Destined Paperback – 26 April 2012

Laurel, as always, is a fabulous main character.  I love that, although she is fae, she has retained her humanity and has tried to embrace both sides of her life.  But in her quest to save those she loves, both human and faerie alike, Laurel can often be more than a little reckless.  She is quick to react and to act, but not always with as much thought as maybe she should have.  But her selflessness is endearing, even if she is often too self-sacrificing.  I like that, as a character, she is written to be imperfect, which makes her character one that is easy to love and to cheer for.  What I find most interesting about her as a character is the type of person she has been created to be.  She really doesn’t fit anywhere, not fully.  She was raised as a human, not knowing her own heritage as a faerie.  She has human ideals and her ways of thinking are fully rooted in the human world.  But there is no escaping the fact that she is not human, but faerie.  There is so much about her that is completely different from humanity, not the least of which is her very anatomy.  These things set her apart from her human friends and family in fundamental ways.  But nor does Laurel fully fit into the faerie world.  She hasn’t grown up living within the faerie ways, and doesn’t remember her early childhood in Avalon.  Many of the faerie traditions and ideals seem wrong to her because she wasn’t raised within them.  As a result, Laurel isn’t just alien in the human world as a faerie, but in the faerie world with her human ways.  Pretty clear commentary on the life of a teenager, or anyone!David was a star in this book, as was Chelsea, too.  David took on a fight that wasn’t necessarily his own, the fight to save Avalon.  Considering he had lost his beloved Laurel to Tamani, there was no reasonable expectation that he take that on.  But he put aside his ego and his feelings and stepped forward to be the hero Avalon needed.  On the flip side, there was the Queen.  I couldn’t stand her, which was appropriate for the story line.  She was supposed to be the extremely powerful Winter faerie Queen and she seemed to be more concerned with her own power than those who she was supposed to be leading.    The ending (no spoilers!) was done in a really creative and interesting  way.  It was not the traditional, “happy ever after” ending that I was expecting.  There is a certain expectation for a neatly tied-up ending, especially in a faery tale.  While it wasn’t a bad ending, it wasn’t at all what would fit that faery tale formula, more bittersweet than sweet.  It was terribly beautiful in some ways and terribly heartbreaking in other ways.  I came into the ending expecting it to follow that formula, but after experiencing it, no other ending would have been as emotionally right for the series.  It could have ended at the end of the final chapter, with a perfectly acceptable ending.  But immediately after that, Pike inserts a note to the reader, a note that brings the reader into the mind of the author and subsequently into the mind of David.  The note explains that there is more to the end of the story, an end that is not so “HEA” but more human.  In other words, more realistic and more imperfect.  This ending is written in the form of a letter and was beautiful, and terribly sad in so many ways.  Thoroughly emotional and full of its own magic.Things to love about Illusions...   --The themes.  This book was a bit darker than the others, and touched on some more universal themes.  I think the darker tone made the story, although fantasy, more believable because the situations were not glossed over.     --The intensity.  This was my favorite of the four books, far more action-packed and far more intense than the others.  There was more of the “sweet fairy tale” feel throughout the other books, until the end of the third and this one and I liked the more realistic feel to the darker Things I wanted more or less of...   --A little more of the Queen.  I felt that her character was underutilized in the overall story.  Her aloofness and refusal to protect her own seemed to be too much out of character for those of Avalon so I wanted to know more about why.  I really would have liked a more expanded role for her, more depth into her character that would have explained more fully her reactions and actions.Some quotastic goodness...   --Sleep wasn’t an option, not while the only thing between him and an angry Winter faerie was a thin line of table salt (7).   --“Never underestimate the power of a situation you put yourself into (23).”   --“No person’s life should be defined by a single purpose, especially one they didn’t choose (246)."   --The best, most lasting changes are those which come about gradually; to reach great heights, a tree must first put down extensive roots (331).My recommendation:  I am sad to see this series end and can only hope for a companion series in the future!  A must read!

I've loved this series and, like many, am sad to come to an ending. I'm here to tell you to take a chance and try this series if you like fantasy, romance and some action.After reading the 'The 13' series (by Michelle Harrison) about fairies, I started looking for more books on them. I came across 'Wings' and thought I'd try it and see what it was like. Well, boy am I glad I did! I've thoroughly enjoyed the books and I think if your a teenager with a big imagination or an aspiring author, you should buy 'Wings' and just enjoy the emotional merry-go-round of realistic life but with a little magic touch to it. If you like the first book, then go for the rest and I'm pretty sure you'll feel the same way I'm feeling right now. :)The story starts off with 'Wings' where Laurel, the stubborn but likable and typical teenager finds out a big secret with help from David - a sweet, caring and everything you would want in a boyfriend guy, who plays a big part of Laurel' s love life throughout the series. But then comes along Tamani - wild, cocky (in a good way!) and eccentric. As he reveals the answers to Laurel' s questions (to do with the 'big secret' I mentioned earlier) Laurel realizes that she's not only falling for David but for Tamani as well. She's always been pressured to choose between them but in the end she makes a decision which I'm relieved with because I always thought that Pike would leave it hanging open with Laurel saying she loves them both and she couldn't stand to live without either of them but, good on her for making a decision!Aside from the lovey-dovey stuff, there are threats as well and not just your typical off-the-mill villain - TROLLS! It was really exciting to read about them and a bit creepy but still really good! Destined definitely had the most action and that's why I enjoyed it the most out if the series.Back to the love stuff, I've always liked Tamani better than David and I guess that once you read the story, you'll kind of understand but David is also a great guy and there's a note at the back from Pike saying that she created a letter written by David and you're warned to read it. I think just go ahead and read it, it's too hard to resist and you may as well see what happens. Lots of people have warned you not to read it though so it's your own choice (no pressure!)My fingers are getting kind of tired now so I'll wrap it up. So here's your fantasy, romance and action - try the first book and see how it goes! I'm so envious that you get to read all the books without knowing what happens and get to enjoy them to their fullest point, good luck! :)P.s try the 13 series, there's a darker side than these books but still worth a read.P.p.s The rebel fairies you should try as well!P.p.p.s I know that I've spelt fairy wrong but I couldn't remember how to spell the way how it is written in these books so apologies! :)

hab das buch auf englisch bestellt, da die deutschen versionen noch nicht erschienen waren. es ist gut zu lesen und zu verstehen. design vom cover ist außerdem auch klasse :-)

Per chi ama vivere nel tempo libero in un mondo fatato distaccandosi dalla realtà, questo libro è l'ideale(è un fantasy per ragazzi)... ma prima bisogna leggere assolutamente i tre precedenti!Non ve ne pentirete!

Destined is an amazing read! From the first page to the last, it was fast paced, heart wrenching, romantic, action packed and just a wonderful book! It’s a great ending to such a fun series that I have enjoyed reading.Destined picks up where Illusions left off. Laurel and her friends are dealing with a very angry winter fairy Yuki. It starts off or continues from Tamani’s apartment where they have Yuki being held. It’s not long before Klea shows up and everything goes crazy from there. After some battles happen Laurel and Tamani make the decision to go to Avalon to warn them. What they don’t anticipate is taking David and Chelsea with them. It’s been a very long time since any humans have been allowed to enter Avalon.Most of the book takes place in Avalon. There are lots of epic battles that are fought and not everyone will survive. Laurel will have so many tough choices to make not only with her love life but also who to save in Avalon. She wants to save everyone but that is not possible. There are even some that I was surprised that she tries to save. For being humans David and Chelsea really came into their own in this book. The way they took commands and the battles that they were involved in were amazing. I don’t want to give anything away but this is such an amazing ending.I was happy with the way the book ended. The author’s letter after the ending really got me though. You’ll have to read it to find out what I’m talking about. There are some characters that I am left wondering what happened to them after Laurel and her friends left Avalon. I know there is another book in this series that has some of the characters from the previous books that I am looking forward to reading. Overall a wonderful, fun, and entertaining series that I highly recommend!