Review: Destiny's Flower by Linda Harley

Title: Destiny's Flower
Author: Linda Harley
Genre: Science Fiction
Source: Author
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Doctor Lynn Davis is kidnapped by handsome Lord Kyle von Talion and taken to a far off planet, Saldiora. As she finds herself in this unfamiliar culture, she must learn to fight with a sword, ride a talking horse, and endure the politics of a royal court if she is to survive. Kyle has his hands full keeping Lynn from making cultural blunders and ensuring her safety. The Juntu's are plotting to take over Saldiora and consider Lynn to be a threat to their success. Will Lynn live long enough to fulfill her destiny and save the kingdom of Saldiora?

Review by Nara


Destiny's Flower was honestly quite weird. Well, the first half was quite weird. There were some events that just didn't quite work. So, we have this person from Earth- Lynn Davis. She's suddenly kidnapped by an alien named Kyle von Talion (these aliens look just like people, they aren't weird green things or whatever). Up to that point (which is about a chapter in), it was like, okay. Randomly kidnapped. That's fine. However, what didn't work was that Lynn was WAY too trusting. Seriously, mate, someone just kidnapped you, and you're all nah it's cool. It takes a couple of chapters, and suddenly, Lynn's all okay with being taken to some random planet. No panicking, no yelling and screaming. One escape attempt and then she's fine.

To be honest, the world building seemed only to be semi-complete, so it was really hard to keep track of the characters and such. For example, at the start, there were a couple of chapters where it just seemed that five new characters were brought into the story with little explanation or introduction so it was hard to keep track of who was who.

Lynn was a really good person. She was probably a bit too trusting (read: way too trusting) but she was kind-hearted, strong-willed, and just a nice person, really. I mean, it would have been easy to go to a different planet with a completely different culture and be completely disheartened and such, but she seemed to adjust well, and even attempted to change things that she thought were wrong e.g. paying the "servants" and calling them her friends. (Then again, she did seem to adjust a bit too quickly).

The writing style takes some time getting used to- it was a bit stilted, and didn't quite flow well in my mind. There were also these moments that were just so ridiculously cliched. These scenes couldn't capture any emotions and came off seeming contrite. For example, there was a scene where Lynn is helpng out her servants, and this line is thrown in:
"What have we done Lady Lynn that you bestow these gifts worthy of princes on your slaves?"
Lynn cupped Jael's chin in her hands and tilted his head up so she could look into his eyes. "You are not my slave Jael. You are my prince." There was not a dry eye in the room when she looked up.
WELL THERE ARE SOME DECIDEDLY DRY EYES READING THIS RIGHT NOW. Excuse me while I sit down until this wave of nausea passes.

Another slightly annoying thing (it's probably a medical student thing) is that there was so much wrong in terms of the medical knowledge. I'll keep the names out of the following lines so that there aren't any spoilers.
His right leg was cut down to the bone. She dug her fingers in to examine the extent of the injury. Fortunately the main vein had been missed.
........

1. Why the freaking hell is she digging her fingers into an open wound? THAT IS NOT COOL.
2. It's the freaking artery you should be worried about, not the vein!

He has two broken ribs that make it hard for him to breathe. The cut on his face is not too deep. What has me worried is this leg wound. Without medical treatment, it is doubtful that he'll live.
*takes a deep breath* WHY THE F*** WOULD YOU NOT BE WORRIED ABOUT HIS RIBS?! Also, if the main "vein" had been missed, his leg wound probably isn't as serious as NOT BEING ABLE TO BREATHE!

Well, overall, I suppose the book was okay. I would probably only recommend it to those who really enjoy science fiction and don't mind a bit of clumsiness in writing.

It was okay

Ratings
Overall: 5/10
Plot: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Characters: 2/5
Cover: 3/5