Destined

Rowan Mackey was one of the Guardians—a special Kanjali who was more powerful than most—able to hunt and fight the Hounds—evil shape-shifters who had been created to kill the Kanjali. He had come to America to claim Dara as his destined mate—take her to Lia Fáil—the destiny stone. And thus, bring to life the prophecy that had been foretold hundreds of years ago.

But trouble brews as Rowan and Dara attempt to reach the Lia Fáil. They are being hunted by the Hound and his cohorts—vengeful creatures from the Underworld who will stop at nothing to kill Dara—and make sure that the prophecy is never made real.

Destined is a truly magical tale that will let you know so much about Celtic-Irish folklore and a lost prophecy that involves a half-blood princess and her mate coming together in a penis-shaped stone called Lia Fáil. This book has an action-adventure quality to it. I loved the flow of the story as I read it and was enraptured by the imagination and creativity of Ms. Madigan, wondering how in the world someone could be as good as she is in creating a world that was originally impressive and wonderfully believable. The Celtic folklore that had been the inspiration for this book is very rich and beautiful—Ms. Madigan uses them to full advantage and the manner in which she does so is tasteful and truly well-done—creating a story that has a very grounded feel of history and mysticism.

The main characters are not the only ones that are interesting. The other supporting characters are very well-rounded, interesting and at times, amusing. And in addition to this—the antagonists are so evil that one can sense their vileness from the pages of the book. A very impressive trait in an author's writing style!