This is the final installment for “The Fairest Maidens” Series, and WOW! This Series is a new favorite of mine! Besotted is a unique Retelling of Sleeping Beauty, the best one I’ve read yet. And this last story that concludes the series is Queen Aurora’s story, the hidden Queen of Mercia that has lived her whole life in the midst of the Inglewood forest, living with her two doting aunts, and bodyguard and friend Chester, hiding away from Queen Margery, her mother’s sister, who wants to end her life so she can have the Kingdoms of Mercia and Warwick to herself. She has lived a simple and sheltered life, unknown to anyone else, wating for her twentieth birthday, a couple months away, so she can rightfully claim the throne of Mercia, that her beloved mother Queen Lenora left. Her father has been Regent in her name, waiting for her to reach the age in which she can begin to reign. At the same time, this is Kresten’s story, the youngest Prince of Scania (we have seen Vilmar and Mikkel’s story, the eldest brothers, in Beholden and Beguiled), who is doing his Testing as a woodcutter in the Inglewood forest. Kresten is the lighthearted and less serious of the brothers, which, aside from being the youngest, makes him think he is the least suited to be a King, and that he’s a disappointment to his father, never marching up to his brother’s worth. But he is sent to do his six month long Testing all the same, and is given a special sword with the motto “Deny Thyself” engraved on it. What does it mean? At first, he thinks it means to step out of his comfortable life and live as a pauper and work hard to earn his living. But maybe the phrase has a deeper meaning that he has to discover and live himself to the fullest?Traipsing in the forest he accidentally meets Queen Aurora, thinking her an impoverished beautiful and enchanting woman. He’s immediately besotted with her beauty, innocence and sweet -yet strong- personality. Aurora also falls in love with Kresten in a matter of days. Both thinking the other is anything but royal. What they do know is that their love can’t be, yet they can’t help themselves falling for each other and all the time spent with one another only makes them fall harder still. Until Kresten hears that his brothers interrupted their Testing and got married. Now he’s the only one to finish the Testing and possibly be chosen as a King. And they want to meet him. Before leaving, he promises to return to Aurora in one month. But Chester is mad and afraid they might be exposed, so after Kresten leaves, he convinces Aurora to escape in order to avoid getting caught before her twentieth birthday. But along the journey, Queen Aurora is abducted. And when Kresten meets his brothers, they tell him of Queen Margery’s plan to kill Aurora and they device a plan to end Queen Margery’s evil reign and save Ruby, Pearl’s sister (both daughters of the evil Queen). But the plan means putting Aurora at risk. Can he go through with it? Is it too late to save Aurora from her captors or is she already in the Queen’s evil hands?You’ll have to read this book to live this adventure with them and see how the story unfolds! It’s a great adventure, totally page turner and intriguing, yet beautiful and inspiring all the time! For me, the best part of the story, aside de from the captivating plot, was the characters. Kresten is a true hero. His lighthearted character makes him charming, but beneath that lies a generous and compassionate man, capable of sacrifice, loyalty, and ultimately, denying himself and giving up what he loves more for the Greater Good, for others. I totally fell in love with him. I loved his fierceness in trying to save and protect Aurora. And Aurora is a wonderful character too, sweet and kind to the core, yet strong and determined to fulfill her duty over what her heart yearns for. There is so much to learn from the characters. The main and secondary too. And I loved that this story brings Vilmar, Mikkel and Kresten together and how they bond deeper in this mission than they ever had before. They have all grown in their Testing. Who will be the King of Scania and will Aurora claim her throne as Queen of Mercia? The ending was amazing and so genuine! As I said, with a beautiful and inspiring message about unconditional love, sacrifice, forgiveness and selflesness. You shouldn’t miss this story! It can be read as a standalone but I strongly recommend to read it from the start with the first book! An epic, worthy and delightful read! For young and not so young...I received a complimentary copy of this book but wasn’t required to post a positive review. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.