Mocked by Destiny - inside the characters

Welcome to the second day of Armchair BEA. Did you make it through all the blogs yesterday? I still have many more to go, but today is an extra fun day. It's GIVEAWAY DAY!! In addition to the swag being given away at Armchair BEA Central  many blogs are hosting their own giveaways today. This blog is no exception. You could win 1 of 5 ebook copies of Mocked by Destiny. This giveaway is open internationally and all you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post with your email address. I will use Random.org to select the 5 winners at 8 pm US EDT on Thursday. 

Today's topic is Books in 2011. Instead of me telling you about a book (you get that all the other weeks) I have a special guest post today. Michele Richard shares about her debut novel Mocked by Destiny, which was published February 2011 by The Writer's Coffee Shop. Please welcome Michele to Girl Who Reads. You can check out her author table under the Armchair BEA link above.

The logic behind this book from the author

It’s no secret that towns with military bases have a higher teen pregnancy rate, even more so in places like Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach’s base is a vacationing base. It’s a base for military families to spend time with their families. The base itself has a campground, hotel, townhouses, and bungalows.

In the evening hours, the visitors flood the boardwalk to shop, eat, drink, and of course, get ice cream. Though it’s unavoidable to interact with the locals, some locals resent what their visits do to their beautiful town.

Stella Richards

Stella grew up knowing nothing good comes from those who visit her home town of Virginia Beach. The outsiders only want to use and abuse the serene setting and the friendly people who work there. There is only one guarantee from those visiting, they will leave and most likely never come back. She herself learned this early on during her first unsupervised summer on the beach.

After being left heartbroken by the flurry of friends she made, she vowed to never do it again. Cutting herself off from those who could hurt her, she left herself lonely and uninterested in the flocking vacationers.

Coming from a long line of teenage, unwed mothers, Stella’s family consisted of all females who were either left pregnant or were children of those who visited the beach and left without looking back. Stella had plans that didn’t include becoming a teenage mom. She strived to break the streak that had plagued her family for generations starting with being the first in her family to attend college. 

All those plans changed when she encountered a young man on the beach. Stefan Sterling. She tried to out run her destiny several times and it always came back to bite her in the butt. When Stella handed him his ice cream cone, she handed him her heart and future.

Stefan Sterling

Stefan grew up on a military base in Germany. In a life where you never knew when you’d be shipped off to another one. He had friends, but like him they all knew they could wake up the next day and they’d be gone. As Stella had done, he kept his friends at a distance to avoid being hurt when they had to leave.

He, too, wanted to change the way his life seemed to be headed. He wanted out of the strict upraising he had. Determined to follow in his brother’s footsteps he planned to go to college as far removed from the military as he could. 

The stories of how the generations in his family had known the moment they met their loved ones had been passed down. Stefan wasn’t a believer in love at first sight. Until it happened to him.

Passing through on his way to Washington, DC for his father’s new posting, his life changed in an instant. Who knew a chocolate ice cream cone could change his destiny?

Stella and Stefan

Pulled together by destiny, these two will learn to love, sacrifice, and grow up before it’s time. Forced to make decisions that take them further from their goals, they learn to lean on each other. Mistakes are made, but can love conquer all?

For that answer you’ll have to read and find out.

Review:

When I was first offered Mocked by Destiny I was a bit skeptical with the whole pregnant teen thing. But boy did she blow the lid off I absolutely could not put the book down... Even though I really needed to seeing as it was 1AM on a school day. The twists and turns were unexpected and kept you immersed in the story line. The story will keep you on your toe's. The end goes through two generations and I was not big on that I would rather have the story continue from after Italy. No That actually didn't give any thing away. The end did have a little to much going on with all the generations and it was hard to tell who was saying it. Fast paced and drama city. Defiantly a must read! 5/5

-Kati (The Jagged Edge)