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A review by nooralshanti
Fortune's Fool by Angela Boord
3.0
At different points while I was reading this book I would have rated it anything between 1 and 4 - I kept changing my mind about it and going back and forth. There was a lot about this book that didn't work for me personally, things that I just don't like - romance is a big example - but at the end of the day the book was very well-written and for those who do enjoy slow-burn romance and lots of description will love it I'm sure. At the end I think I've settled on a 3.5 rating.
The writing in Fortune's Fool, especially at the beginning, reminded me a lot of Guy Gavriel Kay's writing. There's a lot of description and even though I don't really like excessive description I must say it was well-written description. Also, like Kay's writing it's set in a place that is based on a historical setting and very reminiscent of that actual setting, but with a sprinkling of magic and fantasy elements. In this case that setting is a historical Italy setting where they are just starting to get guns and the Roman Empire - in this story the Eterean Empire - is a memory/legend.
The story is told from a single POV and to me this is the biggest way it diverges from most Epic Fantasy. Kyrra is a girl born into a rich family - one of the noble families who own a big estate and control a lot of land in this world. She's their only daughter which means that her marriage and any alliances with other Houses that could result from it are of huge importance to their political position and their ability to keep their fortune. Even though she understands all this and isn't really rebelling against the ways of her people she is presented as somewhat rebellious in nature because she wants to do improper things sometimes and so she ends up getting into a relationship that threatens to destroy her entire House and her family's entire fortune and it does destroy her own life. What I disliked most about this aspect of it was her lack of anger at the system and the people who just accepted that system and let these things happen to her. I mean, honestly, wouldn't a normal person be a little bit mad at their parents for allowing this to happen to her? Wouldn't she be a little bit mad at the rules of her society, even for a while? Wouldn't she be a little more frustrated by the loss of her status and her ARM? Something about the way she never rebels against those rules really bugged me. Still, this part of her story remained more compelling than the other, future timeline where she's become some hardened man for hire "gavaro" who takes up an assassination job and seeks revenge.
I really didn't like that whole timeline but then again, I usually don't particularly enjoy that type of POV. As the two timelines got closer and closer together and things actually started happening that linked them together more and revealed some of the mysteries these sections became easier for me to get through, but in the first two third of the story these sections really made it hard for me to keep reading.
The most well-done thing in the story is the slow-burn romance that developed throughout the novel, especially in the younger timeline. It was done well and the love interest seemed like a noble person and seemed to have some interesting backstory and powers. My favourite parts were when the magic started to be revealed and Arsenault seemed to bey key in this. I enjoyed watching him attempt to help her become stronger and deal with the changes in her life. Unfortunately, for me personally, this was all destroyed a little bit when the mysteries started being revealed and Kyrra started being, essentially, just a love-sick girl whose only goal was to find/be with/understand Arsenault, despite all the interesting stuff happening and all the political upheaval and war. It really felt underwhelming for me and made it impossible to buy Kyrra as a "strong" protagonist.
Also, once the mystery and magic stuff started to come into greater focus the stuff with the "Gods" came to greater prominence and it really didn't work for me. I mean, these things usually don't work for me, but in this case it all, again, came back to a love story/ the "God" Erelf really wanting to marry Kyrra as if she was so special. How am I supposed to buy this? Really? Anyway, I probably would have given the book a start rating of 4 before this whole final part with the warring "Gods" and stuff.
Again, most of my qualms with this are personal pet peeves that prevented me from enjoying it, but if you don't mind those things you will probably love the book because it is well-written.
The story did have a lot of potential to be even better than it was. I would have loved to see more POVs in the story. I think it would have been very powerful to have seen Kyrra's mother's POV, because clearly she was doing stuff that we never got to see. It would also have been interesting to see the POV of Mikkelo. He seemed to be a character with a lot of potential that wasn't really allowed enough spotlight. Even other characters like - dare I say it - Cassis, Illena, Jon Barra, and so on, would have given us a wider view of the world and allowed us to really appreciate the epic scope of the conflicts that occurred, rather than being so limited to Kyrra's POV and her hyper-focus on her love.
Finally, I do want to mention that the story is complete. Even though it's the first in a series you're not going to feel cheated by any cliffhanger ending or anything. It comes to a satisfying close while leaving the vaguest tiniest hints of possible future story-lines. Not going to lie, I want to knowwho her mother's "other children" that this random witch lady has been protecting are. To me that little hint was much more compelling than a lot of the stuff that got more focus!
The writing in Fortune's Fool, especially at the beginning, reminded me a lot of Guy Gavriel Kay's writing. There's a lot of description and even though I don't really like excessive description I must say it was well-written description. Also, like Kay's writing it's set in a place that is based on a historical setting and very reminiscent of that actual setting, but with a sprinkling of magic and fantasy elements. In this case that setting is a historical Italy setting where they are just starting to get guns and the Roman Empire - in this story the Eterean Empire - is a memory/legend.
The story is told from a single POV and to me this is the biggest way it diverges from most Epic Fantasy. Kyrra is a girl born into a rich family - one of the noble families who own a big estate and control a lot of land in this world. She's their only daughter which means that her marriage and any alliances with other Houses that could result from it are of huge importance to their political position and their ability to keep their fortune. Even though she understands all this and isn't really rebelling against the ways of her people she is presented as somewhat rebellious in nature because she wants to do improper things sometimes and so she ends up getting into a relationship that threatens to destroy her entire House and her family's entire fortune and it does destroy her own life. What I disliked most about this aspect of it was her lack of anger at the system and the people who just accepted that system and let these things happen to her. I mean, honestly, wouldn't a normal person be a little bit mad at their parents for allowing this to happen to her? Wouldn't she be a little bit mad at the rules of her society, even for a while? Wouldn't she be a little more frustrated by the loss of her status and her ARM? Something about the way she never rebels against those rules really bugged me. Still, this part of her story remained more compelling than the other, future timeline where she's become some hardened man for hire "gavaro" who takes up an assassination job and seeks revenge.
I really didn't like that whole timeline but then again, I usually don't particularly enjoy that type of POV. As the two timelines got closer and closer together and things actually started happening that linked them together more and revealed some of the mysteries these sections became easier for me to get through, but in the first two third of the story these sections really made it hard for me to keep reading.
The most well-done thing in the story is the slow-burn romance that developed throughout the novel, especially in the younger timeline. It was done well and the love interest seemed like a noble person and seemed to have some interesting backstory and powers. My favourite parts were when the magic started to be revealed and Arsenault seemed to bey key in this. I enjoyed watching him attempt to help her become stronger and deal with the changes in her life. Unfortunately, for me personally, this was all destroyed a little bit when the mysteries started being revealed and Kyrra started being, essentially, just a love-sick girl whose only goal was to find/be with/understand Arsenault, despite all the interesting stuff happening and all the political upheaval and war. It really felt underwhelming for me and made it impossible to buy Kyrra as a "strong" protagonist.
Also, once the mystery and magic stuff started to come into greater focus the stuff with the "Gods" came to greater prominence and it really didn't work for me. I mean, these things usually don't work for me, but in this case it all, again, came back to a love story/
Again, most of my qualms with this are personal pet peeves that prevented me from enjoying it, but if you don't mind those things you will probably love the book because it is well-written.
The story did have a lot of potential to be even better than it was. I would have loved to see more POVs in the story. I think it would have been very powerful to have seen Kyrra's mother's POV, because clearly she was doing stuff that we never got to see. It would also have been interesting to see the POV of Mikkelo. He seemed to be a character with a lot of potential that wasn't really allowed enough spotlight. Even other characters like - dare I say it - Cassis, Illena, Jon Barra, and so on, would have given us a wider view of the world and allowed us to really appreciate the epic scope of the conflicts that occurred, rather than being so limited to Kyrra's POV and her hyper-focus on her love.
Finally, I do want to mention that the story is complete. Even though it's the first in a series you're not going to feel cheated by any cliffhanger ending or anything. It comes to a satisfying close while leaving the vaguest tiniest hints of possible future story-lines. Not going to lie, I want to know