Fallen Destiny

by Yolanda Sfetsos, Somer Canon (Editor)

Destiny isn't human and she has the horns to prove it. She's also damned good at blending into the human world.

That, along with her powers, has helped her forge a career out of locating supernatural beings and objects.

Got demon troubles? Need a mystical artifact found? Destiny's the one for the job.

All goes well for her until the day she's hired by a mysterious nun, and for the first time, Destiny's stumped.

How exactly does a demon hired by a nun find an angel?

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

260 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 11, 2025

About the author

Writer. Bibliophile. Collector. Animal lover. Horror freak.

My name is Yolanda, and I live in Australia. I write horror tales that bleed into other genres. I'm a horror freak from way back and a total bibliophile! I also collect cute stuff, love cozy vibes, and enjoy going for walks.

You can find all my book & social media links here: https://linktr.ee/yolandasfetsos

Reviews

[Wayne Fenlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gentle beginning, hopefully, to a series that could tread many a dark and twisted path.

A cosy blend of genres: infusing horror, folklore, and eroticism, with a hint of mystery. A detective story at heart. This one, like all of Yolanda's work, is another proper page turner. A great writer. Truly.

[Yolanda Sfetsos]

I love occult detective stories, and this is my love letter (not my first and probably not my last) to the subgenre. Think Hellboy x Constantine with a twist of Supernatural, and that's Destiny's story. It's a cozy fantasy with a mystery. It's also a bit UF, and definitely has a pinch of horrormance. 😈😇

[Cindy Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Destiny has no memory of her past as a demon. She woke up as a young teen in this world, and was lucky enough to be adopted by someone who didn't mind her horns and cloven feet. As time has passed, Destiny has started to become more human. But she still has the quick temper of a demon, and she is still able to send others through a fiery portal when she is angry.

She is also able to use her powers to find missing people, and that's the power that kicks off this story. A mysterious nun, who is definitely not a sweet simple Sister, hires Destiny to find a fallen angel. This case affects Destiny differently than her previous cases. At times she feels as if she is connected to the angel.

To complicate an already complicated case, Destiny has been searching for a way to return to her original home, and hiding that search from her adoptive mother. Her best friend Kenan is helping her, and Destiny is also hiding her true feelings and desire for Kenan from him and everyone else.

All of these complications eventually collide, as Sfetsos pulls the strings together at the end. The resolution of everything in the end seemed a bit too easy based on the setup in the book, but the pace moves along quickly, and I really liked the characters. The relationship between Destiny and her adoptive mother, Destiny and Kenan, even Destiny and the mysterious nun really help drive the story. Most of the characters may be supernatural, but the complexity of very human emotions drives the plot.

Note that this book does include some graphic scenes of violence, and some graphic scenes for sex. They are important to the story and are certainly not the majority of the book, but they are there.

An interesting first book in what I hope will be a series. The ending wraps up this book, but does leave an opening for more stories to follow.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

[celestialpixels_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌒 When horns hide in a hoodie and moonlight offers evidence...🌇

"Fallen Destiny" opens the way all great urban fantasies do - in a city haunted not only by ghosts, but by its own demons. From the very first page, the world hums with hidden magic: spells stitched into crumbling brickwork, mysteries curling through narrow alleyways, and a darkness that makes the mundane feel paper-thin. It’s the kind of place where shadows linger just beyond the streetlamps, as if something unseen is always on the verge of stepping forward.

At the center of it all is Destiny Sagar, a woman with horns hidden beneath her curls and power that never quite settles underneath her skin. She moves through the world constantly negotiating with her own nature: half grit, half shadow, yet wholly herself. There’s a hint of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in her swagger, the kind of heroine who could stake a demon, wipe the blood off her cheek, and still deliver the perfect quip on her way out.

But everything changes when she’s hired to track down a missing angel. The story deepens into something darker and more uncanny. Hidden networks guard their secrets, angelic lore splinters into dangerous truths, and Destiny finds herself unraveling a mystery steeped in hexes. Every revelation pulls her further into parts of herself she’s spent years desperately trying to stifle.

The story here brims with so much possibility. We may only glimpse the edges of it - the supernatural politics, the secrets rotting beneath concrete, the magic beating through its city like a heartbeat - yet, I have a feeling this isn’t the last time we will walk its streets. Destiny’s story is far from finished, and I’ll gladly follow her into whatever shadows come next.

[Cat Treadwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed Yolanda’s short fiction in the past, so it was a pleasure to dive into this longer-form book. A badass demonic heroine with a wicked sense of humour, hired by a mysterious nun to rescue an angel… entirely up my supernatural street!

It does feel as if there are nods to ‘Constantine’ and the TV show ‘Supernatural’ here, but I was also reminded of the old ‘90s drama ‘Ultraviolet’. Protagonist Destiny works with a tremendously entertaining ‘detective agency’ of sorts, and that really added to the appeal of her story. This found family made for a much more well-rounded adventure than just a lone woman seeking out her past while solving weird crimes - this isn’t your usual romantic urban fantasy.

In fact, I found the romance aspect to be the least interesting part of the book. I couldn’t connect with the male love-interest at all, especially with his narcissistic tantrums and persistent ‘sidekick liability’ problem. I get why he was there, but couldn’t help feeling Destiny would’ve been better served if she teamed up with one of the female side characters (including the angelic ones).

Great world-building, a fun mystery built up well, and a heroine to root for. I’m intrigued to see any more of Destiny’s adventures, or simply where Yolanda’s imagination takes us next.

I was kindly sent an early copy of this book by the publisher, but the above opinions are entirely my own.

[Claire Smith-Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

A demon with no memory of how she came to be on earth, working to find lost people and items and hiding her demon attributes from humans - what a great concept and well delivered in this novella length read. You are thrown straight into the story and that sets the tone for this fast paced story. It doesn't take long for the reader to bond with Destiny, the FMC, and follow her as she takes a case that will unwittingly unlock her own past. As a character she's feisty, protective, intelligent and pragmatic. I loved her found family and her connection with Zendra, her adoptive mother. The frisson between Destiny and Kenan was delicious and very satisfying. All told this is a great urban fantasy book with well thought out characters and an interesting plot that kept me thoroughly entertained from start to finish.

Destiny is a demon, her history is unknown to her and she was taken in by Zendra and raised alongside her orphaned nephew. Together they take on strange cases and are hired to find a fallen celestial angel by a strange nun who is hiding something. Hiding in plain sight, Destiny is keenly aware of her differences to those around her but thankful for the gifts it gives her.

Accompanied by the nun and intrigued but wary, Destiny follows the trail down a path she was not expecting. A strange connection between Destiny and the angel opens up old wounds and questions from her past and about her future.

Thank you to Zooloo book tours for my copy of this book.

[MICHAEL DOANE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fallen Destiny is a fast moving urban fantasy built around a strong central hook: a demon protagonist navigating the human world while working as a supernatural tracker for hire.

What stands out immediately is the character driven premise. Destiny, as a horned demon who blends seamlessly into human society, creates a natural duality between identity and function both outsider and professional problem solver. This positions her well within the urban fantasy tradition of morally gray, highly capable leads.

The narrative hook being hired by a nun to locate an angel is particularly effective. It introduces an inherent contradiction that drives intrigue and tension from the outset, suggesting a world where traditional binaries (good vs. evil, divine vs. infernal) are blurred or subverted.

The structure appears to lean into episodic or case based storytelling, with the potential for expanding into a broader supernatural ecosystem involving artifacts, beings, and hidden networks operating beneath everyday reality.

Overall, Fallen Destiny presents a clean, marketable urban fantasy concept with strong character identity, a compelling central contradiction, and solid potential for series development.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

We are all unique and different in our own ways. Sometimes we like that we stand out, we can celebrate our differences and have other people celebrate them too. At other times, we tend to hide away, to shrink ourselves down, so that we are less noticeable and can just quietly move through the crowd. What it, your differences made you stand out for all the wrong reasons, and you had to spend your whole life hiding who you really were. This is the life for Destiny, who spends everyday hiding the fact that her head is adorned with a beautiful set of horns.
Yes, ok, horns are definitely not normal, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to be treated that way. Destiny’s work is not necessarily what you would call normal either. Demon hunting and tracing lost mystical artifacts are some of the jobs that Destiny excels in, and she is proud of her job and what she can accomplish. Why then, does this latest job feel wrong, and how exactly does one hunt a fallen angel?

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn’t read this author before, but the blurb caught my eye. I requested it, and I was immediately drawn into the story. Destiny is a unique character who was abandoned on Earth with no idea about her past. We slowly learn about it as she goes on an assignment for a nun to find an angel. Things don’t turn out the way you’d expect, which is the way things usually go in books like this. LOL! I really enjoyed this book with an unusual world, captivating plot, and engaging writing. I almost feel something was missing at the end, and I can’t really put my finger on it. It seems the book wrapped up everything nicely, but I’d like to see more books with these characters. All in all, I quite enjoyed this well-written tale. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

[Jubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an eARC. I enjoyed this story. Think Hellboy (but girl FMC) x supernatural. I like how it wasn’t dragged on with unnecessary or exaggerated details. It focused on the plot and the character emotions. The character’s were like able, there was light humor in between dialogue. And surprisingly enough there was romance! It wasn’t over the top, it blended well with the FMCs inner conflicts. This book can be done in a day.

[Henry Lazarus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yolanda Sfetsos has a tale of a demon, Destiny, who had been found and raised by a private detective. She works on finding missing people with her magical abilities and hiding her tail, horns, and cloven feet with magic. Then a nun hires her to find a missing cherub pulled from heaven and Destiny soon senses that the cherub is being tortured. Fallen Destiny (paper from Brigids Gate Press, LLC) is an exciting urban fantasy that is worthy of sequels.

[Kerryiscurrentlyreading · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story feels all over the place, with uneven pacing and scenes that don’t quite connect. It reads like it needed a serious editorial pass — there are clunky transitions, inconsistencies, and moments that pull you right out of the story. Instead of building tension or momentum, it just stumbles along.
There might be a decent idea buried in here somewhere, but it’s lost under messy execution. Overall, a frustrating and pretty disappointing read.