This one is for fans of ACOTAR, it has a society where people are ranked by the magic they wield, strong heroines, romance and adventure!
The Elite are known as the Fate blessed, the middle class are the Fate Gifted and the powerless are known as the Forgotten.
World building and magic systems are easy to follow, great banter between characters and a fast-paced storyline. I did find that the writing was a bit repetitive at times though which got a bit frustrating and I didn’t like that the FMC, Feylin, comes across as quite desperate for the MMC, Storm, attention and affection. Went a bit OTT on the male/female stereotypes at times and Storm was overall just a bit of an asshole, maybe this was the vibe the author was trying to get at and if so, well done you made me hate him haha.
Overall, an easy read and I would like to see what happens in the next book.

3.5 Stars
As the first book in the series, Sought by Fate offers an intriguing setup, with a well-crafted world and an exciting mix of romance and adventure. The plot has a few great twists, and the potential for future books is clear. However, the pacing felt uneven, and some characters could have been more fleshed out. While it didn’t fully hook me, there’s enough here to keep me interested in where the series will go next. A solid beginning with room for development.

The book was okay, not my cup of tea. It may have just been that I am a mood reader and I don't know that I was really in the mood for this book. I may end up reading through the book again, or trying audio and my rating may end up changing.

Interesting idea for a story, had mixed feelings about the actual story itself, however.

(I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

A fun, quick read with its fast pace and interesting storyline. I didn't really see the 'enemies to lovers' part as it was advertised
This was packed full of magic, mates, war & court intrigue, which was everything I could have asked for!
Overall I enjoyed the characters and story!!

3.5 stars

Over all I really enjoyed this book. I never wanted to stop reading it and I always couldn't wait to get back to it. So why the rating? I rounded down because I ended up being so very annoyed with Storm. It just frustrated me to no end how he acted with Feylin about their bond and how much of a hypocrite he was. Mate bond or no, Feylin should have gotten over him fast with how he treated her.

The world created here was nothing new but it was still done well. There are three classes of people, all ranked based on how much magic they have and their power over it. Unfortunately for Feylin, the magic she was born with is one of the forbidden ones and discovery of it would get her killed fast. Growing up, her mother had used Feylin's abilities for her own gain. It was not a good childhood, but eventually Feylin got away. We are never told how, and that was a little tidbit that I would have liked to know considering how much her mother profited from her. After years of barely scraping by, Feylin lands a job at the palace in the kitchen. And she couldn't be happier with life now. Until one night when she was filling in for a serving girl and the mate bond snaps into place for her. Completely unexpected, she is filled with excitement because it's always been a dream of hers to have a true mate. Too bad the feeling is not mutual.

Storm is arguably the strongest mage in the kingdom and best friends with the king. He likes his life orderly and without surprises. He already has a woman whom he plans to spend his life with and absolutely does not ever want a mate bond. So naturally he's not happy when it snaps into place, with a servant girl no less. And he wastes no time rejecting her and making it clear that he will never accept it.

And that's where I get super frustrated with him. So yes, Storm repeatedly rejects Feylin. But then because the bond is so strong, he sometimes can't control himself with her. Then to reject her again. And because when one side of the bond rejects it the other person gets weaker until they die, Feylin must seek out someone else to tether her. But again, Storm gets all pissed off that she would even be interested in someone else, while he's still banging another chick. His roller coaster of emotions and how he treated Feylin just pissed me off. Which makes his choice at the end of the book all the more unbelievable.

In the end, Feylin gets taken as hostage by the bad guy, the king's older brother. And when Storm surprisingly actually chooses to save her, she makes her own choice. One that was definitely crazy. But she did it to protect Storm because the naive girl still loves him. Too bad these two don't know each other practically at all, so Storm definitely sees it as a betrayal.

Like I said though, despite how annoyed I would get with Storm, I really did get into this book and I can't wait to see what happens next.

I really enjoyed reading this book, as it was exactly what i was searching for at the moment. Great Worldbuilding and plot

Thank you for this Arc. Sought By Fate was a fun, quick romantasy read for me. I really enjoyed the storyline, following Feylin and Storm in their journey together.
If you enjoy a fast, angsty slow burn with fated mates, a possessive MMC, and forbidden magic, you should try Sought By Fate.
Plus the character art on the cover is stunning!

First of all, I want to mention the GORGEOUS cover of this book! I knew I had to read it as soon as I saw the cover!

Sought By Fate was a mid book for me. I will say, the writing itself was great. I enjoyed reading it. The overall storyline was engaging and I was excited to see where it would go.

I think the part that I struggled with the most were the two main characters. I understand that the Fated Mates connection is stronger than 'regular' love but I really struggled with the way that the characters dealt with it.

Considering Feylin's backstory, I didn't expect her to be so attached to someone she had never met. Especially considering Storm is only ever rude to her. Like I understand that it was more the idea of him that was upsetting for her and that she was waiting and hoping for someone to finally love her unconditionally, but it just came across a bit cringe at times.

I found Storm didn't really have any redeeming qualities or anything throughout the entire book that actually made me like him. I was waiting for something to happen but it never did. It made the ending feel a bit forced. I'm guessing there will be far more character development for Storm in future books, so I have a feeling that he's just one of those characters that you grow to love over time.

I actually really loved the ending, as the twist was not something I saw coming! It makes me very curious to see where the next book will go!

Here is the link to my full review on GoodReads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6763171766

This book seems like a compelling blend of magic, romance, and high-stakes adventure. The premise of a society divided by magical prowess—Fate Blessed, Fate Gifted, and the Forgotten—sets up an intriguing world with clear class distinctions, which can drive rich conflict and character development.

Storm, as the First Commander, embodies the archetypal powerful leader whose world is upended by an unexpected intrusion. His role suggests a strong, authoritative figure who’s used to control and order, making his interaction with Feylin ripe for dramatic tension. The fact that his life is "plunged into turmoil" with her arrival hints at a classic clash of personal and professional challenges.

This book was a quick read with its fast pace and interesting storyline. It was such a fun read! I will definitely be reading the others!

Thank you to @netgalley and @kingdombooks for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts!

This was such a cute and quick read! I didn’t realize that it was more novella size and once it clicked that it had about 150 pages, the quick pace made more sense.

I do wish that the book was longer and that we had more development and fleshed out personalities with our characters. Everything moved so quickly that it was a bit mind reeling.

Within minutes of our MCs meeting, our FMC Feylin was already planning their future. It makes sense in context of mates being rate and revered, but it was still a bit jarring especially considering our MMC Storm has another love interest he had been with his entire life that Feylin was well aware of. Storm spends the entirety of the book going back and forth with wanting his Mate and wanting nothing to do with her. It felt a bit like a rollercoaster, I wanted him to just make up his mind already and get out of the way.

When Feylin attempts to move on, Storm suddenly gets possessive but of course even though he doesn’t want her, no one else can either apparently. At least until the last 10% of the book when he suddenly wants her and then insults her in the same breath?

Except for those few moments, the story overall was sweet and while I don’t consider this a 5 star read by any means, the vibes are decent and has me wanting book two already!

*ARC received from Netgalley - all opinions are my own*

TL;DR: The writing is repetitive, the dialogue is awkward, and most of the characters are forgettable. The world-building and magic system have potential, but the rest doesn’t deliver. I wouldn’t recommend picking this up.

Review:
Before I dive into my thoughts, I didn’t realise Sought by Fate was only 143 pages. If I had known, I probably wouldn't have picked it up since I find that shorter romantasys’ usually rush things, which means sacrificing character and relationship development. This book is no exception.

Feylin, our main character, is an illegal witch hiding as a servant and trying to live a normal life until she has the misfortune of being mated to Storm. She is the biggest push over I’ve read about in a while and despite Storm being the absolute worst to her, she runs back to him every single time. Her behaviour and dialogue feel really childish, and she just doesn’t have any likeable characteristics. Plus, she ends up messing around the one and only character I liked in the entire book, Zarius.

Then we have Storm, our love interest and fated mate, who is horribly abusive and insufferable. He constantly berates and shames Feylin and never hesitates to tell her how much he hates her, yet won’t let her be with anyone else. Even by the end (no spoilers) he’s had no redeeming moments. Considering our enemies (even though Feylin doesn’t see it that way) never become lovers, it’s misleading to have it in both the title and description.

Zarius, though, has my heart and I hope he gets the best the world has to offer him.

The magic system is quite interesting, as is the class system that’s decided by magic. I think it’s a unique magic system that would be interesting to read about if the author ever writes a longer book to really flesh it out.

Lastly, the writing just isn't there. It’s repetitive, with paragraphs rehashing the same points in different ways. Also the way the dialogue was written is so strange and felt very “scripted” and unnatural.

At one-star, I would stay well clear of Sought by Fate and have no interest in continuing with the series.

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING….

If you love fantasy romance THIS book is for you!!! I honestly LOVED IT. I crushed it in three and a half hours because I wanted to know more! It was a roller coaster the ENTIRE time. I cannot wait for the next book so I can find out what happens! The world building, *chef’s kiss*. The characters, *chef’s kiss x 10*. The story, *100 chef’s kisses*.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Monica Ageno, NetGalley, and Kingdom Books for a chance to read this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book a lot! The story was very entertaining and the world building was very well done!

I would love to give this five stars, and the only reason I can’t is because I don’t believe the story started progressing until 3/4ths of the way through. I kept following the percentage as I read thinking, “Where are we going that could possibly feel like a satisfying end?”

After getting to the end, I can say it definitely was a point that left you wanting more. It could be personal preference, but while I love books in a series, I don’t like ending on SUCH a cliffhanger. I think it takes away from the power of progression.

With all that being said, the writing was engaging and captivating. The pages flew by,

The summary sets up a world ranked by classes of mages based on magic ability and while we get glimpses into it, I felt like exploring the world could have been another way to extend and richen the plot. I understand as a romance, it’s not necessarily the focus of the story, however, it could have elevated the tale to higher levels if we saw some of the magic in play. We were surrounded by the top mages who DON’T actually use much magic in the story. The protagonist uses much more of her magic than anyone else, and because I don’t have anyone to compare her to, I’m not sure if she’s merely gifted or if she is fate blessed, as implied.

I would like a sufficient ending to feel more of the resolution and less episodic conclusion of the story, however, I will definitely be on the lookout for the second book in this series!

Honestly I am giving this one five stars because it truly surprised me how much I enjoyed this read. It's a fast pace, short read, that still draws you in and brings to life this world. If I could hard shake a couple of the characters I would and I all up for this series.

I could not put Sought By Fate down. Fated mates, slow burn romance, forbidden love…. It has it all. And I cannot wait to read what comes next!

I want to start by saying that this book is very wattpad-y and it's more of a "reading for the vibes" kind of book. For me, there is a time for everything and sometimes I want to read a book about mates, okay?

I think this book had great potential because the world has a interesting structure based on how much magic the person has, and the magic system was really interesting. I would have liked to learn more about the magic and how it is divided into categories, how it works and so on. However, the book is focused on the romance and the mating bound.

I feel like this could have been way better, but I still enjoyed it. The reason might be the fact that it's quite short and fast paced, but I would totally give the second volume a try

*Spoilers*

I liked the fact that she didn't pick the first man after learning that she need a tether in order to survive, but I don't think her pick was great. I mean, that man was in love with her only because she saved his life. Understandable, but still not a great idea, especially considering his ranking. And then there is the jealousy form the same man that rejected her, obviously, he has to be a douche, right? Also, the king's attitude is weird and not very serious. But wait, there is another man that actually treats her better and she transfers (again, this was great in my opinion and I loved how she combined magic types to do that) the mating bound to him, even though he is the villain. I totally expect him to turn into the actual good guy in the next book (Rhys kind of thing).

This was such a fun and fast read. I enjoyed the world building so much. There was never a lull and I never wanted to put it down!