So what we learned in this is that both of Alena's love interests have horrible judgment when it comes to women...

Stolen Fates is a novella containing four (more like three) short stories from before the events of When Gods Fall that help to clarify how characters got to where they are at the beginning of the actual book. I'm going to admit right now that it's been several months since I've read the original novel, so I may have missed some easter eggs with smaller details. (Also, I think I spent more time trying to remember what all happened by rereading my apparently 147 annotations from the original book...most of which were very not helpful).
Alena and Katell's chapters focus on Katell's botched marriage. It helped to emphasize the relationship between the sisters, and it also helped to prep Scylas's character (who I think is important later?).
Nik's story details how he was captured by the arena people, just as Leukos's explains how he ended up in the slave caravan to begin with. I thought both of these stories were really beneficial, given we don't find out much backstory during the original novel. While both stories were similar in specific ways, I found them interesting.
As a prequel, Stolen Fates certainly helps to shed some light on the character dynamics and backstories in the Gifts of the Gods series.

3.75/5