Destined by Aprilynne Pike

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 320pgs

The Story

Tamani looked at her gravely, and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear.

He hesitated for an instant, then his hands found the sides of her face, pulling her to him. He didn't kiss her, just held her face close to his, their foreheads resting together, their noses almost touching.

She hated how much it felt like good-bye.

Laurel now knows the truth: Yuki is a rare Winter faerie, the most powerful - and deadly - of all, and Klea plans to use her to help conquer and destroy Avalon. But Klea's reach extends far beyond one wild Winter faerie. With Tamani, David, and Chelsea by her side, Laurel prepares to face what may be Avalon's final days, in the stunning conclusion to the Wings series.

The Review

A big thanks to HarperCollins Australia for sending me a review copy of this book!

We've been on quite a journey with Aprilynne Pike's Wings series and I've always had a soft spot for it since the first book came out a few years ago. While I will admit this YA faerie series wasn't a huge favourite of mine nor did the last installment impress me so much, but I was still really looking forward to picking this book up and seeing how everything was going to end for the characters. With plenty of battles, action sequences, romantic one-liners and plot changing twists with their own little bag of surprises mixed into it, I'm very happy to report that DESTINED was my absolute favourite book and the author, as promised, had successfully delivered and finished her series with a total BIG-BANG!

The one thing a reader can want in a series - especially with one that will soon come to an end - is to have everything turn out the way they want it to end, whether it's having the love triangle be sorted out for the main character or ensuring that everyone has their own happy ending with most of the loose ends being tied up as well. In this book's case, DESTINED, everything I was hoping for had actually happened and I guess you could say I was one happy reader when I closed this book and was quite proud to be right for once. Sure, there were a few events that were really surprising and there were so many plot twists I didn't see coming at all, but the ending was absolutely perfect and I couldn't have asked for anything better. For some fans, I know you will be sad. But for others like me . . . you'll be impressed.

The cast of characters in this book were back to being awesome and were written exceptionally well which was great to see Now I've had my ups and downs with the characters and the actions they've taken in the past few books, whether it was with the main characters or the supporting ones, but in DESTINED every single character (good and evil) had proven to be worthy of their roles as they carried the story along and had really up-stepped their game. For Laurel, David and Tamani, these three main characters surprised me in more ways than one. They really did. I always knew Laurel and Tamani were strong on the inside - their character growth only goes to prove it - but David for once in this series played a vital role in the book. He was always seen as the 'useless human boy' but that perspective of him changes entirely when it came to this final book. So good for him to show off his new fighting skills because he has many layers underneath that soft, caring boy exterior. But there's someone more important here and my favourite boy of all . . . Tamani.

Oh how I ADORED Tamani in this book. Tamani, one of the love interests for Laurel, was my favourite, favourite character in the entire series and my love for him still hasn't changed one bit. Throughout the series Tamani has always been there for everyone else and he's always been struggling to keep his emotions in check when it came to Laurel and protecting her from those who want to hurt her, without (you know) clouding his judgement with his romantic feelings for her. Again and again, Tamani just broke my heart in his FEELINGS alone, especially towards the ending of this book. But that heart was soon mended in the end (thank god) and everything about him made me smile and leap for joy when it came to Tamani's ending . . . it was soooooo good and he's soooooo mine. Well, okay, he's not exactly mine per se but still . . 

As for the decision Laurel has to make between her doting human boy David or her fierce protector Tamani, the love triangle - I'm also happy to announce - remained forever strong in this final book and although it does become pretty clear as the book progresses to whom our Laurel will choose to be with in the end, but I was a really happy person with how everything turned out. Sure, I could see Laurel's decision coming a mile away but I was all for it no matter what happened. Her decision was the right one to make just to clue you in, especially after the long battle she had to endure, and let's just say a huge smile is now on my face as I close this final book and reflect on it.

Overall, when it comes to Aprilynne Pike's fourth and final installment DESTINED, while it's always sad to say goodbye to some of our beloved characters though I'm sure many fans of the Wings series will be more than satisfied with this book. Trust me . . . I totally was and I can't wait to see what else Pike has up her sleeve which I'm sure is going to be nothing but amazeballs!

The Rating

5/5 stars