A Ruinous Fate by Kaylie Smith
(Affiliate Links)
Fate does not choose the weak. Fate chooses the ready.
Calliope Rosewood is a witch with a long streak of bad luck. Like all witches in Illustros, her fate is directly tied to Witch’s Dice—powerful artifacts that have blessed her kind with limitless magic but also set them on a path toward destruction. Cursed with unspeakable powers that terrify even the most dangerous witches and fae, Calla deserted her coven four years ago and has been in hiding with her two best friends since. But Calla is also hiding a grave secret: She is only three Rolls away from becoming the last Blood Warrior and starting the Final War that will decimate her people and eradicate their magic.
After a betrayal from her ex leads her one step closer to fulfilling that age-old prophecy, Calla is desperate to do whatever it takes to reset her fate . . . even if that means journeying into the deadly Neverending Forest with said ex and his enticing, yet enigmatic older brother to find the one being who can help her forge her own path. As Calla ventures farther into the enchanted woods, she finds her heart torn between her past desires and the alluring new possibilities of her future and learns that choosing your own destiny may come with deadly consequences.
Calla is out main character, and is a witch who has self exiled due to the rolls of her die being 6 each time so far. I found the story itself didn’t go into a huge amount of detail on why this is such a huge deal and why she has to hide, but it is the driving force behind why Calla agrees to go on the journey to help save herself. Call is also half siphon, which is another which she may have been in hiding, but this brings a lot of tension for her character as she is scared of what that power can do. I enjoyed her character throughout the story, and especially how she interacted with the other characters in such different ways.
We then have brothers, Ezra & Gideon, who are witch princes. Calla has a poor history with Ezra, but then also seems to almost immediately trust Gideon (which causes some miscommunication down the line!). Both of the guys are very made from their upbringing, and I particularly like the stark differences between a crown prince and not – and how this alters how they act. Gideon also has a secret which has led him to take on this quest through the forest, and this also adds a little mystery as we’re not sure whether Calla or Gideon is meant to be the last blood warrior, because of course dice are always based on probability and luck.
Calla’s two friends and roommates, Hannah and Delphine, also come along for the adventure. I loved the characters as it showed clear platonic relationships with Calla in very different ways as well as showing different magic users in this world. Delphine is an exiled mermaid, and seeing her story slowly build up throughout the book definitely made me want to read more about her.
Hannah is a witch who doesn’t use her powers anymore due to some trauma and necromancy, which is also super intriguing for a secondary character. These two also have a bit of a will they, won’t they romance going on which I’m sure we’ll see more of in the sequel.
The story itself is at it’s core a magical forest quest, that allows us to journey through the world and explore the different areas, magical beings (like mermaids, dryads, valkyries) and works well to introduce all these elements alongside the plot. Then there is the dark fairy tale like writing especially with the more magical aspects like in the woods and the nymphs/sylphs we meet along the way.
I found the witches die, and the background lore about the queens and magic of this world worked well for the story. However, grasping all of the nuance about the ramifications of the die rolls and magic system as a whole isn’t quite there, where the story focuses on showing off the characters and their powers, relationships, and actions instead. Siphon magic wasn’t really talked about, apart from in passsing and this made it feel like a smoking gun from the start of the book but it didn’t really play off as a “bad” thing that could happen for Calla. Hoping this improves in the next book.
The best thing about Runious Fate was probably the relationships built, damaged and altered throughout the story. We have quite a full cast, and all of them seem to interact with one another in SOME way, but also in differing ways. Delphine’s reactions to Ezra for example is very different because she does see him as Calla’s ex who hurt her, whereas Calla is more likely to give him a chance.
Then there’s the found family aspect, especially with the girls chosen coven of roommates. Delphine, Hannah and Calla have found one another and would do anything to protect each other, which was a strong positive throughout the book. Especially in comparison to Ezra and Gideon who are actual family.
One thing I dislike was the inclusion of a love triangle but also, not really. The triangle was forced due to miscommunciation and assumptions from other characters, where I don’t fully believe Calla and Gideon have anything between them that’s not platonic. Ezra and also Gideon’s ex both assume based on jealousy rather than Calla making any moves. Because of this, I often felt scenes which played up this triangle to be a bit dull and wanted to skip past them and towards the action more.
Overall, I really enjoyed A Ruinous Fate and absolutely smashed through it over a few days of reading. I would recommend it to people who love fantasy and fantasy quest style stories. The ending also leaves you wanting even more, so I’m excited to read more from Kaylie Smith in the future.
Positives of A Ruinous Fate
- The Witches Die and how it’s woven into the story and lore of the world.
- Friendships are written really well.
Negatives of A Ruinous Fate
- Love “triangle” felt a bit forced
- Siphon magic wasn’t really talked about enough.
If you enjoy content on Uptown Oracle consider supporting us:
Ko-fi | PayPal
