Library of Fates

“I didn’t know then what I know now: that everything - my father, this moment, every experience that molds and shapes us - is ephemeral, evaporating into the air before we have a chance to grasp onto it, before we can truly even understand what it means.”

[b:The Library of Fates|32766747|The Library of Fates|Aditi Khorana|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477677106s/32766747.jpg|53360453] is an emotionally gripping and magically captivating read. Filled with a rich culture and endearing characters, Aditi Khorana’s world is vividly brought to life. We follow Princess Amrita as she goes on a journey to find herself and challenge fate, along with Thala, the seer on a quest of her own.

Things I Liked:
The book opened with a show more parable that I LOVED. The Parable of the Land of Trees was so beautifully magical and perfectly setup the moral of the story. It’s a lesson of sacrifice and selflessness that resonates through the entire story. It was definitely one of my favorite parts of the story and created a really strong start!

I personally really loved the writing. I found it to be very full and beautifully vivid. It was descriptive in a poetic way, with incredible imagery, but it never felt too flowery. A lot of personality came through and the world became real.

The relationships were also all really well done. I loved Amrita and Arjun’s relationship and completely bought their connection and history. I wish we got to see more of Arjun though. I loved the tumultuous partnership between Amrita and Thala. They are forced together together and must make the best of a bad situation, while neither really knows what they're supposed to be doing.

Amrita’s journey is so great. She is so distraught after Sikander’s siege and she doesn’t really know who she is. Through her journey she finds that self discovery is a lifelong process, influenced by your choices and actions, not your family. You are your own person, you decide who you will become. She begins to accept the magic in the world around her.

I also really loved the mythology and fantasy elements. The oracles, the Syballines, the vetalases, the Library of Fates, Maraka . They were all really well integrated into the story, and kept me engaged!

There was a fantastic full-circle feeling to the story. The resolution was bittersweet and emotional, but felt perfect for the characters.

Things I Didn’t Like:
I thought the transitions between chapters was kind of abrupt. They were often not as fluid as I would have liked.

I also would have liked for some scenes or characters to be expanded and fleshed out more. I felt like some scenes moved rather quickly, and I would have liked to live in the moment a little longer.

This was a great story, and I was an emotional wreck for the last 50 pages. It’s a beautiful story of love and fate. Amrita goes through an incredible journey and discovers her own power and strength. The world is vivid and fantastical. This was one of those books that just really leave you completely satisfied.

I received a copy of the book from Penguin’s First to Read program in exchange for an honest review. show less

I have mixed feelings about this book. Mostly, I really, really enjoyed it. It was a gripping story, and I'm writing this review at nearly 3am because I stayed up WAY past my bedtime to finish it. On the other hand, I thought the ending felt very abrupt. It came on so suddenly, and I felt like the solution to the main drama of the story was almost too easy. But maybe that's the point, that doing the right thing can and should seem easy, as if it were the only option to begin with. The ending to this story didn't surprise me, but all in all it was a poignant, captivating, and very timely tale. As a side note, I highly recommend reading the author's note at the beginning of the book. It's particularly powerful and it adds a lot of context show more to the story. This is one I would definitely recommend to lovers of romance, fantasy, and anyone who needs a reminder of the power of hope and selflessness. If that sounds appealing, you won't regret reading this one. Thanks to First to Read for the advance copy. show less

Princess Amrita thinks her life is starting to close in around when her father arranges a marriage for her as part of a political alliance, but little does she know that is just the beginning of her troubles. Soon Amrita will have to fight for her kingdom and her very life with the help of some unlikely allies — and she will have to re-evaluate her beliefs about the fables she grew up hearing, which increasingly seem less and less like fiction.

I found this book on my library’s shelves just by browsing and it seemed intriguing. I’m happy to report it did not disappoint. While the first few chapters were a little slow going by building up this fantasy world rich with many layered details, the book quickly picked up and was quite show more compelling.

This is definitely an interesting read for teens or adults who like fantasy or mythology books, particularly if they enjoy a dash of romance and some character building. show less

I always love finding and reading books that are based on Indian mythology. Books like The Star-Touched Queen allow readers from around the world to get a glimpse of the beautiful stories and traditions that are part of the Indian culture. When I started to read the book, I thought this novel would do the same.

And in terms of representing Indian mythology and culture, it does a fantastic job! The author explains the meanings of various terms and creates beautiful descriptions of the mythical Shalingar. The amount of detail that went into this novel cannot be dismissed because it really made the world in this story come alive.

But the actual story failed for me.

The beginning of the novel was great. The author established key show more relationships between Amrita and her family/friends, and did a great job of showing Emperor Sikander as a threat. The first scene in the novel does a great job of highlighting the anxiety everyone is feeling about Sikander's arrival - and it soon becomes clear that they had every right to be worried. When Sikander launches his attack, I got caught up in the action and the violence and the need for Amrita to be safe. It was definitely my favourite part of the story. It's also the part when Thala, the oracle, is properly introduced. She was probably my favourite character in the book. But that's not saying much.

I found all of the characters to be quite bland. There wasn't enough time for me get a good feel for all of the characters that are connected to Amrita's life in Shalingar. But Amrita herself was not as interesting as I hoped. Everyone is in awe of her but I really couldn't get why. She doesn't come up with anything. She doesn't fight for anything. She just goes around feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders.... and that's about it. Even Thala, the oracle, was not as fierce or as fiesty as I would have liked.

I was also displeased by the romance aspect of this story. Everything was just too abrupt. In the first part of the story, Amrita was with Arjun, a childhood friend. I thought that their romance was quite sweet. But the way in which the author decided to deal with it in the middle part of the story was not good at all. I won't say more because I want this to be a spoiler-free review, but I was definitely disappointed. And Varun? Well, I thought the blossoming of the love story there was also awkwardly done. For a novel that is supposed to be a romance, I was expecting a lot more finesse.

The plot was another source of disappointment. There were so many different story lines that this novel could have pursued. Instead, it was underwhelming and aimless. I thought that once Amrita had escaped from Sikander, the story would have more action. Instead, there's this aimless chase that really has no logic and somehow everything just lands in Amrita's lap without her ever really needing to try. Oh, and there's some time travel thrown. And then there's a rushed climax and ending that made an effort to show Amrita as a selfless person but ended up just making me feel more disappointed about the entire book.

One of my biggest problems was this: for all the mention of the Library of Fates, it played an insignificant role. It's not important to the story. There's no buildup about it other than the references made in the book, and it ended up not even playing a part in the actual story. It would have been better to not even have included, really.

My overall feelings for this novel? It had beautiful descriptions and I loved the influence that Indian mythology and culture had on this world. But the bland characters, lack of a story line, and inexpertly-executed romance left me disappointed. I'm giving this a 1.5/5 stars.

For more reviews, check out: www.veereading.wordpress.com show less

When your librarian give you this book and says “trust me”, you do just that. This book started off a little strange for me but I was soon pulled into this twisty turning adventure between Amrita and Thala. Amrita is a princess who has never been behind the palace walls. When an enemy challenges her kingdom, she must run away, which is where Thala comes in. The two girls are swept up in an adventure that is stomach clenching, more drama than one could imagine but at the end a surprise twist makes everything okay. This is a story about the magic in life, who you have by your side, and the ability to believe in something bigger than yourself is possible. Thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I very much enjoyed this story, even if I felt some of the ideas and plot points were either a reach or just not fully fleshed-out.

3.5 Stars. There are a few aspects of this story I wish were expanded upon. I think that a few too many things were glossed over. I wanted to know a bit more. While I definitely appreciate that the author didn't tell me the history or every little thing, I could have done with a bit more. How did her parents and everyone just know that she was going to be all important when she was a baby? This is the kind of question I would have loved to have answered.

One thing that really bothered me about the book though, was how accepting everyone was of all of this new information they were given. In that aspect, the book was very much rushed.