Destiny Tour: Heather M. White; Review: When Destiny Strikes

When Destiny Knocks (Books 1):

16 year old Karlie has had a pretty normal life... But when her Mom dies she is forced to move over 1,000 miles away to live with her Dad. That's when things start getting weird. 

She can't explain the earthquakes that nobody else feels, or why she no longer sleeps. But most of all she doesn't know why she trusts Shane so much, even though his Dad wants her dead. 

Suddenly, Karlie's normal life is turned upside down and she enters a world she never dreamed could really exist.

Links for When Destiny Knocks:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

When Destiny Strikes (Book 2):

Now that Karlie has received her full powers, things are going to be great... right?

Karlie's number one priority is to kill Serenity - after all she deserves it for trying to kill Alex. Though it isn't as easy as it sounds. Serenity teams up with demons to create an army to destroy Karlie. 

On top of that, there are a ton of zombies, everywhere... And a new angel in town, who seems more like a demon... And of course, a shape shifter dragon! It's all weird, even for Karlie. 

With friends turning against friends, it seems as though her life got a whole lot more complicated.

About the Author:

I am a returning resident to Arkansas. I just migrated south from Saint Louis, MO with my husband. We have been married a year. :)

I love to write. I have been writing since I was a kid - literally. I decided in the 2nd grade I would write a book. I wrote lots of short stories and poems... And did I mention I wrote over 200 songs? (Yeah, I'm a musician too - guitar, bass, drums and vocals). So I wrote my very first novel at the ripe age of 14... My Mom still has it :-/. OK, so maybe it wasn't my best work, but I had a LOT of fun writing it!

When I'm not writing, I am normally reading. I am also a caffeine addict... Dr. Pepper and NOS (the energy drink) are my drugs of choice :)

Review for When Destiny Strikes (Book 2): 

First Sentence: “What would you be willing to sacrifice in order to save those who you love? Would     you be willing to forgo your own happiness? Could you give your own life to protect them?”

Originality: You know, as usual with books, there were familiar concepts in this story. Fortunately, that did not at all effect how in love with this book I am. It’s original in its very own, unique way. And, honestly, I don’t think Heather White is one to even be a copy of others’ work.

Characters: I’m liking Karlie more and more as this series progresses. You can definitely tell that she is maturing, and she’s actually dealt with this, um, odd turn of circumstances, very well for someone her age. Which is no surprise when she has friends as great as she does. First off, there’s her totally amazing boyfriend Shane. I admit, I didn’t like Shane in the first book. He seemed kind of shady because of the fact that his father is a demon and wants Karlie dead. But now I’m seeing how perfect he is for Karlie and I think I’m even falling for him alongside her. Ugh, and then Alex. Okay. Alex is great and all but wayyyy too childlike. It’s like he just doesn’t get that the world can end at any moment. He just wants to go off and have a party, which, with his track record, is never a good idea. Karlie also has these other friends; Leah, Savannah, Jessica, Jarrod, and Mark. I really wish that these more minor characters would get more time in the story because, well, I just don’t know much about them yet and I want to. In this second addition the Destiny series, new characters are also introduced, such as; Hugh (need more of him too!), and Hannah (ew.).

Content: Zombies. Are. So. Gross. This was actually the first book I’ve read that had zombies. Whoa, wait, what? Yeah, yeah I know. I’m just not into zombies like others are. But…I actually liked this. The only thing I want to is where all the zombies were coming from and how humans never noticed a thing??? Yeah, I get it. This isn’t supposed to be realistic, but there’s always this part of me thinking, “This could never happen…and yet it’s so freaking awesome.”

Setting: Well, like in When Destiny Knocks, the setting was Jonesboro, Arkansas. The characters did travel other places, such as Vegas! Hehe. They also spent a lot of time in a graveyard. You’ll see why when you read it ;) I just kind of wish Heather would elaborate more on the scenery. I want to be able to feel like I’m in that graveyard killing zombies right there with Karlie.. But I totally get if that’s not her strong point- I can’t describe anything to save my life.

Overall Enjoyment: Despite the gross zombies, I was completely hooked on this book. I know it’s super nerdy, but I have a reading schedule to keep track of what I read. I gave myself three days to read this, mostly because it took me two days to read the first books and this one had a slightly longer page count. Nope- it took me a day. And if you knew how slow I read, you’d know that a day is like, a record time for me to finish a book. THAT is how much I loved this book. I just could not stop reading. I hope that you take the time to pick up this series and be as enamored as I am.

Love love love this series! Check out my review of When Destiny Knocks (Book 1) here.


And here is the link to the blog tour kick-off where you can find a list of the rest of the stops: Destiny Tour Kick-Off; When Destiny Strikes by Heather White

W.W.W. Wednesdays (18)

To play along just answer the following three (3) questions and leave your link at Should Be Reading:

1. What are you currently reading?

2. What did you recently finish reading?

3. What do you think you'll read next?

A lot of re-reading lately. Right now, I'm reading Vampire Academy, which I've already read, oh, I don't know, ten times? Okay, maybe not that much. And next I'm going to re-read The Hunger Games for the second time in honor of the upcoming movie. So excited!

What have you read recently?

W.W.W. Wednesdays (17)

To play along just answer the following three (3) questions and leave your link at Should Be Reading:

1. What are you currently reading?

2. What did you recently finish reading?

3. What do you think you'll read next?

Review: When Destiny Knocks by Heather White + Giveaway

Goodreads description: 16 year old Karlie has had a pretty normal life... But when her Mom dies she is forced to move over 1,000 miles away to live with her Dad. That's when things start getting weird.

She can't explain the earthquakes that nobody else feels, or why she no longer sleeps. But most of all she doesn't know why she trusts Shane so much, even though his Dad wants her dead.

Suddenly, Karlie's normal life is turned upside down and she enters a world she never dreamed could really exist.

First Sentence: Life never seems to go as planned. Sometimes it is better, sometimes it is worse. It seems inevitable for me that it will always be unexpectedly worse than I would have imagined.

                                

Originality: The originality factor is high in this one. There’s about every mythical creature you could think of in this book. And I heard from a little birdy that there will be even more monsters in book 2. I so cannot wait!

Characters: Karlie is super cool but has convinced herself that everything bad that could happen to her, actually does. Probably because a lot of bad stuff does go wrong in her life. And then there’s Shane. Okay. I thought Shane was a little shady at first. He just seemed..too perfect. But after seeing more of him, I realized that he really is a great guy and perfect for Karlie. Other characters include: Alex, who I loved…at first, Serenity, who is just kind of creepy sometimes, and then there’s Karlie’s “protectors”- Savannah, Jessica, Jarrod, and Mark. Of course there is also the occasional bad guy ;)

Content: Sometimes I get kind of “if-y” with the prospect of the mixture of a bunch of mythical creatures, but Heather White did it perfectly. She even stuck with the legends on how to kill said creatures, which is great. And definitely there’s a love story laced in with everything! What’s a good book without some romance? <3

Setting: The setting was Jonesboro, Arkansas. Now, before this, I had no clue there was even a place called that. Actually, Heather, the author, lives in Arkansas and is familiar with Jonesboro, so of course she was easily able to describe everything perfectly. And, if I’m not mistaken, she even included real places.

Overall Enjoyment: I enjoyed the story from page one. There were times when I was completely shocked at what was happening at a great book can always keep something on the edge of their seat. Heather White is such a talented author and can form words into magic. I highly suggest you go read this.

In fact, the lovely author, Heather White, has been kind enough to giveaway When Destiny Knocks through my blog. How great is that?? This would be my very first giveaway and I’m super excited. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment with your e-mail address and what your favorite mythical creature/monster is and why. This can be something from legends, or maybe from a book you’ve read. Also make sure to mention which format you’d like; kindle, nook, or PDF. You do not have to be a follower of my blog, but I would really appreciate it.

The contest will end on Monday, the 12th, at which time I will pick the winner by random. Then I will contact the winner, who will have 48 hours to respond.

Good luck to everyone! 

W.W.W. Wednesdays (17)

To play along just answer the following three (3) questions and leave your link at Should Be Reading:

1. What are you currently reading?

2. What did you recently finish reading?

3. What do you think you'll read next?