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📆 Publication Date: 28th October 2025
⭐️ 4/5 stars
📖 Length: 466 pages
📱 Format: Kindle
⏳ Read Time: 4 days

Synopsis

“Over here, trespasser.”

“I am no trespasser,” I replied, crossing my arms around myself as if they could shield me from this dream.

“No?” he mused. “If not a trespasser, then a thief?” He took my palm, brutally cold fingers tracing across the sigil. The feeling was searing and throbbing all at once. Dangerous. “I don’t remember giving this away freely.”

********************************************************

There is no greater privilege than to wear the title of FATEWOKEN—a mortal who serves as a divine mouthpiece for one of the Gods living across the veil.

As the only Fatewoken to Alistair, Lord of the Sun, Gemma Fowler knows her place: perform her devotions, keep her village temple in good order, and act in whatever capacity her God sees fit. She’s the only human who can see or touch him, and the entire kingdom is counting on her to keep him happy.

Her life is unspooling exactly how Fate ordained it.

Until a vengeful God poisons her little brother. Until she vows to join the royal hunt and win the favour of the Goddess of Healing. Until she starts losing time and memories. Until a near-death experience at sea throws her directly into the path of Killian, the brooding and reclusive God of the Depths who has never once taken a Fatewoken.

Until she enters into a second, impossible fated bond with him.

Suddenly, Gemma’s perfect life is in tatters. After learning that Killian considers Alistair his immortal enemy, she vows to keep him a secret until she can find a way to fix things—but the bond between them is not only igniting a whirlwind of feelings, it’s also pulling them together in the secret spaces of her dreams.

As the hunt turns deadly and the clock to save her brother ticks down, Gemma is torn between the God she’s always loved and the one whose waters she might just drown in.

What I thought

I’ll start by saying I’m a little late with this review because Fatewoken was released yesterday. And whilst I tried desperately to get this finished on time, tiredness had other ideas. Yes, I’m still dealing with this lurgy, and at this stage, I know I’m beginning to sound like a broken record! 😕

Anyway, I’m hoping some of the small continuity and spelling issues I noticed in my copy were tidied up for the final version. A few instances of wrong word usage or minor errors cropped up, but nothing major enough to break immersion, but definitely something to note.

Now, onto the story. I absolutely loved the pacing. At 466 pages, not once did it drag. Juliet Lockwood keeps the tension tight, layering worldbuilding and emotion in a way that never feels overwhelming. The mythology is fascinating. Complex without being confusing, and I really appreciated how the Gods felt tangible, flawed, and dangerously human in their interactions with mortals. Almost like the humans were pawns in a very intense game of chess.

Gemma makes for a great protagonist: earnest, loyal, and occasionally frustrating. Around the halfway mark, I did find myself questioning her focus though. Her determination to save her brother seemed to fade as her attention shifted toward the mysterious gem, pleasing her God and her growing connection with Killian. It felt like the urgency dropped off a little, though it does come back in later chapters. Still, if my sibling were dying and I had a direct line to a God, I’d be checking in every chance I got!

That said, I can understand why Lockwood chose to pull back. Constantly looping the same motivation might have stalled the story. Instead, the narrative pivots into exploring Gemma’s inner conflict, her faith in Alistair, her forbidden bond with Killian, and that murky moral grey area between devotion and desire.

And then there’s a twist. I won’t spoil it, but it genuinely made me shout “WHAT?!” out loud. It’s the kind of moment that redefines everything you thought you knew and sets up huge emotional stakes for what’s to come. 🤯

The book also closes on a massive cliff-hanger, paving the way for book two in The Fates Trilogy. So if you’re a reader who loves high-stakes divine drama and doesn’t mind being left desperate for the next instalment, this one’s going to hook you.

Despite a few small imperfections, Fatewoken is a solid, captivating start to what promises to be a powerful fantasy trilogy. The writing is lovely, the characters are rich with depth, and the world feels both ancient and new.

A strong 4-star read from me, and I’ll absolutely be diving straight into book two the moment it’s released.

If you’re curious to check it out yourself, you can grab a copy here.

Thanks to the author for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Until next time… Kindness where possible, cunning where necessary. 🖤