Review: “A Fate of Wrath & Flame” by KA Tucker

Series: Fate & Flame, #1

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Steam: 🔥🔥

Release Date: May 25th, 2021

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Gifted thief Romeria has flourished from her days as a street kid pilfering wallets to survive. Now she thrives, stealing jewels from the rich under the involuntary employ of New York City’s most notorious crime boss. But when an enigmatic woman secures her services at swordpoint, Romeria is plunged into a startling realm of opposing thrones, warring elven, and elemental magic she cannot begin to fathom.

Her quest is straightforward: Steal a stone from Islor’s sacred garden without anyone discovering her true identity, which would earn her certain death. But the identity she has inexplicably assumed is that of the captured Ybarisan princess—an enemy to Islor after she poisoned their beloved king and queen on the day she was to marry the prince.

Her betrothed, the newly crowned King Zander, detests her with every grain of his handsome being. Fortunately for Romeria, she is more valuable to him alive than dead. Zander gives her a choice: life in a cell, or an acquittal of all charges in exchange for her help in exposing the growing plot against him.

Romeria sees no other option and embraces the tricky role of smitten queen-to-be until she can escape, a ruse that brings her far closer to the king than she anticipated and threatens more than her safety. As she digs deeper into this sacred garden and the ancient feud between Ybaris and Islor, she discovers monstrous truths that could spell ruin for all.

She would know the world of vengeful gods and monsters, and the lengths one would go for love. And nothing would ever be the same for her again.

 

I love K.A Tucker’s writing style and in A Fate of Wrath & Flame, she also goes beyond with her world building. I love the setting and everything that goes with this story. It’s a combination of present day New York setting and a fantasy world where gods, monsters and magic lurks in every corner. And once you get reading this book, you’re absolutely hooked and you’re going to be buried in this magical world. Writing this review is so hard because there’s only so much one can say about it without giving away the entire story! But let’s see how we go…

Romeria is a skilled thief in New York City. She’s working for a member of the New York mafia as a means to keep her head above water. Romy, as she goes by, keeps her life clean and quiet, not wanting to get too many people involved in the life she leads. And then one fine day, she’s tossed into a fantasy world that is so far removed from the one she’s used to and her entire life has been turned upside down. It’s nothing like what she expected it to be and she’s also not who she thought she was!

The world is so beautifully created and crafted, with countries, the strife and the drama. I’m always wary of fantasies that are set in an author created world, because there’s usually too much information to absorb at once, but KA Tucker does a really good job of not overloading you with all of the details. The worldbuilding is A+ and the details are clear and uncomplicated. I was able to track every bit of information thrown my way and I really enjoyed that. Bonus points for having characters without complicated names. 

Romeria is the narrator of the story, but we’re introduced to so many amazing other characters and all of them play an important part in the story. But Romy, oh man, she’s brilliant. She’s strong and powerful and determined. Her growth through the story was wonderful to witness, because she could have just been a damsel in distress, but she was so much more and that made her even more special. And then there’s Zander, the hero of our story. And I really wish we got to dig into his brain and see things through his eyes, because I feel like we’d have witnessed a whole other side of Romeria. But he’s so delicious. Everything about him makes you want more. And he’s a hard headed king who is not going to make life easy for the woman who is supposedly his betrothed. I can’t wait for people to meet Wendeline, Annika and Elisaf; they truly made this story even more special for me.

While an adult fantasy romance, there’s not a whole lot of steam. Yes, it’s a slow burn and the story focuses heavily on the fantasy aspect of it, but I didn’t actually miss it as much as I thought I would. I loved what we got and I also enjoyed Romeria and Zander’s relationship building over time. There are some heated moments, lots of witty banter, lots of ragey banter and it’s all kinds of awesome.

I feel like it’s important to point out that it’s the first in a series, so there is a cliffhanger when the book ends. Don’t be discouraged, because if this first book in a series is anything to go by, the rest of it is going to be spectacular!

Thanks to KA Tucker and Valentine PR for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.