You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by siallred
The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth
3.0
It’s probably closer to a 3.5, honestly. I really did enjoy reading this one, but I think some of the issues were more pronounced than in the first book.
Why the sudden and unexplainable mood/personality switches in the last books of Veronica Roth’s series. The sudden, unexplainable moodiness of Akos reminded me a lot of Cyra. The timing of Akos’s depression on Ogra did not make sense to me. Why was he so distraught after killing Cas, but not after killing Jorek’s dad? I think it would have made more sense for his character to shift in that direction AFTER he found out about his true parentage. Akos pretty much felt like a shell of his former character in this book.
I also struggled with the Four-syndrome in Cyra in this book. Why was she all over Akos one minute and then out of nowhere like, “we have to break up because your fate?” Was it because of her dad? If so, I wish that would have been clarified in her point of view chapters. When it first happened, I thought her “dad” was mind controlling her through the screen! Once again, I feel like the qualities that I liked in her in Carve the Mark were stripped away in this one.
I don’t even want to get into Cisi, Isae, and AST because that whole situation just got on my nerves. There is such a thing as a morally grey character, but the only character who was willing to challenge Cisi on her blatant manipulation became a villain for it. This annoying storyline is a good segway into my real issue with this series: world building.
The Shotet vs. Thuvhe issue was solved well enough, but so much of the world outside of this one planet just apparently did not matter. I am so confused about what kind of control *The Assembly* actually has. It seems like the planets mostly do what they want. Are assembly members elected from each planet like a Congress? Why does everyone just mercilessly hate the Shotet? It just doesn’t make sense to me. None of the issues beyond Urek were solved AT ALL. The entire time characters were interacting in the greater world of this story, other than on Ogra, it was really just to develop character relationships. When the Shotet just moved planets, did everybody else just say, “ok, that’s fine!” It’s just a lot harder to suspend my disbelief about the greater word outside of these two planets.
There were things I really liked about this book though! I actually LOVED the reveal about Cyra and Akos’s biological parents. I’m not sure if this was the intention, but I liked the contrast between nurture and nature! I LOVE that this book shows how the characters are shaped by the people who raised them, but also that they can make their own impactful choices.
Another thing I really loved were the secondary Shotet characters! I was more interested in them by the end than any one else! Cyra who? Isae who? Eijeh who? Where is Teka and Jorek? I literally cried when Jorek died. I think the Shotet culture was so beautiful and interesting! I also loved that the people of Ogra supported them and could coexist! Good riddance Thuvhe! I never cared about you anyway!
So many more thoughts on this series, but I think this one essay is enough for now!
Why the sudden and unexplainable mood/personality switches in the last books of Veronica Roth’s series. The sudden, unexplainable moodiness of Akos reminded me a lot of Cyra. The timing of Akos’s depression on Ogra did not make sense to me. Why was he so distraught after killing Cas, but not after killing Jorek’s dad? I think it would have made more sense for his character to shift in that direction AFTER he found out about his true parentage. Akos pretty much felt like a shell of his former character in this book.
I also struggled with the Four-syndrome in Cyra in this book. Why was she all over Akos one minute and then out of nowhere like, “we have to break up because your fate?” Was it because of her dad? If so, I wish that would have been clarified in her point of view chapters. When it first happened, I thought her “dad” was mind controlling her through the screen! Once again, I feel like the qualities that I liked in her in Carve the Mark were stripped away in this one.
I don’t even want to get into Cisi, Isae, and AST because that whole situation just got on my nerves. There is such a thing as a morally grey character, but the only character who was willing to challenge Cisi on her blatant manipulation became a villain for it. This annoying storyline is a good segway into my real issue with this series: world building.
The Shotet vs. Thuvhe issue was solved well enough, but so much of the world outside of this one planet just apparently did not matter. I am so confused about what kind of control *The Assembly* actually has. It seems like the planets mostly do what they want. Are assembly members elected from each planet like a Congress? Why does everyone just mercilessly hate the Shotet? It just doesn’t make sense to me. None of the issues beyond Urek were solved AT ALL. The entire time characters were interacting in the greater world of this story, other than on Ogra, it was really just to develop character relationships. When the Shotet just moved planets, did everybody else just say, “ok, that’s fine!” It’s just a lot harder to suspend my disbelief about the greater word outside of these two planets.
There were things I really liked about this book though! I actually LOVED the reveal about Cyra and Akos’s biological parents. I’m not sure if this was the intention, but I liked the contrast between nurture and nature! I LOVE that this book shows how the characters are shaped by the people who raised them, but also that they can make their own impactful choices.
Another thing I really loved were the secondary Shotet characters! I was more interested in them by the end than any one else! Cyra who? Isae who? Eijeh who? Where is Teka and Jorek? I literally cried when Jorek died. I think the Shotet culture was so beautiful and interesting! I also loved that the people of Ogra supported them and could coexist! Good riddance Thuvhe! I never cared about you anyway!
So many more thoughts on this series, but I think this one essay is enough for now!