A Fate of Wrath & Flame - Review

A Fate of Wrath & Flame (Fate & Flame book 1)

By: K.A. Tucker

Published: May 20, 2021

547 pages

Genre: Romantasy, Fantasy

Source: Personal Kindle library

(Goodreads / Amazon)

Summary:

Gifted thief Romeria has flourished from her days as a street kid pilfering wallets to survive. Now she thrives, stealing jewels from the rich under the involuntary employ of New York City’s most notorious crime boss. But when an enigmatic woman secures her services at swordpoint, Romeria is plunged into a startling realm of opposing thrones, warring elven, and elemental magic she cannot begin to fathom.

Her quest is Steal a stone from Islor’s sacred garden without anyone discovering her true identity, which would earn her certain death. But the identity she has inexplicably assumed is that of the captured Ybarisan princess—an enemy to Islor after she poisoned their beloved king and queen on the day she was to marry the prince.

Her betrothed, the newly crowned King Zander, detests her with every grain of his handsome being. Fortunately for Romeria, she is more valuable to him alive than dead. Zander gives her a life in a cell, or an acquittal of all charges in exchange for her help in exposing the growing plot against him.

Romeria sees no other option and embraces the tricky role of smitten queen-to-be until she can escape, a ruse that brings her far closer to the king than she anticipated and threatens more than her safety. As she digs deeper into this sacred garden and the ancient feud between Ybaris and Islor, she discovers monstrous truths that could spell ruin for all.

She would know the world of vengeful gods and monsters, and the lengths one would go for love. And nothing would ever be the same for her again.

MY REVIEW:

Recommended by my snl (Somewhere Only We Know), I finally picked this one to read in April 2024. It took me 7 months to finish, but that's my reading speed recently. At first, I found it to be slow and difficult for me to get into. The beginning starts with Romeria in her human life as a jewel thief and, though I understand back stories are often needed for character development, I also knew that the series wasn't about humans. I was eager to move past what I felt was a waste of my time. This feeling definitely affected my reading interest and initially had me feeling it was more of a three-star book.

When Romeria wakes up in a new place, a completely new world, and a completely new life, she has to pretend to be someone she is not to survive. However, pretending to be this new person, a princess betrothed to a prince, in a place she doesn't understand, is also a death sentence for the crimes she is being accused of. These crimes are heinous and cause her to be the most hated person by everyone in the castle.

My favorite characters are of course the FMC Romeria, the MMC Zander, and a secondary character Elisaf.

The story is full of action, betrayal, romance, royalty, and magic. The enemies-to-lovers theme is a favorite. There is also a twist to the different Fae races that I wasn't expecting. The last 25% of the book and the cliffhanger ultimately won me over to a 4-star rating.

Top Favorite Quotes:

"I'm always testing you, Romeria." Quietly, he adds, "And you are always testing me."

"You've done everything wrong. You are hotheaded, you speak out of turn and do the opposite of what we agreed to, you antagonize me as if you have no fear of consequence. You continue to lie and deceive me. Your heart bleeds too much for the plight of mortals, and you seem willing to challenge anyone who doesn't bleed the same." He sighs, his hazel eyes settling on me, a brilliant kaleidoscope of gold in the setting sun. "You do everything wrong, and yet everything right."

Language: 2 (medium)
Mature Content: 2 (medium)
Final Rating: 4 stars