Destiny's Dowry

by Rosemary Gard

In the lovely Croatian countryside of the late 1800’s, a baby near death is taken away. Miraculously the baby survives. Sixteen years later Katya’s dangerous journey takes her where she really belongs.

Genres: Fiction

368 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2008

About the author

Rosemary Gard was a NOMINEE in the Top 2019 Female Authors sponsored by The Authors Show.


Congratulations to Destiny's Dowry and Rosemary Gard for being selected as a finalist in the Cultural Fiction category of the 2011 Readers Favorite Award Contest! Winners to be announced September 1st. http://readersfavorite.com/2011-award...


Rosemary Gard has spent 3 months in Croatia in a village where she observed the customs and living habits of her relatives. Rosemary and her husband, Bob, lived for a year in Vicenza, Italy while he was with the army. They have also traveled to Bogota, Columbia in the early 60's.
Destiny's Dowry is Rosemary Gard's first novel. In the past she has written feature articles for newspapers.

Her second book Destiny Denied is a Gold Medal winner from Readers Favorite.

The last book in the Destiny Trilogy, Destiny's Dance, has a 5 Star review from Readers Favorite and has been chosen as a 2014 winner in the Cultural Fiction category.

The Trilogy has become a continuing set. Rosemary is now writing the 7th Destiny book.

She travels throughout the US speaking at schools and events. Has had brunch with the Croatian Ambassador and Travels from Indiana to Seattle for the famed...CroatiaFest.

Reviews

[Rosemary Gard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reluctant to leave a review of my own work. However, I have made several public appearances and received much feedback from those who have read the book and come to my book signings. Always I am asked when will the sequel be ready to sell. That indicates to me that the readers were pleased. I give it five stars based soley on the feedback I received from so many wonderful fans.

[Shirley · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is a very magical story between these covers. Unfortunately it gets lost in the confusion and awkwardness of the telling.

The story revolves around a beautiful Croation girl, who through a totally bizaar sequence of events, ends up in the wrong place, with the wrong family. Then, through an equally bizaar circumstances, finds her way back to her rightful place in the world.

The story unfortunately unfolds in a jumble of disjointed envents, unrelated details and unanswered questions.

There is potential here. If this book could be professionally edited and then rewritten it could be wonderful.

[Jasmyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to start out by saying - Don't let this cover scare you away. I almost didn't pick it up because the cover just didn't look very appealing - but I would have never found out how amazing the story inside was. Katya's tale is a strange one, and full of adventure. Raised as someone other than herself, it is in her destiny to return to where she really belongs. It's just that no one ever knows this (except the gypsy queen, but she's special). More than just a romance, this is a story of discovery for everyone in Katya's life. They have all lived in lies, some big some small, and need to learn to accept the truth and live the lives they were meant to live.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I won on Goodreads. I liked this book a lot and enjoyed the setting in both time and place. I had figured it out but it didn't seems to matter as I read it. At the end there was an unexpected surprise that I was pleased that the author wrote!

[Tami Bianco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in 3-4 days. I really enjoyed the Crotian/Serbian heritage that Rosemary used throughout the book as that is my heritage! Complexing characters with twists and turns. I just ordered her second novel to this series.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is good and I thought the story was interesting but the ending was very disappointing and felt like it was a lead-in to sequel books (which it is). Even though interesting it took a lot of time to read. I think there are lots of words on the page and no filler half pages. It was a good diversion and a different topic than I usually read, but I won’t be reading any sequels.

[One Book At A Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was more 3.5 stars really. But since I can't do that, I gave it 4 stars. I have to be honest in saying I probably would never have purchased this book. But the description was enough to grab my interest in a giveaway contest on here. I was excited to get the email saying I won! I’ve put off reading it because I was afraid I might not like it. When I finally picked it up to read, it grabbed my attention right from the start. The story is full of interesting characters and events. The chapters in the beginning are a little choppy and the story flow is a little weird once in awhile. But, it’s not hard to follow. Some chapters do skip from present to past (and once in awhile future), but it fills in all the details nicely. The above reasons are why I give it 3.5 instead of 4 Stars. Overall, I’m very glad I won this book because it was a wonderful read.
Oh…and I was thrilled that the book I won was a signed copy from the author!

[Semi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this author through her Facebook post about her first trip to Croatia and its inspiration for a series about peasants and immigrants during the 1800’s. An American of Croatian-Polish descent, I’ve searched for information about my family’s history, and from the book’s description, it sounded interesting. I’m glad that I read the reviews advising readers not to be put off by the cover of the book ...

I thought it was a fun read - especially because of the use of familiar language (e.g., “teta” is the Croatian word for “aunt”) and references to places that I’ve visited in recent years. Although it might be considered historical fiction, it seems less concerned about historical facts of this period and more like a folk tale - a good story with lots of plot twists to hold the reader’s interest. This is the first book of a series, and I’ll probably read the other books after a few others on my “to read” list.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given to me by a friend, I procrastinated reading this book due to the cover. I finally gave in and read it and was so surprised! What a interesting read. This is a story where you will continue to read late into the night just to find what happens next. So happy to have read this story.

[Amy mccool · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book from a good reads giveaway. I would recommend this book to all. It is a great read. I started reading it and couldn't put it down.