"Spin of Fate" was an interesting start to a high fantasy series.
The book started out pretty slow, both in terms of plot and character development. Both pick up considerably halfway through.
The magic system is an interesting take on karma or good/evil, and I appreciate that at one point, a character notes that it is more like a science (and is explained as such) even if people like to interpret it as religion. However, there are several places where the plot/history is simply explained by one character to another to help the reader get more context on what's happening, and while in some places I get that it can pass as a "the character wasn't educated, so they have to have things explained to them" situation, it was a little on the nose, and in some places, it was either repetitive (because multiple characters were in the dark, but were separated) or just didn't make sense (because that information is something that involved characters should definitely know and wouldn't just say out loud, but the person who is spying isn't privy to that information).
I loved how complex the protagonists' motivations were, and how the different POVs give you different perspectives on any given situation; it really highlights the overall theme of how things can't just be black and white like the division of good and evil suggests. Even when the characters made really dumb decisions, you can see where they're coming from, especially when keeping in mind that the protagonists are young. On the other hand, supporting characters were extremely flat, especially given how extreme many of them were, and attempts to give them depth were, like the magic system, more telling than showing. Like, almost literally monologues.
I love the glimmerings of a possible love triangle, especially in a threesome that are all close as opposed to a threesome where two of the people are at odds.
The cover of the book was a little misleading to me; for all their talk of the four great beasts, there was actually very little involvement of any of them. I know that's likely to change in future books, but I think in general, I'm not a fan of books that leave the reader hanging in such a big way. I'm not saying that books shouldn't have cliffhangers, but I think there's a difference between cutting off a story and wrapping up a book, even if you know it's gonna be part of a series.
I appreciate the difficulties of starting out a high fantasy series, so I'm sure the following books will only get better. This series shows a lot of promise; this first book just didn't hit the right notes for me.

Though I enjoyed aspects of the world and the characters the execution left much to be desired. Especially when it came to the world building. There was a lot of exposition through dialogue. Motives we're not always clear until later but not because it was necessary for a big reveal. They just weren't explained and it left me confused. Another thing that was confusing was time. There were many instances where I couldn't tell how much time had passed. Cohesion wasn't always there. The ending felt rushed which made some of the characters decision seem rushed. There were a lot of interesting ideas, but in the end it could have been presented better.

I really wanted to like this one, but it just wasn't for me. It was a bit slower than I like and just couldn't hold my interest.

The kindle version formatting was broken, so I was not able to read. Disappointed, as I’ve heard really good things about the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

This book was not what I expected it to be. I absolutely love Avatar so that was what originally drew me in. But… I didn’t really get that from the book at all. It felt disjointed and the magic system was a bit convoluted to understand.

It's always a bummer when a book you were looking forward to reading doesn't live up to the hype.

I went into this book with very high expectations. And I wish I hadn't. The themes of this book were very heavy-handed, which makes sense for the target demographic. Kids are less likely to notice nuance. This book also read closer to middle grade than YA in my opinion.

I didn't care for any of the characters. It might have to do with the heavy-handed themes. This is the issue I have with three protagonist books that are set up this way. They are often placed in the archetype roles, and there's not much to expand on: the mouthy one, the rule follower, the angry one.

The setting was the part of this book that I was most interested in, but that can only keep me interested for so long. Neither the plot nor the characters held my interest long enough for this book to become a new favorite. This book deserved better marketing, that's for sure. I think this book does have an audience, it's just not me.

Overall, this was a really fun time. I'd say my rating honest skews more towards a 3.5 than a 3 star, but I still did enjoy what I read. I think the Naruto influence and vibes were a fun addition (honestly, this is one of the first books I've read that that was the case, which was pretty wild). Aina, Aranel, and Meizan have some heavy Team 7 vibes, which I greatly enjoyed. Though I do wish that there was a bit more time spent with them as a trio making budding friendships and building trust. Mostly because there were some moments that happened later where I felt like they would've had a bit more impact had there been more time spent with them that way.

The world-building was very creative and it was obvious the author had a lot of fun creating this world and how things interact with one another. I especially loved the 4 great beasts/gods that inspired(?) the Toranic law. Like, peacock-snake with basilisk-level glare that makes you feel mind-numbing levels of dread/terror instead of turning you to stone??? That's awesome!

As for the characters, I feel like Aranel seemed to have the most of an arc. He's not exactly finished yet, but the start of that growth of him learning to think more outside his own bubble and question what he was taught was very interesting. Meizan had slightly less of an arc, in my opinion, in that he did start to grow a bit, but I felt like there was possibly something missing in between the start of his journey and how he ended in book 1. Unfortunately for Aina, I feel like she kind of got the short end of the stick in that her journey was the least interesting to me and also didn't feel like she had as much to do. There's a chance this will change in the other book(s?), but I feel like book 1 Aina missed the mark for me.

One other thing I felt could have used a bit more work was that the pacing was a bit too fast in places. Particularly in the area of character development and interaction. I realize that there was a lot in book 1 (in fact, in was slightly info-dumpy in places) because the world needed to be established as well as setting up both stakes and the 2nd book. However, I still kind of wish there had been a bit more time spent with the 3 protagonists as a unit, just to get maximum feelings and the potential for angst out there.

Overall, though, I do think this is a fun, inventive, and interesting debut with a lot of potential for the next book. I'm curious to see how things pan out.

I absolutely adored Spin of Fate. This is what YA (High) Fantasy can be! It's intelligently written, from the world building to the themes, and unique and complex without being overwhelming. Appropriate for many ages, and will be particularly enjoyed by those who have or still are deconstructing religious backgrounds. The plot moves quickly and there's great attention to detail, I can't wait to read more of the series. I would like to see a little more character development, but I think that will come in later books.

I'm not entirely sure the comps are accurate, so don't rely on those when choosing to read this. But do read it!

4 stars. Spin of Fate was recommended to me by a Goodreads friend who suggested that I would like the magic system - and while I did, it was actually the characters that really made this book shine for me. The world and magic system of Spin of Fate is fascinating and imaginative - it's marketed as inspired by Naruto and Avatar: The Last Airbender, and while I haven't seen or read the former, I could definitely see the influence of the latter (as well as, apparently, Pokemon, which I honestly think more authors should do - just draw their inspiration from random childhood obsessions). Yet, as unique and colorful as it was, I'm not quite sure if I'd call the worldbuilding "Sanderson-esque," as the blurb does - for all of its beauty, it is not nearly as complex or well-fleshed out as I find Brandon Sanderson's worlds to be - but quite honestly, few fantasy worlds are.

The greatest strength of Spin of Fate, in my opinion, is its three protagonists - Aina, Aranel, and Meizan - who, despite their vastly different backgrounds, are each just trying to find meaning and understand their place in their world. Found family will always be one of my favorite tropes, and nothing says found family quite like three misguided teenagers learning to overcome their distrust and understand one another despite their literal worlds being against them. I loved reading their dynamic and seeing each of their characters grow over the course of the plot - and I'm looking forward to reading even more in the sequels.

Some of the dialogue and pacing was choppy and certain elements of the worldbuilding could have used more elaboration (or maybe that's just the Sanderson reader in me talking), but overall, Spin of Fate was an impressive debut and I'm looking forward to reading more both from this world and from this author.

This book was full of really interesting world building, but I had really trouble engaging with the characters. The plot was fast paced though and I would be interested to see what happens in the sequel!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy for review

An excellently written book overall! Hard to believe this is a debut and this author is a talent to watch!

The depth of the character's was just wonderful and I appreciate that the author is taking some time to develop their character arcs! I find YA fantasy often rushes development to the detriment of the character but here I appreciated that 2 of the 3 main characters ended their arcs on a "low" note rather than high, since it leaves something to look forward to in later books. Aranel in particular was interesting to me and I see him as being very polarizing! I come from a country where religious extremism is rampant so I felt his character captured that element of a brainwashed teen trying to make sense of their world very well.

The worldbuilding was top class and the magic was unique and complex. It did take a while to fully make sense which is why this may be less accessible than other YA fantasy. But I see it appealing to lovers of epic fantasy and advanced readers.

Pacing wise it started strong but the pace slowed down in the 2nd part where we had an extended training arc. I didn't feel bored but I also didn't feel the need to flip pages rapidly, since some of it was just characters training and hanging out. But after reading the 4th part I understood why those decisions were made to have those extended scenes. There were a lot of hints and character development that were given in the 2nd part which at the time seemed unnecessary or extraneous. But after finishing the book I realized why the author chose to do it because without much of that the 4th part reveals and fights may have felt unearned and sudden. And there were so many hints sprinkled in that part which only jumped at me after the reveals and I wish I had picked up on them.

Overall this is an excellent debut and I am astounded by the author's deliberate writing style and attention to detail. The prose was lovely as well and I appreciated that the characters all had very distinct voices. I will read anything by this author in the future and cannot wait for more of her books!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This book was lovely to read and experience. Excellent world building and characters, interesting plot and material, and I just had fun.

This fantasy novel was such an enjoyable read! I loved the mixture of different Asian cultures throughout the book. The worldbuilding was phenomenal and the characters were well written. I am excited to see how their relationships develop in the next books! I really liked the magic system. The way it was described and executed made the story even more engaging. I can definitely see how it can be compared to Avatar: The Last Airbender. I can’t wait to read more about this world :D

"A war might do them good. If this is how they choose to waste their peace."

This book is my new obsession. The world is so rich and unique, my mind is still spinning (lol) through every detail. Imagine a world where heaven and hell exist in a tangible way but at the same time imagine a world absolutely nothing like that at all. Imagine people are rewarded for being good…except don’t imagine that at all because of course it’s never that simple.

I’m not usually excited by multiple POV books but surprisingly I adored every character from the start and loved returning to each of their heads.

Aina – Violent force of wry teenage angst (whose heart is fickle and THAT’S OKAY)
Aranel – Cute loveable idiot trying his best (and failing and THAT’S OKAY) (also my favourite and I would die for him)
Meizan – Angry boy who is secretly a cinnamon roll (but he likes killing people too and THAT’S OKAY)

Aranel: “I’m already stained with enough sin—” “And shit,” Aina chimed in. “And piss,” Meizan felt compelled to add.

It’s YA in the sense that the protagonists are young and have the funniest lines that only teenagers would say, but the writing is sophisticated and smart, so I found it totally accessible as an adult (though I would have loved this when I was younger too). Thank god I was reading this at home because I laughed out loud (lol) so much throughout this book.

The magic system is so fun and a great allegory to the injustice of wealth and class disparity in the real world, while having its own distinctly unique effects and consequences. I was always excited to learn more about the world, magic and people and I never felt overwhelmed by the detailed information because it was fed to me gradually. I literally feel like an expert on chitrons now – somebody humble me quick!

“Touch him, and I swear on Azyaka I’ll make you wish you were still buried in that lava,” [he] growled.

Finally, my heart has been captured by the slowburn enemies to lovers romance set up in this book. I don’t want to spoil but my fellow queer people, you will feel the tension from the moment these two characters meet and if you are a sucker for oblivious idiots like I am, you will be hooked for their every interaction after.

(I received an early arc for this book in a competition.)

What a breath of fresh air it is to find a fantasy series that doesn’t rely on all the booktok tropes to carry its plot 😭 DON’T get me wrong, I love a trope filled story as much as the next person but it’s nice to find these gems that don’t feel like they’re just ticking a checklist of plot points for TT.

Minor Spoilers ahead

Meizan was my absolute fave character with his loyalty to his crew and his inner monologue about his own morality, but I suspect come book 2 I might be swayed to care more for Aranel… 👀

Overall you can expect:
✅ complex and unique magic system. It definitely took me a minute to wrap my head around toranic law and the chitronic system and once I did things became much easier to follow!
✅ complex and unique WORLD, four realms separated from one another seemingly based on people’s morality and “goodness”
✅ well developed morally grey characters who each have very different voices and who have such questionable motives and actions you will be umming and ahhing about who you should or shouldn’t side with.
✅ training arcs and rebellion groups
✅ magical beasts that I’m hoping we learn more about in the next books!

This would be perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson or Christopher Paolini.

Spin of Fate is part dystopian, part utopian. The world is split into four distinct realms: one of only the purest souls, one for those who are good, one for those who are not, and a final realm for the vilest souls. Add to that Keizas that allow people to channel, giant slumbering god-beasts, a renegade humanitarian network, love lost, abandonment, ambition and reluctant friendship. Spin of Fate takes you on a journey (that is just the beginning, I might add) that is equal parts escape from reality and an eye-opening rendering of inequalities. I am curious to see what the sequel holds.

The book is a clean read with some coarse language and the potential for a same sex love interest.

I absolutely adored this. What a fantastically written and fun debut fantasy that will appeal to ya readers looking for something different than so much of what’s available now. If you or your children are anime fans, this one’s perfect for you. It’s well written and the author was meticulous in crafting a world unlike anything I’ve seen before.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I LOVED THIS I LOVED THIS I LOVED THIS. I absolutely TORE through this book as soon as I started it. It was fast paced, I loved the characters, and the world building. The different tiers of realms and monsters were SO unique and engaging as a reader, I stayed invested the entire time. 5/5 Stars easily. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

A brilliant magical system and terrifying mythical beasts, high fantasy lovers have a new book to add to their TBR!

I’m a huge fan of fantasy based on Indian mythology, and this book delivers. The plot is addicting, and I was so impressed with the realms and their lore. The characters can be a bit cookie cutter, but the magic and action make up for it! Well worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for this ARC.

an absolutely gorgeous book that's super well written! i love the different lore and backstory settings and everything works well together