Destiny

June 1, 2012
The fourth entry in this pure-gothic series continues to hit all the cliches of the genre as hard as possible. The Sisters of the Mystic Way, Helen, Evie and Sarah, along with their ghostly cohort, Agnes, still practice their supernatural skills at the Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, located, of course, on the English moors. This book focuses on the perpetually depressed Helen as she agonizes her way through her diary. The abusive, evil Dr. Franzen, who has taken over Wyldcliffe as headmaster, taught Helen to hate herself in the orphanage he ran. After 200 pages of Helen's self-loathing, readers may agree with her assessment. Meanwhile, because you can't keep an evil priestess down, the girls continue to battle their longtime foe, Helen's mother, Celia Hartle, thought vanquished in the previous book. This does appear to be the final showdown with Celia, but, alas, the story still leaves one villain undefeated. As usual, the eye-rolling dialogue and writing remain all melodrama all the time. Clearly, Shields chooses to write this genre to the hilt. She has her fan base and gives them what they want, all the way, at a dime-store romance level. For fans only. (Paranormal suspense. 12 & up)

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January 1, 2013
Depressed, withdrawn Helen is the focus here after several entries ([cf2]Immortal[cf1]; [cf2]Betrayal[cf1]; [cf2]Eternal[cf1]) starring her "sisters" in elemental magic. Helen's secret visits to her imprisoned antagonist mother endanger the academy, but powerful magic and self-sacrifice save the day. Given the friends' closeness in previous books, Helens general furtiveness seems unsupported and unlikely--as does the sudden revelation of her angelic destiny.

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