What happens when a man chases everything the world calls success, only to find that the life he wanted was never the one worth chasing? That is the question at the center of C.L. Holden’s Running from Destiny series, a two-book Christian fiction journey that follows one family’s collision with ambition, faith, and the kind of grace that shows up precisely when it is least expected. This review covers both books honestly, tells you what to expect from each, and helps you decide whether to read one or both.
About the Author: Constance Holden
Constance Holden is a retired law enforcement officer turned author based in Las Vegas, Nevada. After years of service in a demanding profession, she channeled her understanding of human struggle, moral complexity, and the hunger for purpose into her writing. Her fiction is grounded in faith, but it never feels preachy. Instead, it reads like the kind of honest conversation you might have with someone who has genuinely seen what life looks like when things do not go according to plan.
Her work sits comfortably alongside other faith-based authors celebrated by organizations like the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), which represents thousands of writers who bring integrity and emotional authenticity to the Christian fiction genre.
Book 1 Review: Running from Destiny ($13.95)
What Is It About?
Derek Anderson is driven, educated, and ready to take on the world. After years of investment in his career and education, he accepts a significant promotion that requires his entire family to leave their familiar life in Bradley, Ohio, and start fresh in an unfamiliar city. Derek is convinced this move is his destiny. What follows is a careful and often painful unraveling of that conviction.
The novel explores what happens when the things we pursue with absolute certainty begin to fall apart. Derek discovers that the promotion he believed would cement his family’s future creates distance instead of security. His search for success keeps running into walls, and each obstacle forces him to confront a harder truth: that money does not buy happiness, and that family is not something you put on hold while you chase a goal.
What Stands Out
What makes this book genuinely compelling is that Derek is not a villain or a fool. He is recognizable. He is the kind of person most readers have either been or known, which is precisely why his journey feels so resonant. Holden writes his ambition with sympathy and his failures without cruelty. The spiritual dimension of the story grows naturally from the narrative rather than being imposed as a moral lesson.
According to Publishers Weekly’s religion coverage, Christian fiction readers are increasingly drawn to stories that tackle real-world pressures like career, money, and family rather than purely spiritual allegory. Running from Destiny delivers exactly that blend.
Who Is This Book For?
• Readers who enjoy Christian fiction grounded in everyday human decisions rather than miraculous events
• Anyone navigating a major career change or relocation
• Book clubs and church groups looking for a discussion-rich narrative with family at its core
• Fans of authors like T.D. Jakes, who writes about faith meeting real-world ambition
Running from Destiny | $13.95 | Rating: 4.5 / 5
Running from Destiny II: Divine Intervention ($15.95)
What Is It About?
The second book picks up the thread of the first and deepens it considerably. Where Book 1 is largely about the consequences of pursuing the wrong definition of destiny, Book 2 is about the impossibility of outrunning the right one. The title says it clearly: divine intervention. This is a story about what happens when God’s purpose refuses to be ignored, no matter how many detours a person takes to avoid it.
The spiritual stakes are higher in this installment. Holden moves the narrative into territory that includes spiritual warfare and the kind of grace that does not arrive quietly. For readers who found Book 1 compelling but wanted the faith element to feel more present, Book 2 answers that directly.
How It Connects to Book 1
Reading Book 1 before Book 2 is strongly recommended. The emotional payoff of the second book depends heavily on the foundation built in the first. Characters whose choices felt small or unresolved in Book 1 find their threads tied together in Book 2 in ways that feel earned rather than convenient. Together, the two books function as a complete and satisfying arc.
What Makes It Different
The tone is more overtly spiritual than the first book, and that is clearly intentional. Holden leans into the theme of divine purpose with confidence, and readers who are at home in the Christian fiction genre will find this second installment particularly moving. It is also paced differently, with quieter reflective passages given more room alongside the narrative tension.
Running from Destiny II | $15.95 | Rating: 4.5 / 5
Should You Read Both Books or Just One?
This is the question most readers ask, and the answer is straightforward:
• Read both. The series works best as a whole. Book 1 sets up the struggle, and Book 2 delivers the resolution. Reading only one is like watching the first half of a film and stopping.
• Start with Book 1. Never start with the second book in a series. The emotional weight of Book 2 requires the context that Book 1 provides.
• If you can only read one, choose Book 1. It is the more accessible entry point and works reasonably well as a standalone, though the story clearly has more to say.
Key Themes in the Running from Destiny Series
These themes repeat across both books and are well-suited to group discussion:
• Faith over ambition. Derek’s journey challenges the idea that professional achievement is a reliable path to personal fulfillment.
• Family as foundation. Both books return repeatedly to the truth that family is not a secondary concern but the central one.
• God’s redirection. Every obstacle in the story functions as a spiritual signal that the path Derek is on is not the right one.
• Spiritual warfare. Book 2 explores the idea that forces beyond the human level can influence a person’s choices and path.
• Grace and restoration. Both books ultimately affirm that no detour is permanent and that grace is always available to those willing to receive it.
These themes align with what the Christy Award, one of the most respected honors in Christian fiction, consistently recognizes as the hallmarks of meaningful faith-based storytelling: moral depth, authentic character, and spiritual truth grounded in human experience.
What Readers Are Saying
Readers of the Running from Destiny series consistently highlight the relatability of Derek’s struggles and the authenticity of Constance Holden’s voice. The series has been described as grounding and inspiring, with the second book in particular praised for its emotional honesty and its willingness to explore the tension between human will and divine purpose. Readers within faith communities and book clubs have found both titles to be excellent catalysts for conversation about career, calling, and what it means to live with intention.
If You Enjoyed These Books, You Will Also Love
Constance Holden’s other titles offer different but equally rewarding experiences:
• From What If to Forever ($14.99) is a beautifully layered friends-to-lovers romance for readers who want emotional depth without the spiritual focus of the series.
• Jack of All Trades ($9.99) offers a romantic thriller experience for readers who enjoy high-stakes storytelling in a luxury setting.
• If You Scrooge, You Lose ($12.95) is a warm Christmas romance that works beautifully as a holiday read or gift.
Ready to Start the Series?
The Running from Destiny series is the kind of Christian fiction that lingers. It asks real questions, follows them honestly, and arrives at answers that feel true rather than convenient. If you are looking for a faith-based read that takes ambition, family, and purpose seriously, this series belongs on your shelf.
Pick up Running from Destiny (Book 1) for $13.95 directly from the author’s shop, or grab both books together for the complete experience. Buying direct fromstoriesbyclholden.com supports the author directly and ensures your order goes through the official channel.
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Explore This Story
From the disciplined world of law enforcement to the inspiring path of a Christian author, my journey to writing Running from Destiny is a story of faith, transformation, and divine purpose. Years spent serving and protecting others gave me a deep understanding of human struggles, which ultimately led me to share my God-given story through the written word. This book is not just my memoir it is a testament to how God can redirect even the most unexpected life paths into a powerful Christian author journey filled with hope, redemption, and eternal purpose.