Chosen by Desire (The Guardians of Destiny) [Mass Market Paperback]

Kate Perry (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Guardians of Destiny | Publication Date: October 1, 2009

Carrie Woods just can't resist temptation. To solve an ancient mystery, she "borrows" a precious, legend-cursed scroll from a Chinese monastery. But with the scroll comes danger: bizarre powers, life-threatening accidents, and, most frightening of all, one sexy Guardian's icy-hot gaze.

Maximillian Prescott is all too happy to strip this innocent-eyed thief of her secrets and the scroll, yet he's determined to fight the undeniable attraction pulling them together. But Max isn't Carrie's only pursuer, and there's just one way to keep the scroll safe. This adventurous blonde and brooding Guardian must dare to join forces and bare their souls to each other . . . before their enemies take not only the scroll but Carrie's life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Monks, monasteries, ancient Chinese secrets and kung fu, along with characters perfectly suited to one another, and plenty of passion make this a book you won't want to miss. Oh yeah, there's danger too (how else would we get kung fu?) as someone besides Max knows Carrie has those scrolls in her possession. Kate Perry shows a deft hand in this book, combining all those diverse elements into a shining, beautiful whole. Her knowledge and research show. I'm happy to say that the deal has been made for the third Guardians book, and I can't wait to read it. In the meantime, I'll be getting a copy of the first book and probably even rereading CHOSEN BY DESIRE." (Lori Ann, Romance Reviews Today )

"The Guardians of Destiny urban romantic fantasy (see MARKED BY PASSION) is a fast-paced action thriller from the moment that Carrie questions why she is stealing the scrolls and never slows down as a mutual enemy craves what she took. [It is] fun to watch Max's agony of falling in love with a person he considers a lowlife academic crook. The return of the stars from the previous entry enhances an entertaining often amusing taut thriller." (Harriet Klausner, Harriet Klausner Reviews )

"Can't wait for the next in this series...simply great reading. Another winner by this amazing author." (Romance Reviews Magazine )

"Kate Perry's Chosen by Desire kept me up all night and left me royally satisfied. I just wonder how she will out do herself on her next novel as this one blew me away. Chosen by Desire is now one of my favorite paranormal reads and Kate Perry is on my auto buy list. " (Night Owl Romance.com )

"Spellbinding, sensual, and full of nonstop entertainment, this read kept me on edge...Be prepared to fall into a world of ancient Chinese magic and smoldering guardians you won't wish to escape from anytime soon." (romancejunkiesreviews.com )

"A sexy hero and action packed . . I thoroughly enjoyed it!" (Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author of The Darkest Pleasure on MARKED BY PASSION )

"Kate Perry has created a sexy world of kick-ass action! You'll want to immerse yourself in MARKED BY PASSION, the first in a thrilling new series, complete with a smoldering hero and the toughest, sassiest heroine around." (Veronica Wolff, author of Sword of the Highlands on MARKED BY PASSION )

"Get ready to stay up late, Kate Perry has written a fabulous blend of urban fantasy and romance. MARKED BY PASSION is filled with unique mythology, exciting plot twists, and sizzling chemistry between its characters. I will be impatiently waiting for the next Guardians of Destiny novel." (Jeaniene Frost New York Times bestseller of One Foot in the Grave on MARKED BY PASSION )

"This is exciting and simply terrific. Original and inventive...[the] story is so exceptional that it can only earn the top rating. Looking forward to the sequel!" (Romancereviews.com Donna Doyle on MARKED BY PASSION )

"The paranormal world feels real and the plot is action-packed and super-sexy." (www.bookpage.com on MARKED BY PASSION )

"Perry kicks off a first-person urban fantasy series, the Guardians of Destiny, by introducing readers to Gabrielle Sansouchi Chin. This is a great premise with an interesting but stubborn protagonist. Keep an eye out on this author and series." (Romantic Times BookReviews )

"The paranormal world feels real and the plot is action-packed and super-sexy in Kate Perry's Marked by Passion. Told through the voice of Gabrielle Sansouci Chin, a bartender and artist, this romance begins with Gabrielle's discovery that her estranged father has died and left her as guardian of an ancient scroll with special powers. Despite her reluctance to take on the role of the artifact's protector, Gabrielle finds she can't turn away from it, nor from the sexy Brit, Rhys Llewellyn, who seems to know more about her and her situation than is safe. With bad guys shadowing her through the streets of San Francisco, not to mention the spirit of her father and the tantalizing sensuality that Rhys exudes, Gabrielle has her hands full. There are secrets to uncover and danger to confront in this story of a woman learning to accept her new duties and the love of a powerful man." (Bookpage on MARKED BY PASSION )

About the Author

As a little girl, Kate dreamt of many things. Like becoming a ninja. Dressing up in black and carrying a big sword? Seemed like a no brainer.

However, Fate had other plans for her, and she studied Kung Fu San Soo instead. A Kung Fu Master, Kate now has more weapons than she ever imagined-including several swords.

She lives in San Francisco. Voted by her friends as the woman they'd most want to stroll with down a dark alley, Kate's as likely to be spotted at the opera as she is doing tai chi in Golden Gate Park. Usually wearing black-in both cases.

You can learn more at:
http://www.kateperry.com.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Kate-Perry/119701691409285
Twitter: @KatePerry

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Forever; Original edition (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044654101X
• ISBN-13: 978-0446541015
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #968,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As a little girl, Kate dreamt of many things. Like becoming a ninja. Dressing up in black and carrying a big sword? Seemed like a no brainer.

However, Fate had other plans for her, and she studied Kung Fu San Soo instead. A seventh degree black belt, Kate now has more weapons than she ever imagined--including several swords.

She lives in San Francisco. Voted by her friends as the woman they'd most want to stroll with down a dark alley, Kate is as likely to be spotted at the opera as she is doing tai chi in Golden Gate Park. Usually wearing black--in both cases.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Choose This!, November 4, 2009

By 

Kelly Moran "Author and Reviewer" (WISCONSIN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Chosen by Desire (The Guardians of Destiny) (Mass Market Paperback)

Author Kate Perry's book, Chosen by Desire, is listed as part of The Guardians of Destiny Series, with Marked by Passion released first. She has other titles in contemporary romance; Project Date and Project Daddy. Kate Perry is a 7th degree black belt Kung Foo San Soo and collects swords. She resides in San Francisco , California with her love, Nate.

In order to secure a teaching position at UC Berkeley, Carrie Woods needs to write the doctoral thesis of a lifetime. Her plan? To break into a Chinese monastery and search for proof that the mythical Scrolls of Destiny are real. Except when her plan goes all wrong and she has to "borrow" the scrolls, Carrie finds herself the target of someone who wants the power they can provide. As some of those powers from The Book of Water are unknowingly being passed to her, Carrie accepts a position translating ancient Chinese texts with a man who is not who he appears to be. Max Prescott is all too happy to strip Carrie of her stolen scroll and replace it where it belongs. Being one of the Guardians, it's his job, after all. But his unrelenting attraction for her was not planned, and he's finding difficult to do his job with the innocent-eyed blonde under his roof. Worse, he finds himself having to protect not only the scroll, but Carrie as well. And the enemy is closer than they think.

I reviewed the first book in this series, Marked by Passion, and loved it. But I found this second book, Chosen by Desire, to be much more powerful and engaging. The first book was told in first-person, and this one was in third-person. The hero and heroine were relatable, the heat between them scorching. This is listed as a paranormal romance, but also fits the lines of urban fantasy. The plot was very fast-paced and action-packed, leaving the reader to get hooked from page one. I like that she brought back Rhys, Gabe, and Rick from the first book, as they made excellent secondary characters and added to the story-line nicely. It was also nice to see the quirky humor in this one that was present in the first book, cleverly breaking up the tension. The setting was perfect, as well.

Chosen by Desire is another winner by Kate Perry, and one not to be missed by paranormal romance fans!



Kelly Moran,

Author and Reviewer

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get swept off your feet!, January 8, 2010

By 

Lindsay Pasch "VaBookworm87" (Virginia Beach, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chosen by Desire (The Guardians of Destiny) (Mass Market Paperback)

I was asked by the publisher, Hatchette Book Group, to read and review Kate Perry's Chosen By Desire. If you're into romance novels, you'll definitely enjoy this! It's got a unique supernatural twist to it that creates an intense storyline.

The main character is Carrie, a young PhD student trying to come up with something groundbreaking- something that will help her stand out so she can get a professorial position at UC Berkley. Her research is on a Chinese emperor who was said to possess the power of the five elements. The myth said he divided the powers into scrolls which were then given to "Guardians". The sole purpose of the Guardians was to keep the scrolls (and hence, the power) from falling into the wrong hands.

As luck would have it, Carrie discovers the location of the journal of this famed emperor. After traveling all the way to China and finding the journal, Carrie is faced with no choice but to "borrow" the document. Unfortunately for her, Max witnessed her act of theft. Max realizes Carrie has made off with more than just the journal, and is forced to go after her and get the stolen goods back. Max employs Carrie with the intent to discover her motives, but didn't count on falling for her in the process. Meanwhile, Carrie realizes she is in way over her head when she starts receiving threatening phone calls about the things she stole. After a mess of murder attempts, false accusations, and snooping around, Carrie manages to discover who has been threatening her as well as figure out her feelings for Max.

I'm more of a historical romance reader, but I decided to have a go with this book and was pleasantly surprised! The story line was very engaging, and moved along at a pace that didn't allow me to become bored. It was definitely a fast read, taking me only two days to get through. The plot itself was a unique spin on romance novels with its use of ancient Chinese magic. As with most romance novels, this one is not lacking in "Rated R" content. Unlike many books that get a little too hung up on including as many sexy scenes as possible (thus making the book seem like nothing more than cleverly concealed porn), this book was very tastefully written.

Something that struck me early on while reading is that this is a surprisingly funny book! I related well to the character of Carrie in her mannerisms and way of speaking. I found myself smiling and laughing quite a lot throughout this book, which is unusual for me. The author develops every character well, even the minor ones like the police inspector, Rick.

I love that the author included a prologue! It's always so frustrating when you read a good love story and you never find out how everything turns out! The prologue was a "6 months later" piece, which helped to tie up a few loose ends. I was actually enjoying the reading so much that I continued and read the author's note (which, for the record, was also incredibly funny).

If you are a romance reader, give this book a read! I will definitely be checking out the rest of the Guardians of Destiny Series!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 stars - Follow on to Marked by Passion, October 29, 2009

By 

melindeeloo (sb,ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Chosen by Desire (The Guardians of Destiny) (Mass Market Paperback)

Gabe and Rhys (Marked by Passion) are on the sidelines and Gabe's pal Carrie takes the spotlight when she travels to China in search of evidence proving existence of the mythical Scrolls of Destiny in order to pump up her thesis and win her dream teaching job. Carrie doesn't mean to, but somehow she manages to steal a journal with proof of she needs and, unknown to her at first, one of the scrolls themselves - the Scroll of Water. Carrie's theft doesn't go unwitnessed, though living like a monk Max, the Guardian of the Scroll of Metal, senses that the scroll is in Carrie's possesion as she makes her get away. Max is sent to recover the scroll and is told to use any means necessary to make sure that the knowledge of its existence is contained.

Chosen by Desire had an old style romance feel - You'll recognize the plot line ... the leading man thinks that the leading lady is trying to 'play' him and is really in cahoots with an old foe. So the leading man is sure that her sweet innocent nature is all an act and he doesn't trust her but lusts for her. In this case the old foe is Rhys, the man Max loved like a brother, until Rhys 'betrayed' him, stealing Max's love and getting her to try and steal Max's scroll. This 'Big Misunderstanding'- because Carrie is just what she seems, sweet and not scheming - is not one of my favorite plot devices - but it does serve it's purpose here to build the tension between the pair and when Max inevitably gives into the irresistable attraction the steam factor, fortunately is anything but old school though :)

One other thing that bothered me about Chosen by Desire, was that it seemed like the Book of Water, which was rejected by its herditary guardian, had chosen Carrie - it sort of jumped into her bag and Carrie started manifesting powers of water. But in the end nothing is made of this or explained and I found that a bit disappointing.

Chosen by Desire, the second book in Kate Perry's The Guardians of Destiny, was okay but not as good as the first book Marked By Passion, on the whole it felt a little forced and the reason may be that the author originally planned to follow Gabe and Rhys through the series and the publisher wanted the next book to be about Carrie. And it is pretty obvious that the series will continue in this vein because, Perry sets up the next leading lady for the next Guardians of Destiny book TEMPTED BY FATE.