Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Happy Release Day and REVIEW ~ The Weight of Destiny by Nyrae Dawn

When “crazy” runs in your family and your namesake is known for walking into a river with a pocket full of rocks, a girl kind of wants to avoid tempting fate at all costs. For Virginia Nichols, the only way to dodge that bullet is to be perfect at everything: school, student council, life. Too bad it’s all a lie, and underneath the perfection...Virginia is lost.

Ryder Blackstock knows a thing or two about being born into fate. The talents passed down from his father aren't exactly normal; instead of learning how to throw a fastball, he was taught to hot-wire a car like a pro and pick any pocket in sight. He’s got criminal blood, just like his old man. And as soon as he turns eighteen, he’ll be living life on the run with his dad.

When Ryder and Virginia meet on the beach, it seems they couldn't be more different. Soon they discover they’re both trapped in their lives—Virginia denying her fate, Ryder embracing his. Like the rocks in Virginia Woolf’s pockets, the weight of their destinies will pull them under. But being together brings out pieces of themselves they didn't know existed—pieces that make them want to take fate into their own hands and rewrite their destinies...if it’s not too late.


First of all.... HAPPY RELEASE DAY to a fantastic book- The Weight of Destiny, by Nyrae Dawn. Read my review and click on that Amazon link at the bottom to purchase.

There once was this book, and it consumed me for two whole days. It stayed in my thoughts much longer.

In The Weight of Destiny by Nyrae Dawn, the reader is thrown into the mindset of two teens. In this dual POV novel you have a guy and a girl from opposite sides of the track. Tame meets reckless, and the reader will see them mature and discover themselves, each other, and accept their pasts. It wasn't easy. At all. Happenstance brings them together and they discover they have some commonalities.
 
Different is the new perfectYes, it is.

Ryder is your bad boy you love, to love. His emotions are erratic. One minute, you want to smack him with your hand. The other, you want to smack him with your lips. He is deprived of role modeled parents and partakes in illegal activities, preparing himself for the day his dad comes back. He has guidance, if he'd just follow it instead of rebel. He just has the wrong kind of hope and it leads him in the wrong directions. He needs to be nurtured. He needs an unexpected encounter.

Virginia is a good girl- who needs to cut loose. Hey girl, bad boys can help with that. Although, I gotta give the girl props for standing her ground when needed. She is wise. But, she needs realization. Living behind a facade to ignore reality only works for so long. And sometimes, rules and plans are made to be broken. (Wink, wink)

The two MC's had their insinuations about each other. It was interesting to have them discover that they weren't so different after all. I loved the distraction between these two-- their connection strived because of it.


 "Staring at his eyes for the first time in daylight, I can see they’re totally different colors. One is blue, and the other is half-blue and half-brown. My resistance starts to weaken. His eyes look deep, as though there are more layers than he’s showing." ~Virginia

"I feel all upside down and backward with her. It’s easier to use my mouth on her sometimes rather than trying to figure out what to say, or how to say it." ~ Ryder

The interaction between these young adults gave me a sweet buzz. They were irresistible, but they tried to be resistible. It was so enduring on how they made each other feel.

As in all of Nyrae Dawn's novels, there is plenty of emotion. The reader is in unison with Ryder and Virginia because the reader experiences every emotion spelled out.

I gotta give props to my girl Nyrae. She's like the queen of senses in writing. I mean, really! It's mental. It's physical. It's being. You see her words. They touch you. You feel them. You hear them. Heck-- if you close your eyes, you can taste and smell them. YOU ARE THE WORDS. It's amazing.

The message behind her stories are so inspirational and the romance is heart warming.
 
What I got out of The Weight of Destiny, is to always give someone a chance. It doesn't matter where they come from, or how bad or good their past may be. Chances are, while you may be different from them, you could have something in common with them. And that commonality could lead to friendship, or even better- it could lead to love.

*****

Find The Weight of Destiny , by Nyrae Dawn on Goodreads

Purchase The Weight of Destiny, by Nyrae Dawn on Amazon

Find out more information about Nyrae Dawn and her books by visiting her website.

Kimberly