The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
While I enjoyed the Fates Divide, it is certainly not one of my favourite science fiction reads. It was an interesting story overall but the pacing was not consistent so I found myself drifting away from the narrative at times. Despite that fact, I found the audiobook performances to be highly enjoyable. Each narrator brought a voice to their character, which easily allowed me as a listener to identify who the chapter’s narrator was.
This science fiction duology is supposed to be set in a galaxy, yet we only ever experience (or even learn about) a small number of planets. As world building is so important to me as a reader, that was a little disappointing. Roth had the opportunity to build a lush and developed world, yet I felt that was lacking. The three locations we truly experienced were moderately well developed, but even those could have been more descriptive. I wanted to know why the planet our main characters were on was the way that is was, what led to that outcome and what are the motivations and agendas of the two distinct peoples on the planet? What I received was surface level and a little disappointing.
Initially, of the two main characters, I liked Akos more than I liked Cyra. In the second book, I felt that Cyra experienced more depth of character. We watched Cyra question herself and learn her worth over the course of the novel. Akos on the other hand seemed to regress into a more one-dimensional figure. I felt that we lost what made Akos unique and relatable. That being said, I felt that some of the secondary characters were given more time to shine in this novel and it was nice to see them evolve.
Overall, I believe that I wanted to love the book more than I ended up loving it – but it was still an enjoyable read. My issues with the world building, character regression and pacing at times make it a higher three star read, which I am going to round up to a four.
Kyera's Library 
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