I enjoyed reading this book a lot. While it's not a Grimm Fairy Tale that I usually read, it is based loosely on the Norwegian fairy tale Princess on the Glass Hill 
 At first, I didn't like how either of the characters acted because they had both used each other and it made them seem shallow and not likeable at all but then the more I read, the more I started liking the characters and story. It was an interesting twist to the usual fairy tales where the princess/heroine is the damsel in distress and is being saved by a prince/hero and protected and coddled all the time. In this one, yes the princess Kayla is a lot like that in the beginning of the story and the journey she starts with Rane, but by the end of the story, we get to see her grow into a person that can take care of herself and has lots of power too? She became an independent, strong woman who is free to make her own choices, a total completely change from the beginning of the book. Rane also grew as a character. At first he was cold and calculating, he didn't really care about anything but saving his brother, not even batting an eye to using Kayla to get to the golden apple, but as the story progresses and well into their adventure, he warms up and starts to behaving like the hero he's written to be. 
 I liked the romance in this one, at first they couldn't stand each other, because of several reasons, and then watch them fall in love with each other slowly. While it still left a lot of questions unsolved, like what's the real reason Eric the Bold wants Kayla for, and what happens to all the people that disappear once they touch the gem, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel, The Silver Pear this time told in Soren's and Mirabelle's POV. This series (duology? trilogy?) is definitely something to look forward to!