Marlies Schudlach Perez's 47 DESTINIES is a compelling novel about daring to dream big and refusing to settle timidly in life. I give it three stars for its theme and message, which are so appropriate for our 21st Century lives.
In 47 DESTINIES, Cora Jacobs thinks that her life is on the right course. She has a job (not great, but strategic) as an intern at an environmental company, a handsome boyfriend, who is reliable and kind and with whom she has a comfortable relationship. She ignores the little things that bother her about her love life until she finally meets her boss, Brent Locke.
Brent Locke, recently positioned as CEO of his family's corporation after a family tragedy, has determined to protect himself from the pain of relationships by being stern and uninvolved. However, his new intern throws him for a loop. She gets under his skin and somehow persuades him to open up, but there are serious impediments to their relationship – Cora's boyfriend, her belief that Brent is married, and the interference of Brent's family. Will Cora and Brent succeed where others have failed?
On the whole, I liked 47 DESTINIES and its theme. Too often, I see women who settle for less than what they want in relationships – not less in terms of social status or physical possessions, but less in terms of commitment and emotional connection. Emotional connection is difficult in real life, and because art imitates life, it is even more difficult to achieve in a novel without feeling melodramatic or contrived.
Here, Cora is faced with a choice between a risky man to whom she is seriously attracted and a safe man about whom she feels lukewarm. Don't be fooled by her happy ending. It takes strength to stick with that decision, and I felt Cora lacked that kind of character. She crosses the line several times as she attempts to figure out what she wants and how to communicate it. I suppose I should cut her some slack because, after all, she's only human, but I really did not like her inability to distance herself from her "married" boss. Kissing a married man is just not okay in my book. Kissing your boss is just stupid, like lighting a match in a room full of dynamite. Kissing two guys on the same day also shows some serious weakness of character.
To say I was disappointed in Cora's character is an understatement. Her soul searching lacked credibility to me. Forty pages from the end of the book, Cora finally thinks about God. It was too little, too late to be believable, especially when the idea of Kate Morgan's ghost was mentioned so early in the novel. Spirituality and God could easily have been introduced at that point, and Cora's views could have been illustrated.
I appreciate the development of Brent's character. The reader definitely sees him softening towards Cora, and his surreptitious machinations regarding her employment with his company showed thoughtfulness and maturity. Some of Brent's thoughts and narration were on the melodramatic side, but because he's purposefully enigmatic in the beginning, the reader should be ready for anything from him. Heat level rating is a 3, love scenes are appropriate for those 18 and older.
I would have liked to see more finesse and nuance in the narration and dialogue. Sometimes the descriptions or the characters' conversations felt stiff and overly proper, as if the reader wouldn't understand the scene if a pronoun was used instead of the character's name, or as if full words were necessary instead of contractions. I agree that some authors are too free with their contractions to the point that the verb tense is unclear, but here I would have liked to see more "it's" instead of "it is." Also, some of the narration switches perspective in the middle of the paragraph, which was a tad confusing at times.
Overall, I enjoyed 47 DESTINIES, and recommend it for your summer reading list.
**Review originally written for The Romance Reviews.com at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=10239
