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A review by inkerly
The Balance of Fates by Raquel Raelynn
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I discovered this book on TikTok and knew I had to read it with my KU subscription. Interracial sapphic romance? Black fantasy world with witches, wolves, and vampires? Young teens fighting in a Hunger Games -like competition for power? This literally checks off all the boxes that Booktok loves so much. Because it was authored by a black person, I was sure I was going to love this book.
Then I read it. And I have mixed feelings.
Firstly this was a very slow book. At least in the beginning. The first 15% of the book is one of the most painful 50 pages of reading in my life. I blame several things for this. 1) the writer is new and it shows in the way the story is told (aka dumped) onto the readers for pages on end. The pages of backstory around the witch/vampire coven is a prime example. 2) Poor editing. More than once, a character name was misspelled (Mairan?Mirian? I still have NO IDEA who she is). It does not help that this is written in present tense from Lucia's POV only. Present-tense isn't my favorite tense because new authors tend to take the reader through every single thought the POV character/Lucia thinks at any point in time rather than important story plot points/juicy action. Basically the plot was interesting, but the way it was told felt boring. Ultimately that made me knock my rating down to 3* star territory.
The premise of the book starts at the 25% mark. Things improve when we dive into the competition and lives of the contestants, the quadratic love triangle, and the magic school Lucia enlists in. From then on it is a breeze to read. But it’s like trying to claw your way to the light at the end of the tunnel.
That said, I actually like this book. Like REALLY like it now that I’ve finished it. But I think the sequel needs to really pin down the book to one MAIN plot and character arc because at times it felt like this book was meant to check off a series of tropes instead of telling a good story. The tropes in question:
✅ Spicy sapphic romance
✅ Forbidden love (incl interracial, paranormal, etc.)
✅ Love quadrangle : childhood bsf vs forbidden love vs arranged marriage
✅ Witches vs wolves vs vampires
✅ Chosen one prophecy
✅ Hunger Games-like competition in dysttopian society
✅ School for magical beings
✅ Murder mystery
You get the gist. Sometimes while reading I loved these elements blended together, sometimes I didn’t. For me, I’m an all or nothing kind of person and I don’t really like when authors dip and dally in things and don’t go all the way. For example this book very much reads as YA, but there are 2 scenes that are spice-coded🌶️ . There’s also teasing of a love quadrangle but Lucia only interacts romantically with one person. Either go in all the way or don’t!
That said, I liked where it was going and the twist in the end. It opens up a whole new can of worms. I’m willing to read the sequel if it addresses the issues of this book.
Then I read it. And I have mixed feelings.
Firstly this was a very slow book. At least in the beginning. The first 15% of the book is one of the most painful 50 pages of reading in my life. I blame several things for this. 1) the writer is new and it shows in the way the story is told (aka dumped) onto the readers for pages on end. The pages of backstory around the witch/vampire coven is a prime example. 2) Poor editing. More than once, a character name was misspelled (Mairan?Mirian? I still have NO IDEA who she is). It does not help that this is written in present tense from Lucia's POV only. Present-tense isn't my favorite tense because new authors tend to take the reader through every single thought the POV character/Lucia thinks at any point in time rather than important story plot points/juicy action. Basically the plot was interesting, but the way it was told felt boring. Ultimately that made me knock my rating down to 3* star territory.
The premise of the book starts at the 25% mark. Things improve when we dive into the competition and lives of the contestants, the quadratic love triangle, and the magic school Lucia enlists in. From then on it is a breeze to read. But it’s like trying to claw your way to the light at the end of the tunnel.
That said, I actually like this book. Like REALLY like it now that I’ve finished it. But I think the sequel needs to really pin down the book to one MAIN plot and character arc because at times it felt like this book was meant to check off a series of tropes instead of telling a good story. The tropes in question:
✅ Spicy sapphic romance
✅ Forbidden love (incl interracial, paranormal, etc.)
✅ Love quadrangle : childhood bsf vs forbidden love vs arranged marriage
✅ Witches vs wolves vs vampires
✅ Chosen one prophecy
✅ Hunger Games-like competition in dysttopian society
✅ School for magical beings
✅ Murder mystery
You get the gist. Sometimes while reading I loved these elements blended together, sometimes I didn’t. For me, I’m an all or nothing kind of person and I don’t really like when authors dip and dally in things and don’t go all the way. For example this book very much reads as YA, but there are 2 scenes that are spice-coded🌶️ . There’s also teasing of a love quadrangle but Lucia only interacts romantically with one person. Either go in all the way or don’t!
That said, I liked where it was going and the twist in the end. It opens up a whole new can of worms. I’m willing to read the sequel if it addresses the issues of this book.