Photo credits: Gerd Altmann
Edited by Vaishali
Title: ‘Unraveling Destiny'
Author: Amelia Hutchins Series: (The Fae Chronicles #5) Publisher: Amelia Hutchins Year of Publication: 2017 Version: Paperback ISBN: 9870997005578 Genre/s: Fantasy, Adult fiction,New Adult, Paranormal romance, Erotic content, Fairies, vampires
WARNING: As the fifth book in the Fae Chronicles series, this review will contain spoilers if the previous books in the series have not been read!
R E V I E W...
“Ready?” I asked, unwilling to wait any longer to get Ryder back.
“The moment we cross the threshold, the timer starts counting down,” Zahruk pointed out. “Then there’s the part about not getting out alive,” Ristan added. “And?” I asked, knowing that somehow, we’d survive this. “And count me in,” Ristan shrugged, watching me, “Sounds like fun times.” The moment we started towards the doors, all hell broke loose.” I’m Synthia, Goddess of Faery and the Queen of the Horde. I will reign down blood and fire to get my King back, and if I have to do it without you, so be it. I will not fall. I will not bow. I will become the monster they accuse us of being if they wish it. You can either stand with me in solidarity, or stay the hell out of my way. The choice is yours.”
War is still on the horizon, coming ever closer. Chaos is erupting. Enemies are being revealed. Allies are coming out of shadows. Faery is still dying. Prices must be paid. And sacrifices will be made. The stakes are infinitely higher and Synthia must fight for the love that has been taken from her. Ever growing portals have been opened connecting Faery and Terra, leaving the human world vulnerable for attack. Dragons live in the shadows of the Horde and are seeking vengeance. Ciara has been stolen from the Horde Kingdom. Plans are in order to rebuild a new Guild. Faolan is still out there and the Mages are readying to strike. But the Gods are present and they have laws that even Synthia must abide by. Fixing the tree did not heal Faery like it was meant to and bigger, scarier things are happening to Faery. Both worlds are crumbling and everything hangs in the balance for Synthia and Ryder….But there is still hope for Faery and its people.
“Sometimes the world doesn’t need another hero, sometimes it need a monster”
Synthia is truly put to the test. Without Ryder for guidance she must prove herself as Queen of the Horde and conquer those who oppose. She must execute her strength, power, dominance and courage more than ever in this rescue mission to retrieve that which was stolen from her. With Zahruk and Ristan at her flank, she must rally the forces of Faery and collect allies to make a statement to their enemies. Synthia’s loyalties will always be to her family even if that means forsaking the Guild regardless of where she was raised. She must make challenging decisions, and will stop at no one and nothing. Synthia was savage in her show of authority when dominating the Horde. She was brilliant and brutal and exuded power in all her Goddess Glory, and I loved her bloodthirsty side. She broke down but strength is not a state of permanence, and a person has to be vulnerable to become strong again.
“I’d kill for him. I’d wreck worlds for him.”
“Yes, I wanted to fall down and curl into a ball, but I wouldn’t. I would keep my head held high, erect my defences, and straighten my tilted crown. They may have thrown the first punch, but I’d make sure I got the last hit in and I would watch them fall.”
This story (well this series as a whole) is a tale of redemption – for the worlds, for the people and for the creatures. It toys with concepts of whether people are worth redeeming, worth saving; worth fighting for. Because humanity and human nature have dark sides and violence is inherent in our natures. It questions the necessity of conflict and consequences of perverse manipulations. The lengths people will go out of blind love and the lengths they will go for evil, and which virtues should reign overall. The fight for good and evil is a continuous one and it is still one we are trying to understand, but also understanding that 'good' and 'bad' are in themselves invalidated concepts because the world and its people are morally grey - there is 'bad' in 'good' and vice versa. This story also explores loss and continuation and accepting the grievances that come with it.
“So here we are, and it matters little how we arrived here. What matters is what you decide to do next. So tread carefully because dominos are always falling, no matter what you do to stop them.”
'Unraveling Destiny' carries the important message that the conception of life is one of continuity which means it does not stop even when you do, it does not discontinue deaths descent. It does not halt for your woes, your sorrows, loss or heartache. It continues in an attempt to show a person that they must too continue. That trauma is essential to life just as much as it is a part of it, that pain is the same but you forge forward because of it not in spite of it. You feel that hurt, you let it break you only to heal yourself in whatever capacity you can. Trauma does not discriminate and it takes all hostages who let it. Synthia is the prime example of this, and she is a warrior in both mind and body with how she deals with such complications. Synthia understands that loss is inevitable, but sacrifices of happiness don’t necessarily need to be made for the sake or pardon of that loss. That just as much as loss, life is also inexorable, to live means to lose as they go hand in hand.
“One thing I know in my heart about death, and I have experienced enough of it, is that just because a body dies, doesn’t mean the memory fades. You can keep someone alive until the end of time as long as you remember them.”
Synthia and Ryder were brought together by Destiny, they were literally made for each other (some may say they follow the notion of 'soul mates') but it does not mean that they don’t have to fight for their love. They, in fact do a lot of it to keep it and maintain it. They work for it. Being meant for another does't mean a guarantee for happiness; it does't mean a happy ever after. I believe it means two souls of a homogenous nature (or maybe even multiple companionable souls), two compatible souls that are always seeking each other out and when they do they know the seas will be rough, that the tide will be turbulent, that the wind will knock down their sails but that they will sail anyway because they choose it, because in their heart of hearts they know it will be more than worth it, if only because they know the love will be lasting in whatever state... because in those pockets when the seas do calm, they will settle and swim into the depths of it without question. And I think this perfectly describes the relationship between Sun and Ryder.
“When I’d lost him, I hadn’t been able to breathe. He was my air, the very stuff I needed to live. We’d faced losses, battles, and so much more together. Death had tried, and lost against us. The price for being together hadn’t been easy to pay, but it had been worth every hardship we’d faced together.”
I love the Fighting Destiny series with all my heart, I love the characters like they are my friends, I love the world like it is my second home, I love the fairies like they are my kin and I love the magic in all its iridescent splendour. I love the sadistic, cruel world and I love Amelia Hutchins for creating it. It pains me gravely to say this but 'Unraveling Destiny' did not live up to expectation for me. I did not hate it but I loved it less than I thought I would. It was lacking in many areas for me, and in all honesty I think that it does not compare to Fighting Destiny and Taunting Destiny (which were truly exceptional). 'Unraveling Destiny' made me cry, it made me feel and it made me crumple but it did not light me with passion and excitement.
I'm not the biggest fan of companion novels so when I realised that ‘Playing with monsters’ and ‘A Demon’s Dark Embrace’ takes place after 'Seducing Destiny' I was quite frustrated that i'd have to read other integrated series to continue understanding the Fae Chronicles series. I understood early on that I was missing something when 'Unraveling Destiny' wasn't making sense to me. I’m anal when reading books in order, but I didn’t want to read the companion novels solely to continue with this story. I didn’t read the companions, and therefore there was information that didn't make sense. Considering my inability to consume companion novels 'Unraveling Destiny' was troublesome to keep up with. I didn’t understand much of what happened with Lucian (why Alden is in his possession and what the ‘soul and seal’ are) as well as what exactly happened between Ristan and Danu for example.
Amelia Hutchins is an incredible storywriter and inventor. She is shameless and unabashed in her endeavours to make us feel everything, and I love to feel everything she throws at me. Her world building is brilliant, her character developments are strong and substantial, and the twists and turns are ever present and just as shocking as you would imagine them to be. Amelia Hutchins is one of my favourite authors (for this series alone) and I wouldn’t let my critiques displace you because her writing is great and her plotlines are well thought out. I do desperately hope she carries on Synthia' s and Ryder’s story because they are up there with my favourite fictional couples and I don’t want their story to end just yet.
...And so the Horde King and Queen stepped out of their wedding attire and into their battle gear, and set off into the damaged world to wreak carnage on those who destroyed it.
The present I think, has never looked so bleak.
The future I think may hold promise. And war, I think will have no mercy.
“You are fierce. And I couldn’t imagine a world without you in it either. I’m not sure how I did it before I met you. I don’t even want to remember who I was before you. My world was black and white, and then you entered it with those fierce blue eyes that challenged me at every turn, and added colour to my world. You are my weakness, but you’re also my greatest strength.”
“When I met you, I knew you were something special. I couldn’t have ever guessed that you’d be what you could have become. I don’t think Destiny played a huge part in bringing me to you, or you to me. I think we were fated in the stars and that no matter what road we took, they would have brought us together.” I gave this book 3.5 stars -
C O N T E N T W A R N I N G: Explicit language and detailed, descriptive sex scenes not for the faint hearted or those with sensitive sensibilities.
--------------------------------------- M Y R A T I N G S Y S T E M: ★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read ---------------------------------------
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R E L A T E D P O S T S: ● Book Review: 'Fighting Destiny' by Amelia Hutchins ● Book Review: 'Taunting Destiny' by Amelia Hutchins ● Book Review: 'Escaping Destiny' by Amelia Hutchins ● Book Review: 'Seducing Destiny' by Amelia Hutchins ________________________________________________________
THE FOLLOWING WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS!
Downsides and concerns:
1) The editing could have been improved. 2) The magic system can be problematic to follow and some of the history is hard to track and understand such as the Druids, Changelings, Mages, Witches etc. 3) I love the wee little beasties aka the minions of darkness so much, and I missed their presence in this book. I would have liked to see more of them even though I know they were kept at the Blood Kingdom for their own safety. 4) I would have liked more action – heart in your throat sequences like Chapter 18 and there wasn’t much of it. There was more dialogue than action. 5) The book lacked progress. There wasn’t progress in finding the relics. 6) Ryder was demoted to more of a side character. He was mellow and less alpha-male and I missed his dominant, possessive, controlling, saucy, lewd, cold, self. 7) Synthia was amazing and we know she is strong but I felt that her strength was too reinforced as there were multiple statements that repeated the level of her strength just in different variations. 8) Because there are many side novels and - I guarantee there will be more - it is hard to keep track of all the moving parts of the story. There were too many aspects to focus on, and if you skip the companions like I did it becomes even more unformulated. 9) The book felt more like a set up for the companion novels that will follow. If this is going to be Ryder's and Syn's last book it was unsatisfactory for me, partly because they were divided for a huge percentage of the book. 10) No Ryder POV which was interesting seeing as he had chapters told from him in the previous books. 11) There was less heat in 'Unraveling Destiny', much less if you compare it to the previous books in this series. 12) As much as I don’t mind dom/sub sex I was still holding out hope for a scene where Synthia would be the complete dom in the bedroom. I like women taking charge in this department too. 13) As distraught as I was when Ryder was kidnapped, it was predictable and I saw it coming. Syn repeats the same affirmation throughout the book: she will destroy anyone who hurts or touches him. It implied that something was bound to happen to him. I did like the role reversal in the sense that it was Syn doing the saving but I didn’t like Ryder’s presence being infinitesimal. On the other hand maybe his capture served a purpose, to show that even the strongest people are not undefeatable, men included. 14) I also predicted Synthia’s pregnancy seeing as she had similar symptoms to her first. I didn’t however see the miscarriage coming and that was heart-breaking. The unborn baby was the unknown price she had to pay for saving Ryder. I had also guessed that Adrian and Vlad knew and could sense a heartbeat. 15) I would have liked more Ristan and Synthia banter! 16) I understand that as Ciara's brothers Ryder and the Elite Guard want to protect her from all and any harm, but i don't appreciate the fact that they underestimate her abilities and skills because she is a woman even though she, like them was trained in combat. They lack belief and trust in her but i love how Syn sticks up for her, and explains Ciara's worth and that that she has the capacity for courage and bravery despite being a captive to their enemy. 17) I don’t know a great deal about what went down between Ristan and Danu, only that he served her for 800 years in exchange for helping him deal with his father’s torture. I think it was right that Danu’s time came to an end. I can’t comprehend her actions toward Ristan. She was abusive and torturous towards, him but then again the Gods are different; a completely different species to their creations. Even so I can’t understand Danu’s polarizing personalities of the loving, protective, sacrificial mother to Synthia and the sadistic, psychotic, antagonistic, jealous, manipulative, fickle lover to Ristan. How could she have love and loyalty for Synthia but none for Ristan? He said that he resents her for what she did but he can’t hate her for it, which is shocking considering the unforgivable nature of her activities.
F A V O U R I T E Q U O T E S:
“Sometimes it takes a monster to rule” – Lucian “And sometimes the monster becomes the hero” – Syn “I’ve wanted to bring you here since you came back to me. It’s the flowering fields, where the fairies pull a special magic from here that makes the stones of the Fairy pools glow. This is what I think of when I think of you. You light up my world, Pet; no matter how dark it gets, you mirror this field in my soul.” - Ryder “This beast, this mythical creature who I loved, undid me. This man was my life. Somewhere in the midst of fighting him, I’d fallen in love with him so deeply that I no longer cared if there was a bottom to the depths for which I fell for him.”
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