Photo credits: JL G (pixabay), skeeze (pixabay), user1518572200 Title: The Fate of Us Author: Rachel Bowdler Series: Firebird Trilogy Book #2 Publisher: Self-Published Year of Publication: 2021 Format: EBOOK copy Genre/Themes: Contemporary Romance, Queer romance, Reincarnation, Past Lives, Lesbian romance, Romance Novella, LGBTQ+ Review... 'Perhaps it was the way Drew looked that dragged it out of her, or perhaps it was the gentle tug in Amber’s chest, or perhaps it was the fact that Drew kept seeming to catch her at her worst and yet never balked, but Amber couldn’t keep herself from admitting it a moment longer. “You don’t feel like a stranger.” Drew swallowed, tucking her hair behind her ear. Her witch’s hat was long gone, now, but she didn’t need it. She was already dark and seductive — spellbinding, even. “I feel like I’m going mad,” Drew whispered. “I see you everywhere I go, in everything I do, and I don’t know why.” ➜ Queer romance ➜ Opposite personalities ➜ Travelling rock band ➜ Cobblestoned coastal town ➜ Reincarnation and Karmic love ➜ A haunted landmark ➜ Whitby Gothic Festival ➜ Past historical life echoes With a premise of unique Intrigue that somewhat-almost complements my last read (one that alternatively spanned a tale of dimensional travel) Rachel Bowdler's The Fate of Us spins one of karmic love and a past life continuum that accomplishes something similarly sublime in theme in its very short length. This romantic novella-writing scriber twirled her fingers together in concoctioning an atmospheric small-town Whitby that gently, secretly, quietly and tormentingly tethers an untrooted musician and a curmudgeonly fisherwoman in a very unconventional fashion. You won't find many romance writers that willingly contemporise the supernova of a romantic reincarnation. It only piles onto and into the inclusive stack of themes that Rachel Bowdler eases into with this short romantic novella, and does so with a tether rooted to the very real of life and relationships. Like the well-imagined atmosphere of a coastal town in the thick of its gothic season, this small town romance seems to wander and meander, lingers in the space of curious longing, melancholy to its own mystique. A love interest who yearns and another too challenged by her lack of faith to feel the truth. It steers its own clock hands to an inexplicable recognition that stretches the material of time, possibility and other lifetimes, though none be more important than the lifetime sitting in front of them, a chance where the chance of a lifetime might get to be theirs in this most recent - and likely final - incarnation. And it all starts with a musician who goes by the name Drew Dawson, her untimed purchase at a bazaar and a timeworn pocket watch. From there, Whitby's spell takes hold, and the unravelling of many lifetimes recognised and forgotten roll into a stream of fragments that speak to a truth Drew can't explain, a familiarity she can't refute. The only thing she knows for certain: this might be the first time she's met a stand-offish Whitby native, but it's not the first time she's known her. It seems that if soul connections are as real as everything she can feel and can't reasonably reason, Amber might be hers. Shorter reads can split reader consensus; they can hit with impact or alienate a reader from the lack of it, but I like to believe that page count has little to do with being impactful, and everything to do with the creative's storytelling touch, of which, The Fate of Us is a really well-framed and placed piece of romantic lit. Whatever your stance, novella writing is an art form and this compact read was as uniquely-premised as it tucked itself in the quiet corners of its own Intimacy. Silently wistful, colourful and curious as the humble coastal town it's set in, the rarity of an uncommon situation finds itself steeped in the humble terrestrialism of its own vulnerability. Both Amber and Drew face real fears, Drew the more open, wanting, and willing; the longing never too far from her heart and mind. Even though she's lived her life adrift and seeking, she's depicted with a more sincere sense of self trust, perhaps even intuitive, and that lends itself to an easier (albeit no less tormenting) leaning into the mysterious, even if she's given little choice in facing it. Whereas Drew is easier to take to in personality, is easier to relationship with, Amber's distance takes some warming up to. Though human she certainly is, content to lean into the investment of her own loneliness, grief has built a home in her bones and the safety of her small, stable life is all the windswept she needs. Her arc clearly grounds itself in early grief, the smallness and safety of her life the perfect place of least resistance, and her proclivity to run from any situation that surfaces her fear is deeply relatable, but I definitely felt a stronger pull to Drew's character more than anything. Amber's depiction in the story was trickier to engage with and to find appreciation in her profile could be challenging. That being said, both love interests were really well-characterised with clearly sensed personalities, the shades of each life stenciled recognisably in the lives they'd lived before, even if the flashback sections could be fragmented enough to carry a certain confusion. Amber's got some frostbitten chips nestled on her shoulders and grief has turned her away from her own heart into the reaches of her own solitude. She didn't count on Drew, but she also won't be pulled into the sway of the fated. Within a scenario that's hard to come to terms with let alone face in the space of its own surreality, how to address the elephant that trots alongside them through the setting of Whitby when only one of them can see it? Thus, harder even to imagine this be the lifetime that grants them more than only the fleeting moments of previous lives. Pressed into each moment is the known, the unknown and what might be known in the mark making of their timeworn history. Each happening given space lives in the space of its own making; whether it be a moment shared sat at a long-unused piano, strolling over the cobblestones of a Yorkshire seaside town, remembering the forgotten, lost to the dwellings of a memory or working through the conflicted feelings of their respective lives, the story tucks itself into the quiet corners and turns itself into the pockets of each moment given visit. Each happening lives in the space of its own atmosphere and the length of the story makes great use of its time with binding prose. While a very cool curt and clipped Amber struggles with the relationships in her life, none too desperate to build bridges or heal the rift she's let grow between herself and her brother, Drew's chased by the ethereal, pulled forward by an abtruse connection and left alone to parse through the difficulty of knowing too much. It's a unique occurrence, hard to face for the both of them, but it really comes down to their most recent lifetime together, whether it can be had together with an outcome of divergence. Because everything Drew is attempting to fathom is everything Amber doesn't remember. Facing the fear of an unusual chance and an unusual choice, to believe in the most or least of this chance they've been given, and this one lifetime might make all the difference. Leaping for faith or losing to an all-too familiar parting untaken. A quick, many-lifetimes kind of romance, but only this one matters most. Great for a cooler, rusty, dusky season. Seasonal atmosphere, set in the UK, The Fate of Us turns into the textures of a small town Whitby. Sapphic and scenic, this karmic reincarnation/past lives-Inspired novella sits in earthy tones and leans into the gravel of fated difference. A taste of the mystical and a touch of the numinous in an unorthodox second chance romance where two love interests have to decide whether this chance untaken becomes the fate of them. An interesting read for my first Rachel Bowdler romance! I gave this book 4 stars -Content Warning: Death of a parent. Adoption. _________________________ 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 _________________________ I love interacting with fellow readers, reviewers, bloggers and writers. Hearing about reader opinion is the fuel to my reader appetite, so get in touch and comment below! SHARE ON FACEBOOK Leave a comment and let's talk about |
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February 2024
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