too long, and never fall in love. Too bad she didn't follow her own advice.

Leila is a courier. To the people she takes from, she is seen as a common thief; to the people she helps, she is a savior.

Nalick is your typical king. He's rich, powerful, and always assumed to be right. When Leila crosses paths with King Nalick, she finds herself trapped. In a rush to save her best friend Kay from a prison sentence for a crime Leila committed, Leila trades her hand in marriage in exchange for Kay’s freedom. 

Tomboy Leila does not want to grow up, but in three months’ time, she will be married to King Nalick, if Nalick can keep his end of the bargain. First, Nalick must make Leila fall in love with him, a hard task since Leila is not ready to love again after losing her first love to a greedy king. Second, Nalick must keep her safe. He is not the only king trying to hold onto her. Leila has made many enemies over the years, and even more admirers that want her as a prize. Lastly, Nalick must convince Leila that ten years of love is better than a lifetime without. Unless Leila can trust her destiny, she might not reach her wedding day at all.

My Review

Leila is a ghost courier and one of the best there is at it. She helps people who need it and this includes her friend Kay. Kay takes on a job she should not have took. It is up to Leila to get her out of trouble. The problem is the price is marriage to a king who she doesn't like. Nalick is a king that is powerful and not a very nice n from what Leila knows about him. She may just see another side to him as time goes by but she has to love him. With a bad history of caring for people and getting hurt she has to learn to open up. They also have to face her past enemies and other Kings who want her for their own.

When I first started reading this I was sure if I was going to like it. It is quite different from other books I have read. I was a little confused about what was going on. The more I read the more I got into it and started to really like it. Leila thinking she knew all about King Nalick she gets  know the other side of him as she spends time him. Leila is strong and really sweet and helpful to a lot of people who need it. Nalick turns out to be someone different than what I expected. He is really a sweetheart and tries every way to show his love to Leila. One of my favorite scenes is when Leila gets to hear about Nalick and two of his friends when they were young. It gives you a good insight to what he was like and what kind of bond the three boys have. This book has plenty of action and adventure with the sweet romance in it as well. I will say that while I can see several people won't like the ending I think the author did a great job on it. I was surprised by it. Good book all around once you get into it.
4 out of 5 Stars

Excerpt

“And where should we put her, Nalick?” one of them asked. Leila was surprised to hear the man address Nalick so casually.

“Leave her here,” he ordered.

“But, but . . .” the tracker sputtered. “If you just put my captive back in jail she will escape.”

“Don’t worry. She will not be going anywhere. She is not the ghost courier,” Nalick replied as Kay was escorted out of the room. 

“Now, I’d like to be left alone with this one,” Nalick said, referring to Leila. 

“Bring the seer,” he ordered. The men beside him rose and left the room. One of the men from earlier escorted the tracker out. The second man shut the door and stood at the back of the room.

“So everyone out did not include him?” Leila asked. She had no chance of leaving if both men stayed in the room with Nalick and her. One, she could possibly overpower, but two would be foolish to challenge.

Nalick rose and walked over to her. Leila stood her ground and did not move. Nalick circled around her, inspecting her like a wolf getting ready to pounce on its prey. Leila knew what was coming next. She had this same encounter with five other kings before. Though, in her opinion, they were all lesser men than the man in front of her. She still did not happily anticipate the next words out of his mouth. Leila stood in silence as he returned to his table and leaned against the tabletop. Just like all the other kings, he looked at her like she was a trophy. Leila refused to be a trophy to any king. Like any man in power, Nalick had committed acts against innocent people. Intentionally or not, Leila did not approve of hurting innocent people. She had been in several battles over the last four years, and luckily escaped with her life each time, but never once had she killed anyone who attacked her. Even those who would try to kill her did not deserve to die in her opinion.

As she stood there, the door in the back of the room opened and the seer, Gabor, walked in escorted by the man who had just left. Leila stared blankly at Nalick, trying her best to read his expression.

“I really don’t think you understand the word alone,” she commented to Nalick sarcastically, as the door shut and there were now five people in the room.

Gabor walked past her and bowed his head slightly to the king. Nalick nodded his head, and Gabor returned to Leila. Extending his hand, Leila knew what he was planning to do. Trying to stay in control of the situation, Leila gave the old man her hand. Surprised, he stopped, held her hand, and closed his eyes. After a few moments, Gabor returned to the king’s side. Nalick leaned over to the seer and asked him a question too quiet for Leila to hear.

“You don’t need to be hushed about this since you are discussing me,” Leila said before Gabor could respond. Nalick looked up at her. “I am guessing I can answer your questions just as well as he could.”

Nalick smiled. He had become the king when he was fourteen and then everything changed. Almost every person treated him differently, apart from his two good friends that were standing in the room with him now. In his years of being king, Nalick had yet to find a woman that would speak her mind to, or at, him. Here before him stood the woman who was a legend around the dinner tables he shared with neighboring kings. All told of encountering a lady so beautiful she would take your breath away and yet who was so cunning none could cage her long enough to make her into a wife. She was truly everything they talked about, and even more. Nalick didn’t need the seer’s opinion to know that this was the woman he wanted to marry.

Author Info

Originally from Wisconsin, B. Kristin currently resides in Ohio with her husband, two small children, and three cats. When not doing the mom thing of chasing kids, baking cookies, and playing outside, she is using her PhD in Biology working as a scientist. In her free time she is hard at work on multiple novels; as each day passes, she has more ideas for both current and future novels.

Links

Blog

http://www.bkristinmcmichael.com/

Goodreads

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6889132.B_Kristin_McMichael

Twitter

https://twitter.com/bkmcmichael

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/bkristinmcmichael

Pinterest

http://pinterest.com/bkmcmichael/

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/B.-Kristin-McMichael/e/B00B0DJ782/

Barnes & Noble

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/b.-kristin-mcmichael

Giveaway

Kristin is hosting a TOUR WIDE Giveaway for a $10.00 Amazon/or B&N Gift Card to ONE Randomly Drawn Commenter. Be sure to leave a comment below with your email address to be entered and follow the tour to better your chances.

http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/02/now-booking-tasty-review-tour-for-to.html