Devlin’s Destiny by Esmerelda Bishop

Are parallel worlds/universes possible? If so, who’s to say if ours it the true one? Or is the fiction world true as well? When Gabby gets pulled into her favorite book, Devlin’s Destiny, she doesn’t know what to think. Except that she isn’t going to be the quiet, weak heroine that was originally written!

Gabby’s future is uncertain. Devlin’s is written in stone.
About to lose everything, Gabby Stone’s life is in shambles. Upon waking in a medieval castle owned by a sinfully sexy Scottish Laird, she believes she’s having an erotic dream and jumps right into the fantasy. But she quickly learns that this is no dream. Somehow she’s been transported into her favorite romance novel, Devlin’s Destiny, and is now starring as the heroine next to the scrumptious hero, Devlin McAlister, a character who puts all flesh-and-blood men to shame.
Deciding that living in this parallel universe is better than going back to her real life, Gabby plays it safe at first even though she hates the way the heroine in the book treats Devlin. As time passes, however, she finds herself wanting to become Devlin’s true heroine, to have him love her, not the woman he’s written to marry.
But how bound to the book is Devlin? With each turn of the page, obstacles are thrown in her path as a war between love and written words ensue. Can Gabby overcome a predetermined future to claim Devlin for her very own Happily Ever After?

Gabby Stone’s life sucks right now. She lost her job four months ago and has not been able to get another one. Now it looks like she is going to loose her home as well. No family, no job/income, and now no home, things are looking about as bad as they can get.

When she wakes up in a medieval castle, it doesn’t take her long to figure out she is in the middle of her favorite romance novel. She may have read Devlin’s Destiny a few too many times and told her friend how she ‘loved’ the hero and thought it funny the heroine had her name and all, but this is taking liking the book too far. She always had problems with Gabrielle; the character was cold, detached, and didn’t really seem to love Devlin even at the end. Now that she finds herself in the story, she doesn’t want to play the weak, uncaring woman but wonders what will happen if she changes things…

Devlin McAlister has always loved Gabrielle Barborac. Finding her wet and almost unconscious by the lake, she appears to have lost her memory. She seems different than before: showing more emotion then he has ever seen, even laughing and liking him for the first time. He is hopeful of finally winning her, her love. As they spend more time together, he finds himself liking her more than before as well as loving her and guiltily hopes she doesn’t get her memory back…

Gabby knows how this story ends. But she has been able to change some things and not others. Devlin does respond to her, but isn’t able to be independent of the story, only after she breaks from the story/plot is he able to do anything different from the original concept. He seems to see her as somewhat herself, but only after she breaks from the story. Will he ‘remember’ Gabby after the books ends? And as the end of the book draws near, will she be ‘sent’ home? Or can she find a way to stay here as she wants?

Devlin’s Destiny is a cool concept! Participate in and even change/improve your favorite story…This could be lots of fun or could get really out of hand depending on what book you get caught up in (some scifi or old west stories may not be as much fun as others). I do have a couple of romances that I have read several times over the years (i.e. favorites). And who among us doesn’t what to change something or someone in books we read from time to time?

Devlin’s Destiny maybe short, but is very good and well done. I loved that Gabby’s mental image of Devlin and how he really looked were not the same. None of us ‘see’ things the same in our heads or describe the same picture the same way, and I thought this was a great technique for Gabby to realize that she was not dreaming. I also love that Gabby has a novel she loves but has issue with the female character. I have this happen where I like books but have issues with certain part, I even will like characters, but have problems with certain things they do or habits they might have. Devlin starts out as a classic romance lead. He doesn’t even really know why he ‘loves’ Gabrielle, just that he always has. Gabby comes along and he figures out that he may not really love the old Gabrielle, but still feels guilty for falling for this ‘new’ Gabrielle and wishing for her to stay the way she is now. Nice little conflict in this poor guy. And shows that the heart really can see what the eyes can miss at times (Devlin ‘seeing’ the real Gabby even if she looks like the old Gabrielle).

Devlin’s Destiny is a fast read of a clever idea. Most of us have wanted to change part of a book/story at one time or another. But the idea may not be as easy as it first sounds. Being trapped in a story where the other characters have to act out their set roles until you change the script would challenge anyone. Esmerelda Bishop not only made this idea work, she even got me involved/concerned in Gabby’s struggle. And Devlin’s Destiny ends up being well worth our time as well as entertaining.