Romantasy Melody
Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven – Book Review
May 9
3 min read
0
10
Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Spice: Medium
Summary:
Evelyn is a seventeen-year-old girl, on the cusp of becoming eighteen. For every other person, this would be a cause for excitement. But Evelyn is destined to die at the hands of the soul she’s closest to in the world before she turns eighteen. She knows this because she can remember her past lives, and Arden and Evelyn have killed each other before they turn eighteen in all the lives she can remember. But in this life, Evelyn’s beloved precocious sister is sick with cancer, and Evelyn must stick around long enough to donate bone marrow, so her sister has a chance of survival. As her birthday creeps closer and closer, Evelyn is looking at everyone she knows, searching for signs of the erudite, poetic, nature-loving Arden. Because this time she’s desperate to convince Arden to let her live past eighteen.
As Evelyn thinks back on her and Arden’s relationships through history, she can’t help but cherish the soul she knows in every life and wonders why they must die together before their eighteenth birthday. Because even if Evelyn doesn’t remember the why, she knows Arden does, and she’s desperate to understand. And desperate to have a life that lasts into adulthood. A story about love in all its forms Our Infinite Fates follows two souls as they find each other across the centuries.
Reaction:
I thought Our Infinite Fates was emotionally deep with a unique plot and an epic love story. It’s not your typical romance…we meet Evelyn and Arden when they’ve known each other for over a thousand years and lived countless lives. The story alternates between Evelyn and Arden’s modern reincarnation and their past lives making its way gradually back towards the beginning of their relationship. To me, this strategy made it read like a mystery more than a romance as Evelyn tries to uncover the origin of their curse. Even without that typical romance plot, the book still has a satisfying amount of romantic angst between the two. One of my favorite aspects of this book is that it doesn’t focus solely on romantic love, or even the idea of soulmates. What stood out to me was the idea that love, in all its forms, is a source of strength, and I really connected with some of Evelyn's musings on her love for her family. As someone who lives for fantasy world-building, those elements felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped. So while the answers to the mystery presented were surprising, they didn’t completely satisfy my curiosity. Overall, an enjoyable read I would recommend to those who enjoy a high-stakes mystery, a deep love, and stories featuring re-incarnation across eras.
What I enjoyed:
· I thought the flashbacks and poems were well placed. I usually can’t stand a random poem in the middle of a novel, but these made sense. The poems and flashbacks directly connected to or informed the feelings Evelyn or Arden were going through in the next modern chapter.
· Through their reincarnations, Evelyn and Arden cycle through the genders. I appreciated that LGBTQ love was integrated into the story with the main characters in a way that makes sense, gender identity is addressed, and I thought its presence helped illustrate the central theme that love is between souls and therefore can be between any two people.
· I loved the parallelism between Evelyn’s and Arden’s journeys. Evelyn doesn’t remember all her reincarnations, while Arden does. Evelyn has this theory that she’s able to love so deeply because she doesn’t remember all the hundreds of people she’s loved over the centuries. Alternatively, she believes Arden gradually shuts himself down because he does remember it all and can’t handle opening himself up for the pain that comes with lost love.
What I didn't enjoy:
· This book is not heavy on fantasy, aside from the idea of reincarnation. What other fantasy elements there were felt secondary to the plot and emotions of the characters. While that might be perfect for other readers, I just couldn’t help comparing it to similar fantasy reincarnation books I’ve read that did have well-developed world building and magic systems.
