Friday Face Off: Fateless by Julie Kagawa
12 December 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Covers, Fateless, Friday Face off, Julie Kagawa
Today I’m returning to the Friday Face Off, originally created by Books by Proxy). I’ve missed these for the past few months and so would like to get back to comparing covers (and hopefully I will be updating this page with a new banner. This is an opportunity to look at a book of your choice and shine the spotlight on the covers. Of course this only works for those books that have alternative covers (although sometimes I use this to look at a series of books to choose a favourite). So, if you have a book that has alternative covers, highlight them and choose your favourite. If you’re taking part it would be great if you leave a link so I can take a look at what you’ve chosen.
This week I’ve chosen a book that I read earlier this year. Fateless by Julie Kagawa (No.1 in the Fateless series).
Here are the covers:
My favourite
Which is your favourite this week?
Review: Fateless (Fateless #1) by Julie Kagawa
5 August 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Fateless, Fateless #1, fiction, Julie Kagawa, reading, Review
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Entertaining, fast paced YA adventure
Fateless is an entertaining adventure story set in the heart of a desert city made all the more fascinating by its history and the fact that the ruins of an ancient city lie below.
As the story begins we meet Sparrow. Sparrow is an orphan who has grown up in the Thieves Guild (raised by the Master, Vahn), at the age of 17 she has a certain talent and a knack for being ‘lucky’. This knack brings her to the attention of the Circle – powerful people who run the city, they can’t be denied and if they give you a mission and you fail you won’t live to tell the tale. Unfortunately for Sparrow she’s about to be given an impossible task – to retrieve an item from the ruins of the Deathless King. Failure isn’t an option because the only person who she cares about (Vahn) also has his neck on the line.
I enjoyed Fateless, it’s easy to read, entertaining and I particularly liked the world building. I did have some issues which probably relate to this feeling quite YA – which, yes, I’m not the target audience and so I rarely request YA as I sometimes struggle with the lack of depth, but, I have read Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox series which I really enjoyed so wanted to give this a shot too. In fairness, as I said, this is without doubt entertaining and I would like to continue with the series.
What I really liked. The writing is solid and the descriptions and setting easy to get on board with. I had no problems with the pacing, there’s plenty going on to keep you entertained, I particularly enjoyed the adventures that took place beneath the city and could happily have spent more time checking out those ruins. I like the desert setting and the little details like the dual suns that make it impossible to be caught outside when both rise to their highest point. The sand sea and the means of getting about and the dusty and winding streets. I can see the Assassins Creed likeness although personally speaking this put me more in mind of The Mummy (and possibly a little bit even of Indiana Jones).
In terms of the characters apart from Sparrow we have Raithe and Halek. Halek is a Fatechaster – I’m not going to really get into explanations about either the culture here or the Fateless and what it actually means because that veers into the land of spoilers. In this case Halek comes across as an eager little puppy out for adventure – and it seems his fate is going to be linked to Sparrow. Raithe is an assassin, I’m not entirely sure what exactly he is – immortal or otherwise – but he does seem to be very long lived. He’s also the romantic interest of the story – more about that shortly. To be fair, I didn’t dislike any of the characters but by the same token I wouldn’t say that I’ve fallen hard for any of them – at this point at least.
I think the story is engaging, there’s plenty going on and a few twists and betrayals and the characters eventually travel further afield – although they’re being relentlessly pursued.
Now, I did have some issues with this. Firstly, I didn’t really think the romance elements worked. I just don’t feel any chemistry between Sparrow and Raithe and it feels like an unnecessary road to go down. Secondly, I have issues with the motivations of the ‘baddies’ – if you will (I’m trying not to be spoilery) – I just don’t understand why. I can’t really say any more but what were they actually thinking? I also had this feeling every now and again of being ‘told’, so Sparrow is this amazing thief – but is she really? Her exploits didn’t really give me that impression. I mean, she takes risks and she clearly has some good luck – but it didn’t come across as though she’s really skilled or talented or even really give her assignments any really thought. I don’t know, perhaps I was expecting too much. To me, she came across on the page as really young, a little naive (for all her bluster) and too easy to trust in others. I can’t dislike her for any of those things because she is young and naive and too open – but, at the same time, she’s had a tough upbringing and I expected that to give her some sharp edges.
Anyway. In spite of a few little quibbles here and there this was an entertaining and easy to read story and I would be keen to see how the story progresses – I’m particularly interested in seeing where Raithe is from and meeting his Queen.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 3.5 of 5 stars
The Iron Raven (The Iron Fey: Evenfall #1) by Julie Kagawa
9 February 2021
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Evenfall #1, Julie Kagawa, The Iron Fey, The Iron Raven
My Five Word TL:DR Review: It’s not you, it’s me
I recently read and loved the Shadow of the Fox series by Julie Kagawa so when I saw her latest book I couldn’t help requesting it. I love reading books about the fey and even though I’ve not read the previous Iron Fey books this is a new start with a central character that I simply couldn’t resist – Puck, or Robin Goodfellow as he is sometimes known.
The long and the short of it is that this one didn’t work out quite as well for me as I’d hoped, but, in fairness I think its maybe an ‘it’s me not you’ thing. I imagine that readers familiar with this world will enjoy the return to much loved characters but as they were all new to me I didn’t have that attachment to carry me along.
I must say I got off to a really good start. I was enjoying reading about Puck and especially the Goblin Market where he met an old acquaintance and a female assassin who definitely piqued his interest. At this point we become aware of something dark attacking the fae of the Between and so the story takes us in the direction of a place where forgotten fae live in search of a monster that seeps evil.
Now, the thing is with this review I’m trying to avoid mention of so many things so as not to spoil the story for readers who are already familiar with this world and it’s characters. Instead I’m going to give more a few pros and cons.
Well, as I mentioned above I love that this is a story that focuses on Puck. The backstory about how he came to the Summer Court to serve under Oberon and Titania was really good. I also liked the character Nyx, a rather deadly and stunning assassin. She is fascinating and I would definitely like to know more about her.
I really liked that we travelled about and saw quite a few places and I loved the way the story uses fairytale scenarios and other little quotes that felt like shout outs.
The writing is good and the pace quick, in fact I pretty much flew through this until I reached maybe the last third.
In terms of criticisms. Well, I mentioned that I really liked that the story centres around Puck. However, given the direction that things take I wouldn’t say that he comes across in the best light. I realise of course that it’s linked to the overall storyline but it just left me feeling a little disappointed. Also, although I really liked Nyx I really didn’t feel any chemistry between her and Puck and so that element to the story fell flat for me. There was also a slight element of repetitiveness towards the end, which is where everything slowed down for me, not to mention a cliffhanger conclusion.
Overall, this one didn’t work out for me which is a shame. In fairness this is aimed at a much younger audience and I feel like readers who are already familiar with this world might enjoy this return to beloved characters more than I was able.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating : 2.5 out of 5 stars
Friday Face Off : A book with a romance that you enjoyed
Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme created by Books by Proxy . This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite book covers. The rules are fairly simple each week, following a predetermined theme (list below) choose a book (this doesn’t have to be a book that you’ve read), compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future week’s themes are listed below – if you have a cover in mind that you’re really wanting to share then feel free to leave a comment about a future suggested theme. I’ve also listed events that take place during the year, that I’m aware of, so you can link up your covers – if you’re aware of any events that you think I should include then give me a shout. This week’s theme:
A Book with a romance that you enjoyed
I’ve gone for a book that has a very slow burn romance, really well done and probably one of the most satisfying endings to a series that I can recall. The Shadow of the Fox series by Julie Kagawa. I’ve gone for a comparison of the whole season, the UK covers vs the US:
vs
Which is your favourite set -I think I’m going to go for the second set although I think that both sets are really good.
I’ve updated the list now to include themes for next year. If you know of an event that’s coming up let me know and I’ll try and include covers that work for the event itself so that you can link up to the Friday Face Off and, as always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment – or if you’d like to host a week then simply let me know. Also, I would just mention that it’s very possible that some of these might be repeats from previous FFOs although I have tried to invent more ‘open ended’ prompt that can be interpreted differently and also prompts that relate to emotions. Finally, don’t struggle with any of these, this is meant to be a fun way of highlighting books. If you can’t come up with a book you think fits for a particular week use a freebie – perhaps a recent read for example:
Next week – Furry – a beast, something cuddly, or a fur covering
2021
February
12th – Furry – a beast, something cuddly, or a fur covering
19th – Serpentine – could be a snake, could be a snake-like font, could be a snakeskin style cover
26th – A book with ‘Magic’ in the Title
March
5th – March is named for the Roman God of War – a Roman style cover or a cover with a God or Gods or simply a book about war
12th – Middle Grade – choose whatever pleases you
19th – Ruin or derelict, old and worn, could be the book itself, a building, a place
26th – A picture within a picture
April
2nd – A train or tram – travelling down the track, could be old style, futuristic, overhead, down below.
9th – Cartoonish or graphic
16th – I have to have it – a cover that gave you ‘grabby hands’
23rd – Your current read (if it has covers to compare) or any recent read
30th– A series that you love – highlight all the books in the series
May
Month of Wyrd and Wonder
7th – A Series where the cover changed midway through – which style do you prefer most
14th – The earliest fantasy you recall reading – or the first fantasy book you really loved, maybe the book that kickstarted your love of fantasy
21st – The Top Hat
28th – The Hood
June
4th – The nose boop – any animal, or human, with a close up shot.
11th – A cover that annoyed you and why
18th – Out of Perspective, or make you feel a bit dizzy
25th – Upside down, back to front or topsy turvy
July
2nd – A book with a landscape you’d like to visit
9th – A Wicked Grin
16th – Books with ‘book’ in the title
23rd – A Black Hole – could be in the universe or going deep into the ground
30th – Chaos – maybe too much going on in this one
August
6th – “They cluck their thick tongues, and shake their heads and suggest, os so very delicately!” – The Motel
13th – A favourite holiday read
20th – Dressed to kill (could be literally someone dressed to kill, or someone dressed up for a big night out
27th – Sunbathing or on the beach
September (RIP event)
3rd – 1920s feel, noir detective
10th – I’m Henry the Eighth I am – let’s look at Kings or other Emperors/rulers
17th – Books with ‘Murder’ in the title
24th – A favourite thriller
October
1st – A Halloween read
8th – Chills – anything at all that almost makes you too scared to pick up the book (your own pet hate)
15th – Your favourite book of magic
22nd – Books with ‘Queen’ in the title
29th – Must be gothic
November – Sci Fi Month
5th – Your earliest sci-fi read or the first sci-fi you reviewed
12th – A book with ‘star’ in the title
19th – Futuristic vista
26th – A Black Hole – in the universe or going deep into the ground
December
3rd – Windswept, the classic figure, stood majestically, with wind blowing out in a fetching way
10th – A fairytale retold
17th – Winter Solstice approaching – anything cold and seasonal
24th – All things fire – red hair, red covers, fire breathing dragons, simply fire?
31st – What’s your catnip – if it’s on a cover you have to pick it up
December Countdown, Day 23 : Sleigh Bells
23 December 2020
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: December meme, Julie Kagawa, Shadow of the Fox series, Sleigh Bells
Books and travelling with Lynn 