Shelf Candy Saturday

This meme is hosted by A Night's Dream of Books and focuses on the pretty book covers you come across and want to share with others. I love a pretty book cover, I even created a shelf on Goodreads to help me keep track of the pretty covers that I love. For this week I chose a cover that really jumped out at me when it first came out a few months back. Part of my excitement was that the author is a personal favorite of mine. I thought the cover was a good match for the story inside, which ended up being a really fun read. It's always a win-win when the cover is awesome and the inside matches.

Dark Destiny by Kari Gray

(aka Nancy Campbell Allen)

Dark Destiny by Kari Gray

All Lily Bordeaux wants is a shop of her own in the French Quarter, but the family legacy, passed down from her Salem witch ancestors, is bearing down on her despite her efforts to avoid it. A series of events place her in danger, but an old friend from college, Bennett Duschesne, may be the one person who can convince her to confront her past demons and embrace her gifts. As she grows closer to Bennett, evil forces threaten to destroy everything she loves. Will she have accepted her family legacy, only to find she was too late?

I’ve read all of Nancy C Allen’s (aka Kari Gray) books and was so excited when I saw she was going to be writing a new paranormal novella series. I got it the day it came out and devoured it in one sitting. She really can write any genre!

Lily is a descendent from the Salem Witches, but after losing her parents she doesn’t want anything to do with her “powers” and closes them off. Then one day she awakens after a bomb exploded at her aunt’s boutique and she realizes she should have been honing her powers, not ignoring them. To get answers and to protect her aunt she opens herself up to her powers and goes on the hunt for an elusive talisman. I thought this was a fun novella; a lot is packed in to the 118 pages!

Lily was a likable heroine, I liked that she was strong and wanted to take matters into her own hands. I also liked that she was willing to accept help when she needed it. I liked the romance with her and Bennett. They had been friends for a long time and had drifted apart when he started dating another girl. They’re reunited after the explosion and realize the depth of their feelings. The romance was sweet, a little fast, but considering the length of the novel and the fact that they had known each other before made it believable. The overall story was fun and I look forward to reading the rest of the series! Beautiful cover!

Content, PG:
Romance: Clean, mild innuendo (a little steamier than her other books, if I remember)
Language: Mild (H, D, S)
Violence: Mild

Source: Amazon Kindle Unlimited