I’ve been meaning to read this book for about a year and when the opportunity came to download it for free came up, I couldn’t resist! Empyreal Fate iI’ve been meaning to read this book for about a year and when the opportunity came to download it for free came up, I couldn’t resist! Empyreal Fate is far from an easy read. Written in a complex style, it utilizes archaic language and metaphors which give it great beauty, but can be a little difficult to keep up with at times. It has romance, it has ancient evil, it has vengeful scorned suitor, it has magic, and all the ingredients of a wonderful legend. I think it’s all original, but it feels like a story written a century ago, which I find incredible. There is one scene in particular that deals with rape, which I more or less skipped, but from what I saw it seemed graphic to me. For that reason, I do not classify it as YA or recommend it to YA readers.
The plot: This book is clearly meant to be the opening to a larger series. The plot takes you on a twisting, winding path, following the stories of multiple characters and switching POV quite frequently. While I could get frustrated with the swapping perspectives, I have immense respect for the time, effort, and deep philosophy that went into this story. Rachel Hunter is definitely an old soul and her story shocked me with its magnificent and epic style. I think this is a very special story that needs a special audience to appreciate it. I think the story runs around 250 pages, but it reads like a novel at least twice that length, there is so much packed into the pages.
The characters: The characters were fascinating and mostly individualistic. Their attributes tended to be extreme as is the way of characters in epic fantasy, but I did care about and loathe all the right ones. Their relationships were complex and simple at the same time, their dialogue was a bit archaic, but that fit in with the rest of the story. Though there are many characters whose perspectives we get to see, the main focal points are Amarya, the elf princess, and Darrion, the son of a humble farmer with a fierce protectiveness over his little sister and a warmongering brother. Their romance was breathtaking and tragic at once, as is the nature of these stories. I really, really hope their current situation changes in the future books, because I’m a huge sucker for HEA and I know that sometimes it’s about the story, but…well, like I said, I’m a sucker for HEA. I got kind of mad at everybody, including Amarya, for keeping Amarya and Darrion apart. Her sense of duty to her people was admirable, but could come across as a “holier-than-thou” attitude at times. There was one character, Laervyen, who is an elf lord seeking to win over Amarya and I think I hated him most of all. I just wanted somebody to shoot him or knife him, just throttle him, and get it over with. He was one of the top three evil characters in this book and…yes, I’ve been reading too many stories about assassins lately and I’m kind of mean, but…if you read the book, I dare you not to want him dead, too!
Empyreal Fate is not a fluffy beach read nor a cozy cup-of-tea kind of book. It is deep, it is profound, but it is definitely worth looking into. I recommend it to fans of epic fantasy and readers who appreciate books with higher complexity levels. ...more
So I picked this up as part of a Black Friday bargain because I really liked the sound of it and I just couldn’t resist. I caved and did not regret itSo I picked this up as part of a Black Friday bargain because I really liked the sound of it and I just couldn’t resist. I caved and did not regret it! This is an interesting twist on shifters, involving long-forgotten deities, ancient pacts, magic (YES!), and romance. I did a great deal of worrying about the characters and how things would turn out and I will certainly be keeping an eye out for the next book, Forged by Synergy. One thing that did bug me was the omniscient perspective. You could be reading from the POV of Jatred one moment, and his uncle’s in the next paragraph. It did get a little bothersome, but as you can see, I still gave 5 stars!
The plot: The plot was fascinating. I had a hard time figuring out whether the Goddess of the Summer race or the Winter race was the one who was evil and came to the conclusion that I hate them both. There was plenty of suspense and it was a rather clean story, particularly for being a romance. Jatred and Jasmira aren’t acting out on their hormones and that’s something I liked, but their relationship is still very intimate and sweet.
The characters: I could get frustrated with both Jasmira and Jatred. If you check my Goodreads updates, you’ll see that I was getting very passionate in my protests against some of their actions. Nonetheless, it was a good kind of frustrated—the kind that comes from caring about the characters, not hating their guts. I thought they were both very interesting and well-developed, not cardboard at all.
There is a sort-of love triangle between Jatred and a human girl named Savannah who knows about the shifters. Oh, Savannah… On one hand I hated her because she was (inadvertently) getting in between Jatred and Jasmira. But at the same time, I loved her because…because she’s just so freaking lovable! I empathized with her completely when we heard about her and her ex being forced to break up by his family who didn’t approve of him being with a human. (He still has feelings for her, by the way.) She essentially raises her alcoholic mother and works very hard. I really hope to see her again in the next book because I really hope her life gets better and I sort of feel bad for thinking all those nasty thoughts about her.
Here is where it is customary for me to divulge my opinions on the villain. The problem is, I can’t divulge my opinion without divulging spoilers. I will only say that I was kept guessing and that the villain is done very well.
Overall, a neat YA urban fantasy romance that has a healthy dose of suspense and more than enough sweet “aww” moments. I certainly recommend!
I struggled with what I would rate this book. On one hand, it had as many typos and word misuse as my brother's homework, but at the same time, I realI struggled with what I would rate this book. On one hand, it had as many typos and word misuse as my brother's homework, but at the same time, I really feel the writer is talented! Why do I say that? Because I couldn't get the story out of my head, I kept wondering "what will happen next?" This story reminds me of why I fell so madly in love with true fantasy to begin with.
One thing I really struggled with is how blurry the line between good and evil is. In the first half, it was really hard to discern who I should be rooting for with all the shifting perspectives. The shifts weren't distracting, they just showed all sides of the story, which I think was the author's intent.
Alina, the main character, is alright. She's not my favorite heroine ever, but she still had some of those little quirks that make you worry about her. There were a few parts where I wanted to slap her and ask her what the $&@#! are you doing?!" but it was because I was worried about her. I particularly don't understand why she would (view spoiler)[be silly enough as to incite a one-night stand with a traveling companion and thus create completely unnecessary complications (hide spoiler)].
Arn, her sort-of love interest, was a mysterious and fascinating character. He was probably my favorite character, mainly because he was so dedicated to honor and to me that is a very endearing trait for characters to have. He also seems to care for Alina a bit more than he lets on, but I think I've figured out why he isn't pursuing her. (YOU will have to read the book, ha-ha!)
Now let's talk about Liane, the newly-made king who travels with Alina and Arn for most of the latter portion of the book. He's a creep. And I think I'm being generous. He holds very little/no respect for women in that he uses and loses them like toys, but I could forgive that if it weren't for him slaughtering the old king's rightful heir and supporters to claim the throne and then taking the heir's betrothed into his bed and essentially raping her. There were parts where it was easy to forget Liane's rather icky background, but he's more the kind of guy to beat up than hang out with. That sounded mean. I'm sorry, I just...ugh!
Overall, this book did had some redeemable qualities--intrigue, action, mystery, magic, a dash of almost-romance. It was enjoyable and I do want to read the sequel. I hope that the author keeps writing. She's got talent!...more
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