AF,  Books,  Four Stars,  Review,  YA

Meeting Destiny by Nancy Straight

16 February, 2012
Author: Nancy Straight
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: 26th June 2010
Pages: Kindle Edition (291 Pages)
Goodreads: Add It
Summary: (From Goodreads)
Lauren is visited in her dreams for years by a stranger claiming to be her destiny. Destiny becomes reality when paths cross during a failed robbery attempt. Lauren and the stranger experience chemistry like no other and now her doubt over her long time relationship with her high school sweetheart is not her only secret…someone else knows about her keen intuition and sixth sense. A mysterious clairvoyant seeks Lauren out and tells her not only of her life now but what the future may hold. Soon Lauren is in the middle of a murder investigation and a questionable friendship with the key suspect. Law enforcement, friends and family are concerned for Lauren but unfortunately they are unaware of the true danger…Sinister forces are at work and will stop at nothing to destroy Lauren’s abilities.
FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS ****
This was a book that captivated me from the very first page. It starts off the story with a heroic act and really sets up the beginning of the novel well. The writing style was easy to get to grips with and the characters were really great to get to know and I loved each and every one of them. The story kept me hooked throughout and I found it really difficult to put the book down to go and do something else. There never seemed to be a dull moment and hearing it all from Lauren’s perspective is really nice.
The characters in this novel are all so loveable. At times I wanted to pick Seth up and hug him and then at others I wanted to strangle him dry. He was so lovely, yet infuriating, and I could totally see him as a real, live-standing person and I loved that about him. I love that Lauren didn’t really see the effect she had on him either. But then there’s Amanda… oh… I love that. Lauren was such a strong and brilliant protagonist and I instantly felt a connection with her. She was interesting to read and I liked getting to know her better. I loved how much she cared about the people around her and she honestly just had a heart of gold. She made mistakes and didn’t really know how to be in a couple but she did what she could and that was just… inspiring to read. We all are just struggling through this life, and she was doing exactly that in her own world.
Max. Max gets to start a new paragraph because there are so many things that I love about his character. I love how patient he is with Lauren. That he doesn’t want to rush her or ruin their relationship. I love how, even though he gets angry with her, he never really yells at her, he just gets silent and solemn and keeps it all inside instead. I love that she manages to bring out a side of him that others can’t and I adore how much he helps other people and has such a sweet and sensitive and lovely side. And just… yes, he was definitely my favourite person in this novel. I hope to be able to read more of him in the next book!
I liked the romance in this novel. Romance, for me, is always difficult because I don’t like it when it’s too fast-paced or doesn’t really feel like it fits right. While it is fast in this book, this is explained through the idea of Destiny and when they finally get to spend more time together, it is so noticeable that they just fit together so well. Lauren is quite out-going and tends to follow her own train of thought and Max is patient and while he doesn’t always like it, he always supports her in her decisions. But really, I just loved witnessing the relationship grow and develop as they went through different battles of life. I especially, especially, especially loved the ending… oh… it was so good!
The storyline of this novel wasn’t like your typical paranormal novel, and by that I mean, the paranormal aspects didn’t really feel like the centre of the story and it was easy to feel that what was happening, and how Lauren reacted to things was just natural. The way it was described as being a sort of ‘sixth sense’ made it really feel normal, as opposed to para-normal. I actually really liked this about this novel and felt that it made it seem even more intriguing. And it certainly made the last few moments of the book really stick out in one’s mind. It was such a cleverly deployed style and I adored it so much! Nancy Straight really got into the nitty and gritty at the end there.
The only major problem I had with the novel was deciding whether it was a YA or an adult book. Eventually I think I would conclude that this is more of a YA book. The style makes it an easy read and while it’s main protagonist is twenty-one, I would still suggest that she is a young-adult and with no forward or explicit scenes, I would definitely feel that teenagers would be able to read it and enjoy it. It was also sometimes hard to believe that she was twenty-one from the way that she acted, which was a slight issue but this was easy to ignore and didn’t detract from the rest of the lovely and fun-to-read story.
If it hasn’t been noticed before now, I just thought that I would mention that I absolutely adored the ending and am going to have to wait as patiently as I can before I get the chance to read the second book! All I really want to do is run off and read it now. The ending, for me, really made the rest of the book better. It was what really caused this book to stick with me. Brilliant endings are an easy way to win my heart.
Faye

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