Destined

Dream Realms Trilogy #2

by Sophia Sharp

Laura has survived the dark caves, and emerged with Logan by her side. But her escape is quickly tainted as she realizes the biggest danger still lies ahead... She has been transformed, and powers she has never known begin to manifest themselves within her body. As she struggles to gain control, how long will she be able to restrain herself - and her new bloodlust - from taking over? As she journeys onward, doubts begin to creep into her mind. Doubts about leaving home, about the decisions she's made. But with the Vassiz still behind her, there is no turning back, now. And she has questions that need to be answered. Just who are the elders, and why have they taken such a keen interest in her? As she starts the unravel the cloak that shrouds their existence, she begins to understand that she may have stumbled into something much larger than herself... and sees her destiny for the first time. Destined is Book 2 of the Dream Realms Trilogy, and the sequel to Shattered. It is approximately 1.7 times longer than the first book.

Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult, Vampires, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Fantasy, Supernatural

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 3, 2011

About the author

Born in Seattle in '91, and moved across the country to go to school in Boston a few years ago!

Reviews

[life's a fairy tale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Argh! This book had a three star rating until the last half. I DID like it better then the first, despite the mundane details.... and also despite that towards the end in the barn there was a major edit mistake Alexander was refereed to as Logan {head bangs desk}. I usually never mention typos or edit issues in book reviews because whatever, it happens. However, when it involves MAIN CHARACTER NAMES, ugh! What a way to take you out of the story!

Anyway, onto the review... which contains spoilers...

Again, I wish Logan and Laura had a little more interaction. I hate to compare it to the Twilight saga because Twilight far surpasses this book - they shouldn't even be in the same category - but at least you felt the love between Bella and Edward before Edward leaves her for her own good.

I agree that Logan needed to leave, if their characters weren't developing or expressing their feelings more {at least to the reader}, which wasn't happening, he needed to go, it was getting boring. But, they didn't need to keep him away for as long as they did, OR have Laura sort of forget about him. While he was occasionally mentioned, she didn't exactly feel as hurt as I think she should have. It made me feel like she didn't really care for him all that much.

Then, I thought the story dragged on for what seemed like forever. I found myself skimming page after page until the story got weird with with the poison and finding this archive, etc. More boring details...

I didn't like how in the midst of Alexander's deliriousness he tells Laura how Logan really cares for him. This conversation could have happened as soon as Logan and Madison left {if at all}. I get the IDEA of Logan and Laura splitting up for safety, but I don't get the mystery behind it. I feel like we should have heard Logan tell this to Laura himself at the end when they reunite. He needed to try to convince her along with the reader how he didn't really want to leave, etc.

I loved how when Laura takes Alexander to see the healer EVERYTHING is gone, but this didn't get solved at the end. What happened to her? Ugh!

The creature and the people at the end became way to fantastical for me. I liked the vampire aspect of the book {of course}, the idea that a vampire can do something "special" - fine, the dream world - pushing it... but now these angels and this weird creature - too out there!

And how did Logan and Madison find them? And then Logan and Laura kiss - ugh, I wish there was more of their relationship in the beginning. This kiss should have either happened earlier, or if it had to happen when it did it should have been better.

I was glad this book had more of an ending to it then the first, but it still wasn't anything close to a full ending I would want. I'm undecided if I want to continue reading the series or just look on GoodReads to find out what happens.

[Fallon · Rating 2 out of 5]

So we pick up close to where we left off, Laura has asked Logan to turn her into a Vassiz and now she's coming into her new powers. This book is about a journey to find Laura's place in the world, to figuring out what's up with the elders and why do they want to kill her? I said before that the first book read kind of kiddish this book seems written by a different person, oh the writing is choppy full of errors and misplaced words, so that's the same. This one seems like the writer took an English or writing class and wants to use long, drawn out, repetitive descriptions and language that doesn't fit the characters of the first book at all. The tone is different, the feel is different but the story still has potential. This book was a little longer than the first, but if you took out all the repetitive gibber it would probably be close to the same length. My favorite part is the cover, and I have hope that maybe if the author finds someone to proofread her book and she finds a writing style somewhere in between book 1 & 2 then maybe she can pull this series out of the mind numbing pit it's starting to sink into. I think that the author does have potential, but it seems she's still learning. I will pick up the last 2 of this trilogy...because I hate to quit.

[Crystal K · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Couldn’t Laura’s dreams be tracked? And wasn’t she even a little suspicious of Logan’s sudden change in character?

Also, I really hope the author doesn’t try to make Alexander a love interest. Laura literally described him wiping her tears like a father — that would be seriously icky.

The whole prophecy plot? That should’ve been introduced in the previous book. Let’s be honest — the last book was shitty. It had no plot at all. Even a cliffhanger would’ve helped.

Now Laura’s blaming Madison? Girl, you literally cheated on Logan. And Logan “knew” Laura how? After spending, what… one week? Two? And he somehow decided she was stubborn? The romance was so poorly developed. Come on.

Also — how dumb are the Elders? We’re two books in, and we still don’t know who they are. The fear we’re supposed to feel toward the villains? Totally missing. They could’ve just blackmailed Laura out of hiding by threatening her friends and family — but nope.

[Amal Nassir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok. I'm going to review this book in 2 parts and try to make any criticism constructive and as if I am writing to the author.

Part 1 - The writing
Too many unnecessary words were used or repeated. You need to give the reader credit. We know what descriptions mean without you clarifying or telling us repeatedly. For example, the part where Laura touches the bear and sees herself running and so on. It's really obvious that the bear is sharing a memory. But telling us that the bear was sharing the memory and repeatedly was unnecessary. Because we had already figured that what Laura was seeing was the bears memory from the description. There were a lot of examples of this.

I think in trying to add description to the writing, too much was "spelled out" that it left not much to the reader's imagination. And the repeating of phrases or sentences can be effective if used sparingly but it was used too much. Far too much. More than what was necessary. Because it was too much that was repeated.

Another thing that was used far too much was the ellipsis. It started to become irritating after a while... everything... was paused and it... lost effect... on me.

The style was inconsistent and kept wavering between formal writing, old style speech and informal writing. It made the characters feel inconsistent. I couldn't quite understand if they spoke formally or if they were laid back characters because they all seemed to have the same speech pattern (or non pattern). Even the narrator's voice dipped from formal to informal and back again. It was quite frustrating and confusing.

There was too much dialogue! I felt like it took away from the world building. It even took away from chances of describing emotions or body language. Speaking is not the only form of communication that a character should have and when retelling an event, we don't need to quote so much dialogue. Even the narrator's voice and the characters' thinking was in the style of dialogue.

It's really hard to spot our own errors while typing (I've done it before! Most authors have) but the amount of mistakes were just too much and too obvious. If you struggle with spotting your own mistakes (which I do too) passing your work onto a trusted friend to read it over for you and spot your mistakes before release is very effective. There were a lot of missing letters or spelling errors. Even the grammatical structure was off in a lot of places.

Part 2 - The story
Ok. This bit was quite frustrating because you have such great ideas that I feel like we start to get the taste of only in parts of the book.

Opposite to the first book, this book only started getting gripping after around 65%. Basically, Laura gave Alexander the medicine that the old lady from the shop had given her and then she went for a run. Up until that point I was seriously considering not reading on or going onto the next books.

From the moment Alexander was back in action again, the story started to get interesting again. From when they went back to the shop and found it empty, the story became gripping again and I couldn't put it down.

After that it kept getting better until the end. The end was good and just in time to make me change my mind and go ahead and buy the next book in the series.

I really, REALLY hope the story stays gripping and holds my interest. And I really hope the writing and quality improve. I really want to believe in this author and believe that she will get better. Let's see what happens next.

[Josie Brewster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the first book in the series.

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Mel (Daily Prophecy) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book continues where we ended in the first book. Laura is now a vampire and she's trying to adjust to this change in her life. She and Logan are now on the run until they stumble into two friend. Alexander and Madison.

During the time they spent, Logan is changing in behavior. Eventually, he and Madison leave the group (after a little verbal fighting) and Alexander stays with Laura to keep her save. They are going to a special library to find some archives Alexander wants to see.

They journey together - with Gray, her pet bear - and they get in to a lot of trouble. In the end, they are at the library (slighty other place than Alexander expected) and they are saved.

And then, as you can expect from a book that looks like Twilight, there's a dramatic twist to the story. Totally unrealistic, but that gives you the clue for the next book.

And although I'm not that enthusiastic, I'm going to read the next book anyway. I don't like to quite and I still want to know what will happen.

Oh yeah, what I really dislike is the fact that Laura takes everything so.. easy. 'I don't see my parents, well, alright.' 'Ohh, I look so different, because I'm a vampire now. But I look gorgeous.'
Yep, accept for the fact that you're now supposed to drink human blood and stuff like that..

[gunne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick read. Not a fantastic one, but at least it didn't take long. The plot is relatively stagnant and suitably young adult, though for some reason the writing style keeps throwing me off. Not sure how to go about describing this, but the narrative and the characters don't feel consistent as a whole. I'm not about to re-read the entire thing just to hunt for a few examples, but that was the general impression I got. It feels as if Sharp hasn't really broken into her characters, or ways of narration, or something. I don't know. It is, however, not a particularly painful read. I didn't identify with the characters, but I didn't want to strangle them, which is a plus. It's a very bland book, not memorable in this age of paranormal plotlines, and is perhaps better off functioning as 'filler' for more interesting ones.

[Athena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow what a difference. The story picked up and what a rush. The writing again is great, although there was a typo where she was talking to andrew and it said Logan. This time around Laura has def transformed with such strength and compassion. Oh btw I just love Grey. The whole Logan, Madison thing was nicely done I didn't suspect for a second so it caught me by surprise. The second of the series had a lot more meat and took a different turn from the norm so it actually has come off as a lil something new.

[Tarni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like the previous book, this one also needed more detail.
I found it hard to believe that Laura just took Logan back after he left with Maddison. Even if he faked it for her wellbeing, how could she just accept him back with no repercussions? After all she went through to look after Alexander by herself, and she didn't even know then that Logan loved her.
My copy of the book (ebook, amazon) had a error in it. When she was taking care of Alexander and he was dying, it said 'Logan then...'. A very confusing moment for the reader when Logan up and left.
I think if Sophia put more thought and read over her books very carefully and wrote more each time, she'd have a beautiful series.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done. Still has editing issues, but not as bad as the first book. The main character, Laura, was a much more likable character. She has developed into a stronger character that has more depth. I thought it was important for character development to make the story better and the author did just that. I am about halfway through Graced and I am looking forward to seeing how she ties the story up. If you read Graced and weren't sure whether to continue with the series I would suggest continuing on. Destined was very good and I was happy that I continued on.

[Jennifer (random jendsmit) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a rollercoaster! In the beginning I was excited to see what was going to happen... the middle I was just trying to make it through to the end... the end was good but confusing.

I'm still confused and wish there was more information about certain parts of the story, but in this book you see Laura come into her own. That is the part of the story I liked the most - she is much better developed as a character and begins to learn she can stand on her own two feet without Logan absolutely having to be next to her.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I really enjoyed Book 1. But this book....OK, so there is a reason that the first book was short, her writing isn't that great. Still love the characters, and am rooting for them, BUT I have to say that there are WAY TOO MANY pages and pages of things being described. She could have easily cut 100 pages and this book would have been a lot better. I get a little sick of wordy descriptions in books, and this was almost like someone else wrote Book 2. BUT I like the characters, so I will read on to Book 3 Parts 1&2.

[-A · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of all the vampire stuff but I can read it if it's good. Unfortunately, this book isn't that good. I don't really feel any motivation or passion to read the last book from the trilogy. And I so hate unfinished stuff - it's really bugging me.

The writing style is boring and hard to read, the characters are boring (everyone is soooo beautiful) and the story isn't exciting at all (boring!; quite predictable).

Shorter said: I DON'T recommend this book.

[Addison · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book finds its footing with more action, higher stakes, and a deeper look into Laura’s transformation. Her internal struggle with new powers-especially her bloodlust-adds an emotional edge, and the introduction of the Elders and the Vassiz widens the scope of the fantasy world. The pacing is more confident, and Laura’s doubts give the narrative a relatable core. It’s a stronger and more immersive sequel.

[Shelley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe I managed to struggle through and finished book 1. I guess I really hoped that in book two the writing would improve and I would feel some chemistry between Laura and Logan and believe in the characters. Sadly this was not the case. I won't be reading Book 3 part 1/2 or finishing book 2. One of the worse series/stories I've read in a very long time.

[Yessy619 · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first the book started a little slow for me but thankfully regained strenght. I couldn't believe how Logan abandons Laura. I was devastated. Laura's and Alexander's adventures were quite entertaining, though. I was glad that everything came to light in the end and definitely paves way for a new adventure. I can't wait to start the next book!

[Anastasija · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good, but it took me a while to finish reading it since i found other book. I will say big thamk you to Sophia Sharp who wrote this lovely book. I was amazed by how the book ended.The book totally wasn't a waste of time so i would reccommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal staff...

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sequel was much better than the first. It's a good thing I bought all 3 at the same time because after reading the first one I may not have bought the sequel. I'm actually glad I did. I'm looking forward to the 3rd.

[Kayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really frustrated with this book until the last 30% of the book. I just kept asking more and more questions and by the end some weren't even answered. All I can hope is that they are all answered in the third book. I couldn't wait for it to be over.

[Tracee · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are definitely getting better the farther that you get. It's a new take on vampires, and I find it refreshing. There is still romance, but it's not the center. I can't wait to read the next one.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is a story there but some of the characters are not well developed. There are way too many grammatical errors. The story lacks originality at some points. It's an okay read but I was tempted to give up at times because of the horrible editing!

[Brittni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little more impressive than the last one. It took a turn I never would have guessed but not something a would really recommend to my friends as a great read but I'm not against anyone who gives it a try

[Darcy Fifield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down! I loved it. It was a fast moving story with action and mystery. I can't wait to see what happens in the third book. Great job, Sophia!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was put together better than the first book.

[Marianna Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

waiting on the third to come our enjoy

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't wait to read the next book! =D

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I understand what' going on. The first book was full of mystery and just running a lot. Now I understand the story a little bit. I liked it.. :)

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book seemed long and drawn out to me. I like the idea of a relic that Laura and Logan need to reach, I didn't love the separation that occurs. Interested to read book 3.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the first one for a 19 year old writer she is not bad definitely should go to college and take some writing courses