Cursing Fate

"Cursing Fate" continues the Fated series with the next sister, Iris, but could easily work as a stand-alone. Aster has gone off to college, leaving her fate changer days behind her. Iris's fate had been altered in the first book to break up with the wonderful Wade (her BFF turned boyfriend) and get back together with the jerk Josh. She quickly also broke up with Josh, but the damage had been done. Although the family is in the loop on Aster and how their fates were altered, Iris is unable to tell Wade in order to keep her family's secrets. Iris and her twin, Violet, had been tested and are not fate changers. Violet takes a bigger role in this book, as would be expected for twins. Daisy, the youngest sister, gets a little more screen time in this book, but definitely only in passing.

The book begins with Violet returning to town after her fate had also been changed, causing intense bullying and depression. Violet and Iris have never felt further apart. Iris is moving into Aster's old room and Violet is assisting when she finds the items Aster had hidden. When she touches a deck of tarot cards, she notices a black form move into her and begins to hear voices. Although the voice is easy to ignore at first, it soon overtakes Iris's life and seems bent on destruction. At the same time, Iris is trying to navigate the new social system where she and Josh are no longer together (leaving her relatively friendless) and Wade is determined not to fall for her again as he is still heart broken from their previous break-up.

The book is told in alternating viewpoints between Wade and Iris, giving some extra depth to the story and situations. Wade is really the nicest guy and Iris is a sympathetic character, so I was really cheering for them. It's a quick read (as part of the Crave collection designed to read in a sitting) and moves fast; as such, it's difficult to stop reading. I wish it was a bit longer so we could have more of Iris and Wade though- they are such fantastic characters and I loved the build up to their relationship. That being said, I am really excited to get into the next books of the series, as Violet and Daisy both have stories clearly just waiting to be told!

Altogether it's a wonderful love story with a paranormal twist, and I loved reading the whole journey. This series is quickly growing into one of my favorites! Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are entirely my own.

This book was so much more fun and enjoyable than the first book in The Fated series. So much went down in this book and I was engaged throughout the whole book.

Iris is one of the twins in the Layne family, she had feelings for her best friend Wade for a long time now, when she finally confessed things got messed up because of Aster, her elder sister's new found powers as a fate changer which resulted in Iris breaking up with Wade. But now, she wants him back but Wade doesn't trust her anymore and she can't reveal the family secret either. When accidentally Iris unleashes an evil curse, things start spinning out of control. Will Iris be able to stop the spirit in time to save herself?

The plot was quite interesting. I loved the twists and turn of this book. Unlike Aster, Iris is not a fate changer but when she stumbles upon her sister's tarot cards she unknowingly frees the cursed spirit which has hunted the Van Buren bloodline for decades and now it's hungry for more revenge. The plot hooked me from the start and it was pretty interesting to see how the spirit took control over Iris and how she tried to resist. It was pretty hard to put this book down!

In the first book, we had a few glimpses of Iris but I didn't like her that much but in this book where I really got to know the real Iris, I could connect with her. Wade was a sweetheart, he was caring and sweet and always came to Iris's rescue when she needed him even after the betrayal (which was not actually a betrayal since it was out of Iris's hand!) Nonetheless, I loved Wade and Iris together, they were meant for each other!

I loved Iris's realtionship with her twin Violet and how she wanted to be a better person like her sister. Not only that, I loved the relationship with all her friends and how they were equally involved in saving Iris despite knowing about the risks!

Overall, Cursing Fate was a great read. I loved how the plot was executed and the characters were well fleshed out. The romance between Wade and Iris was sweet and I loved them! The writing was beautiful and the pace was even throughout the book. This was a pretty fun ride and I loved it soo much!

Recommend it?

Yes.

Cursing Fate is the second book in The Fated series, but it also works as a stand-alone novel (If you’re planning on reading the whole series, start with the first book because Cursing Fate contains some spoilers for Touching Fate.)
Having read Touching Fate, all the characters were familiar to me and so Cursing Fate drew me in from page one. I felt it started off with an even quicker pace that the first book and things quickly got complicated and the relationships tense. The events of the first book had dire consequences for Iris’s and Wade’s relationship and they left them both brokenhearted. Iris’s heartache at being unable to explain to Wade what happened and all the while knowing it was not her fault that they’ve broken up was so authentically teenage it was a delight to read all that angst.
I love that Drake tells the story from alternating points-of-view because this way we got to see Wade as a very genuine, kind person who’s utterly smitten with Iris but unable to trust her. It drives him nuts that he can’t stop loving her but also can’t let himself be vulnerable to her again for fear of her breaking his heart for a second time.
The plot is intense and quick-paced because of a lot of dialogue. The backstory is kept to a minimum, but it’s still presented vividly enough so by the end, I felt sympathy for Crina despite everything.
I wonder about the stories Drake will come up with for the remaining two sisters. So far, I’ve enjoyed this series and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed with the next instalment.