Destined for Doon (A Doon Novel)

I love three things with equal tenacity: Young Adult fiction, Romance, and the Fantasy genre. Wouldn't you know Destined for Doon has all three? Moreover, it doesn't disappoint. At all.Destined for Doon is the second book in a four book series inspired by the musical Brigadoon. In the first book, Doon, we see best friends Veronica and Mackenna (Kenna) travel to Scotland and discover the magical, locked away land of Doon--complete with two handsome princes waiting for them, of course. :)Did I mention I loved the first book in this series? I did, immensely. Well, I'm always a little afraid to read sequels--not because I don't want more of the stories, I always do--but because usually they don't live up to the magic felt while reading the first book. Well, that was not true with Destined for Doon, actually **leans closer and whispers** I liked it BETTER than the first book. I know--crazy, right?Honest moment: Kenna wasn't my favorite character in book one. I just didn't get her reluctance when it came to love (the authors wrote her beautifully, it's just my personal thing) so I was worried that I wouldn't be as into the second book because the bulk of it follows Kenna's story. Boy, was I wrong. Kenna won me over and then some. She's strong and doesn't always have a filter and feels deeply. She's a good role model and lends strength to Veronica who desperately needs to believe in herself more (trusting that'll come in the next two books).And Duncan. Can we please talk about Prince Duncan (Kenna's romantic interest) a little? Duncan has been my favorite character since he walked onto the page in book one. Many of my friends like Prince Jamie (Veronica's romantic interest) better, but I've never been one for the moody, mysterious man. I'd rather have a heart on his sleeve, loyal to a fault, Duncan any day.The romantic tension and angst needed in a YA book is so well done in this one. I have no clue how the authors' craft these things so seamlessly and believably--I wish I could sit down with Carey and Lorie for lessons in this to strengthen my own YA writing.Both Carey and Lorie are skilled authors, their writing complements each other well. The setting of Doon comes alive. As someone who has never traveled to Scotland, the book transports me there and fills in all the gaps with beautiful description.Beyond the romance, the conflict and mystery in this book are very good and kept me as a reader guessing how exactly Veronica and Kenna could possibly overcoming the thing that is threatening to destroy the entire kingdom of Doon and everyone who lives there. High stakes--yeah, I pulled a heart-pounding all nighter because I couldn't put turn the pages fast enough for the last 120 pages. Man alive. These women know how to craft a story. I have said that already, haven't I?Lastly, I really appreciate that the authors take the chance to show two teen girls in an uplifting friendship. Kenna and Veronica always have each other's' backs. Their first instinct is to encourage and challenge each other. And they are constantly risking all for the other. When so many YA books only show girls gossiping and hurting each other, it's refreshing to see the bond for friendship in the Doon series.I am avidly awaiting the next installment and am considering bribing Carey and Lorie with cookies and musical tickets in order to read book three w-a-y ahead of time. Thankfully, we have two more books to look forward to. More adventures. More Doon. And more Duncan.

I like the plot and most of the characters, but I found the secret keeping contrived. The only reason for anyone to not tell each other what was going on was purely for plot convenience, and that feels like lazy writing. And McKenna was extremely annoying in this one. Her constant theatre references and musical analogies are excessive. We get it; she's an actress. We don't need to be hit over the head with it every chapter. It was also irritating that she spends all her time crying and moaning over losing Duncan, but won't make the slightest effort to fix it.

In this, the second of four books in the Doon series, in a universe where the musical Brigadoon is based on a real town in Scotland called Doon that was removed from the world to protect it from witchcraft, Veronica (now the Queen of Doon) and her best friend Mackenna must confront a resurgence of the evil power that nearly took over Doon in their first adventure.Love the wisecracking between the two best friends. Hate the persistent misunderstandings between Mackenna and Duncan McRae, Jamie’s brother. And love how Jamie and Veronica seem to be slowly working out their relationship now. And love the beautiful land of Doon – when the ‘zombie fungus’ isn’t trying to destroy it.This time the key seems to Mackenna’s acceptance of her Calling to Doon and her destiny with Duncan. They have to find the reason for the return of the black flowers that signal the witch’s influence and the rot that is eroding the kingdom in conjunction with it. Then they have to find out what they need to do to stop it. Next, they must find the tools they need. And finally, they must go to the place the problem seems to emanate from and destroy it. But until Mackenna accepts her destiny, she seems unable to perform the last of these tasks. And she is the one who has to do it.

This was a fantastic sequel to an even more fantastic series! I loved this novel just as much as I loved Doon, and I can't wait to see what happens next (especially after such a cliffhanger ending). Destined for Doon picks up several months after Doon ended. Kenna is in Chicago, making her dreams come true, but also miserable because of leaving not only her true love, but also her best friend, behind in Doon. Kenna's life is thrown topsy-turvy when Duncan comes back into her life quite suddenly, and she is forced to return to Doon to help Vee save the kingdom.I loved every single aspect of this book, however the one thing that greatly stood out to me was the little details that Carey and Lorie incorporated into the story. The funny comments, the descriptions, the references! Seriously, it is all so amazing and adds such a great element to the story. These things not only make the story come alive, but make the story and the characters that much more relatable. This book is extremely well written, and the book moves at a fast pace. You simply will never want to put this book down! I was never once bored, and I was swept away by the magic of Doon once again.Kenna and Vee's friendship is something that is to be admired, and every girl should have a friendship like this. While this book focuses a bit more on Kenna, we still have alternating POV's with Vee. This definitely gives a more complete feeling to the story, and helps move the book along. We see all sides to the story, and the ups-and-downs that come with being queen of a land that doesn't exactly want you as their queen. Both Vee and Kenna are extremely relatable, and personally I am a mix of both of the girls. Kenna never ceases to crack me up with her attitude and antics, and I definitely will be using some of her lines.I will warn you, the ending of this book will leave you begging for more. It is a HUGE cliffhanger, and all I know is that everything better be alright in the land of Doon and with our favorite characters! I definitely can't wait to read the next book in this series, as this is easily one of my favorites. I highly recommend checking out this novel if you were a fan of the first book in the series. You won't be disappointed! Happy reading :)

I'll start this off by saying that I really loved Doon. I loved it so much that I picked up this book immediately after finishing the first one. I'm not saying these books are hard-hitting literature.. But they are just incredibly light and enjoyable.Doon ended with Veronica and MacKenna going their separate ways, with Veronica staying in Doon as the new Queen and MacKenna heading to Chicago for her internship, believing that her and Duncan were just not meant to be. However, we find out at the end that MacKenna truly did have a Calling with Duncan.. which kind of changes everything that she had believed and makes her realise what a monumental mistake she had made by leaving.The plot itself in Destined for Doon was great - there was black magic afoot in Doon and Veronica requested MacKenna’s help to solve the mystery and save the kingdom. Albeit a bit predictable, I enjoyed where the story went and the banter between the characters had me laughing out loud. This story was definitely darker and more gruesome than the first, but I liked that about it.I really wanted to love this book as much as I loved the first one.. but I didn’t quite enjoy it as much. I still love the world of Doon and the fairytale-esque nature of the plot, but I really did not like MacKenna. Her voice was whiny and frustrating, having convinced herself that Duncan hated her despite the fact that he so obviously didn’t, and she was so stubborn that I wanted to smack her on more than one occasion.However, I loved (for the most part..) Veronica's character and thus her chapters. Her struggle with her new title and having to deal with not being completely accepted was realistic, and I think it allowed her character to develop more. The fact that Veronica and Jamie's relationship was very much less than perfect was so great. Real relationships have their ups and downs and their relationship reflected this incredibly well. I really liked that both of them stayed true to their personalities instead of giving in to each other’s every whim. It was real and I loved that about them. I only wish we had been given more Veronica chapters!Duncan is one of my favourite characters in these books. I loved him in the first book and I love him even more in Destined for Doon. His behaviour in this second book was exactly what you would have expected of someone who'd had their heart broken (as he had at the end of Doon), and it gave his character so much more depth!All in all, I would definitely recommend that you read this - especially if you enjoyed the first book! But be warned, there is a huge cliffhanger at the end that has made me feel incredibly frustrated that we have to wait months before we find out what happens next! I will definitely be pre-ordering Book 3 :)

Good read. Bit of romance, bit of mystery, bit of adventure.

Auch der zweite Teil der Doon Reihe konnte mich wieder begeistern, allerdings nicht so sehr, wie der erste.Es beginnt damit, dass Kenna endlich am Theater ist und ihren Traum lebt, doch immer öfter erscheint Duncan ihr in ihren Visionen und Kenna weiß genau, was das bedeutet.Und dann steht Duncan plötzlich wirklich vor ihr und bittet sie zurückzukommen, da Vee ihre Hilfe benötigt. Duncan allerdings ist tief verletzt von Kennas Verrat und hält sie so gut wie möglich von ihm fern, behandelt sie zwar mit Respekt, aber wahrt auch eine kühl Distanz.Die Streitereien und das Hin und Her zwischen Kenna und Duncan war mir in diesem Band teilweise schon zu viel und zu übertrieben. Ich hatte das Gefühl, das gesamte Buch handelt nur noch von ihrem ,,Streit". Ein bisschen weniger davon wäre ok gewesen.Bei Vee und Jamie dagegen war es mir etwas zu wenig. Vee hat das Gefühl, Jamie traut ihr die Rolle der Königin nicht zu, immer wieder zieht er sie aus allem raus und übernimmt die Führung.Das wäre ein sehr guter Plot gewesen, um ihn größer auszubauen, aber das Problem war viel zu schnell gelöst und von einem auf den anderen Moment beiseitegeschoben und war von da an kein Thema mehr. Da hätte ich mir etwas mehr gewünscht.Die Handlung, dass Doon erneut bedroht wird, diesmal von einer seltsamen..ehrlich gesagt weiß ich kein deutsches Wort, dass es gut beschriebt...ich weiß nicht genau, wie ich mir das ganze vorgestellt habe, in etwa wie eine Art dunkle Wolke, die um Doon herum wächst und immer größer wird, alles an Leben, womit es in Berührung kommt, verdorren und absterben lässt und die Menschen die hineingeraten zu Zombies macht. (Ja, Zombies!)Ich glaube der Zombie Aspekt hat mich auch ein wenig irritiert, denn er passt so garnicht zum Rest der Geschichte, die wirkt, wie aus einem Märchen.An sich war das Buch wieder gut und die Handlung spannend, aber durch die oben genannten Kritikpunkte eben nicht so gut wie Band 1, der zu meinen Highlights in diesem Jahr gehört. Daher für Band 2 eine nicht ganz so gute Bewertung, in der Hoffnung, Band 3 überzeugt mich wieder ohne wenn und aber!

My daughter loved this series

It was amazing an amazing adventure