Fates
Fates, Book #1
By Lanie Bross
ISBN# 9780385742825
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Valerie
Synopsis:
What if your destiny was to kill the one you love?
One moment. One foolish desire. One mistake. And Corinthe lost everything.
She fell from her tranquil life in Pyralis Terra and found herself exiled to the human world. Her punishment? To make sure people’s fates unfold according to plan. Now, years later, Corinthe has one last assignment: kill Lucas Kaller. His death will be her ticket home.
But for the first time, Corinthe feels a tingle of doubt. It begins as a lump in her throat, then grows toward her heart, and suddenly she feels like she’s falling all over again—this time for a boy she knows she can never have. Because it is written: one of them must live, and one of them must die.
In a universe where every moment, every second, every fate has already been decided, where does love fit in? (Goodreads)
Review:
I divide all books into three categories: epic failures, had potential until I read it, and absolute masterpieces. Fates, like most other books, ranks as a “had potential until I read it” book. Most people will probably like it, although it won’t be the absolute favorite of many.
In other words, this story has been recycled a bit too much to be enjoyed. There’s a bit of The Daughter of Smoke and Bone, a bit of Throne of Glass, a bit of Cassandra Clare’s novels…
Fates isn’t original. That’s not meant to be the biggest issue though. Had the author managed to pull it off, Fates would’ve been my newest all-time-favorite.
Lanie Bross didn’t pull it off though.
The most significant issue is the absolute indifference I felt towards the characters. Corinthe, for one, is kind of selfish and completely brainless. Honestly, I know she’s been raised to “follow orders”, but she’s completely different based on her experiences to date. Corinthe isn’t a person so much as a puppet for the author’s lack of thought. Corinthe has no personality because whatever she does makes no sense, no matter how you think it.
As for Lucas, he’s a totally different story. While some of his actions are understandable, he still acts like a jerk. He lies to himself, which doesn’t even make sense. In other words, he’s a fake. It’s one thing to genuinely be clueless or unaware. It’s another thing to know that you can be better yet still be undeniably bad.
Let’s move on to the plot itself. Once again, the author is making thigs up as she goes. There is insta-love, lack of a convincing back story, lack of interesting plot turns, and one predictable “twist.” In other words, there isn’t a plot so much as a sequence of events in a book you’d rather not read.
Here’s what I would’ve done differently: I definitely woulld have fleshed out Corinthe more. She had so much potential as a character, but instead she fell flat. If we also kicked out insta-love and slowed down the timeline, Fates would have been much more believable.
Instead I finished a book I wish I never picked up. Glory.
Now, don’t let my harsh review frighten you off. It is your fate to at least try the first half of Fates before making your decision. (See what I did there?)
