Publication date: February 20th 2014
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal Romance
![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00071]](https://oldvictorianquill.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/defining.jpg)
When destiny fails…
Singer-songwriter Lucy Moore thought her life was perfect. At just twenty-one, she’s already met her soul mate and together they’ve landed a recording contract. But when her father dies and the love of her life betrays her in more ways than one, she returns home to pick up the pieces. On the shores of Mendocino, California, Lucy has some decisions to make. Should she start a solo career? Or should she leave it all behind for some semblance of normalcy in the quiet town she grew up in? And what about Seth, the tortured artist who always seems to be there when she needs him?
Seth Keenan has demons of his own. Eighteen months ago, he was involved in a horrific accident that he never talks about. His career as an accomplished oil-paint artist has been abandoned, replaced by the buzz of his tattoo gun. And women—well, he never sticks around for longer than a few hours of pleasure… until he meets Lucy. After one evening of listening to her seductive voice, he’s pulled under. But what about the vow he made to never get close to anyone again?
In a world where everyone has one true soul mate, can these two find love in the arms of each other?
I’m one of those people who just adores it when a unique, but realistic blend of real life and fantasy is mixed in fiction. I’m all for full on fantasy, but in these kind of stories, I need the spiritual side of the story to seem real, which in turn makes the characters feel real to me.
Defining Destiny was an absolute gem of a novel, and from the word go and I just knew that this was going to be a favourite of mine. I loved how author Deanna Chase created a really great concept of people having only one soul-mate, and this being the accepted norm for everybody and not just a long-forgotten myth that was brought about in the hippy era. I adored how the idea of soul-mates drove every action of the characters lives, and that without that one person, you aren’t considered to be whole.
I loved reading of Lucy’s fight for her right as a woman to be treated with respect, and to make her own choices. Her soul-mate Caden was one of those guys who I just wanted to grab out of the book and hit around the head with a mallet (I’m not usually a violent person, but he would honestly deserve it). I hated how he used his and Lucy’s connection to keep her with him, despite him not treasuring her or treating her as she deserves. His sleeping around was one thing, but using their soul-mate connection and Lucy’s deepest hurts to enhance his own career was just plain selfish and worthy of a great whack of a mallet, especially since Lucy so often made excuses for him, and let herself take the brunt of the pain because he had made her believe that he was in the right.
I loved the idea of fighting destiny that the author used as the main thread throughout the novel. It was well-paced as well, with both Lucy and Seth mourning the loss of their soul-mates within appropriate time-spans and their connection with each other, and their relationship developing at a brilliantly tempting and tantalising pace. I adored how their relationship came about, and just how they could be themselves around each other, with no expectations of having to perform to anyone else’s expectations.
I can’t express how much I loved this story, Lucy and Seth were such a brilliant, and dynamic couple, and one that I rooted for throughout. I have always loved the idea of soul-mates, as well as the title known as ‘twin flames’. Although it wasn’t mentioned in this book, I felt like Lucy and Seth were twin-flames, with a deeper connection than even that of a soul mate. They were alike, yet different enough to invoke flames between them and it was so exciting to join them on their journey.
This was an absolute pleasure to read, and whilst I hoped throughout that Seth and Lucy could get their happily ever after, I always had that lurking worry in the back of my mind that they couldn’t hide from their destiny that would lead them to other people. Deanna Chase had carefully entwined this fear within me, which had my heart racing as I read the last few chapters, even holding my breath as I waited for their outcome. That shows the true talent of this author, and makes her one that I would read again in a second.
A truly beautiful story that really touched the romantic (and the deep down rebel) in me.
5 Stars
(as long as you can purchase from amazon.com.)
~ A Rafflecopter Giveaway ~
Deanna Chase
OldVictorianQuill 
I love the soul-mate angle in this story and Lucy and Seth sound like a couple I would really like and enjoy swooning over! 🙂 Great review!