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REVIEW: Destiny – Rebecca Cohen

Destiny - Rebecca Cohen

Genre: Paranormal, Historical, Action-Adventure

LGBTQ+ Category: Gay

Reviewer: Maryann

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About The Book

Robin Flint is about to face his destiny with Prince Simon, whether he likes it or not.

Time is up on the waiting period of the contract for their arranged marriage, and Robin must play his part to help Prince Simon, royal fae and future Dark Earl of MacLove, achieve his destiny of becoming a vampire-fae.

Gay paranormal romance novel.

Warnings: Violence, torture, drug use

The Review

Robin Flint is a vampire and Dark Viscount of Whetford to be, and he is holding a wee bairn – a small child. Said bairn is Simon, son of James and Hylei, of the House of MacLove. James is the Dark Earl of MacLove who is known to be Vampire/Fae. Countess Hylei is Fae, and both are of the fae tribe Calanti, which does not associate with other fae tribes.

Robin is only twenty years into his fangs, and has been selected for marriage to Simon, but all must wait until Simon is seventy-five. This marriage will bring the House of Cartwright, Hewel and House of MacLove together. Of course, Sebastian Hewel, Liam Cartwright and Claude Flint, Robin’s sire, are all involved in the contract. Warlock/Siren Jack Webb, of the Invigilators, is in attendance to make sure the contract is legal.

Time is fleeting, and young Simon has grown up and is now twenty-five. But he’s been secluded in the fae realm, educated there, and has become a very upstanding man. He’s always under the protection of his guard Yerial. They’ve also become good friends. Simon has found the contract, but it’s not unusual to marry off royalty for alliances. He believes he needs to find Robin Flint and be sure he is suitable for marriage.

He hatches a plan to sneak off and find this “Robin” in the Human realm. He makes his escape from Yerial and creates a portal that takes him to Los Angeles. Atlas is one of the biggest and popular paranormal clubs in LA, and Robin owns it. But Simon is busted when Yerial shows up. He explains his situation to Yerial.

When Simon meets a stranger who happens to be Robin, he introduces himself with the name Yerial. As they talk, Simon feels that the bond between them is very strong.

Robin has made a successful life for himself in Hollywood. He’s also had sordid affairs, especially with Ben Redbourn, Dark Earl of Crofton, and Isaac Galloway, Marques of Denmouth, just to name a few.

Thanks to a discussion with Sebastian, Robin finds out who Simon really is. Simon can’t be deceitful, so he goes to Robin and confesses. They finally get together with all the important subjects and start to make plans. But there’s trouble about. Simon is very accepting of Robin’s past, but Robin is not to happy with Simon’s one or two dalliances, especially the one with Isaac.

Is trouble on the horizon when Simon shows up with Isaac? Will Simon and Robin go forward with their marriage? What will happen when future plans are thrown off course by an ancient evil?

Cohen’s Destiny, the second installment of the “Dark Earls” series, practically vibrates with excitement. Robin Flint is tired of all the complaining and baby-sitting he has to deal with. He really needs a change. He struggles with how accepting Simon is about his past and their future. They share their emotions and build something new as a couple, and the book has its share of steamy romantic moments. It’s filled with danger, portals, different realms, and surprises galore. And the magical characters, from elves to Earls, bring power and magic to the tale.

I highly recommend both Destiny and Subterfuge, the first book in the paranormal “Dark Earls” series, a paranormal version of the author’s “Modern Crofton” series – it’s fascinating to see these familiar characters in a different light. Cohen’s world building and characterization are fantastic – what a wonderful imagination!

Coming up next: Redemption. I can’t wait.

The Reviewer

Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.

I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.

My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!

As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.

My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.

I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.

But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.