Rating: 4.5 stars
Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
After nearly losing his brother when Dare was challenged as pack alpha, Bay has been out of sorts and off kilter. So when a group sets off to make contact with a pack they had all thought long destroyed, Bay volunteers to be a part of the mission. When they arrive, Bay is shocked to find that his childhood friend and lost love, Nash, is alive, if not quite well. Nash had disappeared when the boys were teens and no one had any idea what happened to him. Although he was recently rescued from captivity by their Silver Tip Pack, on the way back to the pack home Nash gave up his life to save the rest of them by giving himself up as bait to the murderous Nowheres. Now here Nash is, alive and living with the Whitethroat Pack as he recovers from injury.
Bay is thrilled to see Nash alive, having thought he lost the man twice to death. At first Nash is nervous to see Bay, but soon the comfort of Bay and the other pack members begins to help him heal. Not to mention that Nash and Bay begin to rekindle their connection, emotionally and physically. Bay has always wanted Nash and is ready to have him back in his life for good. But Nash has a lot of secrets and he still won’t tell Bay what happened to him that day he disappeared, where he has been all this time, or how he survived.
As the group begins to travel home, the bond between the men continues to grow stronger, but at the same time, Nash seems to be pulling away. However, with Bay’s support and persistence, Nash finally shares the truth with Bay, along with the horrors of what he experienced. When the Silver Tips learn about the murderous Weres who had Nash in captivity, they are determined to step in and stop the evil shifters. The pack is vicious however, and the chances of success are slim. Now that Bay and Nash finally have found each other once again, they will have to fight for their lives and for their pack in order to have their future together.
Chasing Destiny is an excellent follow up to Megan Ericsson’s fabulous Daring Fate. I absolutely adored that book and it was one of my 2016 Favorites, so I was thrilled to see this second installment. Erickson does a nice job of recapping events of the first book here and getting the reader refreshed on the world building, so you could probably pick this one up on its own. However, there are many events in the first story that directly play into this book, from Bay’s feelings of anxiety after Dare is almost killed, to events that transpire with Nash, to the dynamics of the various pack members. I also think that it is helpful to have a sense of the connection between Nash and Bay that we get from that first book, as even though they aren’t ever together in the first story, their connection is clear. In Chasing Destiny, these guys are pretty emotionally committed almost immediately after reuniting, so we don’t get much build up to the relationship itself. I think that works fine here having the background from the first book, but without it you may feel that the jump into their connection is a little quick.
The story is divided into parts that separate into Nash and Bay’s POVs, which works really nicely. We start off in Bay’s head and get to see his excitement at reuniting with Nash and the strength of their connection. Bay knows Nash has secrets, but they aren’t revealed until we move into Nash’s POV, which I think gives us some nice suspense, and also lets us really understand Nash’s feelings and anxieties when he get his viewpoint. So I think the switch between them works really well here and we get a chance to get to know both of these men and understand both their fears, as well as the depth of their commitment to each other.
Like the first story, this book does a nice job combining creative world building, sexy romance, and some nice suspense moments. I don’t want to reveal too much about what happened to Nash while he was gone, but it is pretty horrific. When the Silver Tip Pack members learn the story, as well as that others are still in danger, they take action to intervene with the dangerous pack. So things get pretty exciting as we see them engaged in fights for their lives and performing dangerous rescues. I think the balance is really good here between all three aspects of the story, and Erickson advances the overarching world building nicely here as well. There are so many interesting characters in this series and things that can be explored, I am really looking forward to more.
I will say I did wish for a little bit more of a sense of time/place here. We know that this world takes place after humans were wiped out by a virus that created the Nowheres (zombie like super shifters). But I can’t quite tell if this is futuristic, or alternate world, or even how long it has been since humans are around. Based on the total lack of technology or any remnants of human infrastructure, I’d say alternate world, and the book has a definite fantasy feel, but some more clarity at some point would be helpful.
So this is another great installment in this very enjoyable series. This book has more of a romantic feel than the first as we see these lost lovers reunite, as well as the depth of the connection that has sustained these two men over the years. It is a really nice addition to the series and I am very much looking forward to more.
