Title: What Lurks Between the Fates
Author: Harper L. Woods
Publisher: Adelaide Forrest
Publication Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 9798218123673
Synopsis:
For weeks, we retraced our steps back to Mistfell and the lingering shadow of the Veil at the boundary between realms. Traveling through the kingdom, I denied the evidence in front of me, unable to fathom that I wasn’t the lost princess of Faerie. Mab is the Queen who keeps all of Alfheimr held squirming within her clawed grasp. She thrives on cruelty, and wields our love as an instrument for pain. I’m a curiosity, my presence an enigma that was never foreseen. I may not be Mab’s daughter, yet she still keeps me close, as she forges me into a weapon against humans and Fae alike. Mab may not own me yet, but she controls the life of the man I love. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to see him freed.
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Am I the only one around who isn’t a fan of this series? I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been listening to the audiobook, but I just can’t find it in myself to enjoy these books. Though, I will admit, they are getting a little bit better with each book, and the story itself is intriguing enough to keep me invested enough, but I just can’t see why these books are so highly rated.
This third book in the series follows Estrella and Caldris as they find themselves imprisoned in Mab’s clutches, with no hope of escape. There really isn’t a whole heck of a lot that happens in this book aside from some ongoing and repetitive torture with very little movement outside of Mab’s stronghold. Mab herself, while toxic and certainly quite messed up in the head, is a little on the dull side. She falls into boring and less creative villain tropes. There’s a lot of tell instead of show with her and it leaves the story falling flat. When you compare her to Queen Maeve from Throne of Glass, Mab is simply tiresome and boring.
There is so much triggering in this series, I’m honestly shocked that there are so many people recommending it out there. The emotional, physical, and sexual abuse that occurs is gratuitous and ongoing. The characters are all violent, impulsive, and vindictive. I’d say even the protagonists border on unlikable throughout. There’s little redeeming other than the held-out hope that perhaps the characters will finally receive the happy ending that they are so cruelly deprived of.
It’s also an unnecessarily long story for how little truly happens. The author really chose to milk this story for all that it was worth. I honestly thought this third book would be the final in the series, but no, there is still another to come. We could have condensed this whole series down to a trilogy at most, and maybe it would have packed a better punch.
I can’t say that I’m itching to read the final book in the series. To be honest, I’m quite tired and over the whole thing. I made it this far, but I don’t think I can muster the energy to return to the final book when it’s released this year. Anyone out there who can change my mind?
Hope you enjoy it more than I did.
Happy reading!
Worn Pages and Ink 