Destined for a King

by Ashlyn Macnamara

• ISBN10: 1101967870
• ISBN13: 9781101967874
• Publish Date: 2016
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 266
• Language: English

Reviews

[chymerra]

Before I start my review, I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing – Loveswept for allowing me to review Destined for a King by Ashlyn Macnamara.

**All opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone. I received Destined for a King from Random House Publishing – Loveswept through NetGalley as an ARC for my honest and unbiased review**

Now onto my review:

I was very to excited about this book when I saw the synopsis. “Oh wow, Jolie, it’s a Middle Age romance and it is going to ROCK”, I thought to myself. I was so excited to read this book.

Talk about setting myself up for a huge disappointment.

Destined for a King did have a great start. The book starts off in the middle of the battle where Blackbriar Keep is being overtaken by Torch and his knights. Calista (or Cali), Lord Thorne’s daughter and only child, manages to shoot Torch in his leg with an arrow (which made me go “You go girl” internally) and wounds him. After announcing to the keep (and her parents) that he is going to marry her, Torch passes out. Turns out that the arrow was tipped with Kingsbane and poisoned him. Torch’s second in command orders Calista to heal Torch with the threat that if he doesn’t live, neither will she or her parents. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Calista is promised (betrothed) to the King, Magnus Vandal and that Torch is claiming that he is the long-lost heir to the throne….Josse Vandal.

Got that. Good. Because after all that is revealed, the book gets very, very, very confusing.

I didn’t like Calista at all. She was headstrong and prone to doing things that got herself and other people in trouble. Like sneaking out of the Keep to go see her old tutor, Brother Tanctrid and ask him about what really happened with the King and Torch. I still don’t understand how she did it, with the Keep being as heavily defended as it was.

Then there is Calista’s mother. She drove me nuts. Always reminding her that she was “destined for a king” but never saying why. What really got me was when she told Calista “remember why I named you” and then NEVER WENT INTO THE REASON!!!! WTH. Why did she name Calista her name? WHY? Inquiring minds want to know over here.

Then there is Calista getting attacked by Brother Tanctrid after she awakes him from his trance. I really thought he was going to end up being a vampire with all the talk about blood. Lets just say that it isn’t exactly blood that he wants and Calista is effected by his attack but not in the way that you would think (no spoilers here).

There is Instalove here too. Calista goes from hating Torch to being in love with him within 4 days. Excuse me while I gag. I hate Instalove. At least give it a week or so to develop. I will say that the sex scenes were great and very delicious.

The ending was pretty good too (all I have to say is justice was served) and it definitely left the book open for other books in the series.

How many stars will I give Destined for a King? 2/2.5

Why? While very vividly written and there were some great characters, I couldn’t get past the Instalove and some very poorly written scenes. I actually had to reread chapters because I felt that I missed something when it was the author who didn’t include it in the book. I do feel that this series does have promise, though, and will be on the lookout for the next book.

Will I reread it? I will have to, if I am going to read the other books.

Will I recommend to family and friends? I am kinda up in the air on this. I want to say yes but at the same time I want to say no.

Age Range: Adult

Why? Sex. Lots and lots of sex. Also some violence but nothing really graphic.

[stacey_is_sassy]

If only the middle hadn’t dragged so much

Destined for a King grabbed and kept my attention with the cover and blurb. There’s nothing more appealing to me than a strong and feisty heroine taking up arms to protect her home and family. Bring in a fearsome warrior with plans for revenge that gets distracted by love, and I’m definitely keen. Unfortunately, the promise didn’t live up to my expectations. The strong and feisty heroine was a bit wish washy and the fearsome warrior seemed to fumble at every challenge he faced.

The beginning did grab my attention and I was interested in working out what was what and who was who. The ending was a little more exciting but it felt like the battle scenes were skimmed over and too many questions/issues were “fixed” and just fell into place. I think the author may have miscalculated (not sure if that’s the right word) where we as readers would want more details. For me, I want to see the fight scenes, experience the anguish of losing a home, feel the desperation of knowing a loved one is at risk. A fantasy romance needs passion and intrigue, but the details need to be fleshed out in the exciting times, not at the sickbed or when posturing males are comparing the size of their swords.

Maybe, I’m judging it too harshly as it’s the first in the series with definite room for growth. I just felt that it was lacking a little oomph. The middle felt tedious, too descriptive and boring. I struggled to stay motivated to keep reading. It wasn’t all bad, and I managed to like a few of the characters, but unfortunately I was disappointed and left wanting more. I liked it, but that’s it.



I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
Destined for a King is the story of two very strong characters, a world in which the king is the ultimate ruler, and where there is no room for mistakes...



Destined for a King is set in a fantasy world, that has a little bit of a medieval feel to it. There is magic, and there is a war on the horizon. This war is brought literally into Calista's front yard, when Torch and his Bastard Brotherhood take the fort under siege. Torch is badly hurt, though, and Calista has to nurse him back to health, or her father will not only stay in prison, but be executed. Torch doesn't really care that Calista has been promised to the king, as he has seen her in a vision, and he knows that they will be together.

I was immediately swept into the midst of the story of Destined for a King, and the characters were so well done I wanted to stay in this hostile and slightly scary world. I also loved that the women held an important place in this world, Calista even knew how to use a bow and arrow to try to defend her home against intruders. She also knew how to use medicinal plants in order to heal, and her knowledge is very important to the story both in this book, and, I am guessing in the future books of this series.

Macnamara managed to paint a very colorful, albeit a bit dark, world in Destined for a King, and her characters came to life in a way that made me think I could reach into my kindle and touch them. There is mystery, suspense, betrayal, usurpers, excitement and romance galore, so readers get the full array of emotions going while entering the story and taking part in Calista and Torch's adventure.

Written in third person, past tense, from Calista's and Torch's perspectives, but with a lot of dialogues to keep the readers on their toes, Destined for a King made me feel like I had spent a while in a completely different space, where danger lurked, but salvation was possible anyway. If you're a fantasy fan, or a romance fan, or a mystery fan - this book is for you!



With a spate of impatience, she jerked the sheet back from his legs - only to drop it as if it had suddenly caught fire. Her cheeks flamed. owl had removed even his lord's smallcothes. As an unmarried woman, she shouldn't have to contend with a naked man, especially not one so wholly masculine. Even out cold, his presence on her mattress made her feel somehow vulnerable.

The girl turned her head to the side and eyed the vial. "What's in it?" 
"Elixir of poppy. For pain. Don't take too much, though. I don't have any more left, and we may be needing it before he's healthy again." A smug sort of satisfaction rang through that statement. It portended as much ill as her smile had. 

 

[limabean74]

I am not even sure how to write this review. The captivating cover, the synopsis that gave me the chills and the fact I haven’t read a book like this in forever is exactly why I felt I NEEDED this book. I have been wanting something like this for a while, I haven’t read a historical romance since I was in my 20’s and I never realized how much I missed them. This has a great paranormal twist that just set the bar for me when reading books like this. I love when a HR adds a bit of magic.

The story is about a strong female Calista Thorne who is promised to a corrupt king but the land she lives on is taken over by the dashing Torch who insists that they are meant to be together because he saw it with his stone. I loved everything about these two, they had a few funny moments and I just thought the chemistry was so intense between them. My heart hurt for them and cheered for them. They are a perfect match and I loved how they are developed. This book for me had great character build and the world was set very nicely. You get a lot of info about Torch and sometimes it was a little hard to keep up but it wasn’t a complete dump. It spreads across the book evenly so it’s not all happening at one. Even with it a little hard to keep straight once you get the full story it becomes rather clear how the magic work. I enjoyed the twists in the book and once this one was over, it has a great ending, I can’t wait to get my hands on the next one.

I am so glad I saw this book and I am even happier that I was able to read it. I honestly read this one in a few days. I couldn’t put it down. I loved everything about this and excited to have a new series to enjoy. This is my first book from Ashlyn MacNamara and I am happy to report it will not be my last. I highly recommend, this is a really great read, lots of action, awesome steamy moments and amazing character and world build. A must read!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my review.

Have a great day and Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Because reading is better than real life