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A review by chaptersofmads
Spin of Fate by A.A. Vora
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"You don't respect Toranic Law, Aranel. You fear it. You live your life in fear of how it will judge your soul and let that fear control your every action."
In this house we love books with overtones of religious deconstruction, moral ambiguity, and unique world-building.
I've been really struggling to read lately so the fact this book held my attention (especially with the sometimes wordy descriptions and training sequences) is a feat all on its own. It's been awhile since I've read a YA book with a world this unique or a magic system that's so developed. You could really feel the author's care and the time she put into this book on every page, which was definitely special.
I will say: if you're someone that struggles to read YA due to predictability and immature characters, this is probably not for you. I didn't mind the predictability much because I find a lot of books predictable, but even as someone that reads a lot of YA and doesn't mind the characters reading younger... I was struggling.
Some of this comes from the attempts to show their divided loyalties and how feelings can change with new information, but it often just left the characters feeling extremely gullible, dramatic, and fickle. Which is fair, as one of them is fifteen throughout most of the book. That still might be a struggle for some readers, which is why I'm mentioning it. It got to the point where I got irritated at every decision the characters made, instead of empathizing with them. (I do think this will improve as the series progresses!)
Other than that, I really did have a great time with this. I love the discussions of morality and the implications of trying to reshape a system that's so intrinsically flawed, as well as the consequences of dismantling it. I loved the creatures and I hope to see them more as the series continues. I enjoyed the discussions on nurture vs. nature, evil as a concept, and what it means to be 'good'.
I also really look forward to seeing where the story goes after that ending.
Overall, even with its flaws (which were honestly minimal, especially for a debut) I would recommend this. Especially to people looking for something familiar and entirely unique at once, but maybe not to people that expect YA books to read like adult fantasy lol.
In this house we love books with overtones of religious deconstruction, moral ambiguity, and unique world-building.
I've been really struggling to read lately so the fact this book held my attention (especially with the sometimes wordy descriptions and training sequences) is a feat all on its own. It's been awhile since I've read a YA book with a world this unique or a magic system that's so developed. You could really feel the author's care and the time she put into this book on every page, which was definitely special.
I will say: if you're someone that struggles to read YA due to predictability and immature characters, this is probably not for you. I didn't mind the predictability much because I find a lot of books predictable, but even as someone that reads a lot of YA and doesn't mind the characters reading younger... I was struggling.
Some of this comes from the attempts to show their divided loyalties and how feelings can change with new information, but it often just left the characters feeling extremely gullible, dramatic, and fickle. Which is fair, as one of them is fifteen throughout most of the book. That still might be a struggle for some readers, which is why I'm mentioning it. It got to the point where I got irritated at every decision the characters made, instead of empathizing with them. (I do think this will improve as the series progresses!)
Other than that, I really did have a great time with this. I love the discussions of morality and the implications of trying to reshape a system that's so intrinsically flawed, as well as the consequences of dismantling it. I loved the creatures and I hope to see them more as the series continues. I enjoyed the discussions on nurture vs. nature, evil as a concept, and what it means to be 'good'.
I also really look forward to seeing where the story goes after that ending.
Overall, even with its flaws (which were honestly minimal, especially for a debut) I would recommend this. Especially to people looking for something familiar and entirely unique at once, but maybe not to people that expect YA books to read like adult fantasy lol.