**REVIEW** Destiny's Fire by Trisha Wolfe

It's the year 2040, and sixteen-year-old Dez Harkly is one of the last of her kind—part of a nearly extinct race of shape-shifters descended from guardians to the Egyptian pharaohs. Her home and her secret are threatened when the Council lowers the barrier, allowing the enemy race to enter the Shythe haven.
As the Narcolym airships approach, Dez and her friends rebel against their Council and secretly train for battle. Not only is Dez wary of war and her growing affection for her best friend Jace, she fears the change her birthday will bring. 
When Dez's newfound power rockets out of control, it's a Narcolym who could change her fate...if she can trust him. Dez's guarded world crumbles when she discovers why the Narcos have really come to Haven Falls, and she's forced to choose between the race who raised her and the enemy she's feared her whole life.

Release Date:  January 10, 2012

Published By: Omnific Publishing

Review Copy:  Paperback, 224 pages

Review

  Where do I start with this one?  First of all, though I do enjoy Steampunk, I have to confess that I was relieved that it was not the dominant factor in this novel.   The elements that were Steampunk were actually influenced by one of the types of shape-shifters or it seemed that way.  Then there was the shifter factor that was unique, all descended from guardians of Egyptian Pharaoh's but they are far from one race.  I had no problem reading this one.

 The plot in this one was wonderfully written and the detailed world made it easy to fall into.  Despite what I thought going in the Shythe and Narcolym are not the only races and the general human public does not know that they exist within their community.  Destiny is unique to her race and with the change upon her she has enough worries, without having to figure out what to do about the Narcos that will soon be swarming her and her friends home. Thing is one of them may just be the key to her blending in.

  Dez was a great strong female heroine but she still had her faults.  She was not afraid to fight for what she felt was right and boy could she fight.  There was a time that she didn't realize her potential but once she unleashed it and had it figured out her strength was all but unstoppable.  Her downfall: falling for two guys.  I know that is petty of me but I can't help but feel that she flipped too easily.  I get that there was two totally worthy guys but to me there was only one clear choice.  Despite this I still love her as a character just her romantic decisions were questionable.

  The romance that I said above was really a wild card throughout the story.  To me there was only one clear choice: Reese.  I do understand why people would flip between Jace and Reese but I had a problem seeing it as right when Jace was more of a brother until it was too late.  Maybe it's the fact that the way Wolfe wrote the circumstances that cause the back and forth that made it so riveting.  Though the romantic interest was Destiny's weakness it for sure wasn't the story's.

  I know that there is a feeling of hot and cold in this review but I was not hot and cold while I read.  I tried writing the review twice before this and you know what it's all these feeling and moments that made this book wonderful.  Wolfe is a talented author and her writing is superb, with a flow that doesn't lull you to sleep but keeps a steady pace that pulls you in and only gains speed.  With amazing world building and extremely well written this one should not be missed.

Quotes

But when he slid his hands along my waist and cupped my hips, my chest fluttered wildly.  A small pain ached in my chest, and I pressed my hand over my heart, urging it to calm.

"And you followed me to my house, that's how you knew where I lived."  I closed my eyes for a moment.  "I don't know if I should feel flattered, elated that you exist, or creeped out."

My communicator came back into focus as my gaze settled over it, and my chest panged.  Furrowing my eyebrows, I gnawed the inside of my lip and wondered why everything with guys was so complicated.

I also tried my best not to look at him during class.  Being so near him I felt raw, like my soul was an open wound being submerged in salt water.  at times it was hard to breathe.