Chosen by Desire (Guardians of Destiny Series #2)

LOVED IT

Carrie Woods wants nothing more than to prove the existence of the scrolls of destiny. She gets a tip on where they may be located and fly's to china to search a Chinese monastery for Wei lins journal about the scrolls. Unable to view them without being caught she shoved the book and some other scrolls in her bag. Feeling guilty she felt like everyone was watching her. But the gaze of a very handsome monk worried her the most, as if he was seeing straight into her soul. Chalking the feeling up to nerves she left back to San Francisco will the book and scrolls. Soon she finds herself at the handsome monks' home commissioned to translate some of his fa.ily texts. Finding out that this man is not a monk did not comfort her, instead she felt he must know what she did and is toying with her. Despite the feeling she couldn't keep her thoughts off him. She fantasized about him all night and only to be distracted by him during the day but unwilling to give into urges. She desperately did not want to be her mother who fell in love and had to give up her dreams for a man who left them after carries fifth birthday. Then to add to her problems she keeps getting harassing calls threatening her, saying they know what she stole and the will take it from her. Carrie knows her life may be in danger but what scares her most is her heart may be the one in the most danger, from max.

Maximillian Prescott is mesmerized by this beautiful woman who just stole a scroll from the monastery, not just any scroll but the scroll of destiny. He knows he must go after her but he didn't want to. For fear he will repeat past mistakes he made with a beautiful face.

Once max gets her in his home he is not sure if he can keep his distance from her. But every time he remembered she had stolen a scroll it was a painful reminder of his past betrayal. Then to make matters worse she admitted to knowing Rhys. He must be in on this to send a beautiful woman yet again and get her to steal from him and then betray him once again. No he couldn't let her get to close, but every time he tries to stay away he finds himself drawn in by her again. She is in his every thought. Can he trust her? Can he trust himself?

I loved this book it was just as good as the other one I just enjoyed Carrie so much more than Gabe. Max has a moment when Rhys and Gabe are there with him and Carrie and Gabe is mouthing off as usual and max thinks to himself how dose Rhys put up with her without duck tapeing her mouth. Then he thinks I must have some in my tool box some ware. It was hilarious I couldn't help myself but laugh. Carrie is so innocent and sweet and her mother is a hoot, when she tells Carrie that she'll send her some sex toys. Carrie is a bit embarrassed by her mother's openness but I thought it was very funny. Max is very hot and overbearing in that alpha male type of way. I thought he was just yummy. Rhys still has my heart but I just loved max too. I can't wait to read the third book in this series. If u haven't checked this series out you should add this one to the ever growing TBR list!

Get swept off your feet!

I was asked by the publisher, Hatchette Book Group, to read and review Kate Perry's Chosen By Desire. If you're into romance novels, you'll definitely enjoy this! It's got a unique supernatural twist to it that creates an intense storyline.

The main character is Carrie, a young PhD student trying to come up with something groundbreaking- something that will help her stand out so she can get a professorial position at UC Berkley. Her research is on a Chinese emperor who was said to possess the power of the five elements. The myth said he divided the powers into scrolls which were then given to "Guardians". The sole purpose of the Guardians was to keep the scrolls (and hence, the power) from falling into the wrong hands.

As luck would have it, Carrie discovers the location of the journal of this famed emperor. After traveling all the way to China and finding the journal, Carrie is faced with no choice but to "borrow" the document. Unfortunately for her, Max witnessed her act of theft. Max realizes Carrie has made off with more than just the journal, and is forced to go after her and get the stolen goods back. Max employs Carrie with the intent to discover her motives, but didn't count on falling for her in the process. Meanwhile, Carrie realizes she is in way over her head when she starts receiving threatening phone calls about the things she stole. After a mess of murder attempts, false accusations, and snooping around, Carrie manages to discover who has been threatening her as well as figure out her feelings for Max.

I'm more of a historical romance reader, but I decided to have a go with this book and was pleasantly surprised! The story line was very engaging, and moved along at a pace that didn't allow me to become bored. It was definitely a fast read, taking me only two days to get through. The plot itself was a unique spin on romance novels with its use of ancient Chinese magic. As with most romance novels, this one is not lacking in "Rated R" content. Unlike many books that get a little too hung up on including as many sexy scenes as possible (thus making the book seem like nothing more than cleverly concealed porn), this book was very tastefully written.

Something that struck me early on while reading is that this is a surprisingly funny book! I related well to the character of Carrie in her mannerisms and way of speaking. I found myself smiling and laughing quite a lot throughout this book, which is unusual for me. The author develops every character well, even the minor ones like the police inspector, Rick.

I love that the author included a prologue! It's always so frustrating when you read a good love story and you never find out how everything turns out! The prologue was a "6 months later" piece, which helped to tie up a few loose ends. I was actually enjoying the reading so much that I continued and read the author's note (which, for the record, was also incredibly funny).

If you are a romance reader, give this book a read! I will definitely be checking out the rest of the Guardians of Destiny Series!

Typical paranormal fantasy romance!

Unmemorable! All of these types of novels flow together and this is no exception.

The Guardians of Destiny Series (#2)

Carrie Woods was a PhD candidate and student of Chinese History. When she overhears her best friend discussing the much coveted journals of Wei Lin which validated the mythic Scrolls of Destiny she is off on the next plane to China. With the idea of just "borrowing" them to prove her theories she leaves China and returns to UC Berkeley where her mentor is more than thrilled to have her take on this task. When Carrie sees that not only does she have the journals but also sacred scrolls suddenly it seems that perhaps she is in over her head. Then a sudden fellowship with Maximillian Prescott a mysterious Chinese antiquities collector is offered and all thoughts of danger or what to do next are flushed from her head as the temptation of translating Chinese history is more than she can resist.

But soon after she takes up residence in his home too many strange things start taking place. She is receiving threatening phone calls, strangers are trying to attack her and someone is sneaking onto the property to take Wei Lin's journal and unlock the mysteries of the appointed Guardians and harness the power that this knowledge can render. Carrie is not sure who is behind all these incidents but she is sure they are not coincidence and wonders if it could be Max.

Carrie soon discovers that Max has more secrets than she can uncover and while she feels he has abused her trust she tries to stay focused on what is really going on. Could he be her mysterious caller or is he truly a knight come to rescue her. The myth her mother spun about a man being able to save you from yourself has never been true for Carrie but maybe this time all her fears and misgivings about a man in her life are unfounded. Max seems to be looking out for her but could he just be using her to get the Book of Water back to its rightful owner.

But when Max has to confront his mortal enemy Rhys who is Carrie's friend the fireworks really start up and the explosion can be heard around the world.

Uncovering who is behind the misdeeds is as complicated as Max's assistant Francesca in that you think you know what is going on but then you don't.

This is a great book but it is advised that you read the series in order. While Ms. Perry does an excellent job of filling the events from book #1 what you discover is that you not only need to read that book first you want to. Max is dangerous and Carrie is charming and together they make a dynamic and multi-faceted couple.

Mary Gramlich ("The Reading Reviewer") www.marygramlich.com

strong urban romantic fantasy

Carrie Wood went from San Francisco to China in order to finish her thesis that claims the Scrolls of Destiny exist. Her goal to teach at Berkley foster her ambitions so she sneaks inside a monastery to take pictures serendipitously but quickly realizes the gig is up. Instead of fleeing gently into the night, she rationalizes that she borrows with plans to return what she takes; she steals the Book of Water.

Carrie misunderstands what she purloined as the scrolls make her a target for those greedy with the need for power even as she gains some from the Book she possesses. Meanwhile Metal Guardian Max Prescott is sent to retrieves the stolen artifacts. He hires the thief to translate selections of Chinese text from his personal collection. However, he is angry at himself and her because he has no time for his deep attraction to a burglar.

The Guardians of Destiny urban romantic fantasy (see MARKED BY PASSION) is a fast-paced action thriller from the moment that Carrie questions why she is stealing the scrolls and never slows down as a mutual enemy craves what she took. Max is a fun to watch his agony of falling in love with a person he considers a lowlife academic crook. The return of the stars from the previous entry enhances an entertaining often amusing taut thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Choose it!

Author Kate Perry's book, Chosen by Desire, is listed as part of The Guardians of Destiny Series, with Marked by Passion released first. She has other titles in contemporary romance; Project Date and Project Daddy. Kate Perry is a 7th degree black belt Kung Foo San Soo and collects swords. She resides in San Francisco, California with her love, Nate.
In order to secure a teaching position at UC Berkeley, Carrie Woods needs to write the doctoral thesis of a lifetime. Her plan? To break into a Chinese monastery and search for proof that the mythical Scrolls of Destiny are real. Except when her plan goes all wrong and she has to "borrow" the scrolls, Carrie finds herself the target of someone who wants the power they can provide. As some of those powers from The Book of Water are unknowingly being passed to her, Carrie accepts a position translating ancient Chinese texts with a man who is not who he appears to be. Max Prescott is all too happy to strip Carrie of her stolen scroll and replace it where it belongs. Being one of the Guardians, it's his job, after all. But his unrelenting attraction for her was not planned, and he's finding difficult to do his job with the innocent-eyed blonde under his roof. Worse, he finds himself having to protect not only the scroll, but Carrie as well. And the enemy is closer than they think.
I reviewed the first book in this series, Marked by Passion, and loved it. But I found this second book, Chosen by Desire, to be much more powerful and engaging. The first book was told in first-person, and this one was in third-person. The hero and heroine were relatable, the heat between them scorching. This is listed as a paranormal romance, but also fits the lines of urban fantasy. The plot was very fast-paced and action-packed, leaving the reader to get hooked from page one. I like that she brought back Rhys, Gabe, and Rick from the first book, as they made excellent secondary characters and added to the story-line nicely. It was also nice to see the quirky humor in this one that was present in the first book, cleverly breaking up the tension. The setting was perfect, as well.
Chosen by Desire is another winner by Kate Perry, and one not to be missed by paranormal romance fans!

Kelly Moran,
Author and Reviewer

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