ARC Review: Fates by Lanie Bross

Goodreads summary:

Perfect for fans of Jennifer Armentrout, Julie Kagawa, Rachel Vincent, and Sarah J. Maas, and for girls who love all things pretty, romantic and inspirational.
One moment. One foolish desire. One mistake. And Corinthe lost everything.

She fell from her tranquil life in Pyralis Terra and found herself exiled to the human world. Her punishment? To make sure people's fates unfold according to plan. Now, years later, Corinthe has one last assignment: kill Lucas Kaller. His death will be her ticket home.

But for the first time, Corinthe feels a tingle of doubt. It begins as a lump in her throat, then grows toward her heart, and suddenly she feels like she is falling all over again--this time for a boy she knows she can never have. Because it is written: one of them must live, and one of them must die. In a universe where every moment, every second, every fate has already been decided, where does love fit in?

My review:

I'm really torn over this book.  It started off pretty well with its unique premise, but it ended up going downward thanks to the slow pacing and confusing plot.  

What I liked:  Fates had a unique premise.  It just wasn't explained well enough, and the storyline was so confusing that it just didn't work.  Anyway, I liked that the point of view was third person.  It seems pretty rare to find that POV in young adult books lately, and I enjoyed it.  The author did a good job with that aspect of the book.  

And I appreciated the fact that, for once, the girl was the one with paranormal powers, not the guy.  That's something else that doesn't happen often in YA, and I liked that the author chose make the girl the one who has magic powers.  The writing is also absolutely gorgeous.  The descriptions are so vivid and lovely, and even though I really enjoyed the gorgeous prose at first, it quickly turned into a negative thing.

What I didn't like:  I mentioned that the prose was descriptive and well-done, but there was just...so much of it.  There are certain books where descriptive prose works, such as Lauren DeStefano's books, since they are balanced out by dialogue and action.  But it didn't work with Fates.  There was tons of description and narration, and not nearly enough action.  There'd be pages of Corinthe's or Lucas's thoughts without any dialogue, and it made it so hard to pay attention to what was happening.  This book was in sore need of less descriptions and more action.

The plot itself, although unique, was extremely confusing.  Despite all the description, the setting didn't make sense, and it was hard to keep track of where the plot was going.  Everything that happened seemed so random, and once I got to the end, it all felt like one big setup for the next book.  The romance was also full of insta-love.  Corinthe and Lucas were way too willing to sacrifice anything to be with each other; there wasn't enough build-up or chemistry.

A small thing that also annoyed me was a scene a third of the way through, where Corinthe is holding a knife to Lucas's throat and getting ready to kill him, and he starts thinking about how much he wants to kiss her.  Just...seriously?  What sane person thinks that?  A similar scene happened in Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.  I just don't get it.

Overall, I wasn't a fan of this.  Lovely writing and a couple unique aspects, but the prose quickly became irritating, the plot was confusing, and the romance wasn't well developed.  If you don't mind a slow-paced story with loads of description, you might find yourself enjoying this, but I couldn't get into it.

*I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thanks!

My rating:  2.5 stars out of 5

~ The Bookworm