Chapter by Chapter

When I first read Fates by author Lanie Bross, I remember being immersed in a world that was unlike any other. It was fantasy mixed up with magic and teen drama and the kind of quick-pacing that made it impossible to put the novel down. After finishing Fates, I’ll admit I had no idea how the story would progress. With one of the main characters dead it felt like there wasn’t going to be much room to grow which made me excited to see what would happen in the sequel Chaos.

Chaos takes place prior to the events in Fates. Main character Luc is on a quest to bring Corinthe back to life no matter what the cost. And while he knows that the love he and Corinthe shared was a dangerous one with dangerous consequences, Luc is dead-set on having Corinthe returned to him. No price is too great. Meanwhile, Luc’s younger sister Jasmine is introduced to the story as a main character. Jasmine has no recollection of her time spent with Luc and Corinthe but everywhere she goes time seems wrong. She’s seeing strange things wherever she goes. Nothing is right but nothing is wrong either. Until one fateful encounter is all it takes for Luc and Jasmine’s paths to become crossed.

I’m not going to lie I didn’t remember a fair chunk of Fates once I got to opening up the first chapter of Chaos. My memory was a bit iffy on some characters and how they had met Luc or what had happened to them in the previous novel. For the most part, Bross handled reminding her readers fairly well. However throughout reading I would periodically have to pause and wonder what had happened before Chaos in order to understand a scene or crack open Fates all together in order to get a feel of just what is going on.

I personally loved getting to see Luc take charge and prove just how much he loves Corinthe. I’m not going to lie that in hindsight his falling for her in Fateswas a bit unrealistic and didn’t seem very substantial but Bross does an excellent job at solidifying his emotions toward her character. Corinthe becomes more than just some mysterious girl and into someone that could be described as a soul mate. All the lengths that Luc goes to to save her completely won me over and broke my heart. All I can say is that Corinthe is one lucky lady.

There are two new additions to the story. The first being Luc’s younger sister Jasmine being introduced as a new protagonist and the conflict from Fatescrossing over and into Chaos. As Luc deals with the figures that stand in the way of his being reunited with Corinthe, Jasmine deals with the repercussions of what happened to her character in the last novel. All these new problems and added mysteries really took Chaos to new distances that left me awed.

Once again, Bross does a stunning job at weaving a fantasy world that goes without compare. She describes to us a world that I would want to visit time and time again (if, you know, I would be guaranteed safe passage or something) and makes it come to life on the page. Readers who are big fans of fantasy and fictional lore will fall in love with the world that Bross has created. There is no denying that anyone who picks up a Fates novel won’t fall head over heels for Bross’s stunning world-building and unique characters.

I would recommend the Fates novels to readers who are looking for a story that is half-teen fiction, half-romance and half-fantasy. Readers who previously readFates should definitely continue the story and pick up Chaos. Any readers who want to fall in love with two characters while they fall in love should also give Bross’s novels a go.