Mistress of Fates

The Darker Side of Destiny

by Luna R. Fuhrman

Revelyn Perric knows the price of a human soul—because she sold her own for wealth & power.

As the masked Mistress of Fates, she paints new destinies for Strelloc's elite, burying the trauma of her poverty-stricken childhood beneath sprawling palaces and chests of jewels. Once a starving girl, now draped in silk and diamonds, Revelyn has no intention of surrendering the life she fought for—no matter who pays the price.

But when her magic leaves a trail of devastation too great to ignore, the moon goddesses who gave Revelyn her magic turn on her. They place the Sycksal—the only weapon capable of killing a magic wielder—into the hands of Osweld, a gruff farmer with every reason to see her dead.

Desperate to survive, Revelyn disguises herself as a peasant to infiltrate Osweld's quiet farm life and steal the dagger. But amid the grueling labor and forced proximity with the man sent to kill her, Revelyn finds herself falling for the protective and unexpectedly kind Osweld and learning that wealth is more than jewels and gilded halls.

When the consequences of her past finally close in, Revelyn must choose: cling to the gilded life she's grown used to, or become someone new.

Even if redemption costs her everything.

Perfect for readers who love morally gray heroines, magic with real consequences, enemies-to-lovers romance with no-spice and lots of tension, forced proximity, and unforgettable redemption arcs.

392 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2026

Reviews

[Dee Hancocks]

Mistress of Fates by Luna R. Fuhrman was absolutely engrossing, launching straight away with an entitled and honestly unlikeable Female Main Character (FMC) that sets you up for a fantastic growth journey. She is deeply flawed, but watching her ultimately start to question her ways and recognize her errors made for an incredibly satisfying redemption arc. A cozy and fun romance subplot serves as a lovely addition to the main plot, and I thoroughly enjoyed the rich backstories provided for the characters. The world-building is seamlessly created without a lot of heavy info-dumping, resulting in a beautifully paced narrative that had me completely unable to put the book down. Skillfully addressing themes of magic, friendship, ethics, and trauma, this is a must-read if you love your fantasy packed with powerful character growth, a great plotline, and a perfect dab of romance. Thank you to the author and booksirens for an advanced reader copy. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

[Emily (ofpagesandink)]

4.5 rounded up to five because there are no half stars. (Hey Goodreads, can we get half stars? Asking for the billionth time. It can't be that hard to code plenty of other places have them.)

If you enjoy redemption stories where you have to put up with the going through development character through at least a third of the book, then you will enjoy this. If not, it may be a difficult read. The story itself will carry you through it, but it's something that I feel people need to know right off the bat. Revelyn does go through a great arc as a character, but she starts off as the most entitled, selfish, purposely ignorant protagonist ever. Like the poster child for why gods shouldn't give children world altering gifts without giving them a guide. She has poor planning skills and treats her best friend like a maid she would protect with her life. However, when she is forced to see the error of her ways, she becomes a character worth reading.

And when Priscylla reams into her because she's finally had a chance to be an actual person, you cheer.

I do like the purposeful parallels between Iogus and Revelyn because it shows you can have a shitty upbringing, but your soul is what determines if you're capable of evil. Was Revelyn selfish and didn't think how fates would affect other people? Sure. Did her greed blind her to the ability to help other people? Yes. Even before she realizes how in the wrong she was, she wouldn't enslave hundreds of people or imprison women and children as collateral to force people to go to their deaths.

It is one thing I wish was stressed a little more in the story. The big thing that drives the owner of the dagger that can kill her (trying to avoid spoilers) and the catalyst for the main story plot as well,
occurred when she was a child. At eighteen she's still barely not a child.

I'm also curious about the origin of the gods. Three Moon Goddesses remain with powers of wind, ice, and compassion. Not water or light or anything typically associated with the moon. Not a nock against them. There are plenty of gods with unique powers that aren't associated with anything. More just a curiosity of where the gods come from and how their powers come to be. Were they created? Were the humans blessed? Have they been since the beginning of time? I wanna knooooow.

There were plenty of moments in this book where I needed to know what happened next. And I'm super curious where book two goes. I read the brief synopsis at the end of book one and I went "Sonnofabitch... I'm in."

[Lana]

This is the first time I really hated the main character, but really liked the book.

The FMC has been through a lot and it did not make her a pleasant person. She is spoiled and entitled to a degree that made me hope that many things would go wrong! That change of scenery was refreshing. It was fun to not root for the main character for a change!

Revelyn was blessed by the moon godesses with the power to change destinies. Being born poor, she used this power to gain everything she never had. Without ever caring about the intentions of those that offer all these riches..

When the Sycksal - the only weapon that can kill a magic wielder - shows up, she fears for her life and decides to infiltate the life of the owner of this knife in the hope she can steal it and feel safe again. Forced to live a different life for a while makes her see the beauty of a simple life and the devestation her magic has caused. Is it too late for redemption?

The character building and development in this book are very strong and realistic. It shows how damaging growing up with nothing can be, and also how important it is to follow your heart and be good to others. It makes you wonder if you have made all the right choices yourself.

While the FMC is annoying, the book never was. It's written in a way that you will dislike her while still wanting to know how she will end up. Every irritation serves a purpose. I loved this original approach!

[Andra-Mihaela]

Today is #review day!😢

Unfortunately, Mistress of Fates by Luna R. Fuhrman is a #dnf for me. 😔

First of all, I want to thank the author for the opportunity to read this eARC! Here's my voluntary honest review!

General info: a YA romantasy with fate magic, morally grey heroines and an enemies-to-lovers dynamic; a story about playing God and suffering the consequences;

CW: terminal disease, death (these might be incomplete due to me not finishing the story!)

BOOK THOUGHTS

Soo…I'm sad.🥲 I really wanted to love this…alas, it wasn't for me.😞
I managed to #read up to 15%, and I had to stop. The story feels like something I really won't enjoy, and there was no point in me continuing…
We follow Revelyn, the Mistress of Fates, and her friend/ servant / seamstress 😅 Priscylla, as they enjoy a life of luxury in exchange for our main character granting new Fates to well-paying people.👀
We quickly see that our girl is very, very shallow, doesn't really have empathy despite her past, and basically acts waaay to immature, even for an 18yo.( In my opinion 😅?….I don't think what we get as her story is justifiable, given the fact that Priscylla isn't like that🤷‍♀️)

I get that she is supposed to be unlikeable, morally grey, etc…but I found her extremely hasty in saying or doing things ( something someone who made herself a new powerful reputation and clearly amassed wealth, simply won't do🫠), and she also doesn't think beyond her immediate whims 🤔( I honestly don't know how she thinks Lord Iorgus respects her or even sees her as anything else than a tool🫣… Not even the voice of reason, her friend, doesn't seem overly concerned with the hows and whys of this man…he clearly is fishy, sees Revelyn as a spoiled kid with no mental capacity and uses her as he sees fit🤷‍♀️)…idk…I just wanted a thought in a more serious and suspicious direction to pass through her mind.😅

Besides this, which can be seen as a matter of taste, we also have some plot and characterisation issues…
First…why Priscylla is described as a POC person??? She does all the stuff for Revelyn 🫠…we see a little of their backstories and for the life of me…I can't understand why, AS A FRIEND, she isn't treated like a lady alongside Revelyn??? You can have her be a lower tier ( given the magic or lack of it), and have anonymous staff to take care of Revelyn's tea and cakes and have the best friend lounge around with her??🤷‍♀️…
I also want to point out that we don't have some in-world motif as to why she needs to be in that position…in case you were wondering 🥲.

Another issue I had was with the whole goddesses thing…why wait 2 weeks to do that??🤔 why, once again, the only POC one is to blame🫠…yes, the others are mean and stuff, but…😅…I'm sorry ; Revelyn's past doesn't measure up to her receiving this ability 🫣, especially when we are told what happened before when someone got powers 😟.( This is my personal opinion 🙏)…also…they went away at WHAT age???😅 why?? It looked like a certain character's family was ok, so why these girls are all by themselves???...I really wanted more time spent on them before meeting the love interest of this book…because I don't think we'll get much world building and MC's history once the relationship needs development and the actual plot takes centre stage.🤷‍♀️

And now we come to our male lead:… Osweld was…there😅…my guy doesn't notice when a person loudly drops a shovel and runs to search his things right behind him🥲…come on…😞. Again, I get that our characters aren't likeable and they have a whole journey in front of them…but I'm either too old for this kind of behaviour, or acting like a complete brat and being suspiciously contrary to everyone and everything (when supposedly you're in mortal danger from this very man, and want to trick him), isn't the thing to do…😅…it doesn't make sense!🫠

We don't have a world building in here…at least, I didn't see one until 15%. We don't have an atmosphere…I believe we should be tense and second guessing Osweld left and right….but my guy is a wet blanket left outside to dry. The pacing is really fast; possibly due to us not spending time on developing a connection to Revelyn before meeting Osweld.


As you can see…this really wasn't my cup of tea…maybe a teenager will connect better to the MC and her struggle. I'm not the biggest fan of romantasy either…sooo, take this info as you will.😅 This book is advertised as no spice and it also seemed pretty free of swear words and horrible things happening on page in detail…so, if you are a teenager, or know one…this might be a good one for them.🙂 Who knows?👀 Maybe me stopping here due to personal preferences made miss an incredible character growth in Revelyn and a new amazing fantasy world!🤷‍♀️…so, if the synopsis intrigues you, give it a try and make your own mind about it.🙂

I really hope this book finds its audience, and that my review helps people decide if it's for them or not.

[Patricia]

Do you really need to like the main character?
I guess not!

At the heart of the story we’ve got Revelyn - a woman blessed by the Moon Goddesses with the power to change fates. However, having that kind of power doesn’t necessarily make her a good person… Revelyn is selfish, entitled and makes some seriously questionable decisions. I must admit, I really didn’t like her as a person for the majority of my time here but the book was written in such a way that I couldn’t put it down. The plot is interesting, story flows nicely and the action really takes off in the second half.

What was great here is that the book explores themes around trauma, choices, consequences and whether the things we’ve been through define who we become in life.

There is a romantic plot in the story but it’s very innocent and sweet. I wouldn’t personally call it a romantasy as we didn’t really get a lot of Osweld in the book unfortunately. I actually felt that I knew the villain of the story better than the actual love interest 🙈😅 so that would probably be my only criticism because I really wished we got a bit more of him! Nevertheless our FMC Revelyn is definitely the main focus of the story and her character arc is captivating.

Overall, Mistress of Fates is a well written fantasy debut that made me feel a lot of different emotions which is really good and a big compliment to the author.

I would personally class it as young adult fantasy, based on the themes and character’s behaviours.

*Side note - after a sneaky peak in the book two (focused on a different character) I think I would happily read the second one too!

Keep up the good work Luna! And thank you for the opportunity to read your ARC @ ruda.reads.fantasy x

[Jillian Sevilla-Sales]

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫: 11/15
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Fantasy
𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: My fingers itched to use my magic, but I doubted the sweaty, nervous man in front of me would be eligible for my services.
𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞:
"Tulips grow faster, stronger, and brighter when treated with kindness and care."

"If you spend your whole life looking for reasons not to like people, you'll find exactly what you're searching for. But it will be a sad life."


First of all, thank you to the author for inviting me to read her book. This was also my first time reading something from her. 😊

Time flew for me while reading this book. A page turner. The characters, for me, were done well. Their flaws, their struggles, and their character development. I am always curious as to what will happen to them in the next chapters.

This has little to no spice book. As far as I remember, no profanity.
And if you like something new, a story that has redemption, and a book that will be hard to put down, I highly recommend you grab a copy of the Mistress of Fates. 💙

𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌.

[Rachel]

A fantasy story with a unique magic system that kept me 100% invested.

The redemption arc, clean romance (no spice or language), a villain you love to hate, and a truly sweet found family aspect all made this such a fun read.

Watching Revelyn find true freedom and come alive was such an adventure. I loved watching her discover that maybe the life she thought she wanted wasn’t what she truly needed.

And Osweld. Protective, kind, and just an all-around swoony favorite.

If you love fantasy with a unique magic system, enemies-to-lovers tension, and redemption arcs, definitely add this one to your list!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. All opinions expressed are mine alone. I was not required to write a positive review.

[Michelle]

I have a serious book hangover, and I don't know what to do with myself. I started reading it yesterday in the afternoon and finished it by midnight. It's the best sick day I've had in ages as I didn't have to do anything except read.

When I was 20% in, I thought I could guess what came next, but I was so wrong! I'm glad that the events were unpredictable because it made the book all the more exciting.

The characters were well written with detailed backstories, which gave them depth and helped me connect with them. I love a good morally grey character, and Revelyn was the right amount of selfish with hope for redemption. Osweld was a sweetheart! He had a stoic exterior but a warm and protective heart. Priscylla was best friend goals! She was supportive and nurturing but didn't hesitate to call out Revelyn on her mistakes. I'd been keeping my fingers crossed for her to have a book of her own and also had a love interest in mind, and to my pleasant surprise when I reached the end of this book, I found out the sequel is about them.

The book also highlighted past traumas, and showed how it shapes people. While some choose to forgive and ensure that others do not suffer the same fate, there are also those who inflict the same pain that they have experienced. Then there are also those who prefer ignoring everything and only serve themselves with equally damaging consequences.

The worldbuilding was amazing with information about the Goddesses, their powers, the history of the old Gods and mortals, and the current conflicts.

The romance was good, but I felt it moved a bit too fast to be called a slow-burn romance. I think the author could have taken some time with Osweld's emotions, especially with the initial treatment he was receiving from Revelyn.

The action sequences, plotting and the twists were spread throughout the book to keep things interesting. The book made me laugh, cry, feel angry, irritated and even made me roll my eyes on occasions. I loved every bit of it I'm eagerly looking forward to the next book.

I recommend Mistress of Fates to all the fantasy readers who want to read a book with morally grey FMC, kind-hearted MMC, strong supporting characters, and a unique storyline revolving around fates.

[Renee Leeann]

Mistress of Fates is a character driven fantasy with a morally gray heroine, slow burn romance and magic. It's Luna R. Fuhrman's debut novel and I could not put it down.

Revelyn had an extremely difficult childhood and the Moon Goddesses chose her to be the Mistress of Fates. Did I like Revelyn at first? No. Did I feel for her best friend Pricylla? Yes. Did I feel the same by the end of the story? Absolutely not! I loved the character growth in this story and admit I might have cheered silently when Revelyn "Revie" fell in the mud/manure. I also liked that the change wasn't immediate. She struggled and that made it believable. Then we have Osweld who is determined to do what's right even if it's the most difficult thing to do and means putting his life in danger.

What I loved about this book was that it kept my attention. I wanted to pick it up and read it whenever I could. It had all the emotions - strong dislike, heartbreak, compassion, hope, and joy.

I've marked my calendar for Spring 2027 when Pricylla's story will be released.

Thank you, Luna, for an ARC copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Marcia]

Having finished this book a few of days ago, and having thought about the kind of review I was going to write, I knew I wanted it to focus on two of the characters, as for me, the characters I general were the absolute highlight of this book.

But before I go into that, I can't fail to mention that this book absolutely kept me on my toes. As someone who loves to gues what is going to happen next, and 9 times out of 10, I get it right, I was super presently surprised at how this book never once felt predictable to me, which I'm sure is another one of the reasons it made it all the more interesting for me.

That being said, I have to admit that the storyline I felt, could have been fleshed out a bit more, as it did feel a bit rushed in parts, especially given the character growth we see in Revelyn and the admittance we get from Lord Iogus.

As for the characters, everyone felt real in a way I can't say I've experienced much of before. While this is a fantasy book, and there's magical abilities and magical beings, the author's ability to make the characters seem so characteristically human, is something I can honestly say I've seen much of done this well before.

Now, normally, I'm someone who craves bad guy(s) that are so detestable that I want to physically punch them through the pages of the book, which we sort of get with Lord Iogus hunchman, Sir Rykos, however, in this book, the antagonist, Lord Iogus is not your typical evil antagonist. While his actions earn him a seat at the villains table, we actually come to learn where it all comes from and without wanting to spoil it, we do come to realise he's not purely evil at his core. Which I really enjoyed.

Then our FMC, Revelyn, she is so flawed. Her mistakes and contradictions made dislike her right from the beginning, because she seemed almost determined on making bad choices or saying hurtful things on purpose, and honestly that was rubbing me the wrong way on so many levels. It got so bad, that at one point I ended up on a voice noting exchange with a friend because I needed to vent 😂

And then it clicked. What I didn't like in Revelyn are the same behaviours I have seen in myself in the past. Behaviours that I know I can easily revert to. Behaviours that I have worked extremely hard not to display. And subconsciously, seeing those behaviours in a character, made me confront the impact they can have on someone else, and it felt as if suddenly I was staring at a mirror.

So this book to me, gave me more than a fantasy story. It became therapeutic. And all I can do now is wait to see what other therapy sessions this author will release in future, masked as fantasy books 😜

Thank you Luna for reaching out to me and for letting me read and review your book ahead of publication.

[Tiffany]

I was drawn in by the Title of this book. It held me captive throughout. Each character is well written, their back stories helped me feel connected to each character.

I love seeing Revelyn grow from being selfish to caring about those around her. Oswald and Priscylla supported, helped her learn from her past mistakes.

I hope Priscylla will get her own story.

Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read this wonderful ARC.

[Olivia Slagle]

I read this book as a beta reader awhile ago and I’m so excited to see it be published! I read a lot of fantasy and let’s just say to remember the premise and so many details of the book definitely means something. It felt original and a book I couldn’t put down!

[Natalie]

I enjoyed this book. I did not want to put it down! I liked that the characters had depth to them and realistic character flaws.

[Kara Adams]

This was such a good debut! I loved learning about Revelyn’s magic and her past. I could totally understand why she was the way she was. Priscylla was such a good friend, and I really loved Osweld and his sister. This story was such a great reminder that things are not as important as people and that wealth can cause even the best people to become greedy.

“Simple kindness can be more powerful than magic.”

“You cannot change your own fate with your gift. But that doesn’t mean you can’t change it.”

“I didn’t want more things. I wanted more moments. Moments with people I loved.”

Fantasy
🔮Book 1 in Series
🔮Closed Door
🔮Mild Infrequent Swearing
🔮CW: Death, Mild Violence, Poverty