Destiny - a Book Review & a Giveaway!

For any of you that know me (I mean, REALLY know me), I love a good book. I also happen to love talking and writing about books I love. Top that with the fact that I found a Pagan author writing a Pagan fiction book...BINGO! I'm there. If not for the fact that I love reading, then for the sheer curiosity of how the envelope is pushed with what happens honestly within our religion, and what has been dreamt up by Hollywood, I knew I wanted to read this book. To give you a bit of background on the book, I give you what has been written upon the back:

"Gabriella is a witch. The problem is, she doesn't remember. She repressed the memories of her powers years ago when her mother was murdered. Now, the warlock who was responsible for her mother's death has set his sights on Gabriella. He is determined to use her fear to turn her to the dark side of magick...even if it kills her. Her mother's spirit is reaching out to warn her, but even that she pushes away. Desperate to save her daughter, the spirit finds a male witch - one that just happens to be in love with Gabriella. Darron is more than willing to help, but the two young witches will have way more to battle than just an evil warlock. There are overbearing jocks and petty rich girls who get tempers flaring and often set Gabriella and Darron at odds.

There is more to the story than Gabriella and Darron could even imagine. There are terrible secrets to be revealed, battles to be waged, and lives will be lost. Only after Gabriella and Darron both come to terms with who they really are, and open themselves up to the true meaning of magick, can they have any hope of fulfilling their destiny."

To say that I loved this book is an understatement. I think one of my friends, and an author herself, Stacy Evans, put it best when she said, "I may be jumping the gun as it hasn't been released yet, but I could see this book starting a whole new wave of Twilight/Harry Potter type mass following." Stacy completely nailed the head by making that statement.

Destiny is written by author Laura DeLuca. I have had the opportunity to correspond back and forth with her and she is definitely quite an awesome person, in my humble opinion. This is her first young adult novel and I was really impressed with how closely she kept within the actual concepts of the earth-based religions. I think having a book like this written by someone who follows the religion herself is a huge boost to the published work. The fact that she kept most elements as close to reality without delving into "Hollywood" stereotypes is a testament not only to her as a writer, but also to honoring her own religion, showing the respect that any religion would deserve. Yes, there are some things that you will find that can not be done (I wish I could make a rose just grow up and out of the snow), but I did say this was fiction and I would whole-heartedly expect there be things that we all know just DON'T happen in reality, no matter how cool it would be if they did.

Once I finished reading Destiny, I handed it over to my teenage daughter. "Kat" read it with serious enthusiasm, and at a much faster pace than mom. (What can I say? YOU try reading when you have a 21-month old leaping from unknown heights into your lap.) When she finished, Kat's comments were, "I love this book series, mom! When can we get the next book? I seriously want to know what's going to happen to Gabriella andDarron next. I need to know." I love that girl. She's so cute. So, we both enjoyed the book. As for me, I am looking forward to the next edition in the series to be released soon!

I highly recommend this book to teenage girls/young adult women. It was quite hard for me to put this book down. I was completely engrossed. There were times I had to force myself to mark the page and walk away. After all, things like the laundry MUST get done, don't they? Although, I personally feel, especially in moments when I am engrossed in a phenomenal book such as Destiny, that clothes are seriously overrated.

Now for the GIVEAWAY! The giveaway is for one signed copy of Destiny by author Laura DeLuca, 5 desert rose stones, 2 crystal points, and 2 boxes of incense. This is a huge gift pack for one lucky person to win. YAY! All you need to do to enter is leave a comment below letting me know how you found my blog and your name goes in for the drawing. Want more than one entry? Here's three more ways (you must comment below for the additional entries to count):

1. Follow me on twitter and comment back with your twitter handle.

2. Follow my public profile on Facebook & leave me a comment there.

3. Follow CauldronFM(the station that broadcasts my shows) on Facebook & leave me a comment there.

That's it! That's all you have to do. One winner will be chosen at random on the eve of May's Full Moon.

Want to check out more from author Laura Deluca? Listed below are her links. Check them out!

Here is the link to her video trailer for Destiny:

You can also see more at her blog, Facebook and Twitter pages:

http://authorlauradeluca.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/authorldeluca

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraDeLuca

http://www.freefocuspublishing.com/Destiny.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Laura-DeLuca/dp/0982674724/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319680091&sr=8-1

That wraps it up for me today!

Blessings abound to all who stopped by to read the blog.

~Raven

One last note... I was not in anyway compensated and/or paid for this review or any other review that appears on my blog, radio show, Facebook pages, etc. This review is my own personal opinion and given by my own volition and not because someone offered me compensation.