Destiny Blues

Hand of Fate #1

by Sharon Joss

Some people attract stray cats. With parking control officer Mattie Blackman, it's demons.

At work, in her car, even at the foot of her bed. And with the FBI on the hunt for a rogue demon master, she's desperate to get rid of them. Thwarted at every turn to solve her problem through legitimate channels, she turns to Shore Haven's sexy mage for the a fate she refuses to accept.

But as the serial killer's victims pile up, Mattie realizes there's only one way to stop a demon master…
To save her friends and the people she loves, Mattie must choose between her life and her destiny.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Demons, Fiction, Magic

325 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 27, 2013

About the author

Award-winning author Sharon Joss writes science fiction, fantasy and horror. She is the author of eight novels, including the acclaimed Hand of Fate series, and is the 2015 Writers of the Future Golden Pen Award winner for speculative fiction. She lives and writes in Oregon.

In her HAND OF FATE urban fantasy series, the books are (in order):
DESTINY BLUES
LEGACY SOUL
CHAOS KARMA
MYSTIC JIVE
COSMIC GROOVE

Her other books are:
BROTHERS OF THE FANG (volume 1 in the Mythica Series)
AURUM (science fiction)
STARS THAT MAKE DARK HEAVEN LIGHT (Award-winning science Fiction)
STEAM DOGS (volume 1 in the series)

Reviews

[Coco.V]

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[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life was going just fine for Mattie when on her meter-maid route she discovers that a demon is following her. This is bad news, since the FBI considers demon masters potential terrorists. She’s desperate to find someone to get rid of the stinky little guy when…another one seems to attach itself to her. That’s impossible, isn’t it?

Mattie feels like she messes up everything: she gets put on probation from her job, hurts herself and totals the moped she uses on her rounds, misses her demon-banishing appointments, and now has to babysit her niece for a few days while her brother Lance is out of town. Friend Karen takes her out for lunch and helps Mattie get some much-needed perspective–and a potential date from the hunky waiter. But then Mattie discovers that Lance is up to his old gambling problems again, more demons start following her around, and she learns that the FBI wants to talk to her.

To start, Joss does a great job with PoV, she’s got clean prose, and Mattie is a fun narrator who’s the just right amount of spunk and girly. The PoV character has her issues, but they make her feel like a real person dealing with a difficult situation–a situation that includes family, which makes everything much messier. I especially enjoyed the ideas about how demons and demon masters work, why the FBI can’t trust them, and generally the setting where Mattie lives.

Joss has a good hold on the cast of characters, making them easy to identify and remember without adding more than needed to tell the story (a common pitfall in this kind of story). There’s a too-short scene with the Hand of Fate; Mattie’s brother makes an occasional appearance despite his big influence on the story; friend Karen who’s more a sounding board than anything beyond a stock character; and then there’s the mysterious Rhys, mage, tour guide of the paranormal world, and romantic interest. All of these–and other characters–add to the story and help us understand what makes Mattie tick.

However, despite the engaging premise about demons and their masters, ultimately too many questions are left that the story feel incomplete–like when a Big Mac is served without the special sauce. I wasn’t ever really clear about how the Hand of Fate’s magic worked, how does she even know what to do? Why don’t paranormals have auras? Etc. Joss does her best to fix this with a few infodumps, but they’re misplaced and simply don’t provide enough information. The forward movement of the story has a few blips, but doesn’t get bogged down by boring scenes; however, there were issues with flow in (and sometimes between) scenes, character movement was sometimes confusing. It didn’t help, either, that there were more than a handful of typos and errors in the text itself.

Sharon Joss gets points for a fun idea, an entertaining PoV character, and style, but the other issues hopefully won’t prevent you from enjoying the story for what it is.

Recommended Age: 15+
Language: A handful
Violence: Some, nothing gruesome
Sex: Referenced; some situations get a little steamy

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[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rough execution but fun read

Mattie's day went from bad to horrid when she found out she had a djenie. Soon her week went down the toilet when she had half a dozen attached to her with no explanation to why she had more than one, she got suspended, her brother is acting strange, and it turns out she has a destiny she wants nothing to do with. At least she can take a break from wearing culottes.

Here's what I liked: the world that was set with with AI and the regulations on magic and those of that community. It's more of a stigma than something looked on with pride. Mattie has a bit of a sense of humor. The djemons Blix and Larry.

Here's what I didn't like: *There are editing and punctuation errors all over this book. Words are missing in sentences and the wrong word used instead. It looked like the author was writing quickly so things like It became I, or was became as and so on. This book wasn't proofread at all and because of tall those mistakes, it didn't feel like I was getting a finished product.
*I knew who the villain was from the first chapter.
*I had a hard time picturing Rhys. I know he has black hair, green eyes, and a mustache, but what came in my head was Jack Burton from the pork chop express with Lopan's mustache. (I sorta expected it to be gender swapped Big Trouble in Little China and Mimsy was gonna be the evil spirit and she needed a green eyed groom to become flesh again. I'm almost disappointed it didn't happen.)
*It was repetitive in scenes. We'd get an explanation of what was happening, or why something was what it was, and then a few paragraphs later we'd get the same explanation from someone else, either more in depth or abridged.

Why didn't I give it a lower rating: I enjoyed the story. It was fun and a quick read, but the execution is rough. This book stands well on its own and I have no real questions about anything that was mentioned in it. I don't know if I will be reading any more of this series.

[S.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

One and a half stars. The story started slowly, but it did eventually pick up. I liked the magic system; it was original and fresh, even if it "djemon" and "djinn" were both things, but "djemon" apparently had a silent j and "djinn" a silent d.

The main character's best friend also irked me. She was literally the most 2D character I've come across in over a decade. She came across as the author's idea of a "normal" woman--white, middle-class, mother of three boys. She was a librarian and could conveniently help the main character with research, which I thought could be awesome but mostly they go out to eat together and chat. She's a boring character. (And yes, she's supposed to be outside all the supernatural stuff the main character ends up embroiled in, but a "normal" person doesn't have to be boring. They should still be their own person.)

Finally and unfortunately, the writing dragged the story's otherwise interesting parts down. There were misplaced words, capitalizations in the middle of a sentence (and not the edgy kind of capital letters I'm talking words like "That".), and more repetition than I could stand. Information and motivations were repeated thirty pages apart, almost word for word, like the author forgot to remove chunks of writing she'd moved elsewhere during the editing process.

Overall, it came down to the fact that the Destiny Blues ebook can be downloaded for free. I didn't waste any money on it, so while I wish I hadn't bothered, it wasn't the worst thing I've ever read, either.

[Dai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guao, hace rato no me sentía tan absorbida por un libro.

Me encantó, desde los personajes hasta toda la mezcla paranormal de demonios, dioses, asesinos y pare de contar.

Mattie es genial, me gustó como protagonista porque aunque no es toda badass tampoco es una completa tonta. Y Rhys... como dice Mattie: Hombre, oh, hombre. Me enamoré completamente y debo decir que me sorprendí bastante con él y con el giro que la historia toma casi al final.

¡Necsito el segundo!

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been on a mad search for a new and exciting good paranormal read to no avail and then I stumbled upon "Destiny Blues." After reading just a chapter or two, I knew without a doubt that I had found the answer to my reading slump. This series is definitely one I can embrace.

Mattie Blackman is a meter maid or "parking control officer." Then, one day everything changes. She begins seeing and smelling jdemons and they begin following her. Every time she attempts to seek help in vanishing them, something gets in the way. So, her best friend suggests she goes to see a mage, Rhys, owner of Mystic Properties. When she finally meets him, he is not at all as she pictured. In fact, he changes her life forever because he holds the key to her real identity.

Meanwhile, the city is experiencing a string of murders and Mattie's brother, Lance seems to be back to his old gambling habits. When he ask Mattie to babysit his daughter for him, she had no idea how much she would live to regret it. When a mobster, Hector and his men come to Lance's house, they make it clear that Mattie had better pass on a message to Lance or she would be the one to pay the price.

As the demons seem to multiply and Mattie's life is turned upside down, she and Rhy will have to locate the jdemons and send them back where they belong. That is, if they don't destroy them first.
It seems that there is a jdemon master floating around the city causing all of the ruckus and he is not about to let go of his control lightly.

I really enjoyed this read. Mattie is not just some strong kick ass herione. She is funny, sweet and vulnerable. As she comes into her own, she definitely will be a person to reckon with. I enjoyed this action packed read and look forward to future installments.

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing but ultimately insubstantial read. The book had an interesting magic system and I liked the main character well enough (despite her cliched clumsiness and cutesy job), but the story felt flimsy and the story contradicted itself in numerous small ways. For example, the fact that it was set in a small town where everyone knew one another was emphasized. However, the main character, her mother and her brother all lived there their whole lives but never happened to be recognized by the family they supposedly look just like. Or people who summoned demons were treated as terrorists, but demons never seemed to be summoned. Instead they were caught, like virus. Similarly thin was the character development. No one felt very well developed, some characters devastatingly one-dimensional (the brother and best friends, for example). All in all, I enjoyed the read but didn't feel it would hold up to much scrutiny.

[Dahrose · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was potential for great things with this premise - but for me, it failed to deliver. Our h, Mattie, is a very black and white character. Her strong opinions were locked in stone, hating anything to do with magic. She stubbornly refuses to believe or deal with things occurring - then abruptly switches sides and can't understand why people hate or don't support her decisions.
- jarring slapstick scenes when Mattie discovers her first demons
- Mattie's abrupt change in topic when very serious things are occurring around her. Suddenly wondering about kissing the hot guy. All jarring.
- Her interactions with her brother made me wince - his lack of support, concern for her, getting her into serious danger but she keeps running around after him. Stilted and weird.

[Kari Chapman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really not fond of "djemon" to start with. That set things off on the wrong foot almost from the beginning. Then, for me at least, there was no good reason of why the main character was acting so irrationally paranoid about what was happening. If there are places that openly do exorcisms, then going to one openly and getting rid of your "djemon" problem shouldn't be a problem. It was explained that there were problems if you didn't get rid of it soon enough, but nothing about just having one of them attach to you in the first place. The antics the main character goes through trying to keep her secret were not funny and to my eyes unneeded. Once the next twist happened, I just couldn't find any interest in continuing the book.

[Adriel Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tend to say that Urban Fantasy is a hit-or-miss subgenre for me. But, when I really think about it, I either really, really love the book, or I simply hate it. And I tend to really, really love Urban Fantasy more than I hate it. So, maybe it would be more accurate to say that certain Urban Fantasy AUTHORS are hit-or-miss for me. Over the years, however, I’ve learned that the Urban Fantasy that I love the most are ones where the main character is a detective of some sort. Even better if there’s a great conspiracy that spools out over several books. See: Dresden Files by Jim Butcher or The Hallows by Kim Harrison.

So, in that regard, Hand of Fate did not disappoint in the slightest. I was immediately pulled into the series and the next thing I knew, I was finishing the fourth book at midnight.

Which is when I got mad. It’s a good sign when I get angry with an author because they did something horrible to a character that I love. It means I’m emotionally invested, which is rather a big deal for me, since I tend not do emotionally invest in characters. (Can you hear the laughter from the peanut gallery?) But this time was especially egregious. I threw things. I yelled. My husband asked if I lost my mind and would be able to fall asleep. I did, eventually.

And I read the fifth book in a couple hours the next day because I had to know that she made it right. She did well enough I don’t want to email Joss with “What were you thinking!?!?” emails anymore. But I’m still eager for the next book to be out. Why? Because Joss has great characters, a beautiful setting, good plot twists, and lots more to offer. Though, to be fair, she’s not as mean to her characters as Butcher is.

This series will become an auto-buy for me. All five of the first books in the Hand of Fate series get 5/5 stars from me.

[Blake · Rating 1 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

DNF

I don't like the MC or the love interest (mage guy).

First time read the author's work?: Yes

Will you be reading more?: No

Would you recommend?: No


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a few reasons I gave this 2 stars instead of 3. One is because of the main character, Mattie. In the beginning she was really annoying. Her obsession with cops was a bit much. Also, it seemed the author kept referring to things because she thought they were funny such as the culottes. There were some editing issues which wouldn't have been too much a concern except that some affected the flow of the story.

The story was interesting and I did end up liking Mattie. I will probably try book 2 to see what happens next.

[Adam Windsor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the premise and the light and breezy tone, and all the basic elements of the plot are more or less in place, but this novel is unfortunately rather less than the sum of its parts. Too many scenes that should be a Big Deal are just kind of glossed over, either as they are happening, or after they've happened, or both. It feels like the author's first draft was just cleaned up for grammar and spelling and then released as is. A shame, since it means the end work falls short of its potential.

[Andrew Brooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting premise, but the plot got irrational right away. It was explained that there were problems if you didn't get rid of it soon enough, so that means you yell for treatment, not try to hide it!!
The antics the main character goes through trying to keep her secret were like a 4 year old trying to hide the injury they got playing, instead of getting help BEFORE they have to amputate the finger! The related lying about it makes the character unbelievable as a police officer.

[Lee Stewart-Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read.

The first book in t Hand of Fate series was a rather quick read but satisfying, much like a cool drink o a hot day. It has a new twist on the human demon relationship and a look at a world that is slightly off from our own. The heroine is a bit of an underachiever who is forced to grow into a new role by the twists of Fate in her life.

[Belinda Tran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it

I liked the story, and would have loved to give it five stars. I don't usually take away for grammatical errors, because we all make them. The only reason I did in this case, was that it did interrupt the flow in some cases. Overall, I thought the storyline was good, and I definitely laughed thru out the book. I would still recommend the book to book lovers.

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

glad I stuck with it, because the first few chapters were a bit meh, but it got way better after that; was a bit annoyed with the main character though, re. the love interests and the way her feelings are described. overall a quick, fun read.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started slow, picked up quickly

I had a hard time getting into this book. The beginning was slow, and I didn't connect to the main character, at first. About a quarter of the way in, that changed. I enjoyed the book immensely from that point on.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A modern Demon Tale

A modern Demon story imaging that the police & general public accept the paranormal exists but makes rules without actually understanding it.

Considering buying book 2 now

[Bella' · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo único que todavía no logro entender y que en serio me dejó muy impresionada es cómo fue que la machetearon y luego como si nada?
Y ese último dialogo jajaja sí, bueno, las bragas color carne son las mejores.

[Cindy Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting fantasy that showed a scrappy character who is just trying to get by in life without mucking it up too much. Her life takes an interesting turn when she finds out her grandma is the Hand of Fate and that she is about to inherit those powers. A new twist that I liked.

[Sally Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story started slowly but grabbed my interest. I liked the characters and their development. They were real in their problems and ways of handling them. I liked the story line and how it developed.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was enjoyable read for me. I liked Mattie and her unusual problem. This is also a different kind of quirky paranormal story that I normally read. It was free on Amazon and I thought I would give it a
try.

[Adricrisuruta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buena historia... Bastante intriga y emoción.

[Roger A Clements · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Slow to start and little rough getting to details and some descriptions were little vague at first but still made a great story.

[Matilde Damkier · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 30%
Aside from the grammar issues in the book, I just couldn't stand being inside of Mattie's head. That chick was annoying as fuck.

[Marcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Pretty good for a first installment, but had it's meh moments.

[Rakeshia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Moly!!! I didn’t even take a break! I can’t wait to start the next book!!

[Boneist · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was entertaining and I liked the world building, but I don’t feel the urge to pick up the next book. Perhaps it’s because this one felt like it was more setting up the world for the next book?

[Mary T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

This is a lighthearted story of a young woman who has some smelly djemons intruding in her life. The trial of removing them completely changes her life.