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picklefall1's review
4.0
Greek Tragedy Written as Modern Romance
Never thought I'd take such sadistic pleasure in the torturings of two ill-fated lovers as the ones in this book, but here we are :) This book has a huge twist around the 20% point and the pace never lets up. There is a definite cycle of plot points that repeats many times throughout the book. I won't reveal it here--you'll find it for yourself--but this repetition didn't keep me from plowing forward through the story. I'll just say that poor Ana must have done something to tick off the author, because Ana really suffers a LOT :)
I found myself rooting for the main characters from the start, and the main villain is truly a nasty creature. The writing is clean and clear. I never needed to go back to reread any section for clarity, because the readability was awesome. There are no boring parts here, and I'm not even a romance fan. Readers of almost any genre will like this book, but especially those who enjoy romance and fantasy.
Never thought I'd take such sadistic pleasure in the torturings of two ill-fated lovers as the ones in this book, but here we are :) This book has a huge twist around the 20% point and the pace never lets up. There is a definite cycle of plot points that repeats many times throughout the book. I won't reveal it here--you'll find it for yourself--but this repetition didn't keep me from plowing forward through the story. I'll just say that poor Ana must have done something to tick off the author, because Ana really suffers a LOT :)
I found myself rooting for the main characters from the start, and the main villain is truly a nasty creature. The writing is clean and clear. I never needed to go back to reread any section for clarity, because the readability was awesome. There are no boring parts here, and I'm not even a romance fan. Readers of almost any genre will like this book, but especially those who enjoy romance and fantasy.
lala001's review
5.0
Thank you so much A.R. Kaufer for gifting me Book 1 and 2 of the Courtship Saga! She sent these to me and all she asked was for a honest review.
Honestly I absolutely loved them both!!
Courting Fate is so well written! It sucked me right in from page 1! It has a cool twist a few chapters in. The FMC Anna is my favorite!! This book had a hold on me and I struggled to put it down so I did finish it pretty fast. A.R. Kaufer did such an amazing job creating characters to just work so well together.
If you are a fantasy lover I highly recommend you grab this book! I am beyond thankful to have book 2 so I can dive right in to it!
Honestly I absolutely loved them both!!
Courting Fate is so well written! It sucked me right in from page 1! It has a cool twist a few chapters in. The FMC Anna is my favorite!! This book had a hold on me and I struggled to put it down so I did finish it pretty fast. A.R. Kaufer did such an amazing job creating characters to just work so well together.
If you are a fantasy lover I highly recommend you grab this book! I am beyond thankful to have book 2 so I can dive right in to it!
christinag630's review
I was sent this book to read and review. Unfortunately, I had to DNF about 25% of the way through because I was confused the entire time I was reading it.
The book rushed right into action and then dragged on incredibly slow. I found the writing to be choppy and somewhat hard to follow. I was disappointed because the storyline of the book had SO MUCH potential but was lacking in execution. :(
Despite the book not being for me, I am positive that there are others who will love the book and its story progression!! AR Kaufer is such a lovely person and was incredibly sweet when I told her that the book was not quite for me, so I do wish her the best and am grateful to her for sending me this book! I hope to find a new home for this book with someone who will love it as it deserves.
The book rushed right into action and then dragged on incredibly slow. I found the writing to be choppy and somewhat hard to follow. I was disappointed because the storyline of the book had SO MUCH potential but was lacking in execution. :(
Despite the book not being for me, I am positive that there are others who will love the book and its story progression!! AR Kaufer is such a lovely person and was incredibly sweet when I told her that the book was not quite for me, so I do wish her the best and am grateful to her for sending me this book! I hope to find a new home for this book with someone who will love it as it deserves.
sueread2030's review
4.0
it's a 3.5 stars
I am confused about how to review and rate this book because the story itself was interesting, novice and fast-paced.
There are very few Portal-SciFi fantasy books out there (Portal fantasy is when the characters spend some time on Earth or any other land and then are transported to another planet)
so I was excited to read this book especially since it's a Romance too.
The book builds on the premise of "The Chosen One"
Anna is the long-lost princess that was taken to Earth. not knowing of her origin, she lives a mundane life, which apparently is full of hardship. because of an Assault incident, she meets Rafe and both of them go through a wild life when Anna is restored back to her kingdom. Because she was not trained to be a Queen, Anna strives to learn and act like royalty. Add to that all the betrayals and conspiracies that surround her.
The book is not a standalone, it is part of a series so I guess the characters will have many development and arcs
however, here are my issues
1- The chapters were sooooo loooooong. many events occure within one chapter so you find yourslef skimming some pages.
2- which takes me to another issue. a lot of incidents are repeated. I mean how many times Anna will cry and run away, how many times the Duke will manipulate her into having dinner with him, how many times Rafe will be there to say "what happened" and then feel useless to help her.
half of these events would be better if shortened or cancelled making the book and the chapters a little shorter.
3- it took a long time to reach the fantasy part. 7 long chapters of repeated events on Earth until we get to the good stuff. I really didn't need to know how Anna got the medicine or how the detectives repeatedly tried to question her. one time is enough.
4- The sudden jump in the POV in the first chapters was getting on my nerve. one minute Anna is talking then suddenly we are inside Rafe's mind. maybe if the chapters were shorten and we got a seperated Pov for each character it would have been better. and it's not that this continued throughout the book. One we reach the other Plane, it is mostly Anna's POV
I am not going to bash on Anna because as I said, this is a series, and she was thrust unknown into responsibilities she was not prepared for so of course she will appear weak at first. but I liked how she was trying to take charge and understand how to handle things.
the battle scene at the end needs a lot of work
but, the book left me curious to know what happens next, which is a good sign.
I am confused about how to review and rate this book because the story itself was interesting, novice and fast-paced.
There are very few Portal-SciFi fantasy books out there (Portal fantasy is when the characters spend some time on Earth or any other land and then are transported to another planet)
so I was excited to read this book especially since it's a Romance too.
The book builds on the premise of "The Chosen One"
Anna is the long-lost princess that was taken to Earth. not knowing of her origin, she lives a mundane life, which apparently is full of hardship. because of an Assault incident, she meets Rafe and both of them go through a wild life when Anna is restored back to her kingdom. Because she was not trained to be a Queen, Anna strives to learn and act like royalty. Add to that all the betrayals and conspiracies that surround her.
The book is not a standalone, it is part of a series so I guess the characters will have many development and arcs
however, here are my issues
1- The chapters were sooooo loooooong. many events occure within one chapter so you find yourslef skimming some pages.
2- which takes me to another issue. a lot of incidents are repeated. I mean how many times Anna will cry and run away, how many times the Duke will manipulate her into having dinner with him, how many times Rafe will be there to say "what happened" and then feel useless to help her.
half of these events would be better if shortened or cancelled making the book and the chapters a little shorter.
3- it took a long time to reach the fantasy part. 7 long chapters of repeated events on Earth until we get to the good stuff. I really didn't need to know how Anna got the medicine or how the detectives repeatedly tried to question her. one time is enough.
4- The sudden jump in the POV in the first chapters was getting on my nerve. one minute Anna is talking then suddenly we are inside Rafe's mind. maybe if the chapters were shorten and we got a seperated Pov for each character it would have been better. and it's not that this continued throughout the book. One we reach the other Plane, it is mostly Anna's POV
I am not going to bash on Anna because as I said, this is a series, and she was thrust unknown into responsibilities she was not prepared for so of course she will appear weak at first. but I liked how she was trying to take charge and understand how to handle things.
the battle scene at the end needs a lot of work
but, the book left me curious to know what happens next, which is a good sign.
enchanted_reads26's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
2.0
So we’re immediately thrown into the story. It’s a bit stale in the flow of things but it’s does eventually pick up and isn’t so clunky. The POV isn’t one I really like, but that’s more of a personal preference type deal. (3rd person) Her roommate is a little sexist right off the bat… and is extremely untrusting to a fault, I mean at first it’s rightly justified. There’s a few typos, but nothing too distracting. There is the mention of self harm, sexual assault, victim blaming, and PTSD. I wish there was more descriptive and emotional build up with the characters, it kinda just fell flat. I will say there’s also no build up for the climax and the story just ended up falling flat.
memoirsofabooklover's review
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The first half of the book was an extremely mundane romance. The relationship between Rafe and Ana is so dysfunctional. She is extremely traumatised and the co-dependency is extremely unhealthy. She relies on him way too often to give her comfort, and he’s one of the only people who can comfort her. A traumatised person obviously goes through a lot and can be triggered at any moment but Ana is non-stop triggered every other page throughout the entire book. It just diminishes trauma for me as someone who is traumatised being just a delicate little damsel who needs rescuing all the time; rather than someone who is a survivor with a certain level of strength and self-reliance/self-soothing but can get through a day without completely breaking down, and sometimes gets triggered and leans on the people they trust for support when they need it. I also didn’t buy their connection, it just didn’t hit for me so I just didn’t believe in their feelings for each other. The fantasy doesn’t come in until about ½ way through and whilst I LOVED the premise of it and the ideas within the world that the writer built, the payoff in the world-building just didn’t get there for me. I couldn’t imagine myself in the world as I usually can, which was a massive shame, because the ideas about the world were so intriguing. Overall, I did enjoy the book but it fell short in a lot of areas. The cliffhanger was very good and there was a nice little twist (I had figured it out already but it was good and unexpected for most I imagine), and I would read the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Rape, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, War, Blood, Torture, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Racism
erickamanning's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Fate is a cruel mistress
I found this book on my FYP on TikTok and decided I had to check it out. I adore anything fantasy related, and Tolkien is in my top five favorite authors so this one was a no brainer.
My only complaint is how long it took to get to the fantasy part (about 1/4 of the way in) but that is not because the non fantasy part wasn't intriguing, just a personal preference.
The whole story was fun and full of twists and turns, some obvious some not. I liked that Ana isn't 'perfect' but not completely 'broken' either, she felt like someone I could definitely get along with.
Rafe is a sweet, albeit somewhat frustrating at times, man and is patient with Ana. Plenty of women who read this will fall for him just for that reason.
And Kane... I hope he gets what he deserves slowly and painfully at Ana's hands.
*side note, I'm hoping a 'myth' mentioned comes to pass in book 2!*
I found this book on my FYP on TikTok and decided I had to check it out. I adore anything fantasy related, and Tolkien is in my top five favorite authors so this one was a no brainer.
My only complaint is how long it took to get to the fantasy part (about 1/4 of the way in) but that is not because the non fantasy part wasn't intriguing, just a personal preference.
The whole story was fun and full of twists and turns, some obvious some not. I liked that Ana isn't 'perfect' but not completely 'broken' either, she felt like someone I could definitely get along with.
Rafe is a sweet, albeit somewhat frustrating at times, man and is patient with Ana. Plenty of women who read this will fall for him just for that reason.
And Kane... I hope he gets what he deserves slowly and painfully at Ana's hands.
*side note, I'm hoping a 'myth' mentioned comes to pass in book 2!*
cassieopea's review
3.0
Surprising Twist of Fate
This is a sweet story about forbidden love. This starts out as a cute real life love story where Rafe saves Ana from a mugger after she was shot.
About 25% through, everything changes and it goes complete fantasy. I went into not knowing what to expect, and it all took me by surprise.
This is a sweet story about forbidden love. This starts out as a cute real life love story where Rafe saves Ana from a mugger after she was shot.
About 25% through, everything changes and it goes complete fantasy. I went into not knowing what to expect, and it all took me by surprise.
faitheve's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn’t too interested at the start however I stuck with it and OMG! I can’t wait for the next book! Also wtf was that ending brb need 5-7 business days to process it
krystleh7's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0