Okay!

So, it took me a bit longer than I anticipated to get around to writing an actual review for this review blog. 😉

I am constantly so swamped with school, and sneak reading in whenever I have a few spare moments. As of now, I am on a break for the holidays. So I am going to take advantage of it, and write a few reviews (hopefully).

Now, without further procrastination, an encompassing review of the Fate series by Heather Lyons. There are 4 books in this series:

• A Matter of Fate
• A Matter of Heart
• A Matter of Truth
• A Matter of Forever

I had some different opinions about each novel, but I think it will be easier to have them all in one post than in 4 separate sections.

First off, my emotions were all over the place with this series. Ms. Lyons really knows how to write the feelings of her characters, and allow the reader to feel them as their own. I commend her for that.

**A few minor spoilers are below! Read with caution!**

These books follow Chloe Lilywhite on her adventures as a Creator in a world where there are multiple dimensions of existence. Elves are real. Magic is real. And there are portals that can transport a Magical (someone who can preform some type of magic) between all these different worlds. In the world of a Magical, Fate decides your destiny, and basically everything about your life, when you are born. Some Magicals can control emotions, some can move elements, some can cause earthquakes. Chloe believes she got the short end of the stick as a Creator, because even though she can create and destroy almost anything at the drop of a hat, her entire life has been planned more strictly than some, because there is only one Creator. And without a Creator, the worlds would demolish into chaos. She feels the pressure. Overall, I really enjoyed the basic concepts in this series. The magic is interesting and not to overdone, and the characters are humorous and believable (most of the time).

However, I had a love/hate relationship with our heroine, Chloe. The reason for this is the epic love triangle, because not only does Chloe love 2 men, they are identical twins. Jonah and Kellen Whitecomb are amazing. The kind of guys that make my expectations of men even more unrealistically high. They are both Emotionals, meaning they can control and feel the emotions of others. They also have a personal code which prevents them from manipulating everyone everywhere into giving them endless money and cookies. 😉

They are intelligent, caring, forgiving, and gorgeous. And half of the series Chloe throws them both around like 3-day-old garbage because she can’t figure out her feelings. Now, to be fair, Chloe has a magical Connection (a connection of the souls) with both brothers. In the history of her world, no person has ever has 2 Connections. Normally, once you find your Connection, you can never romantically love another person. And if you are not with your Connection, you feel despair and a hollow feeling in your heart. But, this totally sucks. Because no matter who Chloe chooses, the other brother, and Chloe herself, are always in pain. Always missing each other. So I get the struggle. And I get that every character has flaws, and those flaws make them relatable.

But Chloe has some very selfish moments in the first 2 books. And while I enjoyed them, busy cheering Team Kellen and overwhelmed by the emotion of it all, the first 2 books in the series are a bit slow. Lyons sets up this epic world and an epic ancient villain, and all that happens is about 5 moments of action and a lot of crying/guilt over which boy is the better choice.

The third novel is when things start to pick up. We are introduced to some new, and very lovable, characters. And during the third book, Chloe has some major self-discovery moments. She shows a lot of growth. She stops acting like the victim Fate has screwed over, and starts fighting back. And her guys grow as well. Jonah and Kellen realize that their feeling matter too, and actually hold Chloe accountable for her actions (hooray!). The villain I mention earlier plays a much larger role, which lead to some interesting twists in the plot.

By the 4th, and final, novel, I was reading any chance I could. I devoured the action that I had been deprived in the other installments, while still enjoying a bunch of romantic moments and feels. I cheered for the new characters and the new loves they brought with.

I won’t ruin the surprise and say which twin Chloe chooses, but I will say the ending is so very bittersweet. I knew it would be. There was no way around it. But it still had me in tears, ugly crying with a box of tissues, because I had grown to love the 3 main characters so much. I just wanted them to magically get over the tragedies and live happily ever after. And that is not what happened. But I am also glad it didn’t, becasue that isn’t real life. And if nothing else, these books were a beautiful roller-coaster of emotion. A tribute to how unfair life can be. But also how you can find happiness in sadness, if you look hard enough, try enough. Sacrifice. In the end, I was left with my emotions in a jumbled mess, but strangely satisfied as well. Because even in a bittersweet end, Ms. Lyons gives us a little hope to hang onto.

I would certainly say that even with the slow start and questionable choices of our characters in the beginning, this series has my stamp of approval. If you are looking for a different sort of read, a mixture of love and fantasy, than you should start reading this series pronto.

Get A Matter of Fate (book 1) on Amazon here:

Thank you so much for reading my words!

I hope to post some more reviews in a timely fashion 🙂

Cheers!