Eluding Destiny

"Eluding Destiny" by Charlie Nottingham is a fantasy novel focusing on a young woman, Laila who only a few years ago discovered she is not human, she is a Fae-Angel hybrid and her mom is not her biological mother. To make matters more intense Laila is in love with Jeremy who is a Guardian, sworn to protect humanity, they are soulmates and for a reason unknown to them some dark force has cursed them. This novel was intense and fast paced. One thing after another is thrown at the couple and the reveal of why at the end is such a "wait what" moment. However we still don't know exactly why the person responsible was doing these things to them, only that they believe horrible things will happen if they stay together. Whatever force does not want them together. There are several books in the series. I have the first 3 so I will definitely be continuing my journey to find out exactly what is going on because I am now invested in who is messing with the most genuine, sweet person ever. 

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I went into this novel. I've been working on compiling a list of Indie authors for June's Indie author month and have gotten a lot of help from the amazing authors on tiktok...Which also means I've been snapping up quite a few kindle books on sale at their recommendation. This being one such book (of course I read the about first but it's down my alley so I snapped it up). 

I didn't expect to fall this in love with Laila and Jeremy, they are relationship goals. Ok let's be honest Laila is my favorite, if she dumps Jeremy I'm still following her. She's so down to earth for a badass. A lot of Fae novels you read, the human turned Fae is usually a badass in real life beforehand. Laila is your average girl. She loves her family, has a stable family life. Works at a Diner owned by her surrogate uncle. She is your average small town America girl. Which makes her super relatable. don't get me wrong I'm still in awe of her because lets be honest my life hasn't had half the knocks she got in one book and I'm already a mess. I would be certifiable if I went through the things she went through. Yet Laila keeps her head. She leans on the people around her, drinks too much (I think in that situation we all would) and pushes forward. Never stopping, never giving up. She's not out to save the world with her vendetta against whoever is messing with them. She's out to avenge the people she loves. 

I do also love Laila and Jeremy's relationship. They are honest with each other. They work through things, respect each other's boundaries. Don't expect the other person to be this magical perfect force. When Laila finds out she was wrong about the incident with Jeremy while he was away and that he was actually a victim, she is literally sick. She feels so bad. Is Jeremy mad at her though, no he relates to her, lets her know that he would have done the same in her position. RELATIONSHIP FREAKING GOALS YA'LL. 

Though I was pretty annoyed when Jeremy's family kept pressuring Laila to not dump him for his supposed mistake. Laila would have been well within sane reason to walk away and never look back. Never ask for an explanation never look further. And even though the situation turned out to not be what everyone thought she still would have been a decent person had she walked away and never looked back. I get it they're soul mates, and it was also totally believable because people suck at minding their own business. Relationships that aren't yours are not your business. So annoying... 

I don't want to spoil anything, and I won't but let's just say that Mary...I never liked her from the start. Clearly I have good instincts. Also after what happened in the basement I totally knew. My point...Mary is a B and don't get attached to her unless you like villains; then by all means get attached. I will continue to hate her and mentally yell "I knew it" every time I think of her. 

This book was intense and a bit emotional, it didn't give me a fantasy hangover as some fantasy novels can. I would put this more in the realm of a romance novel that just happens to be set in a paranormal universe. Which I was 5000% here for.