Fates and Chaos are the first and second books of the Fates series by Lanie Bross and I have decided that I am going to do this review combining both books since I was able to read these books back to back. I have to admit, I enjoyed both books but I think Fates (book 1) edged out Chaos by a smidge. Please be warned – there are some things that I might mention that could be spoilers so definitely continue reading at your own risk.

Fates kicks off the series by introducing the reader to Corinthe. I was immediately drawn into her story because of the way Bross introduced us to who she really is and although there are a number of other characters, this story really belongs to Corinthe. See, Corinthe was a Fate and has been exiled to Humana for the last 10 years and her role as an Executor has been to help fate along so that she could eventually go back to Pyralis Terra…or so she thought.

Turns out she was really just a pawn in a larger objective that her Guardian, Miranda had been plotting in support of the rebellion. Miranda has invested a lot of time and effort into getting Corinthe to do what she wanted her to do and Lucas, who is introduced early on in the book, plays a large part in making sure Miranda’s plans work out. Miranda has tied their fates together by bringing Luc’s sister, Jasmine, into the mix and as he and Corinthe search for a way to save her.

As the story moves along, we find out what Miranda is really up to but I think the thing I enjoyed most about this book was the world building that Bross did throughout as she described each of the worlds that Corinthe and Luc moved through in an effort to save his sister. We also see the way that Corinthe changes as she begins to realize she wants more than just to go back to her sister Fates…now she has realized that Luc is just as (if not more) important to her.

As Fates comes to a close, things are a bit crazy for these characters and Corinthe gives the ultimate sacrifice to save Luc’s sister. With that in mind, Luc has decided he is going to do whatever he can to bring her back.

Chaos is Luc’s opportunity to bring Corinthe back but there is an added twist. Because Jasmine doesn’t remember anything about what happened when she was taken by Miranda, she is unaware of what Luc has been up to. All she knows is that Luc is acting weird, her dad is going to rehab, and now there are some people she doesn’t know following her around trying to hurt her.

As Jasmine tries learns more about what she missed during the days of her captivity and why time is jumping around so much, she ends up relying on a guy named Ford to help her out. He definitely has a story and we know very little about him. As the stories intertwine, the things Luc does have an impact on Jasmine as he causes time to jump around on her. The jumps help her figure out who she is, what is going on, and what she needs to do to get things back to normal.

As for the characters, I liked Jasmine but I had a hard time believing that she is 15. Maybe the intent was to have her seem older due to the life she has had but she always seemed much older than her actual age. Ford was an interesting character as well. We don’t really learn a lot about him outside of the fact that he is a Radical who believes like Miranda does, that no one should dictate how others live or die.

Similar to Fates, Bross does a great job of building out the worlds in this book. I also thought the story had some good progression. One of the things that does happen that did drive me crazy is the insta-love…both between Luc/Corinthe and Jasmine/Ford.

I can’t say much about the details in this book only because I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone. I found these books to be entertaining and the story interesting. There is plenty of action and a bit of romance all tied together into a story with wonderful world building and an interesting take on fate. Consider checking this series out when you can.