Title: A Matter of Fate
Author: Heather Lyons
Series: Fate Series #1
Genre: YA Fantasy/Romance
Published: August 30th 2012
I received a copy of this book from the author in
exchange for an honest review.
Blurb
Chloe Lilywhite struggles with all the normal problems of a typical seventeen-year-old high school student. Only, Chloe isn't a normal teenage girl. She's a Magical, part of a secret race of beings who influence the universe. More importantly, she's a Creator, which means Fate mapped out her destiny long ago, from her college choice, to where she will live, to even her job. While her friends and relatives relish their future roles, Chloe resents the lack of say in her life, especially when she learns she's to be guarded against a vengeful group of beings bent on wiping out her kind. Their number one target? Chloe, of course.
That's nothing compared to the boy trouble she's gotten herself into. Because a guy she's literally dreamed of and loved her entire life, one she never knew truly existed, shows up in her math class, and with him comes a twin brother she finds herself inexplicably drawn to.
Chloe's once unyielding path now has a lot more choices than she ever thought possible.
Guest Post
Here is Heather’s Guest Post. She is
addressing the fantasy/paranormal creatures in the story and why she wrote them
the way she did. I hope you enjoy it!!
I love reading fantasy—mostly, I think, because it’s always so fun to
try to imagine things that we can never experience. But I know it’s not for
everyone; many of my friends shy away from the genre because they feel they
can’t relate. So, one of my goals while I was writing A Matter of Fate was
to make it an accessible fantasy that anybody could picture themselves part of.
Going
into the world building, I knew I wanted to have a host of creatures from fairy
tales: goblins, fairies, dwarves, elves, and gnomes (which never fail to crack
me up for some bizarre reason) in addition to humans. More importantly, I
wanted these creatures to not be creatures at all but people—ones
that live in houses and apartments, have jobs, buy clothes at stores with
money, and eat at restaurants, just like we do. I wanted them and the planes of
existence they live on to be just like ours—only filled with a species that
wasn’t human. I loved the idea that all of the different species were so
similar and yet so different—that, just like with different countries on our
world, there are different cultures, languages, and customs, but humanity (for
lack of a better word) is the bind ties everyone together despite living on
their respective planes of existence, oblivious to the others.
As
normal as I tried to make these creatures in my story, though, I did try to
thread hints of their traditional legends throughout. For example, the Elves in
AMOF are very artsy; the Dwarves technologically savvy. Goblins are known for
their military expertise. Faeries are impulsive and prone to watching bad TV.
Gnomes are irritable (and yet, ironically fashion conscious). Humans are . . .
well, human.
I
loved creating Annar, the plane of existence where all the different species
live (at least, the Magical ones do!). It was a lot of fun creating a place
that was both extraordinary (it’s filled with extraordinary beings after all)
and yet somewhere we can all imagine ourselves visiting someday. I hope readers
feel the same way!
My Review
This is a
story that has both an insta-love relationship and a love triangle, because
seriously…… identical twins, that would be awesome!! It works out to be very complex
as Chloe has strong feelings for both guys, even though she has known Jonah
since she was four years of age when they met in their dreams. A year without
seeing Jonah had left Chloe depressed and now she is confused about her
feelings for him.
The day
that the twins, Jonah and Kellan, turn up at her school, Chloe is in such a shock
that she sets off three shifts in the universe and anyone who is a magical can
feel those shifts. She will be a very powerful magical when she ascends and a
major role in the magical community because there is only one other creator in
the worlds who is quite old and ready to step down.
Chloe is
a typical teenager. Even though Fate has set out her path already, she just
wants to be left alone and would love to escape her life. She is loyal to her
‘cousins’, who are all magical as well. It is funny to watch her debate with
her conscience because she always has lots of questions. When some creatures
come after her, she is on the run and after years of being treated as a failure
by her parents, she decides to step up and take action. This Chloe was better
and I loved the determination that she has.
Both
twins are awesome and I would find it hard to pick between the two guys myself,
so I understand why she struggles. They are both sweet, strong magicals and
they both have a history. Being magical twins they have a strong bond, but
Chloe puts a bit of a strain on their relationship.
I really
enjoyed the magical aspect of this story and the roles of all the magicals.
There are so many different types and they all form a part of the community.
The plot was enjoyable with lives being threatened and the way the magicals use
their powers as part of a team was entertaining. Chloe’s personal life was
difficult and she found it hard to work through it. The only issue I had with
the story was that I thought the ending was a bit rushed and summarised quickly.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story and I look forward to the new challenges
Chloe will have next!
Author Bio
Heather Lyons has been putting stories to paper since she was a little girl.
Her first "published" book was a humorous retelling of The Princess
and the Pauper. After detours in archaeology and teaching, she is now writing
and living in Southern California with her husband and three sons. She likes
cupcakes, baseball, hockey, reading, and collecting far too many handbags.
You can find Heather online at:
Blog – http://www.heatherlyons.net/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/heatherlyonsbooks
Twitter – https://twitter.com/hymheather
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The magic and Creator concept sounds interesting, and the characters esp the twins and Chloe's personal life sounds really well done.
ReplyDeleteHappy reading,
Brandi
@ Blkosiner’s
Book Blog
Thanks Brandi!! Definitely is an awesome book!!
ReplyDelete