The Destined, E. J. Mellow

The Blurb

I searched for you in the stars tonight.
But I found none
that burned as bright as you.

—Part of a letter from Dev to Molly

With the loss of Terra’s greatest weapon, the war against darkness escalates rapidly, and time is on no one’s side. While Dev struggles to keep his home and hope alive, Molly and Rae find themselves forced to confront a desperately kept secret and quickly learn that a life-altering sacrifice is the asking price to restore order.

Nightmares, betrayal, the fate of two worlds, and one man’s hunger for vengeance lead Molly down a twisted and dark path she fears she might never come back from. Cornered into making a heart-wrenching decision, Molly teeters between deliverance and damnation. Who is worth saving most—a nation or the one she loves?

My Thoughts

*takes a deep breath*

E. J. Mellow is a very gifted and talented author. I think that this is a good way to start this review.

Throughout the whole series she has managed to keep the reader interested and on edge, never knowing where the story might go. And she did it with style and class and a really big talent for story-telling. 

The Destined’s story was gripping and intense, and I felt like sitting on a rollercoaster of wild emotions reading through - I feel like I’ve gulped the words, and I know for sure a re-read of the entire series will be on the menu very soon. The setting is, as it was before, incredible, along with the numerous descriptions that go along with it. The Dreamland premises are unlike anything I’ve read before, and I so wish I could take a trip to Terra to meet with all those wonderful characters. 

Going through this book, I think I love Rae more than Dev, because he’s just too precious, with his messed up references and his quirkiness. Ms. Mellow managed to give each character their own identity, which makes them all unique, and I especially loved that aspect. All the characters are too precious for my poor heart to express fully. Friendship is another aspect dear to me, and it was written wonderfully - Rae is a golden friend, as well as Becca. I feel like those two, along with Molly and Dev, form a very precious quatuor. 

On characters I’ll say only one last thing: a good story relies on plot, yes, but also on a solid hero, and Molly delivers on that note. She is a strong woman, and she truly is a model, in my opinion. I really, really loved the fact that she manages to stay humble and “normal” despite her tremendous power. That was refreshing.

Onto style, now, and I have only praises. One word: beautiful. You can choose all the synonyms, it will also work.

I found this book to be the most accomplished, perhaps, in terms of style and writing skills. Ms. Mellow writes pain beautifully, and Molly’s despair was extremely poetic and touching. And in general, I felt like the whole book was very poetic - not only the painful parts -, and it was as if some words were just singing. Which is, you know, quite rare. 

I absolutely loved the setting of the story, and it was probably because I managed to see all the colours and feel all the emotions that E. J. Mellow described with her words. The memories were a clever and original touch that I enjoyed reading. One more thing I loved (but I could go on forever I think) was the recurring theme of stars and space. Loved that. 

All in all, you can guess that I loved this book. It’s a little bittersweet to me because it’s the end of the series, but it wrapped up perfectly, on the right note, in the same fashion. I could not have hoped for better, and I’m glad it was done so wonderfully. 

I will leave you with a few final thoughts: 1) I want to move to Terra. 2) Rae has really enhanced my expectations on men, so… yeah. 3) I really want to visit the Gallery of Stars. 4) I like Hector and Cato. 5) Alright, I’ll re-read them all now, that’s it.

GO READ THE SERIES!

★★★★★ 

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