Review: Destined

Destined 

By Jessie Harrell

Published November 17th 2011 by Mae Day Publishing

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined

Rating: 2 stars

I like Greek myths. A lot.

And I really really enjoy many retellings of them. (I mean, I make it no secret that I’m absolutely crazy about the Percy Jackson books…)

But this book was somewhat of a let-down for me.

The Psyche and Eros myth is one of my favorites, but I just didn’t enjoy this retelling of it.

The ironic part is that I probably didn’t like it so much because it was written so much like an actual Greek myth.

Here’s the thing: Greek myths? Pure awesomeness. You get your epic battles, famous heroes, and all sorts of juicy scandals. But what you don’t get very often (hardly ever, really) is character depth.

You rarely get to really know a character—get inside their head and understand their thoughts. And that’s totally understandable because so man ystories were passed down orally, and let’s face it, you can’t make an oral story last hours and hours just to give a character some relatable-ness. In fact, it’s pretty much expected that many Greek mythological beings are flat characters.

This is why I usually like retellings—because the author can give the gods/goddesses/satyrs/nymphs/etc. real personalities. Make them relatable.

Unfortunately, I did not get this in Destined.

The characters were all very much one dimensional and I could not relate to any of them at all. Which, to be fair, may have been the author’s goal—retelling the story in a very traditional way. If it is, then bravo, Jessie Harrell, you have done a spectacular job.

I, personally, just didn’t really like this style of storytelling.

Eros starts off as an arrogant, privileged, snobbish god. Which he was  supposed to be, because when he fell in love with Psyche, it’s literally like he had an entire personality makeover! He was head-over-heels in love with the girl, always worrying about her, trying constantly to make her happy, etc.—thinking about someone other than himself, for once.

While Eros, god of Love, didn’t exactly make me swoon in the book, he was okay. He did some sweet things... I didn’t exactly not like him.

I just had no idea what he saw in Psyche.

Let’s just say it’s pretty apparent that magic was used for him to be that infatuated with her.

Psyche was supposed to be this beautiful (check!), selfless (check-ish!), all-around wonderful human being (okaaaaay….). But most of the time, she just really got on my nerves.  

Psyche was very naïve and easily influenced by just about everyone. She had no trouble jumping to awful conclusions about one of her friends, or Eros—believing him to be some monster that was readying her for dinner, when in fact, all signs pointed to exactly the opposite! It’s also quite evident that she’s been spoiled. Case in point: when she prepares to go on the journey that will placate Aphrodite and hopefully get Eros’s forgiveness, the first thing she does is go home and take a nice, hot bath and eat some awesome desserts.

O_O   REALLY, Psyche? Really?

To be fair, I did want to be inside the character’s head…

I just really did not like what was inside Psyche’s cranium.

While this book really was not up my alley, I must admit that it stayed extremely true to the myth. It even took place in ancient Greece! (But, really, that just made it all the more awkward when the characters talked in a contemporary vernacular….) The story followed pretty much exactly what happened in the actual myth, just retelling it in a more modern, teen-oriented way.

If you like Greek myths/retellings, then this book might really interest you. Or it might not. I really do think it’s a personal preference kind of thing. For me, it just didn't work.

Review: Destined (House of Night #9)

Destined 
by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 

Zoey is finally home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side, and preparing to face off against Neferet -- which would be a whole lot easier if the High Council saw the ex-High Priestess for what she really is. Kalona has released his hold on Rephaim, and, through Nyx's gift of a human form, Rephaim and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together -- if he can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father's shadow.

But there are new forces at work at the House of Night. An influx of humans, including Lenobia's handsome horse whisperer, threatens their precarious stability. And then there's the mysterious Aurox, a jaw-droppingly gorgeous teen boy who is actually more -- or possibly less -- than human. Only Neferet knows he was created to be her greatest weapon. But Zoey can sense the part of his soul that remains human, the compassion that wars with his Dark calling. And there's something strangely familiar about him . . .

Will Neferet's true nature be revealed before she succeeds at extinguishing Light? And will Zoey be able to touch Aurox's humanity in time to protect them all? Find out what's destined in the next thrilling chapter of the House of Night series.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review:  
Oh man, I said to myself that I was going to read a TON of books this winter break.... but then I discovered a new Taiwanese drama that had me thoroughly enthralled for an entire week.... BUT I (finally) managed to finish this book!


The House of Night series and I have had a somewhat complicated relationship throughout the years. I started off thinking the series was pretty darn cheesy--I don't know, I just found Zoey's character to be somewhat annoying and I've never really liked it when the main character just has all this awesome stuff handed to her (e.g. affinity with the 5 elements, getting the cute guy, being the new "it" girl in school...) But then, after the first couple of books, I started liking the series more. But note: I said "Like" not "Love."


At this point, I really think the Casts are dragging this series on for waaaaay too long. I mean really, enough is enough. This series could have ended already, but they have even more books coming out?! At this point, I'm only continuing to read these books because I have invested way too much time already, goshdarnit! 


I was actually pretty excited for Destined because I always rather liked the Zoey-Heath pairing (not to say that I don't like Stark... because honestly, he's pretty cool too) so I was super excited when the authors decided to bring Heath back into the mix, albeit with a little twist. The strange thing was, the more time passed before I read it, the more I actually didn't want to read it....totally weird I know, but I was actually kind of dreading reading this book.... But OK enough of my rambling--On to the actual review!!!


This book is told in multiple POVs, and I'm not just talking about Zoey, Stark, Stevie Rae, and Rephaim--there was Aurox (aka Heath), Kalona, Neferet, Dragon, Lenobia, and even Shaunee! I both liked and disliked this arrangement. 


Why I liked it: all the different POVs allowed you to see the story from multiple angles and you get to know much more of what was going on as opposed to just knowing what Zoey knows.
Why I disliked it: The whole story's so busy switching from one person to another, there wasn't any real action! Upon finishing the book, I looked back and realized nothing major actually happened until like the last couple pages of the book. 


So, if you like reading about all the interpersonal relationships and stuff in the books, you might like this a lot. 


As I said before, I am indeed a Heath fan so the fact that they brought him back as Aurox had be pretty stoked! However, it wasn't really what I expected--Aurox was pretty cool to read about and I liked his character quite a bit---but OH MY GOSH it literally took Zoey the entire book to figure out that Heath=Aurox! Honestly, I can't even begin to describe how irritating that was for me... and it wasn't even as if she couldn't find out before, she just chose not to! 


There was quite a bit of redemption going on in this book namely involving Dragon and Kalona--reading the other books, I never pegged Kalona to be a father who cared about his son as much as he did in this book, so that was pretty cool to find out. 


Also, Shaunee and Erin, aka the Twins, become not so twin-like in this book...which, I'm still deciding whether or not I like. I mean, it was good that they both realized their individuality...but seriously? Right now of all times? Just a little confused...


One thing that this book does really well is setting up for the next book. After looking back on Destined, I can't help but feel like nothing actually happened! But of course, the ending had me hooked and eager for the next release because I really want to know what happens next, what with all the changes and discoveries made..... darn you Kristin and P.C. Cast.... 


But bottom line: the book was good but not great or holy-crap-this-book-is-absolutely-freakin'-amazing! Overall, I think I've just grown a bit bored with the series, but hopefully, hopefully, the Casts can make the next books, the last ones, fantastic and end the series on a good note! :D

WANT NOW!!!

"The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality..."

 "Joy Delamere is suffocating...

From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.

Joy can take her cruel words until the night they go too far.

Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe…if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late."

blurb doesn't sound absolutely to-die-for, but I've been seeing such great reviews!

"When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear..." 

 "My name—my True Name—is Ashallayn’ darkmyr Tallyn. I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her. My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl..."


Oh. Mygoodness. I have LOVED every freaking minute of this series and now it's ENDING?! I need to get my hands on this book....

 "In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake."

I read the first book a while back and thought it was pretty good (3.5-4 stars) but I'm really itching to read THIS one because it's going to have Ky's POV too! *fangirl squeal!*








Dang, how I wish I had all the money in the world to buy books! Oh well, if wishes were fishes, then even beggars would eat.