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Fragmented Fates by Nancy Foster

starsapphire's review

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4.0

"Fragmented Fates" by Nancy Foster is a mesmerizing journey through interconnected lives, woven intricately with threads of fate and chance. Foster's prose is both poignant and evocative, drawing readers into the lives of her diverse characters with empathy and insight. Through skillful storytelling, she navigates the complexities of human relationships, weaving together tales of love, loss, and redemption. Each character's journey is masterfully crafted, resonating with authenticity and depth. Foster's exploration of fate's interplay with individual choices is thought-provoking, leaving readers pondering the mysteries of destiny. "Fragmented Fates" is a compelling read that lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned.

I love the book and 100% recommend.

connorjdaley's review

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received this to judge for the Indie Ink Awards for two different kinds of rep, disability and Latinx. I already owned the kindle version. 

This has one hell of an opening. Jamarnid was sleeping with a harlequin. Well, he thought she was human, which was still a crime, but this one’s even worse. She became pregnant, which is treason, and he was sentenced to death. The entire opening is a whirlwind of lore, action, and torture. He is willing to die for his crimes, but not everyone may agree. It’s fast and strong and you feel it even though you’re still learning characters. 

Otherwise though, I do wish that it was labeled as the prologue, rather than chapter one, as it’s really the only chapter that truly takes place in the past. It kind of made the rest of it harder to follow, as the pace never quite speeds up that much again. 

This is a multiple POV fantasy that features different races and ages. Full blood elves, harlequins, half bloods, and humans (mostly just mentioned). After the opening, the exiled members have fallen victim to two different purges from the full blood elves. Those that survived made their own city, Almjarhad, where all they want is to live self sufficiently. The POVs, as the blurb states, showcase the hero, the seer, the child, and the condemned, and with that of course, peace is never that simple. I really enjoyed each character and how the author had them operate with each other, especially when they appeared in each others chapters. 

There is a very cool and well written sword fight in this, but other than that, this did want for action in my opinion. With the large and intense opening, I guess I expected something to come and outdo that, and there isn’t anything. Although, I will say that this is only book one and it does end with practically everything in a cliffhanger. So I assume the build to action is what follows. 

willowwraithpress's review

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4.0

Fragmented Fates is the first part of a duology that takes place after a purging event that has sent elves and harlequin survivors into an inhospitable land where they try to build their own city from the ground up. This is a shorter story, only some two hundred pages in length, and almost reads more like a first part of a larger story rather than a true standalone. There is a beginning, middle, and end point but it does feel like most of the story is setting up something larger that will unfold in the second half of the duology. It's not bad, mind you, just be aware of this as you read.

But what is presented in this first book is interesting, nonetheless.

The main plot arc of FF is that for the city of Almjarhad to prosper, the survivors need to separate themselves from one another, no longer two clans (the Grey Clan of the Elf Kingdom and the Orsenmuray harlequins) living together in one city. [For reference, the harlequins are almost a demon-like species with reddish skin tones, pink eyes, and bat-like wings]. Half-elf/Half-harlequin seer Talgel has seen the future and it is her prodding of her former lover, the current steward of Almjarhad, Jarahad, to see the split of the clans. Jarahad's father, Jamarnid, was an integral focal point of the previous purge, and Jamarnid sees Talgel's visions as demon sorcery. Finally, we have a halfling child named Tioja who's potentially the key cog in Talgel's visions.

As far as the characters go, Talgel is probably my favorite because her actions can be considered dubious at best, deliberate at the worst. She is interesting because she has this "phantom beast" she can summon, when in reality it's a demon, and said demon shows her visions of the future that always come true. As a consequence, Talgel has lost her eyes, so she wears a ceramic masquerade mask. But make no mistake, Talgel has some really dark aspects to her character and that makes her interesting. Jarahad represents the opposite side of the coin to Talgel's grey morality. He wants to do what's right for his people, so much so, that he's willing to perform some dark magical arts to possess a demonic harlequin sword. His heart is in the right place, but to get there, he has to do some very very...um...bad things. He's also in love with Talgel but she continually refuses his approach for marriage. Jamarnid is kinda like the grumpy old disabled warrior that hates everyone. And Tioja's arc is integral to the overall plot because his parents are key to the separation of the clans, plus he has some nasty magic inside him that Talgel goads out of him.

I found the magic system to be equally interesting and unremarkable in its execution, some really cool concepts mixed with the ho-hum every day type of magic. The concept of mages and magic is just there, we have some earth mages that do some things with the earth off page, that's the unremarkable part, nothing overly special or unique. Just mages being cool-ass mages doing mage stuff. However, the phantom beasts, the harlequin tattoo magic, the mana absorption parts, those are really awesome and I wish we had more of it! I'm certain more to come in book 2. The phantom beasts are neat because they are different for everyone and have different personalities/behaviors. Jarahad undergoes the harlequin tattoo magic multiple sessions within this book and it ends with this test that gets insanely dark, but the resulting magic he claims is pretty neat. While the mages being mages is your standard fare of magic, the cool part is that some magic wielders can absorb said mage magic while it's being used. So there are times in the story when one magic user is being a jerk and Talgel absorbs his mana, thus cutting the spell off. I thought that was nifty. (Also, poor cheating doofus had some humorous curses levied against him after his mana outburst, I chuckled)

The prose is straightforward and without a ton of purpleness. The pace is relatively brisk, no slow parts, nothing to bring down the growing tension of the plot arc. There is hardly any info dumping, nor are there concepts underdeveloped. This book isn't action packed (I think there really were only two scenes of decent action), so if that's what you're looking for, this book isn't for you. But if you like political maneuvering involving mysterious visions of the future, then this is for you!

If I had to pinpoint any criticisms that might detract from taking this story from pleasantly good to great is that some scenes would have worked better on page than off. For example, when Tioja summons his phantom beast, we witness this through Talgel's POV but instead of showing the beast, we actually get her phantom beast/demon showing her another vision. I would have liked both Talgel's vision but also Tioja summoning his beast through his perspective. I mean this kid just unleashed a monster of magic, show that to me please! Another thing that could have been clearer was the timeline of this book. I'm pretty certain after Tioja's parents' issue is resolved, maybe fifteen years pass? I get that these are long-lived elves but he's still presented as a young child. Finally, I have to admit that there is a very dark scene with a trigger warning piece of content that might be difficult for some readers. I was shocked by it and it did make me see Talgel in a different light.

Overall, the story was a quick read and I'm very interested in seeing how this duology concludes when book two is released this year.

misthavn's review

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3.0

[SENT BY BOOKTASTERS]

3.75

silviu27's review

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5