Fate Born: Kingdoms of Kartzel

by Michelle L. Robison

Aria, Luca, and the rest of the gang survived a frozen wasteland planet, a human-trafficking ring leader with a penchant for murder, and the cunning second lady of Drammat who left them to die, only to find that no one believes their story. Instead of being hailed as heroes for releasing thousands of unlawfully imprisoned innocents, they are painted as terrorists.

Separated from her friends and forced to endure torturous brainwashing sessions guised as therapy, Aria no longer knows which of her memories from Sratta are real and which are planted by Drammat’s agents. All she wants is to make it back to her friends at The Academy, but when she arrives, it’s only to realize that President Gray intends to rip every single one of them away from Aria.

Afraid for their lives and desperate to keep their memories, Aria, Luca, and the gang face their most difficult decision yet—submit to Gray’s brainwashing and find a life of peace bought with their silence, or leave behind everything and everyone they’ve ever known in a desperate attempt to escape Drammat and the horrifying fate that awaits them.

453 pages, Paperback

First published August 26, 2025

About the author

Michelle is a self-proclaimed story addict. She is a sucker for a binge-able show or series of novels, so it’s no surprise that her debut novel is the first in a four-part series. Michelle spends her days wrangling her two young children while simultaneously building the family business—training piano teachers to use their app, Piano Marvel. She spends her evenings writing and honing her craft, except when she’s watching Survivor or binging the latest season of The Last of Us or Stranger Things with her husband. Besides her love for writing and music, she enjoys fitness, volleyball, traveling, time with loved ones, volunteering at her church, anything outdoors, and being in the sunlight as much as possible—something she finds quite easy living in Phoenix, AZ. Despite now calling the desert home, her heart will always belong to the tiny mountain town in Colorado where she grew up.

Reviews

[Shantha (ShanthasBookEra) · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her sophomore novel, author Michelle L. Robison does not disappoint. Picking up where we left off in The Secrets of Sratta, Aria, Luca, and the gang are facing obstacles with their corrupt government. Leaving on a secret and unauthorized mission to save the universe, the stakes have never been higher. The action is full throttle from start to finish. Readers are left on a cliffhanger that you will love to hate! Is it 2026 yet? I devoured this in a day, needing to know what happens next!

The novel explores themes of political corruption, friendship, love, confidence, and more. Kingdoms of Kartzel can be read as a stand-alone, but I recommend reading Secrets of Sratta first as the characters are fleshed out there, and Kingdoms is a high octane, plot driven novel. This series is a must-read for teens, young adults, and adults who are fans of science fiction dystopian novels with clean romance and no foul language. Readers of Suzanne Collins and Brandon Sanderson will love the world building in this novel. The audiobook performance is excellent. 👌🎧

Many thanks to Michelle L. Robison for an advance reader's copy and advance listening copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Reese Songbird · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing sequel, with its own fast paced, edge of your seat action and adventures that will leave you intrigued and hold your attention. The characters were amazing, as before, and I loved being back with them and this new journey they were set on. A new plot, some new characters, but the same great dynamic world from the first book!

[H.A. Pruitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Summary: I can’t say much without spoilers, but everything in book two is more perilous, and the stakes are higher.
This book hooks you with emotion, peril, mystery, danger, and a history altered by lies, secrets, and brainwashing.
The emotion is intense. It’s described in a way that you feel with the characters, which makes the action more thrilling and anxiety-inducing.
The action flies hard and fast. So many dangerous situations happen so rapidly that the book zips along. I did not want to stop reading. I needed to know what happened.
The characters remained consistent in their personalities and flaws. I didn’t love everything about them, but those parts were realistic.
The mystery around Aria and Luca's connection intrigued me in the first book, and more is revealed about it, but those revelations opened whole new worlds of questions.
The side romance enhances the main plot.
The underlying message is an important one.
I need book three! The end was such a good cliffhanger.
Overall: A thrilling, complex, emotional race to stop evil from ruining the galaxy.

[Michelle L. Robison · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the author, I again know I'm quite biased, but I'll continue to review my own books because I think it's fun. (Don't worry, I won't be lurking in the reviews - this is your space, readers!)

Kingdoms of Kartzel was an enormous challenge for me, written and rewritten countless times until it became the story that needed to be told. It isn't perfect, and I realized during the endless editing of this book that perfection isn't the goal. This book holds the journey that the characters needed to go on, especially given everything that's coming for them in books 3 and 4. To any readers who might read this review, thank you! Whether you loved it or hated it, or you're somewhere in between, I'm grateful for the time you spent in my world. Happy reading!

[Mylee Garner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely incredible. The first one in the series was already an incredible book, and an amazing way to get you interested in and introduced to the story. But this just blew me away. I'm not a huge reader, but I read this book within about 5 days of starting, and hated when I had to put it down. The suspense and emotions it creates are absolutely incredible. Michelle is a wonderful author with the ability to make it feel real, and I seriously can't wait for the next book. I might die if I have to wait too long to find out what comes next. I love this series so much!!

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Kingdoms of Kartzel" follows up "Secrets of Sratta" with more touching moments, hair-raising action, daring schemes, and heart-wrenching losses and sacrifices that make readers willing prisoners in this vibrant and compelling world. We get more time with some of the side characters from the first book, as well as some new interesting friends and enemies alike. Book 2 answers many questions Book 1 left unanswered, but it offers just as many new and intriguing questions in their place. If you liked Book 1, definitely continue following the story of Aria and Luca in Book 2.

[Meg Fry Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

We got SO much more info on the galaxy in this second installment of the Fate Born series! I’m blown away at the world building and the characters and histories that were created to make this story and further expand the universe. There were 4 distinct parts that could have nearly been separated as their own books. I don’t know how Michelle seamlessly worked so much into just one book but I absolutely can’t wait to see what happens next!

[Amy Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second installment of the Fate Born series is very good! It picks up where it left off from the first one and doesn't slow down! It is an exciting read that keeps you on your toes! It has a twist at the end that I was shocked to see and I didn't see it coming! Now I can't wait for the last book so I can find out what happens to these characters I have fallen in love with!

[MacKenzie Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
This book is amazing! It's rare to find a book where the sequel is just as good or better than the first, and this is one of them. I love Aria's character development and how she grows into her role as a leader. And that cliffhanger was so devastating but in a good way. I can't wait for the next book!

Thank you to the author for an arc!

[Briannah Blanchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good book! I loved the first book, but the second one gets even more exciting! For a first time author, I am very impressed with Michelle’s writing and story telling. It was so hard to set the book down! You will definitely want to read this!!

[Allie O'Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike many YA books that lean on shallow tropes, this story is refreshingly mature in how it handles relationships and heavy topics. It’s the kind of book I’ll be excited to share with my own daughters one day.