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saphibella's review against another edition
3.0
Being left with this meh *shrug shoulders* feeling after reading the newest book in one of my favorite series is not a fun thing.
3 stars is all I will give, for although the story was enjoyable, with great pacing and me not feeling bored at any point during the book, the empty feeling of a book that has gone exactly nowhere leaves me kind of sad.
Other than adding a lot of fluff and other items to an already bloated plot line the book does not manage to resolve essential plot line items from earlier books.
As mentioned earlier books plot line items (healing faery, taking down the mages, building a new guild, finding the light heir etc.) do not really get resolved with the Ryder-Syn storyline, they are touched upon, but nothing really happens.
Instead a lot of other things from other storylines gets included but it doesn’t really feel like it belongs as anything other than a way of expanding the universe.
In fact much of this book suffers from what I would call the Marvel Cinematic Universe syndrome, where a lot of storylines have to fit together, so to resolve all those it takes away from the actual story the book should focus on.
Storyline 1 (the actual one about Syn and Ryder’s relationship and struggles)
Where to start, Syn and Ryder get married, it takes two tries, and a lot of wedding preparations that got old really fast. In essence Madisyn wants a big fancy wedding, Syn just accept everything to keep the peace although none of it really fits her. And you get no actual feeling of whether this is what Ryder wants as well, or he just want to get on the good side of his mother in law.
The triplets are oh so adorable, and needs protecting, and after Syn's badassery with blades and magic might finally be safe(r). But this kinda gets lost in all the other things going on.
A whole new plotline of things gets added, and make the book more like the start to a new series with a new plotline than a resolution or continuation of a series, and have in my opinion not been integrated into the previous books.
The triplets are part of a prophesy which has not been mentioned at all in previous books, and it is very apparent that the author tries to sneak it in with an excuse of it not being mentioned before.
Original witches, Demi goddesses and children of Hekate, which have not been mentioned at all before are suddenly introduced as prisoners of the guild, and actually are the drivers of Ryder’s kidnapping and the opening of portals between Faery and Terra which will not close.
It all feels very sloppy and last minute change of storyline, because the author cannot bear to close up the storyline.
I can’t be the only one that thought after book 4's epic ending and healing of the tree, this would be the last book and Faery would be healed, and everything resolved? but nope that is not how it goes.
Storyline 2
Ciara kind of gets her own storyline now with some dragon shifters, and it feels more like a standalone story getting crammed in and not finished, to create an opportunity for another book series.
Storyline 3
Lucian and Lena/Kendrah gets introduced to the Fae Chronicle series, more on that further down.
Storyline 4
Ristan and Olivia's relationship is also touched upon.
Time for nitpicking, since some writing choices in this book annoy me quite a lot.
1. Universe entanglement
When creating a universe of multiple series it is in my opinion anathema to make them so entangled that you have to read them all to understand what goes on in the separate series.
As mentioned Lucian and his storyline (Playing with Monsters) now gets introduced to the Fae Chronicles storyline, but when it is done in such a clumsy manner that if you have not read Lucian's book you have no clue what is going on when Syn interacts with Lucian it ruins the enjoyment for the reader.
To a lesser degree the references to Ristans story also does this, but since his story has been touched upon in this series I would more call it a side story than an actual separate series.
2. Culture references
Several times throughout the series contemporary songs have been used for a certain kind of mood.
As a paranormal series it is of course allowed to blend together culture from the actual world with the imaginary world, but in my opinion it should be understandable to a broad audience and stand the test of time. An example of a good cultural reference could be that Zeus is very shortly introduced, and a lot of people know Zeus' history and will continue to do so in the future no matter which generation.
But the danger of referencing specific songs is that they are often known to a specific generation and when no longer popular they are more a confusion to a reader than any help in setting an atmosphere or mood.
3 stars is all I will give, for although the story was enjoyable, with great pacing and me not feeling bored at any point during the book, the empty feeling of a book that has gone exactly nowhere leaves me kind of sad.
Other than adding a lot of fluff and other items to an already bloated plot line the book does not manage to resolve essential plot line items from earlier books.
As mentioned earlier books plot line items (healing faery, taking down the mages, building a new guild, finding the light heir etc.) do not really get resolved with the Ryder-Syn storyline, they are touched upon, but nothing really happens.
Instead a lot of other things from other storylines gets included but it doesn’t really feel like it belongs as anything other than a way of expanding the universe.
In fact much of this book suffers from what I would call the Marvel Cinematic Universe syndrome, where a lot of storylines have to fit together, so to resolve all those it takes away from the actual story the book should focus on.
Storyline 1 (the actual one about Syn and Ryder’s relationship and struggles)
Where to start, Syn and Ryder get married, it takes two tries, and a lot of wedding preparations that got old really fast. In essence Madisyn wants a big fancy wedding, Syn just accept everything to keep the peace although none of it really fits her. And you get no actual feeling of whether this is what Ryder wants as well, or he just want to get on the good side of his mother in law.
The triplets are oh so adorable, and needs protecting, and after Syn's badassery with blades and magic might finally be safe(r). But this kinda gets lost in all the other things going on.
A whole new plotline of things gets added, and make the book more like the start to a new series with a new plotline than a resolution or continuation of a series, and have in my opinion not been integrated into the previous books.
Spoiler
The triplets are part of a prophesy which has not been mentioned at all in previous books, and it is very apparent that the author tries to sneak it in with an excuse of it not being mentioned before.
Original witches, Demi goddesses and children of Hekate, which have not been mentioned at all before are suddenly introduced as prisoners of the guild, and actually are the drivers of Ryder’s kidnapping and the opening of portals between Faery and Terra which will not close.
It all feels very sloppy and last minute change of storyline, because the author cannot bear to close up the storyline.
I can’t be the only one that thought after book 4's epic ending and healing of the tree, this would be the last book and Faery would be healed, and everything resolved? but nope that is not how it goes.
Storyline 2
Ciara kind of gets her own storyline now with some dragon shifters, and it feels more like a standalone story getting crammed in and not finished, to create an opportunity for another book series.
Storyline 3
Lucian and Lena/Kendrah gets introduced to the Fae Chronicle series, more on that further down.
Storyline 4
Ristan and Olivia's relationship is also touched upon.
Time for nitpicking, since some writing choices in this book annoy me quite a lot.
1. Universe entanglement
When creating a universe of multiple series it is in my opinion anathema to make them so entangled that you have to read them all to understand what goes on in the separate series.
As mentioned Lucian and his storyline (Playing with Monsters) now gets introduced to the Fae Chronicles storyline, but when it is done in such a clumsy manner that if you have not read Lucian's book you have no clue what is going on when Syn interacts with Lucian it ruins the enjoyment for the reader.
To a lesser degree the references to Ristans story also does this, but since his story has been touched upon in this series I would more call it a side story than an actual separate series.
2. Culture references
Several times throughout the series contemporary songs have been used for a certain kind of mood.
As a paranormal series it is of course allowed to blend together culture from the actual world with the imaginary world, but in my opinion it should be understandable to a broad audience and stand the test of time. An example of a good cultural reference could be that Zeus is very shortly introduced, and a lot of people know Zeus' history and will continue to do so in the future no matter which generation.
But the danger of referencing specific songs is that they are often known to a specific generation and when no longer popular they are more a confusion to a reader than any help in setting an atmosphere or mood.
victoriakra's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jenniferbroach's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ycnaf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
lee25's review against another edition
3.0
Like a lot of other reviewers, I found [b:Unraveling Destiny|30075809|Unraveling Destiny (The Fae Chronicles, #5)|Amelia Hutchins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1504389870s/30075809.jpg|50494181] okay. It wasn't BAD, but if this had been the first book that I read in this series, I probably wouldn't have kept going.
It just didn't seem to go anywhere - thank goodness for Ristin and Zahruk at least they are fun.
It just didn't seem to go anywhere - thank goodness for Ristin and Zahruk at least they are fun.
aclawlor's review against another edition
5.0
This book just keeps giving! The world just keeps growing and Synthia and Ryder just can't keep up. They have their babies to think about, a threat looking on their borders and just can't catch a break. Synthia is still badass and wants to kick ass but must learn what she can and can't do all over again, but with the support of Ryder it's just magical!
ameserole's review against another edition
2.0
I am honestly so freaking confused right now. What exactly was the whole point of Unraveling Destiny? It didn't feel like anything truly happened and I was completely bored with all the info dumping. Also, how can you barely have my man Ryder in this?? Without him we get zero smutty scenes and I came into this book wanting the smut people!
I didn't dive into this for the scenery or to get more useless information that I will never remember even if I had a gun to my head. I came for the smut. Stayed for the smut. GOT ZERO SMUT. Nada. Zilch.
What I did get was disappointment with a side of frustration.
Not even sure if I'm excited to dive into the next book of this chronicles.. but I will need more wine whenever I decide to do so.
romantasy_mama's review against another edition
3.0
Spoiler
I had some difficulty with this book. As with the others, there were grammatical and structural... choices... that were confusing and sometimes made the story hard to follow. Also, I chose not to read the other books in the larger Fae Universe series at this time, and I felt a little lost at some points, as I was clearly missing some backstory. There are also times where the author states what the heroine is thinking and why, then she literally says exactly that out loud. More than once. It's repetitive.I also felt the story didn't progress very much, and so little focus was put on the relationship of the main characters. I'm going to read the last two novels, but I'm worried that I won't like them at all. I may need to go back to a tried and true series as a palate cleanser.
On a positive note, the author does have a knack for writing compelling stories, evidenced at least from the first few novels.
divapitbull's review against another edition
4.0
3 1/2 stars
Unraveling Destiny is #5 in the Destiny series. It was supposed to wrap up Synthia and Ryder’s story but now it looks like there’s gonna be a book 6. I am still – for the most – enjoying this series – but also feeling ready to wrap things up. If you haven’t read book 1 in the Elite Guards series, then you’ll have no idea what Risten is doing with Olivia and why he’s all weird about Danu. If you haven’t read Playing with Monsters, you’ll wonder why Lucian and his men are hulking about helping and why Alden is hanging out with them. If you don’t need to know every little thing that’s happening and catch every little nuance (I do) then it may not matter all that much.
Synthia has her hands full with the Goddess gig. Somebody tore huge portals in Fairy and they won’t close, and all the Horde nasties are heading to Terra for the all you can eat (or should I be PC and say “All you care to enjoy”) buffet. Fairy is dying, and the influx of Hoard will put the kibosh on Terra (Earth). If this isn’t bad enough, Synthia is determined to rebuild the Spokane Guild and flush out the evil Mages that are still running amok in the Guilds. Now it seems like the Guild Elders have been keeping secrets. Big honkin’ secrets and the Mages are capitalizing on them. “Original Witches held in stasis in the bowels of the Guilds” type of secrets. And let’s not forget, Ryder’s sister is still missing and then there’s the My Big Fat Fairy Wedding that Ryder and Madisyn are trying to plan – and doesn’t that turn into the mother of all clusterfucks.
There is A LOT going on. The story has gotten pretty involved, complicated, convoluted – pick your favorite. It’s interesting – but this also leads to one of my pet peeves (and here we get into why I am rating 3 ½ stars). There’s a lot of information to be imparted to understand exactly what is going on. This information is imparted by Synthia and oftentimes it reads like she’s giving a speech. It’s disconcerting. There were also a few times where it felt like Synthia had stepped onto a soapbox – and I wanted to help her down. One instance involves her exposition on why she’s leaving Ciara with the Dragon King – which feels like a lecture….and she goes on and on (and on) about how strong Ciara is, and her brothers don’t give her credit, and she knows what she’s doing and blah, blah, STFU already. *Also everyone and their brother (literally) is out looking for Ciara and Synthia is just like “Oh, If I were the Dragon King I totally know where I would hide her….oh look there she is! Hi Ciara, Hey Girl”!!!!! I get that Synthia is strong and smart and capable (and I like that) but the presentation at times is a little over the top. And my final pet peeve – not specific to just this installment – “these ones” and “those ones”. I can not say with certainty that this is grammatically incorrect; but what I can say with certainty is that it should be – it just doesn’t sound right and drives me batty.
In summary – I enjoyed this installment – but I’m getting picky – which means I’m getting ready to be done.
Unraveling Destiny is #5 in the Destiny series. It was supposed to wrap up Synthia and Ryder’s story but now it looks like there’s gonna be a book 6. I am still – for the most – enjoying this series – but also feeling ready to wrap things up. If you haven’t read book 1 in the Elite Guards series, then you’ll have no idea what Risten is doing with Olivia and why he’s all weird about Danu. If you haven’t read Playing with Monsters, you’ll wonder why Lucian and his men are hulking about helping and why Alden is hanging out with them. If you don’t need to know every little thing that’s happening and catch every little nuance (I do) then it may not matter all that much.
Synthia has her hands full with the Goddess gig. Somebody tore huge portals in Fairy and they won’t close, and all the Horde nasties are heading to Terra for the all you can eat (or should I be PC and say “All you care to enjoy”) buffet. Fairy is dying, and the influx of Hoard will put the kibosh on Terra (Earth). If this isn’t bad enough, Synthia is determined to rebuild the Spokane Guild and flush out the evil Mages that are still running amok in the Guilds. Now it seems like the Guild Elders have been keeping secrets. Big honkin’ secrets and the Mages are capitalizing on them. “Original Witches held in stasis in the bowels of the Guilds” type of secrets. And let’s not forget, Ryder’s sister is still missing and then there’s the My Big Fat Fairy Wedding that Ryder and Madisyn are trying to plan – and doesn’t that turn into the mother of all clusterfucks.
There is A LOT going on. The story has gotten pretty involved, complicated, convoluted – pick your favorite. It’s interesting – but this also leads to one of my pet peeves (and here we get into why I am rating 3 ½ stars). There’s a lot of information to be imparted to understand exactly what is going on. This information is imparted by Synthia and oftentimes it reads like she’s giving a speech. It’s disconcerting. There were also a few times where it felt like Synthia had stepped onto a soapbox – and I wanted to help her down. One instance involves her exposition on why she’s leaving Ciara with the Dragon King – which feels like a lecture….and she goes on and on (and on) about how strong Ciara is, and her brothers don’t give her credit, and she knows what she’s doing and blah, blah, STFU already. *Also everyone and their brother (literally) is out looking for Ciara and Synthia is just like “Oh, If I were the Dragon King I totally know where I would hide her….oh look there she is! Hi Ciara, Hey Girl”!!!!! I get that Synthia is strong and smart and capable (and I like that) but the presentation at times is a little over the top. And my final pet peeve – not specific to just this installment – “these ones” and “those ones”. I can not say with certainty that this is grammatically incorrect; but what I can say with certainty is that it should be – it just doesn’t sound right and drives me batty.
In summary – I enjoyed this installment – but I’m getting picky – which means I’m getting ready to be done.
gypsydawn's review against another edition
3.0
After the epic build up of the previous 4 books, I had such high hopes for this one. Yet, unfortunatly, I ended up putting this book down after only a few chapter, seeking something else on my Kindle instead. I may return to it at another date (and update this review then) but for now, it is on the back burner.
It reads like there should be another book in-between this one and the last one in the series - plots are solved with no explanation, new relationships and allies are present with little intro and new layers are added seemingly with the expectation that you already know why those subplots are there. Hint - you don't. We ended book 4 with Ristan (the demon) holding Olivia, the Librarian, in his room for a betrayal so deep it rocked the entire Fae world (Yes, they are not the main characters, but their subplot if on point and very crucial) - then enter Book 5 with that entire situation resolved and her suddenly the love of his life? What the hell happened? Was there a 4.5 book I missed? If so, I can't find it. This is just one example of the massive flux and shift in narrative - there are several others, and each is just as baffling as the last.
Like I said, I may return to this at a later date for closure... but, eh.
It reads like there should be another book in-between this one and the last one in the series - plots are solved with no explanation, new relationships and allies are present with little intro and new layers are added seemingly with the expectation that you already know why those subplots are there. Hint - you don't. We ended book 4 with Ristan (the demon) holding Olivia, the Librarian, in his room for a betrayal so deep it rocked the entire Fae world (Yes, they are not the main characters, but their subplot if on point and very crucial) - then enter Book 5 with that entire situation resolved and her suddenly the love of his life? What the hell happened? Was there a 4.5 book I missed? If so, I can't find it. This is just one example of the massive flux and shift in narrative - there are several others, and each is just as baffling as the last.
Like I said, I may return to this at a later date for closure... but, eh.