Review: A gut-wrenching 2nd installment in this amazing trilogy!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 31, 2012
Firstly, my thoughts on the cover. I think this model is so beautiful. Even better when you look at the paperback. She is simply stunning. I am a self-confessed cover-magpie, as regular visitors to my blog know by now. For me, there is something to be said about a remarkable cover as opposed to a cover that fades into the background. The cover for DESTINY'S REVENGE is one that stays with me. The colour is bold and striking. I could not have wished for better. The whole trilogy actually have some of the nicest covers I've ever seen.I know you're thinking 'Oh just get on with it' so here goes:Anyone who has read my review of it knows that I had a broken heart at the end of MEETING DESTINY.I had a book hangover and could not read for a couple of days afterwards because the emotions stayed with me and I could not enjoy another book.I read, a lot. So anyone who knows me knows that 2 days without reading is like a lifetime! But I was just too emotionally battered and raw. Seriously, if you think I'm being over-dramatic, go and read it for yourself. It will leave you reeling. I went through loss, sadness, hurt, heartbreak, anger. I defy you not to feel the same.After reading a few others to give myself some distance, I finally managed to pluck up the courage to pick up DESTINY'S REVENGE. I knew I was in for another emotional battering so I mentally prepared myself.Or so I thought.I wasn't in fact as prepared as I had hoped. I got 17% through and I am not ashamed to admit, I cried like a baby. I will share with you my status update from Goodreads at the time:"For all the hurt I felt, all the anger and frustration - I really felt broken at the end of Meeting Destiny. So much so, I delayed reading Destiny's Revenge. But now I've picked it up & am 6 chapters in. Now my heart has been put back. I just pray it doesn't get torn out again. I sometimes cry at the END of a book but this time, i've just started and am in floods."DESTINY'S REVENGE starts where we left off at the end of MEETING DESTINY. Lauren was in an unexplained coma. Her physical injuries were healed and there was no other reason for her to still be in a coma. The doctors thought it best to move her to a care home where she would receive the best care, in the hopes that one day she would wake up.It had been 2 and a half years since Lauren had been attacked by the bear whilst camping with her boyfriend Max. For all that time she had been in the coma. Max was by her side day and night for the first year but then he gave up hope that she would ever come out of it.At this point I must make a little jump forward. I am too scared that I will a) reveal too much and b) start crying all over again.So... fast forward to Max being home.The man I love - I mean Lauren loves, Max is home from war. [no explanation, read the book & see what I mean] He goes to visit his grandfather, Joe who happens to be in the same care home as Lauren. [Lauren doesn't know that Max and Joe are related. Joe doesn't know she's Max's girlfriend. Max doesn't know that Lauren is out of the coma] He and Lauren have a wonderful, emotional reunion.*Insert me crying like a baby here*So now the pair are happily reunited, they can get on with a normal life. Right? Couldn't be more wrong!I can't and won't tell you of the journey that awaits them. I don't like to overdo the details. All you need to know is this is one heck of a ride. From beginning to end, I was hooked. The only time I put it down was to go to bed last night (very grudgingly) and to take my son to school/collect him from school today. I really could not put it down. Too much was happening.From the reunion of the two lovers, to the arrival of a very unwelcome [spoiler removed] called Samael. The journey is one of tension, emotion, happiness, sadness, a whole barrage of feelings that just slam into you one after the other. If I wasn't biting my nails, I was laughing or crying, I was sitting on the edge of my seat - praying for a good outcome for Lauren, Max and all they hold dear.For me, this book was like a drug. I was the junkie and this was my fix. There are not enough words in the English language to describe how much this book stole my heart. Nancy Straight did it again.I wasn't sure how the sequel would match up to the first book but it was just as emotional, just as gut-wrenching.I will share with you the status update I wrote upon finishing..."Whilst the last book ended on a note of sadness, loss, anger & broke my heart - this book ended in shock and anticipation. What is it that makes Nancy not end these books on a happier note? I can't wait to read Destinys Wrath. I can only hope as it ends the much beloved trilogy, that it ends happily. it's not a fairytale but we all dream of happily ever after!"I can honestly say, though my heart doesn't hurt as much at the end of this book, I am still approaching DESTINY'S WRATH with some trepidation. I never know what is coming next in these books. One of the things I love so much about Nancy Straight is, you never know what's coming. Nothing about these books is in the slightest bit predictable. You might think you know where it's headed but let me tell you, you are SO wrong!What more can I say? Only that I love Nancy's style of writing and I wish I were half as talented as her. It is truly amazing how an author can be responsible for so many emotions within my head, heart and soul!I know this book, this trilogy, will stay with me and I will be telling people about them for many years to come.I have been lucky enough to receive an email from Nancy today saying that she is sending me books 2 & 3 in paperback. (I already have book 1). This means that I will have a SIGNED trilogy for keeps AND another to give away!! I am so excited. Beyond excited really. So stay tuned for details. When they arrive, I will be sure to let you know!Thank you Nancy for allowing me the chance to read & review your beautiful books. I hope what you told me is true and that you will continue to write many wonderful books!