Review Destined by Allison Kraft

Title: Destined
Author: Allison Kraft
Source: Requested Review
Genre: Paranormal Time Travel Romance
Format: Paperback, 290 pgs
Release Date: August 24, 2011

While flying across the Atlantic on the centennial anniversary of the Titanic's tragic maiden voyage, Apolline Greer, last in a long line of vampire hunters, finds herself suddenly transported from her airliner cabin to an eerily familiar ocean liner cabin—as well as the entirely unfamiliar body of her ancestor, Noelle Greer. Upon learning that she is, in fact, on board the very ship she’s been fascinated with all her life, she knows there's only one thing to do: get off as soon as possible.

But whether by destiny, freak coincidence or a really vivid dream, Apolline finds that her trip back in time comes with three very good reasons to stay on board: Alexander Walker, a handsome and charming fellow vampire hunter; Cristof, the vampire that has tormented her family for generations and very likely killed her own mother; and Sasha, the vampire Noelle was sent to kill.

Time, however, is not on Apolline's side. The Titanic is on a collision course with destiny, and she only has four days to complete her quest. What seemed like more than enough time at the start quickly becomes too short as she finds that hunting vampires on a luxury ocean liner is much more difficult than she expected. Sasha and Cristof become more elusive as each day passes, while her feelings for Alexander become increasingly complicated. As that fateful night approaches, will she regret her decision to stay and witness history first-hand?


Rating -
Sexual -
My Review:

Vampires, vampire hunters, the Titanic, time travel into the past and not one but two romances fill the pages of this paranormal romance. Told first person from the female lead's point of view, this is a humorous yet poignant story.

One of the funny lines of the story illustrates what a present day female vampire hunter suddenly thrust a 100 years into the past might think: "Forget vampires; turn-of-the-century women’s undergarments had just taken over as the epitome of evil as far as I was concerned."

Apolline, Titanic enthusiast and lonely vampire hunter with no friends or family, only goes after the vampires whose bloodlust gets out of hand. She has special genes that allow her to track and slay much bigger and faster opponents. She is the last of her line and she sometimes wonders if she'll ever meet another slayer. She's been having the same dream over and over again for as long as she remembers. On flight home to Chicago from Belfast, the plane takes a nosedive, she passes out and wakes in a small cabin in someone else's body in clothing from a different century but the man calls her Miss Greer. She finds paperwork stating she's on the Titanic and her instructions to slay a vampire on board named Sasha.

She meets another slayer on board ship as well as her vampire nemesis, Cristof, four days before the ship is to hit an iceberg. She also finds love during these four days.

Kraft not only brings her characters to life with a great plot but also paints a picture of what life on the Titanic might have been like.

I laughed and cried while reading this thoroughly enjoyable story which, while flirty, has no sex -- something paranormal romance fans aren't used to. It also has Kraft's interesting research notes at the end which talks about people on the ship as well as other details.

I think fans of paranormal romance, time travel into the past, vampires and the Titanic will like this story.