Destiny by D.D. Larsen is a paranormal romance with multiple mysteries, impressive intrigue, and family and friendship themes. After Jamie’s relationship with her former boss, Liam, ends poorly, she returns to her hometown. Having cut off everyone from her old life—except her parents—seven years prior, she struggles to mend fences with old friends. She starts a new part-time job, fends off Liam’s communication attempts, and all the while, experiences odd dreams and suspects secrets are being kept from her. 

Shortly after Jamie’s return home, vicious animal attacks occur in town for the first time in seventeen years, reminding Jamie of family tragedy. A sense of danger presses on Jamie at times, and as she tries to uncover the mysteries in her life, she must also reconcile having feelings for both a seemingly changed Liam and her father’s younger coworker, Wren. Romance, mystery, and paranormal elements collide to form this intriguing story.

I appreciated characters beyond their college years and enjoyed the way the book started akin to a contemporary romance novel.  Because of the deceptively mundane beginning and the way the mysteries appeared and built up over time, I felt Jamie’s intrigue first-hand, a rare opportunity and a satisfying experience. Many of the threads came together in the end, with one especially promising surprise, and I love that this book is clearly just the beginning of a great new series!

My qualms with Destiny concern its pace and the characters’ secrets. First, though the story pulled me in immediately, I struggled through the middle, wanting faster action and development. When I was pulled back in at the end, the comparatively faster pace made Jamie’s reaction to the boatload of information dumped on her seem unrealistic. Second, I was frustrated knowing that if secrets had not been kept from Jamie for so long, if she had been given more information just a bit sooner, a lot of trouble would have been avoided.

Overall, I enjoyed Destiny and imagine the rest of the series will be even better!  I would recommend Destiny to readers who enjoy suspense, character transformation, and paranormal romance.