An Underwhelming New Novel from a Favorite Author - The Trouble With Destiny by Lauren Morrill

Title: The Trouble with Destiny
Author: Lauren Morrill
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Delacorte
Publication Date: December 8, 2015
Source: received from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey...

With her trusty baton and six insanely organized clipboards, drum major Liza Sanders is about to take Destiny by storm—the boat, that is. When Liza discovered that her beloved band was losing funding, she found Destiny, a luxury cruise ship complete with pools, midnight chocolate buffets, and a $25,000 spring break talent show prize.

Liza can’t imagine senior year without the band, and nothing will distract her from achieving victory. She’s therefore not interested when her old camp crush, Lenny, shows up on board, looking shockingly hipster-hot. And she’s especially not interested in Russ, the probably-as-dumb-as-he-is-cute prankster jock whose ex, Demi, happens be Liza’s ex–best friend and leader of the Athenas, a show choir that’s the band’s greatest competition.

But it’s not going to be smooth sailing. After the Destiny breaks down, all of Liza’s best-laid plans start to go awry. Liza likes to think of herself as an expert at almost everything, but when it comes to love, she’s about to find herself lost at sea.

I loved Lauren Morrill's debut, and her sophomore novel was cute, but I have to admit that I was completely underwhelmed by her newest novel. It was cute, but it's that kind of cute where I'm cringing at what I know is coming because you can just tell that a disaster is on the horizon. I almost put it aside at 30%. To be completely honest, I almost put it aside several times with no intention of picking it back up, but I just kept hoping that it would redeem itself, especially considering how much I enjoyed her previous novels.

It's just…this book felt glaringly familiar. As in, I'd seem pretty much this same premise in Meant to Be. It's like she took versions of the same characters from her first book and rewrote them into this book. But instead of gallivanting around London, they were cavorting on a cruise ship. Same kinds of hijinks. Same bad decisions. Just more cringeworthy.

I didn't hate this book. It just wasn't nearly as fun as I'd hoped. Especially since I'd been anticipating it for a year. And it felt like the focus of the book -- the competition for $25k to save the band -- was lost along the way because of the romance drama.

Because of the similarities to Meant To Be, this book was extremely predictable. Not that her first book wasn't predictable in its own right, but it was still cute enough to keep me entertained, and I was able to look past it. The same can't be said for The Trouble With Destiny.

I really wanted to love this novel, especially with that adorable cover. But I barely made it to the end…and I was cringing all the way. I'm not giving up on this author just because of one disappointing book, though. She's got another contemporary novel slated for release next year, and I'll at least give it a try.

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

Lauren Elizabeth Morrill is many things, including, but not limited to, a writer, an educator, a badass roller derby skater, a former band nerd, an aggressive driver, and a die-hard Mac person. She also watches a lot of TV, eats a lot of junk food, and drinks a lot of Coke. It's a wonder her brain and teeth haven't rotted out of her head.

Lauren is the author of Meant to Be, Being Sloane Jacobs, The Trouble With Destiny, and the forthcoming My Unscripted Life (October 2016), all from Random House.

Find Lauren:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads