Destiny MakerKatie is plagued with visions she can’t understand. It’s not until she enters the spirit realm to find her missing dad that the pieces start to fall into place. A reaping of souls has begun and Semonic, the ruler of Dylonia, won’t stop until every soul belongs to the darkness. Katie must decide whether her soul can accept her destiny. But only the Destiny Maker knows if she will lose her life and possibly her heart.

I’ve never read a book by Melissa Dugger, and I love a good speculative fiction novel, so I was eager to read this novel. I know this will sound snobby, but I didn’t have the greatest expectations – sadly, I have yet to read a Westbow Press book that knocked my socks off. I had hoped this would be the book, but it wasn’t.

I think the concept has merit, but it took a long time to get the story going. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t finish the book. I made it through nine chapters, but the only thing that really happens is a girl gets word that her dad is missing and she flies across the world to find him – it took that long for that to happen.

I had a hard time relating to Katie’s character too. The reasons for her relationships with her parents are rather superficial. She somehow has a passport and enough money to fly by herself around the world, and no adults seem to know or care that she’s going. And it’s not clear why she thinks she can find her dad – she’s never been to this other country and isn’t a genius, she’s just convinced that it has to be her. I’m okay suspending believe for a while and for certain things, but this was a lot of suspended belief for no concrete reasons.

I had planned to finish the book, but it didn’t capture my attention, so it was hard to keep going. I know many people who won’t read past the first chapter (or even first page), so I feel like nine chapters was a fair shot.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review; the opinions are my own.