Review: The Trouble with Fate by Leigh Evans

It took me a while to get into this book. I’d start reading it for a bit, lose interest and have to read something else and then return to it. Happened a few times before I finally started to care about what was happening.

What bothered me the most is in the beginning, the narrator, who is 21 years old, sounded too much like a teenager, trying to sound tough and cool. After she got past the initial setup and the events began to unfold, I didn’t notice this as much. What did continue to bother me though was her frequent reference to her “inner Were-bitch”. Reminded me a lot of another “inner goddess” in a very popular book I did not enjoy. I don’t like the idea that women are so bothered by their sexual desires that they need to assign them to a separate entity within themselves.

I was almost halfway through the book before I reached a point in which I didn’t want to put it down, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Once Robson Trowbridge becomes a part of the story, things started to get interesting. Hedi’s had a crush on him since she was a child, and once she’s alone with him, things begin to happen – as the title suggests, she seems to have finally discovered her fate.

Even though the love story is the central focus of the book, there’s a lot more fighting action than there are steamy love scenes. And their first time together, which had the buildup of what could have been quite steamy, ended up being ridiculous and maybe one of the worst “love” scenes I’ve ever read. But I think they have a lot of potential to be a great couple.

This is the first book in a series called The Mystwalker. Being that in this book, there isn’t much about Hedi being the Mystwalker, I assume this will be further explored in future books. I’m hoping future books take place more in the other worlds mentioned, but only visited briefly in this book.

This is an interesting story and I liked this book enough that I’ll probably read the next book in the series because I want to know what happens to Hedi and Robson. Also, by the very end of the book, Hedi seemed to have fully claimed her were side – so hoping that means no more separate “Were-bitch” mentions.

I received a review copy through NetGalley. This will be released on December 24, 2012.