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Her Dark Destiny #1
Fate's Fables
READER BEWARE: If these Words of Making are spoken into the air, these 8 grim fables will become your world forever!
From the moment seventeen-year-old Fate Floyd could hold a pen, writing has brought her dreams to life. Now she must write to stay alive. Mysteriously cast into the ancient Book of Fables, Fate can hardly tell what's real and what's not. She’s trapped inside a magical world of darkly spun fairy tales. While Fate loves adventures, she prefers reading about them while munching on chocolate. Unfortunately, there’s no closing the book on this very real cast of frightening sorceresses, faeries and creatures of legend.
And then there's Finn McKeen. The golden-haired Scottish boy who looks like he stepped straight from her journal of secret daydreams. Entranced by this achingly familiar stranger, who’s as inexplicably drawn to Fate as she is to him, they run the gauntlet of this menacing storybook realm, changing each fable’s dreadful ending into a happily-ever-after with the unpredictable power of the Words of Making. But Fate soon learns that while some words make dreams come true, others create nightmares. Can she survive long enough to write her own happy ending, or will she spell her doom?
Brimming with fierce magic, breath-taking action and a heart-wrenching romance, FATE’S FABLES, is perfect for readers of Brigid Kemmerer, Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black.
Includes the thrilling bonus prequel, Chaos In The Keep, (available in this Special Edition version only).
From the moment seventeen-year-old Fate Floyd could hold a pen, writing has brought her dreams to life. Now she must write to stay alive. Mysteriously cast into the ancient Book of Fables, Fate can hardly tell what's real and what's not. She’s trapped inside a magical world of darkly spun fairy tales. While Fate loves adventures, she prefers reading about them while munching on chocolate. Unfortunately, there’s no closing the book on this very real cast of frightening sorceresses, faeries and creatures of legend.
And then there's Finn McKeen. The golden-haired Scottish boy who looks like he stepped straight from her journal of secret daydreams. Entranced by this achingly familiar stranger, who’s as inexplicably drawn to Fate as she is to him, they run the gauntlet of this menacing storybook realm, changing each fable’s dreadful ending into a happily-ever-after with the unpredictable power of the Words of Making. But Fate soon learns that while some words make dreams come true, others create nightmares. Can she survive long enough to write her own happy ending, or will she spell her doom?
Brimming with fierce magic, breath-taking action and a heart-wrenching romance, FATE’S FABLES, is perfect for readers of Brigid Kemmerer, Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black.
Includes the thrilling bonus prequel, Chaos In The Keep, (available in this Special Edition version only).
501 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 2013
66 people are currently reading
3583 people want to read
About the author
T. Rae Mitchell
16 books348 followersT. Rae Mitchell is an incurable fantasy junkie who spent much of her youth dreaming up worlds and bringing characters to life. While most kids grow out of such things, T. Rae didn’t and she sometimes took playing make-believe a bit far. Like the time a wizard hid a bottle of dragon beans in the back yard and left her son convinced he could grow his own dragons. Needless to say, the beans failed to produce and disappointments were had. That’s when T. Rae decided to funnel her crazy imagination into writing. She has since begun her young adult series, Her Dark Destiny (formerly Fate’s Journey), which can be found on numerous Amazon Top 100 Best Seller lists, such as Coming of Age Fantasy and Fairy Tales & Folklore.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
May 10, 2017
4☆ Enchanting Read.... Can the past really be re- written!
Fate is the main character and when she gets taken in by a magic book containing 8 Fables, she embarks on a journey to try and change the outcome of the stories, in order to make it back home.
By entering the Magic Book, things are about to change.
Can Fate really change the path of the Fables or is she doomed to stay within the book forever.
It's not going to be easy so when she meets the mysterious Finn he sets out to help Fate discover how to get home and how to change what's allready been written.
She doesn't refuse he's help, she needs all the help to figure out the mystery.
Their alliance soon turns to friendship which you guessed it turns to....!!!
The magical side to the book is enchanting all the delightful characters you meet along the way is exciting. Such as Fae, Goblins etc...
The fables have everything included to make a good story, a villain, romance, etc... they are just missing the ever important Happy Ending.
The book is rather long and does take a a fair amouny of time to become exciting.
But don't give up it does get better!
Overall an enchanting, magical read.
I would recommend this book to readers who love Fantasy, adventures, General Fiction.
I received this book from the Publisher in exchange for a honest and fair review via Netgalley.
Fate is the main character and when she gets taken in by a magic book containing 8 Fables, she embarks on a journey to try and change the outcome of the stories, in order to make it back home.
By entering the Magic Book, things are about to change.
Can Fate really change the path of the Fables or is she doomed to stay within the book forever.
It's not going to be easy so when she meets the mysterious Finn he sets out to help Fate discover how to get home and how to change what's allready been written.
She doesn't refuse he's help, she needs all the help to figure out the mystery.
Their alliance soon turns to friendship which you guessed it turns to....!!!
The magical side to the book is enchanting all the delightful characters you meet along the way is exciting. Such as Fae, Goblins etc...
The fables have everything included to make a good story, a villain, romance, etc... they are just missing the ever important Happy Ending.
The book is rather long and does take a a fair amouny of time to become exciting.
But don't give up it does get better!
Overall an enchanting, magical read.
I would recommend this book to readers who love Fantasy, adventures, General Fiction.
I received this book from the Publisher in exchange for a honest and fair review via Netgalley.
January 11, 2017
Action-packed, fairy tales and a bad-ass redhead. Sounds like a great book to read, right?
Well… I didn't really enjoy it. Maybe it had something to do with my mindset but I just couldn't enjoy it. (I only just noticed that the blurb says it's for the fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses, and I didn't really enjoy that book so maybe that's the problem?)
But let's first start at the beginning.
The premise is great, a girl stuck in a book filled with fables, making her way through 8 different tales in order to get out. Fate, which is kind of a weird name to be honest, is a writer and has a large imagination. The story starts off as she enters the book store her grandmother owned, but Fate now inherited. There's a guy there, and his name is Finn. For some reason he is burning books, and Fate is okay with that?? It was a little vague why she trusted him in the first place. Anyway, a witch shows up when they open a gigantic book, they're thrown in the first fable, and Fate seems to be able to write things down that then "appear" or happen.
There are eight tales (or fables) in the book, fables of spooky spirits, evil queens, kings and deadly monsters. In each tale, they need to change the usually very tragic ending, to a happy one, in order to move on to the next. The fables were written beautifully and especially the illustrations were very pretty. This was not the part that made me like it less, this was one of the better parts.
"Avoidance of pain does not always ensure a happy ending, and it's up to you to bring good fortune to this story and every other" - Page 216
I really liked Fate in the beginning, even though I thought it was weird for her trusting Finn. However, somewhere halfway through the book, I started enjoying reading it less and less. The story was still action-packed and there was a lot going on, but I just couldn't connect to the characters anymore. I couldn't care less about what would happen to them. And then there was the case of amnesia, which resulted in a very strange change of character. It had a reason, namely the poison that caused the amnesia, but that doesn't mean I liked it. This change of character made the book so much darker. Sithias (or something like that) spoke very annoyingly, because he was a snake or partly a snake and talked like this: The sssnow isss very cold. And of course it makes sense because he's a snake, but reading sentences like that gets quite annoying after a while.
About halfway in I started skimming parts and in the end I read almost only the conversations that the characters had. I realized why it was that I disliked it, the story just keeps repeating itself. The characters go to a new fairy tale, discover a new situation with new people, they meet a villain or a problem, one of the characters gets in trouble (either Fate or Finn usually) and then the other ones save them. The only thing that seems to be changing is that it gets darker with every tale and there's more pain, suffering, and death.
Of course, this book wasn't all bad, it had its good points and I found it funny at some points. The book is very heavy on the descriptions, so if you like that, you might like this book a lot more than I did. I am giving this book 2.5 stars. The majority of the reviews I have seen of this book are very positive, so maybe I'm the odd one out. I really don't know whether I should recommend this book or not, but I guess if you still think it's interesting after I said all this, go try it!
Well… I didn't really enjoy it. Maybe it had something to do with my mindset but I just couldn't enjoy it. (I only just noticed that the blurb says it's for the fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses, and I didn't really enjoy that book so maybe that's the problem?)
But let's first start at the beginning.
The premise is great, a girl stuck in a book filled with fables, making her way through 8 different tales in order to get out. Fate, which is kind of a weird name to be honest, is a writer and has a large imagination. The story starts off as she enters the book store her grandmother owned, but Fate now inherited. There's a guy there, and his name is Finn. For some reason he is burning books, and Fate is okay with that?? It was a little vague why she trusted him in the first place. Anyway, a witch shows up when they open a gigantic book, they're thrown in the first fable, and Fate seems to be able to write things down that then "appear" or happen.
There are eight tales (or fables) in the book, fables of spooky spirits, evil queens, kings and deadly monsters. In each tale, they need to change the usually very tragic ending, to a happy one, in order to move on to the next. The fables were written beautifully and especially the illustrations were very pretty. This was not the part that made me like it less, this was one of the better parts.
"Avoidance of pain does not always ensure a happy ending, and it's up to you to bring good fortune to this story and every other" - Page 216
I really liked Fate in the beginning, even though I thought it was weird for her trusting Finn. However, somewhere halfway through the book, I started enjoying reading it less and less. The story was still action-packed and there was a lot going on, but I just couldn't connect to the characters anymore. I couldn't care less about what would happen to them. And then there was the case of amnesia, which resulted in a very strange change of character. It had a reason, namely the poison that caused the amnesia, but that doesn't mean I liked it. This change of character made the book so much darker. Sithias (or something like that) spoke very annoyingly, because he was a snake or partly a snake and talked like this: The sssnow isss very cold. And of course it makes sense because he's a snake, but reading sentences like that gets quite annoying after a while.
About halfway in I started skimming parts and in the end I read almost only the conversations that the characters had. I realized why it was that I disliked it, the story just keeps repeating itself. The characters go to a new fairy tale, discover a new situation with new people, they meet a villain or a problem, one of the characters gets in trouble (either Fate or Finn usually) and then the other ones save them. The only thing that seems to be changing is that it gets darker with every tale and there's more pain, suffering, and death.
Of course, this book wasn't all bad, it had its good points and I found it funny at some points. The book is very heavy on the descriptions, so if you like that, you might like this book a lot more than I did. I am giving this book 2.5 stars. The majority of the reviews I have seen of this book are very positive, so maybe I'm the odd one out. I really don't know whether I should recommend this book or not, but I guess if you still think it's interesting after I said all this, go try it!
December 5, 2016
Fate ( yes that really is her name) has somehow managed to capture the imagination of fantasy readers and her book is a success. You would expect her to be riding high with adrenalin and happiness and yet there's just something missing. Well she ends up being tricked into entering a magical book that contains eight fables that don't necessarily have the happiest of endings. Fate's task is to somehow change each ending to bring about a happy one but she's not alone. No she is accompanied by the mysterious Finn , who in so many ways feels like the boy of Fate's dreams. The two are transported on adventures that cross so many boundaries and feature numerous magical creatures. Yet mistakes are made, hearts are broken and changing events brings far more complications then anyone expected.
Hmm I really struggled with this initially if honest. I wanted to like it but it felt choppy and just didn't work for me. Still I persevered and gradually came to enjoy seeing the various characters struggle with the monumental task in front of them. Such a lot happens and the author seems to enjoy putting her characters through the mill! There's clearly a romantic link between Fate and Finn but it's not exactly the happy ending I'd hoped for. Yet oddly I really liked the supporting characters whose presence initially I struggled to fully understand but the grand reveal at the end made it all just come together . I'd suggest that both young and old could enjoy this as its not explicit although hasten to say it's not lacking in drama and danger. So a mixture of fantasy and fables that does end with a wee cliffhanger but was an entertaining and at times humourous read.
This voluntary opinion is of an advance reader copy
Three and a half from me
Hmm I really struggled with this initially if honest. I wanted to like it but it felt choppy and just didn't work for me. Still I persevered and gradually came to enjoy seeing the various characters struggle with the monumental task in front of them. Such a lot happens and the author seems to enjoy putting her characters through the mill! There's clearly a romantic link between Fate and Finn but it's not exactly the happy ending I'd hoped for. Yet oddly I really liked the supporting characters whose presence initially I struggled to fully understand but the grand reveal at the end made it all just come together . I'd suggest that both young and old could enjoy this as its not explicit although hasten to say it's not lacking in drama and danger. So a mixture of fantasy and fables that does end with a wee cliffhanger but was an entertaining and at times humourous read.
This voluntary opinion is of an advance reader copy
Three and a half from me
March 4, 2021
This took me sooooo long to read cause I kept jumping to other books but I finally finished it. I thought I’d like it a lot more than I did especially after seeing so many positive reviews.
I have a like/dislike relationship with Fate. She was awesome at times but she also seemed to grind my gears as well. I’d love to see her and Finn happy together but that was hardly possible in this book. Fingers crossed she finds her way back to him soon. I love Sithius! A flying snake who can shapeshift and has a sense of humor. I’m really hoping he returns in the next book after his happy ending in Fates Fables. These characters were great together and even better when Gertie joined their merry band.
Well, on to the next!
I have a like/dislike relationship with Fate. She was awesome at times but she also seemed to grind my gears as well. I’d love to see her and Finn happy together but that was hardly possible in this book. Fingers crossed she finds her way back to him soon. I love Sithius! A flying snake who can shapeshift and has a sense of humor. I’m really hoping he returns in the next book after his happy ending in Fates Fables. These characters were great together and even better when Gertie joined their merry band.
Well, on to the next!
March 26, 2020
Fate is a 17 year old author and has loved inventing stories since she can remember. When something calls her back to her Gran's bookstore, she can help but answer the call. Once there a mysterious old lady throws her and a stranger named Finn McKeen into the Book of Fables. Fate & Finn are trapped and the only way they can make it out is if they rewrite the ending of all eight fables in the book.
This was a highly enjoyable read! I loved the fables--while they are not the exact fairytales I grew up on, aspects are familiar. Some of them were so dark, I really loved it. I think my favorite was The Lightning Sword, though to be honest I probably wouldn't have changed the ending of that one too much haha.
Fate was an interesting character and her story arc was really impressive. She does complain a lot at the beginning of the story, but it was to be expected. Normally authors don't find themselves in such a crazy adventure, but safely at home writing about said adventure. She was pretty tough, but by the end, I definitely would not want to mess with her.
I really liked Finn's character. However, the relationship between him and Fate was a bit too instalove and wishy washy for me. I could see some of the chemistry between the two, but it didn't always click. I felt like I had missed the beginning of their relationship and they jumped straight into the middle of it.
There are some great side characters in this story. Namely Sithias, a snake with wings who leaves the first fable to become Fate & Finn's friend and accomplice. He was hilarious and ah I loved him so much. He was so relatable and had the right idea when it would be time for them to run.
The ending was pretty crazy. Sometimes Fate is a bit too much damsel in distress, but I'm hoping that can change. I'm curious to learn more about the Keep and the Inkwell family!
This was a highly enjoyable read! I loved the fables--while they are not the exact fairytales I grew up on, aspects are familiar. Some of them were so dark, I really loved it. I think my favorite was The Lightning Sword, though to be honest I probably wouldn't have changed the ending of that one too much haha.
Fate was an interesting character and her story arc was really impressive. She does complain a lot at the beginning of the story, but it was to be expected. Normally authors don't find themselves in such a crazy adventure, but safely at home writing about said adventure. She was pretty tough, but by the end, I definitely would not want to mess with her.
I really liked Finn's character. However, the relationship between him and Fate was a bit too instalove and wishy washy for me. I could see some of the chemistry between the two, but it didn't always click. I felt like I had missed the beginning of their relationship and they jumped straight into the middle of it.
There are some great side characters in this story. Namely Sithias, a snake with wings who leaves the first fable to become Fate & Finn's friend and accomplice. He was hilarious and ah I loved him so much. He was so relatable and had the right idea when it would be time for them to run.
The ending was pretty crazy. Sometimes Fate is a bit too much damsel in distress, but I'm hoping that can change. I'm curious to learn more about the Keep and the Inkwell family!
August 28, 2013
This book was everything I have been missing in the YA scene. It has the imagery and the story line of a great fantasy novel. I have not read anything this imaginative since Lord of the Rings or even Harry Potter. Yes, you know how much I love Harry Potter. The book is so beautifully and creatively written that I was lost in the story the minute I started. The paperback is 478 pages so it's long but it is well worth the time.
Here are my quick words of wisdom about the story: The first two chapters are a sort of prologue to Fate's story. It was a bit confusing and choppy but once those two chapters are over it is smooth sailing. Also, some younger readers may not appreciate this writing style because it is not a quick story like so many are in the current YA scene but this is a writing style I really appreciate.
In a reader's world, there is not much to time to do any re-reading but I will be rereading this story again and again. Already can't wait until Fate's Keep!
My favorite interaction between Fate and Finn:
Tears stung her eyes as she shook her head, "If you're trying to say you're leaving me again, I'll just follow. You're stuck with me, buster. Just think of me as barnacle...or one of those suckerfish. Better yet, duct tape."
Here are my quick words of wisdom about the story: The first two chapters are a sort of prologue to Fate's story. It was a bit confusing and choppy but once those two chapters are over it is smooth sailing. Also, some younger readers may not appreciate this writing style because it is not a quick story like so many are in the current YA scene but this is a writing style I really appreciate.
In a reader's world, there is not much to time to do any re-reading but I will be rereading this story again and again. Already can't wait until Fate's Keep!
My favorite interaction between Fate and Finn:
Tears stung her eyes as she shook her head, "If you're trying to say you're leaving me again, I'll just follow. You're stuck with me, buster. Just think of me as barnacle...or one of those suckerfish. Better yet, duct tape."
March 7, 2015
"I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review."
"Fate's Fables" by T. Rae Mitchell is a fabulous combination of fantasy, fables,and a young adult romance. I really enjoyed the concept of a young author being sucked into a fable book that she has to correct the stories of before she can return home. It's a great adventure with danger and twists and turns a long the way. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
This does end with a cliffhanger but not a an abrupt stop, but with a sentence that lets you know there's more to the story. This is not a quick read... it's 400+ pages, but every page is worth reading and you will be glued to the story the whole way!
"Fate's Fables" by T. Rae Mitchell is a fabulous combination of fantasy, fables,and a young adult romance. I really enjoyed the concept of a young author being sucked into a fable book that she has to correct the stories of before she can return home. It's a great adventure with danger and twists and turns a long the way. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
This does end with a cliffhanger but not a an abrupt stop, but with a sentence that lets you know there's more to the story. This is not a quick read... it's 400+ pages, but every page is worth reading and you will be glued to the story the whole way!
April 5, 2021
Aun no se si me gustó o no, pero está, entretenido ¿?
September 11, 2019
Wow there are so many things I have to say about this book. Let’s try to organize this.
Pros:
- the world building is INSANE. I thought Fate would be traveling through fables we all knew; Cinderella, Snow White, whatever. But these are all original fables within the story and it’s just mind blowing.
- the creativity of the author, the world, the characters is just WOW.
- the writing is great. Engaging, and never lags in a way that bothered me, it was written very well for everything going on.
- FAAAATEEEEE. She’s such a great character. She goes from a whiny brat to a strong woman and I loved following her. I loved that while a lot of her story leans on Finn’s strength, there’s shift where she can (and does) stand on her own.
- Finn; I want a Finn. Where can I find a hot, supportive bf?
- Sithias and Gerdie!!! I love them so dearly.
Cons:
- Waaaaaay too many elements for me to keep straight sometimes. I got super confused more than once about who’s who and where they are and what their objectives are. The characters have an independence (which is amazing and brings them to life) but it can throw the reader in the dark.
- Sithias’ betrayal. What why who how??? That would thing could have been skipped or explained way better. It was so skipped over and short that it left a poor taste in my mouth. I thought having Sithias “betray” them was brilliant but so wasted.
- Finn’s memory loss shit. Again, I felt like the resolution of his memories coming back was just like thrown in while we’re distracted with the other plots. I wanted more about that and how it impacted him AND Fate.
Overall, I am sooooo in love with this book. I can see myself rereading this book (and probably the others) every year. Such a wonderful journey, so creative and beautiful.
11/10 will love forever.
Pros:
- the world building is INSANE. I thought Fate would be traveling through fables we all knew; Cinderella, Snow White, whatever. But these are all original fables within the story and it’s just mind blowing.
- the creativity of the author, the world, the characters is just WOW.
- the writing is great. Engaging, and never lags in a way that bothered me, it was written very well for everything going on.
- FAAAATEEEEE. She’s such a great character. She goes from a whiny brat to a strong woman and I loved following her. I loved that while a lot of her story leans on Finn’s strength, there’s shift where she can (and does) stand on her own.
- Finn; I want a Finn. Where can I find a hot, supportive bf?
- Sithias and Gerdie!!! I love them so dearly.
Cons:
- Waaaaaay too many elements for me to keep straight sometimes. I got super confused more than once about who’s who and where they are and what their objectives are. The characters have an independence (which is amazing and brings them to life) but it can throw the reader in the dark.
- Sithias’ betrayal. What why who how??? That would thing could have been skipped or explained way better. It was so skipped over and short that it left a poor taste in my mouth. I thought having Sithias “betray” them was brilliant but so wasted.
- Finn’s memory loss shit. Again, I felt like the resolution of his memories coming back was just like thrown in while we’re distracted with the other plots. I wanted more about that and how it impacted him AND Fate.
Overall, I am sooooo in love with this book. I can see myself rereading this book (and probably the others) every year. Such a wonderful journey, so creative and beautiful.
11/10 will love forever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2013
Rating: 5 stars
There also happens to be a book trailer for Fate's Fables! :)
Read my full review here! http://awalkonwords.blogspot.com/2013...
Dani’s Review:
Fate’s Fables is unlike any other fantasy novel I have read. Ms. Mitchell has a unique writing style with a quality almost like great fantasy novels of the past such as Lord of the Rings. She uses so much description and imagery, a trait in books that is sometimes dismissed as being “boring” in the 21st century. This is not one of those paranormal fantasies that are solely about the drama of a teenage girl dating a mystical creature. Fate’s Fables is about a girl leaving her sheltered life and embarking on a journey to change the lives of people living in eight different worlds. A girl who must abandon every moral, every idea she thinks is right to come out of these places alive.
The main character is a young woman named Fate. She is the author of a surprisingly successful fantasy novel called Magick Brew. She is a single child raised by her ever loving and devoted father, Eustace, who tried his best to keep her innocent from the dangers of the world. Her life changed for good when she finds a mysterious stranger named Finn at her deceased grandma’s bookstore and a giant book of fables that she never knew existed. Fate and Finn are literally transported by the book to a fable. To get out of the book’s 8 fables, they must change the horrible endings of the stories into happily ever after’s.
There isn’t a single thing about this novel that I disliked. I will admit, if I wasn’t given a copy of this book by Ms. Mitchell, I probably would never have read it. The idea of combining fables with a fantasy plot seemed shaky to me. But I was definitely proven wrong! The idea of changing the endings of these fables to happy ones intrigued me. The beginning of this novel confused me a bit, but I quickly caught on to what was happening. As I kept reading, the story and the writing just got better and better!
I loved the character development in this novel. Fate’s Fables is written in third person, but the point of views somewhat switched between Fate and Finn. Their emotions are described so well, I could really relate to and understand what they were feeling. Their romance caused each other so much pain and suffering, yet they still pulled through and managed to make it work. <3 Fate and Finn. One of my favorite book couples!
The 2 other main characters, Sithias the winged serpent and Gerdie the supposedly “young” and “little” girl found a special place in my heart. I don’t remember the last time I read a book that had such heartwarming and hilarious characters. I attribute this to Ms. Mitchell’s FANTASTIC writing! P.S. This is her DEBUT novel! Even more props to her for writing such a great first novel!
Fate’s Fables ended in a cliffhanger that left me heartbroken. There isn’t an exact release date for the second book, Fate’s Keep, but I hope it will be soon!
All in all, I recommend Fate’s Fables to ANYONE looking for a good read! Even if you don’t like fantasy novels, read this book! It will suck you into its world and you will be cheering on the characters from the sidelines, wishing and hoping that they will escape each fable with their limbs intact.
--Dani @ A Walk on Words
There also happens to be a book trailer for Fate's Fables! :)
Read my full review here! http://awalkonwords.blogspot.com/2013...
Dani’s Review:
Fate’s Fables is unlike any other fantasy novel I have read. Ms. Mitchell has a unique writing style with a quality almost like great fantasy novels of the past such as Lord of the Rings. She uses so much description and imagery, a trait in books that is sometimes dismissed as being “boring” in the 21st century. This is not one of those paranormal fantasies that are solely about the drama of a teenage girl dating a mystical creature. Fate’s Fables is about a girl leaving her sheltered life and embarking on a journey to change the lives of people living in eight different worlds. A girl who must abandon every moral, every idea she thinks is right to come out of these places alive.
The main character is a young woman named Fate. She is the author of a surprisingly successful fantasy novel called Magick Brew. She is a single child raised by her ever loving and devoted father, Eustace, who tried his best to keep her innocent from the dangers of the world. Her life changed for good when she finds a mysterious stranger named Finn at her deceased grandma’s bookstore and a giant book of fables that she never knew existed. Fate and Finn are literally transported by the book to a fable. To get out of the book’s 8 fables, they must change the horrible endings of the stories into happily ever after’s.
There isn’t a single thing about this novel that I disliked. I will admit, if I wasn’t given a copy of this book by Ms. Mitchell, I probably would never have read it. The idea of combining fables with a fantasy plot seemed shaky to me. But I was definitely proven wrong! The idea of changing the endings of these fables to happy ones intrigued me. The beginning of this novel confused me a bit, but I quickly caught on to what was happening. As I kept reading, the story and the writing just got better and better!
I loved the character development in this novel. Fate’s Fables is written in third person, but the point of views somewhat switched between Fate and Finn. Their emotions are described so well, I could really relate to and understand what they were feeling. Their romance caused each other so much pain and suffering, yet they still pulled through and managed to make it work. <3 Fate and Finn. One of my favorite book couples!
The 2 other main characters, Sithias the winged serpent and Gerdie the supposedly “young” and “little” girl found a special place in my heart. I don’t remember the last time I read a book that had such heartwarming and hilarious characters. I attribute this to Ms. Mitchell’s FANTASTIC writing! P.S. This is her DEBUT novel! Even more props to her for writing such a great first novel!
Fate’s Fables ended in a cliffhanger that left me heartbroken. There isn’t an exact release date for the second book, Fate’s Keep, but I hope it will be soon!
All in all, I recommend Fate’s Fables to ANYONE looking for a good read! Even if you don’t like fantasy novels, read this book! It will suck you into its world and you will be cheering on the characters from the sidelines, wishing and hoping that they will escape each fable with their limbs intact.
--Dani @ A Walk on Words
March 25, 2013
I loved this book. It's outside of my normal reading genre but I was so intrigued by the back cover blurb and the book trailer (you MUST watch it. It's here: http://traemitchell.com/view-trailer/) that I decided to give the book my attention and some Kindle cash.
For a non-fantasy reader like myself, I admit I was worried reading the first few pages since I thought I'd never figure out where I was in Fate's worlds. I was wrong and am glad the characters kept me turning pages. The worlds were both intriguing and entirely imaginable. The characters are strong and interesting.
Mitchell's ability to weave worlds and mini-stories together into this novel made it a rich read. I think that 15-20 year olds will enjoy relating to the characters' teen angst, while older readers like myself will be sucked in by the skilled storytelling.
Absolutely beautiful story. Add to your "to read" shelf. Or better, buy a copy and just start!
For a non-fantasy reader like myself, I admit I was worried reading the first few pages since I thought I'd never figure out where I was in Fate's worlds. I was wrong and am glad the characters kept me turning pages. The worlds were both intriguing and entirely imaginable. The characters are strong and interesting.
Mitchell's ability to weave worlds and mini-stories together into this novel made it a rich read. I think that 15-20 year olds will enjoy relating to the characters' teen angst, while older readers like myself will be sucked in by the skilled storytelling.
Absolutely beautiful story. Add to your "to read" shelf. Or better, buy a copy and just start!
April 11, 2013
Imagine getting thrown into another world where your only means of survival is using your creativity. Both challenging and fun, T. Rae Mitchell created a wonderland that will delight many.
The opening of the book was slightly confusing. In fact, it felt more like a prologue since we are introduced to someone other than the main character in a complete different setting. But the story quickly picked up when Fate took over. She is very direct and humorous, rewriting unexpected endings to the fables.
One of the things that impressed me more about this book is the countless types of characters Fate encounters: Goblins, Trolls, Sorcerers, Fae ... the list is long. And if like me, you cannot live without romance, you will not be disappointed. His name is Finn and he has a Scottish accent. Prepare to be swooned.
The opening of the book was slightly confusing. In fact, it felt more like a prologue since we are introduced to someone other than the main character in a complete different setting. But the story quickly picked up when Fate took over. She is very direct and humorous, rewriting unexpected endings to the fables.
One of the things that impressed me more about this book is the countless types of characters Fate encounters: Goblins, Trolls, Sorcerers, Fae ... the list is long. And if like me, you cannot live without romance, you will not be disappointed. His name is Finn and he has a Scottish accent. Prepare to be swooned.
April 17, 2017
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Find this review and more on my blog The Rest Is Still Unwritten!
Fate’s Fables by T. Rae Mitchell is an entertaining and adventure riddled fantasy tale that is brimming with magical creatures, powerful individuals and mysterious discoveries.
Fate Floyd has always enjoyed fantasy over reality, but her love of all things fictional is put to the test when Fate finds herself sucked into a book of unfortunate fairy tales alongside a mysterious young man names Finn who is eerily familiar and the only way for them to escape the Book of Fables is for Fate and Finn to change the endings of each of the eight tales into happily-ever-afters. Each tale is more dangerous than the next and with plenty of unexpected forces determined to keep Fate and Finn from altering the tales, Fate and Finn will find themselves on a life changing journey where happiness is far from guaranteed….
T. Rae Mitchell has created a fun and adventure filled fantasy tale with Fates Fables, kicking off the Fate’s Journey series. Unfolding mainly through Fate and Finn’s POV, with an occasional different character thrown into the mix, Fate’s Fables takes you into the heart of eight very different fairy-tales, all sporting the trademark traits that make fairy-tales what they are; good versus evil, romance, monsters, magic and of course good triumphing over evil in the end.
Fate’s Fables focuses on a decent bunch of characters. Fate and Finn were easy to follow and Sithias made me smile on more than one occasion. That snakeman was certainly unique and although he had his own form of a happily ever after in Fate’s Fables, I would love to see him again down the track as his personality really shone as a highlight in the story for me.
I have to say I was surprised by the level of growth the main two characters undertake in Fate’s Fables. Fate and Finn become almost completely different people throughout the story; most especially Fate, who goes from normal teenage girl to a sword wielding, battle capable warrior from what seems like one moment to the next. Don’t get me wrong; I understand these developments within the story and seeing as large levels of time often pass throughout the novel (weeks, sometimes months are jumped) it makes sense that Fate would be drastically altered, but I still couldn’t help but feel it was a lot of change for one novel. It was the kind of growth I’d expected over the course of a series, not just the first book. That being said, Fate and Finn both go through a lot so it’s understandable they would develop because of this.
Overall Fate’s Fables was an entertaining read, perfect for anyone who loves fairy-tales and wants to jump straight into the story. I look forward to seeing what T. Rae Mitchell has in store for Fate and Finn in the next instalment!
Find this review and more on my blog The Rest Is Still Unwritten!
Fate’s Fables by T. Rae Mitchell is an entertaining and adventure riddled fantasy tale that is brimming with magical creatures, powerful individuals and mysterious discoveries.
Fate Floyd has always enjoyed fantasy over reality, but her love of all things fictional is put to the test when Fate finds herself sucked into a book of unfortunate fairy tales alongside a mysterious young man names Finn who is eerily familiar and the only way for them to escape the Book of Fables is for Fate and Finn to change the endings of each of the eight tales into happily-ever-afters. Each tale is more dangerous than the next and with plenty of unexpected forces determined to keep Fate and Finn from altering the tales, Fate and Finn will find themselves on a life changing journey where happiness is far from guaranteed….
T. Rae Mitchell has created a fun and adventure filled fantasy tale with Fates Fables, kicking off the Fate’s Journey series. Unfolding mainly through Fate and Finn’s POV, with an occasional different character thrown into the mix, Fate’s Fables takes you into the heart of eight very different fairy-tales, all sporting the trademark traits that make fairy-tales what they are; good versus evil, romance, monsters, magic and of course good triumphing over evil in the end.
Fate’s Fables focuses on a decent bunch of characters. Fate and Finn were easy to follow and Sithias made me smile on more than one occasion. That snakeman was certainly unique and although he had his own form of a happily ever after in Fate’s Fables, I would love to see him again down the track as his personality really shone as a highlight in the story for me.
I have to say I was surprised by the level of growth the main two characters undertake in Fate’s Fables. Fate and Finn become almost completely different people throughout the story; most especially Fate, who goes from normal teenage girl to a sword wielding, battle capable warrior from what seems like one moment to the next. Don’t get me wrong; I understand these developments within the story and seeing as large levels of time often pass throughout the novel (weeks, sometimes months are jumped) it makes sense that Fate would be drastically altered, but I still couldn’t help but feel it was a lot of change for one novel. It was the kind of growth I’d expected over the course of a series, not just the first book. That being said, Fate and Finn both go through a lot so it’s understandable they would develop because of this.
Overall Fate’s Fables was an entertaining read, perfect for anyone who loves fairy-tales and wants to jump straight into the story. I look forward to seeing what T. Rae Mitchell has in store for Fate and Finn in the next instalment!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2019
I couldn’t even finish this. I very rarely DNF but I just couldn’t continue on it. I couldn’t get behind Fate and the story was just silly, with the overuse of the notebook and the repeating storyline. I think this may skew to a younger audience.
November 18, 2021
I don't understand what I just read? This book sounds like a child wrote it and not in a good way. I got whiplash from the random jumps of setting, which said a lot, but also nothing at the same time. Fate's idea of being unlucky is wow, each adventure she went through was the same.
Sure she went into different stories, but the journey was the same with each one and I have yet to understand why she was okay with this dude burning books in her store, like huh.
This book just confused me.
Sure she went into different stories, but the journey was the same with each one and I have yet to understand why she was okay with this dude burning books in her store, like huh.
This book just confused me.
March 25, 2015
Rating: 5+/5
"Fate's Fables" is the first book in the series "Fate's Journey". The beginning of the book made me think of a Doctor Who scene(i really do not know why) and I found it a little hard to stick with me but after a few pages it all started to flow at a normal pace(this happens in almost every book, right?).
After we are introduced to the story behind everything that is going to happen, we meet the lovely main character, Fate. Fate is an author and she has quite a normal life, different from everything that happens in her book Magick Brew.
At an impulse, Fate goes to her grandmothers bookstore where everything seems really quiet until she stumbles upon a man named Finn. Fate is really surprised about someone's presence in that place but, with a strange turn of events, Fate and Finn find a book of fables that starts of a great adventure.
Transported to the world of fables, the two of them need to turn eight fables' endings into happy ones by reversing everything bad that had happened. Their adventure is a dangerous one, making them go through a series of hardships.
I really loved Ms. Mitchell's book! I found it a really amazing read and I really appreciated her creativity and lovely writing style. The richness that every fable had and the different elements that each of them brought into light made me sink deeper and deeper into the magical places that the author created.
One of the facts for which I enjoyed reading the book was the way that the characters were created. I loved Fate's evolution. Given the fact that she had a quiet life before entering the world of fables, Fate gets to experience so many things that she would not have gotten to in her normal life. Changing events by simply writing them, getting to fly and having a snake as a companion are just some of the things that turn around Fate's life . But none of these compare to the truth behind Finn's life, a truth that changes everything.
I loved that the author managed to combine in a successful way some really funny dialogues with the descriptive fragments.
My favourite character, besides Fate, was Sithias :D! I really loved the snake and all of his funny come-backs! He was a really lovely addition to the story.
About the Fate-Finn couple: I can say that it is one of my favourites! They have to put up with so many things and the challanges they face come in a big number and vary from one another. Their dialogues and come-backs are sometimes funny but harsh in some moments. What's destined for them you can find out only by reading Mitchell's book(s) :]!
I recommend this book to every fantasy lover and to those who love fables of course! :D You will have the chance to meet some really amazing characters, some funny and some not, read about different romances and most important of all enjoy a thrilling combination between the real world and the fantastic world of fables. The adventure will be three books long which makes me really curious about what is going to happen next :D!
I would really love to see this series turned into a movie or a game or or... both! I think that it is really catchy.
"Fate's Fables" is the first book in the series "Fate's Journey". The beginning of the book made me think of a Doctor Who scene(i really do not know why) and I found it a little hard to stick with me but after a few pages it all started to flow at a normal pace(this happens in almost every book, right?).
After we are introduced to the story behind everything that is going to happen, we meet the lovely main character, Fate. Fate is an author and she has quite a normal life, different from everything that happens in her book Magick Brew.
At an impulse, Fate goes to her grandmothers bookstore where everything seems really quiet until she stumbles upon a man named Finn. Fate is really surprised about someone's presence in that place but, with a strange turn of events, Fate and Finn find a book of fables that starts of a great adventure.
Transported to the world of fables, the two of them need to turn eight fables' endings into happy ones by reversing everything bad that had happened. Their adventure is a dangerous one, making them go through a series of hardships.
I really loved Ms. Mitchell's book! I found it a really amazing read and I really appreciated her creativity and lovely writing style. The richness that every fable had and the different elements that each of them brought into light made me sink deeper and deeper into the magical places that the author created.
One of the facts for which I enjoyed reading the book was the way that the characters were created. I loved Fate's evolution. Given the fact that she had a quiet life before entering the world of fables, Fate gets to experience so many things that she would not have gotten to in her normal life. Changing events by simply writing them, getting to fly and having a snake as a companion are just some of the things that turn around Fate's life . But none of these compare to the truth behind Finn's life, a truth that changes everything.
I loved that the author managed to combine in a successful way some really funny dialogues with the descriptive fragments.
My favourite character, besides Fate, was Sithias :D! I really loved the snake and all of his funny come-backs! He was a really lovely addition to the story.
About the Fate-Finn couple: I can say that it is one of my favourites! They have to put up with so many things and the challanges they face come in a big number and vary from one another. Their dialogues and come-backs are sometimes funny but harsh in some moments. What's destined for them you can find out only by reading Mitchell's book(s) :]!
I recommend this book to every fantasy lover and to those who love fables of course! :D You will have the chance to meet some really amazing characters, some funny and some not, read about different romances and most important of all enjoy a thrilling combination between the real world and the fantastic world of fables. The adventure will be three books long which makes me really curious about what is going to happen next :D!
I would really love to see this series turned into a movie or a game or or... both! I think that it is really catchy.
May 2, 2013
My thoughts...
I believe that Terry's writing style was very descriptive and it has a lot of imagery. The beginning might have been very slow at the time and there were several holes in the beginning, but that was to be expected. I want to thank Terry Mitchell for giving me a review copy, I don't think I would have read this story if she hadn't emailed me. I don't regret reading Fate's Fables since I rarely enjoy fantasy. It might be boring and dull to the youth since there taste is rather different from the olden times. I dare say that this story was brutal and immersing.
Fate is the author of the best selling novel, Magick Brew. It put a smile on my face when Terry made Fate an author in the book. Fate is a young and gentle woman who has been sheltered by her loving father, Eustace. But that wasn't the beginning of the story. Meeting Finn a young sexy stranger got me grasping for more. They both find a giant book in Fate's grandma's bookstore, but one fatal abracadabra poofed them inside the story. The only way she can get out of this story was to change the horrendous endings to happy ever afters.
I loved how Terry Mitchell made her readers want to connect more to the characters. I needed a good laugh from the story. Sithias will just keep you laughing, he lightens the mood every time. His scales may be cold but his heart is warm. Terry made sure her secondary characters had some spotlight. I thought it was fair since most authors just focus on the protagonist and the antagonist. Finn and Fate's friendship was something deeper than I have ever imagined. The first question I wanted answered was why was Fate so enthralled meeting Finn? It's like she was captivated or like she has seen a ghost.
I won't be giving any spoilers I'm so sorry. If you want to read the book please enter the giveaway below and it's international. A lot of readers will unquestionably enjoy this book. Though it pains me to say this...there will be a cliffhanger involved. I wanted to tear my eyeballs. Those are one of the tricks that authors created so that there readers would start begging for the sequel. Gosh! Terry why do you torture me???
*Cough* Other than me crying over the ending. If you loved The Lord of the rings or Game of Thrones, I'm sure you'll enjoy Fate's Fables. This book deserves 4 stars from me. I can't wait to read the next book.
To enter the giveaway visit my blog: Lite-Rate-Ture.blogspot.com
I believe that Terry's writing style was very descriptive and it has a lot of imagery. The beginning might have been very slow at the time and there were several holes in the beginning, but that was to be expected. I want to thank Terry Mitchell for giving me a review copy, I don't think I would have read this story if she hadn't emailed me. I don't regret reading Fate's Fables since I rarely enjoy fantasy. It might be boring and dull to the youth since there taste is rather different from the olden times. I dare say that this story was brutal and immersing.
Fate is the author of the best selling novel, Magick Brew. It put a smile on my face when Terry made Fate an author in the book. Fate is a young and gentle woman who has been sheltered by her loving father, Eustace. But that wasn't the beginning of the story. Meeting Finn a young sexy stranger got me grasping for more. They both find a giant book in Fate's grandma's bookstore, but one fatal abracadabra poofed them inside the story. The only way she can get out of this story was to change the horrendous endings to happy ever afters.
I loved how Terry Mitchell made her readers want to connect more to the characters. I needed a good laugh from the story. Sithias will just keep you laughing, he lightens the mood every time. His scales may be cold but his heart is warm. Terry made sure her secondary characters had some spotlight. I thought it was fair since most authors just focus on the protagonist and the antagonist. Finn and Fate's friendship was something deeper than I have ever imagined. The first question I wanted answered was why was Fate so enthralled meeting Finn? It's like she was captivated or like she has seen a ghost.
I won't be giving any spoilers I'm so sorry. If you want to read the book please enter the giveaway below and it's international. A lot of readers will unquestionably enjoy this book. Though it pains me to say this...there will be a cliffhanger involved. I wanted to tear my eyeballs. Those are one of the tricks that authors created so that there readers would start begging for the sequel. Gosh! Terry why do you torture me???
*Cough* Other than me crying over the ending. If you loved The Lord of the rings or Game of Thrones, I'm sure you'll enjoy Fate's Fables. This book deserves 4 stars from me. I can't wait to read the next book.
To enter the giveaway visit my blog: Lite-Rate-Ture.blogspot.com
April 16, 2013
Review first published on my blog, Pieces of Whimsy
The start of this book was a little confusing. I could follow the story to a certain point but then I found myself a little lost to what was going on. It wasn't until Fate entered the first fable that I began to understand what was going on and get a taste of the ride this book was going to take me on!
The story follows Fate, a 17 year old author with a vivid imagination for creating fantastical stories. She is suddenly uprooted from her comfortable life and thrown into a world of stories where her words hold an ultimate power. Trapped with the sexy, Scottish druid, Finn, and slithery companion Sithias, Fate must rewrite eight dark fables if she ever wants to see her world again.
I love the idea of the fables and the 'Words of Making'. Instead of just living in one story, I got to move through several and it was great to have both a dark and light element playing through the book. There were a lot of fumbles and bumbles, and though the fables got a brighter ending, they didn't lose their sweet, seductive, dark side.
Fate's character really grows throughout the book. At the start I was a little worried because there was a lot of text speak and whining in her character, but as she was put through the many tests in the fables, she grew a lot and I really began warming to her. It took a few truths and reality checks for her to let go of her shallowness and learn what life is all about and in the end I really enjoyed her as a character.
This book was magical, fun and really entertaining. The characters were excellent and I very much enjoyed the entertainment that Sithias provided. The fables were lovely and the illustrations/designs of this book were gorgeous! A lot of imagination was in this book, both from the author and the characters, and I could find myself connecting with the characters on many levels, even though it's fantasy and I obviously haven't been in similar predicaments. If you like fantasy I'd recommend this book and if the first few pages leave you feeling a little over-whelmed, don't give up because things straighten themselves out and this book is definitely worth the read! Really looking forward to the next book!
The start of this book was a little confusing. I could follow the story to a certain point but then I found myself a little lost to what was going on. It wasn't until Fate entered the first fable that I began to understand what was going on and get a taste of the ride this book was going to take me on!
The story follows Fate, a 17 year old author with a vivid imagination for creating fantastical stories. She is suddenly uprooted from her comfortable life and thrown into a world of stories where her words hold an ultimate power. Trapped with the sexy, Scottish druid, Finn, and slithery companion Sithias, Fate must rewrite eight dark fables if she ever wants to see her world again.
I love the idea of the fables and the 'Words of Making'. Instead of just living in one story, I got to move through several and it was great to have both a dark and light element playing through the book. There were a lot of fumbles and bumbles, and though the fables got a brighter ending, they didn't lose their sweet, seductive, dark side.
Fate's character really grows throughout the book. At the start I was a little worried because there was a lot of text speak and whining in her character, but as she was put through the many tests in the fables, she grew a lot and I really began warming to her. It took a few truths and reality checks for her to let go of her shallowness and learn what life is all about and in the end I really enjoyed her as a character.
This book was magical, fun and really entertaining. The characters were excellent and I very much enjoyed the entertainment that Sithias provided. The fables were lovely and the illustrations/designs of this book were gorgeous! A lot of imagination was in this book, both from the author and the characters, and I could find myself connecting with the characters on many levels, even though it's fantasy and I obviously haven't been in similar predicaments. If you like fantasy I'd recommend this book and if the first few pages leave you feeling a little over-whelmed, don't give up because things straighten themselves out and this book is definitely worth the read! Really looking forward to the next book!
February 14, 2017
I was lucky enough to be allowed to read this by the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
I have to admit that the premise of the book being a fantasy involving a young author who is magically transported into a book of fables which she must transform to happy endings to be allowed home had me intrigued. Add a romantic hero into the mix and creatures of myth and legend and I thought I was going to love it without a doubt. However I found it less than compelling at the beginning and struggled to find any real emotional interest in Fate, Finn or the rest of the characters. I decided to push past the first few chapters in the hope that things would improve and I am so glad I did because soon I was gripped and willing everything to lead to the happy ending Fate and Finn deserved. I won't reveal here what happens but recommend that you read it for yourself as well as appreciating the beautiful illustrations at the beginning of each fable. I can't wait to read Fate's Keep next.
I have to admit that the premise of the book being a fantasy involving a young author who is magically transported into a book of fables which she must transform to happy endings to be allowed home had me intrigued. Add a romantic hero into the mix and creatures of myth and legend and I thought I was going to love it without a doubt. However I found it less than compelling at the beginning and struggled to find any real emotional interest in Fate, Finn or the rest of the characters. I decided to push past the first few chapters in the hope that things would improve and I am so glad I did because soon I was gripped and willing everything to lead to the happy ending Fate and Finn deserved. I won't reveal here what happens but recommend that you read it for yourself as well as appreciating the beautiful illustrations at the beginning of each fable. I can't wait to read Fate's Keep next.
July 17, 2013
I write romance but I must confess, I do love a good YA novel every now and then, especially when there is a handsome young man involved - and when the story jumps into another plane of existence that leaves your imagination wanting more.
I loved this book, I could not put it down. I literally read into the early morning hours I got so absorbed. T. Rae Mitchell weaves a story with such old fashion creativity that it carries you into another world far away - Fate and Finn's world. These two well-developed characters make this book a delight to read. He is handsome and appears on the scene in the nick of time, seemingly the savior. However, when the tides turn and Fate rids herself of teenage angst, she becomes the warrior we all wish we could be. But this story is not as simple as that.
Also worth mentioning are Mitchells sub-characters who provide endless entertainment along the way without dominating the story. Sithias, a flying snake with an identity crisis and Gerdie, a wee waif who is introduced to us later in the book, both make a big impact.
Mitchell's style of writing is classic, and her imagination is boundless in this debut novel. The `Fables' she has created are reminiscent the many Aesop's tales we were all told as children, but with more vivid and dark storylines that may not be appropriate for the under fourteen crowd.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and a good old-fashioned fable. You will not be disappointed. I just want to know where BOOK II & III are, because I am ready to read them yesterday!!
Maggie Devine
I loved this book, I could not put it down. I literally read into the early morning hours I got so absorbed. T. Rae Mitchell weaves a story with such old fashion creativity that it carries you into another world far away - Fate and Finn's world. These two well-developed characters make this book a delight to read. He is handsome and appears on the scene in the nick of time, seemingly the savior. However, when the tides turn and Fate rids herself of teenage angst, she becomes the warrior we all wish we could be. But this story is not as simple as that.
Also worth mentioning are Mitchells sub-characters who provide endless entertainment along the way without dominating the story. Sithias, a flying snake with an identity crisis and Gerdie, a wee waif who is introduced to us later in the book, both make a big impact.
Mitchell's style of writing is classic, and her imagination is boundless in this debut novel. The `Fables' she has created are reminiscent the many Aesop's tales we were all told as children, but with more vivid and dark storylines that may not be appropriate for the under fourteen crowd.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and a good old-fashioned fable. You will not be disappointed. I just want to know where BOOK II & III are, because I am ready to read them yesterday!!
Maggie Devine
July 10, 2013
REVIEW:
What a page turner! Once you start you can't put this book down. If you love faeries, trolls and such you will want this novel in your library collection. It is the first volume in the Fate's Journey series. The author, Ms. Mitchell writes in a way that you can visualize each and every thing. She tells the story with an imagination that is almost unreal. This is another world and suddenly you are part of it. You must use your wit to survive. The author has created another world that is exciting.
The endings to the Fables can be very unexpected, but the surprises are part off the fantasy world. The author brings this out in a way that keeps you wanting more. I loved all the characters in the book, Fae, Goblins, Sorcerers, too many to list. But, as in life, fantasy has romance too. That perked you up a bit, didn't it? Yes, Romance in the fantasy world. His name is Finn and brace yourself. You will not be disappointed. Not in the least. There is a book trailer at http://traemitchell.com/view-trailer. Don't let this wonderful book of fantasy pass you by. Read it and enter the world of FATE'S FABLES. The cover of this book is amazing. Look into her eyes. They're captivating. For each chapter there is a small picture that are very interesting. Make sure you look at them. I would recommend this book to everyone, young and young at heart. We're never too old for fantasy.
I would give this book 5 STARS.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book, FATE'S FABLES from the author, T. Rae Mitchell for this unbiased review.
May 19, 2013
Trolls, faeries, poisoned oaks, druids ... fantasy buffs will be in heaven in this inventive time-travel story of a young girl trapped in an ancient world that she enters through a book of fables. Seventeen year-old Fate must reverse the endings of eight colourful but terrifying fables in order to return to her regular life. She is accompanied for part of her journey by characters from two of the fables: Sithias, the chameleon-like servant to the sorceress Elsina, and Gerdie, a wise old woman frozen in a child's body. But it is with Finn, the half real/half imagined alter ego to Fate, that she forms the most intense kinship. As the fables become increasingly dark, Fate's strength of character is challenged more and more, and the line between fantasy and reality blurs. Teen (and adult) fantasy readers will love the intensity and sheer inventiveness of this impressive novel by a first-time writer!
March 22, 2015
Fate is a young author of fantasy with a quirky, yet enthusiastic fan base. Although she enjoys her subject, Fate never really wanted to live it. One evening after a book signing, she feels compelled to visit an old book store that her grandmother used to run. When she arrives, Fate confronts Finn, a handsome (and strangely familiar) intruder who seems equally confused about the situation.
It goes without saying that Fate and Finn are destined to embark on some paranormal high jinks. With only their wits and a magical notebook, the two must reverse the endings of 8 fables or they can never return home.
Although the story started a little slow, it gradually picked up speed. Fate starts as a very reluctant hero who is refreshingly honest about her limitations (and also quite funny). Finn and his reactions seem believable. Who wouldn't be devastated by the stuff he discovers?
Ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.
It goes without saying that Fate and Finn are destined to embark on some paranormal high jinks. With only their wits and a magical notebook, the two must reverse the endings of 8 fables or they can never return home.
Although the story started a little slow, it gradually picked up speed. Fate starts as a very reluctant hero who is refreshingly honest about her limitations (and also quite funny). Finn and his reactions seem believable. Who wouldn't be devastated by the stuff he discovers?
Ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.
June 18, 2013
Overall:
Fate’s Fables is a fantastical page turner, I seriously couldn’t put it down. Poisoned oaks, druids, faeries, and trolls….. Fantasy buffs will be all over this first novel in the Fate’s Journey series. T. Rae’s knowledge of the fables in this book are extremely vivid. The writing is an old style which I believe is really hard to duplicate within this day and age, but with T. Rae’s ingenious imagination and enchanting storytelling it all comes together brilliantly.
abookandalattee’s Rating:
abookandalattee gives Fate’s Fables 5 stars – Vastly recommended to anyone who loves fantasy/fiction.
Check out the rest of my review of Fate's Fables over at http://abookandalattee.blogspot.com
Fate’s Fables is a fantastical page turner, I seriously couldn’t put it down. Poisoned oaks, druids, faeries, and trolls….. Fantasy buffs will be all over this first novel in the Fate’s Journey series. T. Rae’s knowledge of the fables in this book are extremely vivid. The writing is an old style which I believe is really hard to duplicate within this day and age, but with T. Rae’s ingenious imagination and enchanting storytelling it all comes together brilliantly.
abookandalattee’s Rating:
abookandalattee gives Fate’s Fables 5 stars – Vastly recommended to anyone who loves fantasy/fiction.
Check out the rest of my review of Fate's Fables over at http://abookandalattee.blogspot.com
February 11, 2017
There was a book of fables. Fairy tales, if you will. But these fables didn't have the happy endings everyone always craves. Oh, no. They were sad, dark, and evil. Good lost in those stories. Love was found, but then promptly lost in tragedy.
This is the story of how Fate Floyd was sucked into a giant book of fairy tales with a boy who seems so familiar, but she just can't place. The only way out of it is to change the sad endings to happy endings of all 8 tales. How hard could it be, right??
For Narnia!!!
Fate Floyd is a teenager. I'm guessing she's around 16 or 17, since I don't recall the book actually saying how old she is, but we do know she hasn't graduated from high school. She has such a good imagination, and loves to read so much, that she writes stories of her own. And she's been doing it for so long, that her motto is that "Reality sucks. Make-believe rocks." In fact, she's such a good writer, that she's been successfully published before even graduating from high school! Her book has such a following, that fans having been showing up in cosplay during her book tour!
However, during the book signing in her hometown of Seattle, she all of sudden gets a pull to go north, towards Canada. She's not 100% sure to where, she just knows she needs to go now. Lucky for her, her book signing had gone a half hour past schedule, and some trolls and a wizard(?) get into a brawl right in front of her, so she's able to slip away.
As she makes her way north, she realizes that she's headed to the old family bookstore. Fate became the new owner of the bookstore upon her grandmother's death, but it held too many fond memories that it was too painful to try and keep it open after her death.
She's forced inside when a sudden rainstorm appears, discovering Finn, who doesn't know how he got there. He seems familiar to her somehow. Not to mention he's from Scotland, has an amazing Scottish brogue, and is quite the looker.
They have little time to figure things out, as they're caught in a spell that sends them into what used to be the book shaped sign of the bookstore. Turns out it was a real book.
Fate received some instructions, among which were to retrieve a certain object from a certain person at all costs. But that promptly fades away, to later reappear at the right moment. What she can vaguely remember is that she needed to read some instructions at the beginning of the book. Where she realized that their only way out is to change the endings of each story. And boy do they have a doozy of a start. Figuring out what the Words of Making are and how she's supposed to get them to work take a bit of figuring out. Calming down enough to try and figure out where and when they were took another bit. One that she doesn't quite get the hang of until about halfway through the second story.
In fact, it's her total lack of control and only responding to things in a reactionary manner that start to get me annoyed with Fate. She has quite the loathing for her name, as she feels that she doesn't really have much control over her life. And any good luck that comes her way is always tainted, somehow. Pessimistic, much? But, that's cool, I get it, not everyone has to think that the glass is half-full or whatever. But chica can't just sit there low-level freaking out for days and not trying to figure out an effective solution. And, again, I get it, not everyone can get themselves under control at a decent pace to become sensible again. But this girl is a fantasy writer, who's a major geek and literary nerd. She knows how to problem solve and research (she admitted to doing quite a bit of research on Scotland and it's history, even into druids and the Ogham language). She has the tools. But she continuously plays the "poor me" and "I HAVE NO IDEA!" cards. She REacts, but doesn't try to actually act sensibly, until almost the end. And that really grates on me. I'm so over the constant damsel-in-distress, the needs-a-guy-to-figure-stuff-out-for-her, I'm-smart-but-now-that-there's-a-hot-guy-around-I'm-not tropes.
The sad part is that there is very little character development for Fate as the story goes on. Finn,
has more character development than she does, !! That's seriously upsetting. I mean, you get a bit of hope when Fate becomes a hella badass shieldmaiden as a warrior in a war goddesses army, but when it all goes to pot again at the end, we're back to square one: Fate can't deal with it and does nothing. SERIOUSLY!!?!?!?
Fate, as a character, is carried by the other, better written characters. That's quite the flaw for a main character. The cast, aside from Fate, were entertaining, interesting, and nicely rounded out. The story itself was quite interesting. I liked that the fairy tales in the book were created for this, which makes their adventures all the more interesting. Also, the villains were pretty good. The twist at the end, while a titch predictable, was still surprising enough to go, "ooooohhhh."
I give this 4 of 5 stars. Fate's Fables just barely squeaks by at a 4. Despite the many flaws, the story was strong enough to keep the adventure interesting and engaging. I will likely read the next book.
My rating system is as follows:
1 star - Horrible
2 stars - Bad
3 stars - Decent
4 stars - Good
5 stars - Amazeballs!!!
Disclosure: I received a copy of the book from the publisher/author through Netgalley for an unbiased review. Just like you, I rely on reviews from readers when trying to choose my next read. I won't bump ratings or falsely recommend a book.
March 19, 2013
PJV Quickie: Combining some wonderfully creative fables, a romance born from strange circumstances, and some incredibly delightful, colorful characters resulted in a stunning first book in a new trilogy. Author T. Rae Mitchell did an amazing job of creating an intricate world with captivating characters, without making the plot confusing or inundating the reader with too many details. Am I looking forward to Book 2? Oh yeah, most definitely!
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My fully review is at Parajunkee's View and you can view it by clicking HERE
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My fully review is at Parajunkee's View and you can view it by clicking HERE
April 7, 2013
Loved this book!
T. Rae Mitchell’s debut novel, Fate’s Fables, takes her feisty heroine, Fate, on a highly imaginative journey through eight gruesome fables where she battles ferocious and magical creatures in her attempt to change the dire endings. Along the way she joins forces with the mysterious Finn and several other equally endearing sidekicks.
This is a fabulous book aimed at the young adult market but fun for adult readers as well. The layout and graphic styling in this book is also impressive. Buy it for all the youths in your family and make sure you borrow it back to read it yourself.
T. Rae Mitchell’s debut novel, Fate’s Fables, takes her feisty heroine, Fate, on a highly imaginative journey through eight gruesome fables where she battles ferocious and magical creatures in her attempt to change the dire endings. Along the way she joins forces with the mysterious Finn and several other equally endearing sidekicks.
This is a fabulous book aimed at the young adult market but fun for adult readers as well. The layout and graphic styling in this book is also impressive. Buy it for all the youths in your family and make sure you borrow it back to read it yourself.
February 1, 2015
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A tale that twists and turns at every corner until you can't put the book down because you're dying to know what happens next! I absolutely adored the execution of the Fables and how ultimately everything is brought together in a way you never saw coming. A major cliffhanger has you ready to jump right into the next of the series, despite the fact this one already had you up all night and dawn was not far off! Completely unique, like no other series I've read and I look forward to seeing how the rest of the series goes!!
A tale that twists and turns at every corner until you can't put the book down because you're dying to know what happens next! I absolutely adored the execution of the Fables and how ultimately everything is brought together in a way you never saw coming. A major cliffhanger has you ready to jump right into the next of the series, despite the fact this one already had you up all night and dawn was not far off! Completely unique, like no other series I've read and I look forward to seeing how the rest of the series goes!!
March 24, 2015
I did receive this book as a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Fate's Fables is 480 pages it is classified as a young adult novel. However, it is geared more towards adult sci-fi novel. It is stories within a story. Their are 8 fables our 17 yr old heroin Fate has to move through in order to get to the next fable and to complete the story.
The beginning of the book is a little hard to muddle through, you aren't sure exactly what is going on or who are the characters. Going through the fables you get more entwined with your characters, as they have grown on you.
Fate's Fables is 480 pages it is classified as a young adult novel. However, it is geared more towards adult sci-fi novel. It is stories within a story. Their are 8 fables our 17 yr old heroin Fate has to move through in order to get to the next fable and to complete the story.
The beginning of the book is a little hard to muddle through, you aren't sure exactly what is going on or who are the characters. Going through the fables you get more entwined with your characters, as they have grown on you.
June 8, 2018
T. Rae Mitchell has done an amazing job transporting the reader into a parallel universe where fantasy, magic, action, and love combine to make it a truly captivating read. Her characters are charming and compelling. Her voice is strong and honest and there is no shortage of twists and turns on Fates journey through the fables as she tries to set them right and find her way back home. Fate's Fables is such a unique story. Lovers of fantasy and romance will devour it.
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