The Destined (3)

This is such a great ending for the Dreamland Series--I was captured the whole way through and totally satisfied with the clever and suspense filled final "showdown" . The author created lots of twists and turns in the plot, full of emotions and great familiar and new characters. On several occasions I told myself I would be flipping back to copy some awesome quotes from our girl Molly. I love EJ Mellow's view of the world. It is fresh and promising and gave me a hopeful feeling as I finished reading the book--even though I knew this was purely fiction! Read the whole series in order--you will see what I mean and you will not be disappointed!

**I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.**

The Destined concludes the magical Dreamland cycle.

From awe-inspiring world building and perfectly paced action scenes, to sizzling romance and emotionally destructive endings...the Dreamland series has delivered time and time again. The Destined continues this tradition, bringing together everything that makes this series so addictive along with new elements that keep you guessing.

It's so hard to say goodbye.

It's so bittersweet! We may be closing the final page of a series that has changed our lives, but we're not leaving its world and colourful characters behind. Because those will always have a place on our hearts, in our minds, and on our bookshelves!

Waiting for this book was like staying up on Christmas Eve.

The building excitement, the longing - the inability to go to sleep because you know something amazing is coming soon and you don't want to miss it. Multiply that feeling by a hundred and maybe you'll come close to the amount of anticipation I was filled with for The Destined!

The Divide left us hanging off the edge of an emotional Tartarus.

We were left wondering whether our OTP ship would be able to sail safely into the harbour of Happily Ever Afters. Being a fan of Dev more like an obsessive fangirl and hopeful future girlfriend lol I was devastated by an ending that didn't leave much hope for us members of Team Dev.

The Destined quickly restored my faith in humanity.

The first page was a breath of fresh air. I have (in great detail) waxed poetic about E.J. Mellow's writing in the past so I won't spend too much time doing so now...but I just need to say how beautiful it truly is. The way that first page was laid out was perfection. As was the rest of the book for that matter lol!

The snippets of letters between Dev and Molly made my day and simultaneously broke my heart. The love between them shines through every word and you can feel the pain of separation in every letter.

Molly and Dev are #couplegoals.

The realism that makes up the foundation of their relationship makes them one of my favourite literary couples. E.J. doesn't skip over the measures they have to go through to help their love endure, or the hurdles that arise - it's raw and very true to life.

A happily ever after for E.J.'s characters isn't something that is gifted or expected but something that has to be earned by them. Through their actions, sacrifices, and the strength of their love for one another.

Chapter 44 was the hardest thing I have ever read.

Every book has that chapter. The one that broke you. The one that sent you running for the nearest tissue box and chocolate stash...the one that makes a book truly memorable.

Chapter 44 was that chapter. And there are no words for the emotions I felt during Chapter 44 so I will express it all through the power of gifs:

The Destined was a dreamer's delight.

Vivid and destined to pull tight on your heartstrings, The Destined sets an incredibly high standard for NA storytelling like no other book or series I've read. I don't know if I'll ever find a NA book to top it...and I don't know if I need to. Because I have a feeling I'll be indulging in E.J. Mellow's evocative storytelling for years to come :)

*ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review*
"How ironic to find oneself in one's enemy."
Oh. My. God. This was one of my most anticipated releases for this year and even though I already knew I was going to love it, I was not ready for how much it would cost me. I fell in love with this world since the very first book but this last installment managed to multiply my feelings for it time and time again. I can't wrap my head around how much angst and fulfillment this book held between its pages. One second it had me dreading the next page, then it had me cheering so hard I almost fell off my bed, until I was back in a fetal position, crying my eyes out from all the devastation being thrown at me.
Molly completely blew me away in this book. She's a character I have always deeply admired but this book unearthed another side of her that I didn't know I was yearning to witness until it happened. The respect I have for her now is even more insane than it already was.
And since we are naming characters, we can't forget about Dev!! The blue eyed hunk that drove me insane in every single book has officially sparked a deeper passion in me than ever before. I deeply enjoyed crawling in his head with those beautiful letter snippets we got at the start of some chapters. He made my heart ache and eyes tear up with all his beautiful sentiments. So much so that I grew insanely jealous of Molly as I read them; I need a guy to write me words like those *cue in more tears*.
Now, I can't finish writing this review without dedicating a spot to my other two favorite men in this series, Rae and Hector!!! Those two were as spectacular as any characters could get. Even though they're considered 'side characters', they didn't let themselves be overshadowed by anyone. I have such a deep affection for them that I feel it is borderline motherly. I spent most of the book scared out of my mind for all of these wonderful characters. Mellow didn't hold any punches and I felt them down to the core. The plot just kept getting crazier and crazier until I felt like my heart would turn into mush from being tossed around in my chest so much. I'm honestly scared to read more from Mellow now. I really thought she was a nice person but I may have to rethink that opinion after she destroyed me like this...
6/5 stars!

In. All. Of. Terra. It has been two weeks since I finished reading this, and I’m still trying to deal. This book was everything. It was absolutely amazing, fangirl-attack inducing, heartbreakingly cute, and just plain heartbreaking. And, more importantly, it was the end. The end, guys. There will be no more books about Molly and Dev and Terra and all the characters I love so dearly. It is over. I can’t believe it is over. It was a perfect ending to the series, but an ending nonetheless, and that is just sad.

I love Molly.

Seriously, she is just so badass and nice and just awesome. And she doesn’t give up. I’ll admit, she was feeling pretty down at the beginning of the book, but even when bad stuff happened, she didn’t give up – not permanently, anyway. I love that about her. But I also love that when bad stuff happened (and they did a lot), she freaked out a little. It made her more real.

Dev is just so swoon-worthy!

I cannot tell you enough how much I love, love, love Dev. If there was ever a fictional guy that could make me laugh and cry and swoon like no tomorrow, it is Dev. If Molly doesn’t want him, I would totally take him for myself. Seriously, how do you create a perfect guy like him? And we got some of his perspective in this book, which was just awesome.

And I love the supporting characters just as much, especially Becca and Rae. Becca is such a great best friend to Molly, and she and Rae are so cute together.

The plot is still absolutely amazing.

Things start to get a little heated in Terra, with the war against the Metus and Molly not being able to go there in her dreams anymore. The world I fell in love with over The Dreamer and The Divide is falling apart. And things are escalating on Earth, as well.

I love the world of Terra so much, and I will really miss it.

The writing is what dreams are made of (at least for bookworms like me). It feels so real, and authentic and is just good. I mean, Molly is an awesome character all on her own, but Mellow could seriously write about a horrible character, and it wouldn’t really matter because of her way with words. It makes everything feel so much more real. Wherever and however Mellow learned to write, every writer should do it, because her writing makes me want to cry of happiness.

The Destined was a perfect ending to the series. As much as I will miss Terra, this just felt right. If you haven’t started reading this series yet (and if so, what are you doing with your life?), you need to buy it yesterday, because you will not regret it. With great world-building, amazing characters, and writing that is simply to-die-for, it is a perfect example on a good Fantasy-book. Although I will warn you, The Destined is a book you will get stuck in. Once you start reading, you simply cannot put it away.

“Words, Dev thought, never did the job the speaker wanted them to”

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve had over a day to gather my thoughts and attempt to articulate just how amazing this book was, and I fear that I still can’t find the words to truly do it justice. I can tell you that this book was an emotional journey; an experience for all your senses. Mellow has an incredible way of whisking you away into her dreamworld and making it so you dread the moment you’ll inevitably have to come back to reality.

One of my favorite things was the way every chapter started with a little piece of the letters between Dev and Molly. It was comforting, even when things were at their most chaotic and seemed the darkest, it was a little bit of light and hope that warmed you from the inside out. The writing was lyrical and even quite poetic at times. The way Mellow describes things paint the most vivid, visceral images. My kindle highlighter got quite the workout! There were so many touching and beautiful moments in this story, but there was also darkness, pain, war and loss. This series has been building up to this, and you knew going in that things weren’t going to be all sunshine and roses. I wouldn’t change a minute of it though, like they say, it is always darkest before the dawn. And this dawn is worth the wait.

Being the only Dreamer with the responsibility of saving not just one, but two worlds from destruction, that’s a lot of pressure! I have to say one thing I loved about Molly, even with the weight of worlds on her shoulders, and the immense power she had at her fingertips, she always stayed humble, kind, brave, and just an all around ideal heroine. Dev was swoon-worthy, as per usual. I love the way he supports and cherishes Molly. They truly shine together. As much as I love the two of them, I equally, if not even more, LOVE the friendships in this series. Many of them reached all new heights in The Destined and I couldn’t help being in awe of how amazing these characters are, and how much I have come to adore them.

From start to finish I simultaneously wanted to savor this and make it last and devour every word all at once. It was hard saying goodbye to this world and all it’s inhabitants, but all good things must come to an end. And this end was perfection. So even though I will miss Terra and all my favorite characters, I ultimately feel like I am walking away from this story feeling a divine sense of contentment. I can also definitely see myself doing a complete series reread in the near future, when I am needing a dreamy escape from reality.