Review: Just Destiny by: Theresa Rizzo

Just Destiny by: Theresa Rizzo (March 31, 2014)

Genre: Fiction

Source: I received a free copy of the book from the author for an honest review. Thanks!

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon | Smashwords

Goodreads Summary: What would you do if your whole world fell apart?

Jenny Harrison made some poor choices in the past, but marrying Gabe was the best thing she’d ever done. They had the perfect marriage, until a tragic accident leaves Gabe brain dead and her world in ruins.

Devastated by grief, she decides to preserve the best of their love by conceiving his child, but Gabe’s family is adamantly opposed, even willing to chance exposing long-held family secrets to stop her. Caught in a web of twisted motives and contentious legal issues, Jenny turns to best friend and attorney, Steve Grant. Steve wants to help Jenny, but he has reservations and secrets of his own.

When something so private and simple turns public and complicated, will Jenny relent? What is Steve willing to sacrifice to help Jenny?

My Review

Just Destiny is a well written novel that focuses on some sticky ethical questions/situations that are handled with grace. If you choose to read Just Destiny, which you should, your heart will swell and deflate and race during the course of the novel.

The characters are very real, and even though they have problems outside of my knowledge/experiences I could still connect with them, all of them. I liked reading about the nice young Jenny who has to deal with the loss of her husband who she loves with all of her heart. I enjoyed reading about her best friend, Steve, and his issues just as much as Jenny, along with all the other complex characters.

Just Destiny shines a light on a controversial subject that I don't believe has a lot of press but is one worth reading about, and a very interesting topic at that. Jenny wants to have her recently deceased husband’s baby through insemination from sperm that she got doctors to extract from her husband when he was brain dead. The book also touches on other ethical situations (that I won’t say because I won’t give away spoilers), these different questions that arose throughout the novel really made me think about what I would do in these situations. No matter what my opinion, I thought Jenny's story was compelling. 

The court case was done exceptionally well and was my favorite part of the novel. I loved the questioning and the back and forth between the lawyers and whoever was on the stand. I actually think that I need to read more books that center around a court case because all the ones I have read I have enjoyed a great deal. The one other thing that I give the author high praise for is her ability to surprise me with one of the family secrets that was revealed, now not all of them were shocking, but there was one bigger one I didn't really see coming, and that is rare.

Just Destiny is a quickly paced novel full of heart. I enjoyed every minute of my time while reading it. It’s a good choice for those looking for a sad yet happy intense novel to read. It may not have been perfect, the synopsis made me believe this book was a little bit more drama filled than what it actually was, but it was still a strong novel.