Nash Barron had a lot of making up to do. In the first book in the series, he was a total ass towards his older brother Ethan and then to Ethan's soon-to-be wife Faith. I immediately disliked the middle brother, Nash, and my dislike of him carried on to Destiny. I wondered if Carly Phillips was able to make Nash a likable character. Throughout most of the book, I didn't like him. But I didn't like him because of the way he treated his brothers. As a sibling, he sucked. But as Kelly's love interest, he was awesome. Crazy, huh? But it was like Nash was two different characters in this book and he had my emotions all over the place.Nash has not forgiven or forgot that his older brother Ethan took off after their parents died. Ever since Ethan has returned to Serendipity, Nash has not let him forget it. Destiny starts off at Ethan and Faith's wedding reception. Everyone is enjoying the festivities but Nash finds it difficult to be happy for his brother. As far as Nash is concerned, neither Ethan nor Faith (whose father was part of a Ponzi schemed that affected a lot of the Serendipity residents) deserve to be happy. Hold a grudge much?Destiny is a book that kept me engaged from start to finish. I was invested in Nash's redemption. Nash is a character that had me cursing, yelling, holding the book tight in frustration. LOL! And I loved it! I love characters that elicit great emotion from me. At one point I called him a self-righteous mofo. And in my opinion, that's exactly how he was acting. In Destiny, Nash has to do a lot of soul-searching and introspection. Nash would point the finger at everyone else for letting him down but not look at himself as the reason why the people closest to him lied and betrayed him. Which I don't think he was betrayed but secrets were kept due to Nash's rigidity. Nash sees everything in black and white. There's no room for a gray area. It's difficult to confide in someone like that because you feel like they are going to immediately judge.Kelly is making a life for herself in Serendipity so that she can be close to her sister, Tess. Her attraction to Nash is unexpected but she is not afraid to pursue it. As her relationship with Nash gets deeper, Kelly's past rears its ugly head and threatens to ruin the life she has built for herself and her relationship with Nash. Nash and Kelly's relationship is very steamy and sexy. Kelly is very different from Nash's ex-wife Annie, whom Nash feels the constant need to protect due to her illness. But when he's with Kelly, that urge to protect isn't there because he sees her as an independent woman. Kelly helped Nash work through his family issues. I loved how she supported him without judgment. As much as Nash frustrated me, I loved his character. I went from liking him to not liking him to liking him again. Destiny isn't just about Nash and Kelly's relationship; it also focuses on the Barron family dynamic. Ethan is back with a new wife and a teenage sister. The Barron brothers are finding their way back to each other. It's a long and difficult road.Even though Nash worked my nerves, I loved Destiny. I loved seeing the characters grow and how they are becoming a family, baggage and all. Nash is a complex character who needed to change the way he viewed his family and the world. I am so happy he finally took the blinders off. Luckily he has an older brother that wasn't afraid to tell Nash about himself.Destiny is a great addition to the series. I thoroughly enjoyed even with my frustrations with Nash.
