Review: Defining Destiny by Deanna Chase

Defining Destiny
Deanna Chase
Published in February, 2014
Rating: ★★★★

Summary: (Taken from Goodreads)
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?

Links:
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes and Noble

Cover Comments:
The cover isn’t bad at all, just very cliché. I didn’t even have to read the summary to know it would be a new age novel. They all look like this these days. Also, call me shallow, but I do not like the female model at all. She doesn’t look soft enough to be how I pictured Lucy, and that neck vein sticking out really bugs me. Told you it’s shallow of me.

My Review:

I received this book for free from netgalley in exchange for my open and honest review.

What would you do if your one two soul mate was no longer an option for you? That is what our hero and heroine are faced with in this really enjoyable novel.  Lucy has the bad luck of having a self-absorbed jerk as her soul mate. He becomes so bad that she has no choice but to leave him, or risk her sanity. Seth had a wonderful soul mate, but he lost her in an accident that has left him with a gaping hole in his heart.

I really liked the whole magical soul mate power that this book has in it. It made for a unique read. Not really paranormal, after all nothing else is different. Not contemporary either. I’ll go with magic realism I guess. In the book, everyone has one soul mate. Once you meet yours, you are powerless to the magical pull that bonds you together. On top of this, you and your soul mate are given a gift. Lucy and her soul mate Caden were given the gift of music. While both could sing on their own, together they can create music so powerful it drives people to changing themselves. Honestly’ it was really interesting to read about.

Lucy and Seth were great together. They might not be soul mates, but they had chemistry out the wazoo! I could really feel their struggle… wanting to be together, but knowing it may never happen. I also loved how they built each other up, we saw both make improvements in their personal lives and not just a growing romance.

I would have loved to see more of the side characters. We meet a couple of people, learn just enough about them to catch our interest, and then poof they’re gone the rest of the book. There is also a scene between Jax and Mike, friends of Seth’s, that goes completely unresolved. Maybe they have their own book coming up?

In case you can’t tell, I really enjoyed this book. The story was good, the characters were great, and I’m really hoping I will see a sequel someday. Nothing announced so far, but I would LOVE to see Jax’s story! If you are a fan of contemporary romance, or new age novels… you will enjoy this book. The author did a great job of keeping it to a very contemporary feel.