Chaos by Lanie Bross

Hi, everyone, it's sequel time! Yep, Lanie Bross's follow up to last year's Fates is out and that means poking through my terrible Swiss cheese brain to try and recall details from my reading a year ago. Fortunately this was one that stood out a bit for me and I did recall the basics.

Jas is home but Luc isn't so sure her safety is guaranteed. An attack by two Executors cements his concerns but he needs to find a way to try and save Corinthe before it's too late. Considering Jas has no memory of her time with the Blood Nymphs, Luc believes she'll be safe hidden away with their aunt until he can return. But as he travels again to the worlds accessed via Crossroad in search of a way to bring Corinthe back from the dead, Jas is searching for something too: the truth about what happened during the two days she seems to have completely forgotten. Jas's quest brings her straight to Ford and right back into the crosshairs of the Executors.

As with the first book, Bross's breathtaking world building is the true stand out here. All of the little details that bring these varying settings to life are so vivid and unique. And yet again I wished we could spend more time in them. In Chaos we travel to a library of the dead, where each tome is the story of someone's life; Aetern, a world made of glass; and Pyralis, both past and present.

What I didn't love in this second installment was the really heavy handed instalove. I'm not as down on instalove as some, but it does have to have SOME set up. The way Jas just falls for Ford just by laying eyes on him was a definite stretch for me.

That said, I loved Jas's part of this story. In fact, I found her to be somewhat more intriguing than Luc's bouncing around trying to figure out how to manipulate time. Jas has manifested powers thanks to drinking from the Flower of Life. She also finds out something very interesting about her and Luc that could have big repercussions down the line.

All in all, Chaos was a fun follow up to Fates, but a bit more development of the romance would have been nice.

Rating: 3/5

Fates by Lanie Bross + a Giveaway

Ten years ago Corinthe did something forbidden amongst fates. She was banished from her world and sent to Humana as and Executor, responsible for helping along events in certain people's lives. Births, deaths, chance encounters... sometimes a person needs a little nudge to get them on the right path and it's Corinthe's job to ensure this happens. She's always longed to return to her own world and patiently awaits the time when the Unseen Ones will finally allow her to do so. When that day comes, though, Corinthe is faced with one last task that will cause her to question everything she knows. 

Lanie Bross's debut started off exactly as I'd expected it to - Corinthe and Luc have a chance encounter and both begin to ponder over the possibility of feelings for one another - but the story quickly took an unexpected turn.

What I thought would be an ill-fated love story was actually a quest featuring one uniquely drawn setting after another, each filled with creatures and characters I never saw coming. It made for a really nice surprise indeed and Bross's various worlds are wonderful, even if we only get to spend a very short period of time in them. In fact, I would love to return to these worlds and spend more time in them! The story as a whole felt rather rushed, though.

All in all, Fates is not a bad first outing. There are some quite redeemable qualities about the book - the premise is interesting, the twist on classical mythology is fun, and the worlds are intriguing - but I wanted more... more of everything. More time in the story, more character development, and more explanation. This is Bross's debut but she has at least two more titles in the works - one as Lee Bross, and (thankfully) a sequel to Fates - which means I should get my wish for more, more, more! I look forward to seeing what Bross does with the story.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to the publisher, I am able to offer one of you your very own copy of Fates. To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, February 24.


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