Book review: Destiny by Louise Bagshawe

Orphan Kate Fox is determined to make her mark in the world, and with her gorgeous looks, what better way to secure her future than to marry money? When she attracts the attention of media mogul Marcus Broder – sophisticated, powerful and wealthy beyond measure – it seems as though all of Kate’s dreams have come true.

But marriage to Marcus isn’t everything she imagined. A closet filled with designer clothes, and nothing to do with her time but shop, lunch and be beautiful, does not bring happiness. Before long, Kate wants out of her marriage, a career of her own, and a chance at love. But Kate’s reputation as a gold-digger is sealed. Ruthlessly pursued by Marcus, who will stop at nothing to destroy her, Kate knows she has to defeat her past if she is to win the trust of the man she loves.

Destiny is the first of Louise Bagshawe’s books that I’ve read. I was drawn to the book by the striking cover and the fact that it is set in my favourite city; New York. I love the use of the New York skyline silhouetted on the cover and from the synopsis I was looking forward to a story of triumph over adversity.

Main character Kate does indeed make good, but her success comes at a price. Full of glamour and drama, the book follows Kate’s journey from the point where she is orphaned at age sixteen into her thirties. I’m a big fan of stories like this that follow a character as they grow up and I love a good ‘rags to riches’ story but I did find it a challenge to really warm to Kate in the early parts of the book. Bagshawe makes it clear that Kate is gorgeous and that she uses her beauty to get her what she wants. It is clear that Kate isn’t stupid but she decides to pursue a path advocated by her mum that will see her marry a rich man and never to have to worry about paying the bills. Whilst I could understand Kate’s desire to make a better life for herself, I found it a hard to warm to her gold digger approach in the early parts of the book.

Thankfully Kate’s ambitions are balanced by those of her best friend Emily who is the opposite of Kate in looks and ambition. Emily sets up her own magazine and is very much happy focusing on her career. She acts as a good balance to Kate and the friendship between the two women made me more sympathetic towards Kate in the early part of the book.

My enjoyment changed dramatically once Kate realised that marriage to a rich man wasn’t everything and saw her husband (the very unlikeable Marcus Broder) for what he really was; a power hungry man with little regard for women. For me, the second half of the book was brilliant and I was absolutely caught up in Kate’s attempts to stand on her own feet and make a career for herself. I enjoyed reading as Marcus became a ruthless enemy and there were a number of good twists and turns to the story as well as good dash of romance leading to an explosive ending that I really enjoyed.

Destiny would make a fab beach read this summer and is an interesting look at beauty and power versus career and ambition with its mix of high fashion, millionaire media owners and trophy wives providing a page turning read.

4/5

I’d like to thank Emily at Headline for sending me a review copy.

You can find out more about Louise Bagshawe and her books at: http://www.louisebagshawebooks.com/index.html