Delia Latham's Destiny's Dream ~ Reviewed

Destiny’s Dream by Delia Latham
Published by White Rose Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-61116-050-5
248 pages

Back Cover:

Is a little respect too much to ask at a parent’s funeral?

Apparently it is for Destiny May. Her mother’s “going away party” is crashed by an unfamiliar and totally irreverent guest. Difficult to ignore, Clay Gallagher is built like a small mountain and far more vocal than is fitting for the occasion. When it turns out the annoying stranger is not even at the right funeral, Destiny demands retribution in the form of an escape from the day’s dreary proceedings.

From the beginning, their relationship has some kinks – starting with Destiny’s determination to found a Christian dating service in their conservative town of Castle Creek. A highly esteemed investment broker, Clay has little respect or patience for such a frivolous profession. But when Destiny is threatened by an anonymous caller who deeply resents her and what she does for a living, Clay makes it his business to keep the saucy redhead out of harm’s way.

Trouble is, spending time in her company weakens his defenses … and Cupid’s arrows are known to fly straight to the heart.


Review:

Delia Latham is a delightful writer who can take you from tears to giggles with the flip of a page. The prologue broke my heart when Destiny May, the heroine, said goodbye to her dying mother, yet a few pages later, Delia had me in a fit of giggles—at a funeral, of all places. It was one of those rare laugh-out-loud moments, and she did it without offending me in the slightest.

It was here, at Destiny’s mother’s funeral, that we met our hero, Clay Gallagher. Poor guy. This successful, charming, businessman finds him in a very uncomfortable, and somewhat confusing position.

First, he comes late. Then, he sits beside Destiny, who is trying not to fall apart as the pastor attempts to turn the funeral into a celebration of heaven. Finally, he makes a complete, offensive fool of himself when he proceeds to make one rude comment after another.

It’s enough to send redheaded Destiny into a fit of rage! She is floored, and prepared to give this oaf a piece of her mind, until she catches the mortification on the man’s face. It’s obvious--the man has walked into the wrong funeral! She loses it and bursts out laughing, adding to the poor man’s confusion. (Who appears, upon further reader-understanding, not to be the total jerk we may have thought him to be.)

Before he has a chance to process what’s going on, Destiny whisks him off to the coffee shop for an impromptu date. Not what you’d expect from a grieving daughter. But then again, Destiny May is anything but predictable. Cute, caring, fun, a bit giggly…but not predictable. And Clay doesn’t quite no how to take her.

The more he gets to know her, the more he loves her, until a lovers quarrel breaks them up, and Clay’s younger brother comes in for the kill.

Will Destiny and Clay be able to work out their differences or will this love triangle drive a wedge between them all?

Delia is a fun writer who was able to elicit quite a few giggles from me as I read. Her characters are unique and playful. How she managed to turn a death scene into one of the most comical events I’ve ever read, I’ll never know. But I enjoyed every moment of it! I look forward to the rest of the books in this series.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Slattery