"Destined" by Morgan Rice

From Goodreads: "In DESTINED (Book #4 in the Vampire Journals), Caitlin Paine wakes to discover herself back in time. She finds herself in a cemetery, on the run from a mob of villagers, and seeks refuge in the ancient cloisters of Assisi, in the countryside of Umbria, Italy. There, she learns of her destiny and her mission: to find her father and the ancient vampire Shield needed to save mankind.

But Caitlin's heart still pines for her lost love: Caleb. She desperately needs to know if he has survived their trip back in time. She learns that her mission requires her to go to Florence, but if she wants to pursue matters of the heart, she must go to Venice. She chooses Venice. 

Caitlin is overwhelmed at what she finds. Venice of the eighteenth century is a surreal place, men and women dressed in elaborate costumes and masks, celebrating an endless, lavish party. She is thrilled to discover and reunite with some of her close friends, and to be welcomed back into their coven. And she is excited to join them in Venice's Grand Ball, the most important costume dance of the year, where she hopes, once again, to find Caleb. 

But Caitlin is not the only one who can travel back in time: Kyle soon arrives, too, and is determined to hunt her down and kill her once and for all. Sam, too, arrives, determined to save his sister before it is too late. 

At the Ball, Caitlin searches everywhere, and finds no sign of Caleb. That is, until the very last dance. She dances with a masked man who takes her heart away, and she feels certain that it is him. But as the partners change, she loses him again. Or does she? 

Caitlin soon finds herself torn between the two loves of her life, and discovers that she has to be careful what she wishes for. Her joy at finding what she wants might just come mixed with tragedy and heartbreak. 

In a climactic, action-packed ending, Caitlin finds herself up against true evil, Rome's ancient vampire coven, and the most powerful vampire coven that ever existed. Surviving will demand all her skills, as she finds herself battling for her very life. She will have to sacrifice more than ever, if she is to save the one she loves.... 

DESTINED is Book #4 in the Vampire Journals (following TURNED, LOVED and BETRAYED), and yet it also stands alone as a self-contained novel. DESTINED is over 60,000 words."

It should come as no surprise if you have seen my reviews of the previous books in this series ("Turned", "Loved", and "Betrayed") that once again I find myself conflicted as to how I feel about this book, the fourth book in the series. On the one hand I feel that the premise of the series is quite unique and unlike anything else in the world of YA vampire books, but on the other hand, inconsistencies in the writing and cliched characters frustrate me.

While I had been somewhat frustrated with the 'insta-love' that occurred in the earlier books and I had been somewhat frustrated with Caitlin as a whole, that frustration was nothing compared to what I felt in this book. One minute Caitlin was declaring her undying love for Caleb, the next she was in bed with Blake. One minute she was planning her future with Caleb and their unborn child, the next she was planning the same, though with Blake. One minute she was, well you get the picture... The girl is seriously more boy crazy than Aura was in Jerri-Smith Ready's "Shade" and "Shift" (and at least Logan and Zachary had extremely developed personalities/ some redeeming qualities, Caleb and Blake were basically the same character- quiet, stoic, etc.- save for their looks). And she lacks common sense. She jumps to conclusions (and the wrong ones at that) constantly and these conclusions always have dire consequences (ie. the death of a character, the loss of a relationship, etc.).

However, putting aside my aforementioned frustrations I did like the plot of this book more than any other book in the series. I found it to be similar to that of Lauren Kate's "Torment"- jumping through time and risking everything to save a love. Also, I loved the setting of this book -when I read books like Steph Perkin's "Anna and the French Kiss" or "Die for Me" by Amy Plum I find myself reliving my time spent in France- and that was definitely the case for this book (though in Florence), and as such, I do find it easier to connect to the book overall.

All in all, this series hasn't lived up to my expectations whatsoever. That is not to say that it is terrible series, because it isn't. I think that if you are looking for some really quick and fun reads then these books are perfect, however if you are looking for something a bit deeper or more adult then I wouldn't recommend them.   

Rating: 7.5/10

I received this book from the author to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.