An angelic being and a young woman looking for a fresh start lead this charming, character-driven modern fantasy.

I didn’t realize that Ruled by Fate was a debut novel until after I finished reading which says a lot about the talents of its authors, Sam Withrow and Amelia Pinkis. A fantasy set in the modern era, the story exists in that niche where there are angels and demons, an interesting take on heaven and hell, but no real undertones of religion. The elements of medical drama sprinkled in happily surprised me as well.

Although there’s a different one-liner I ended up choosing for this review, I almost went with this one: “Get sucked in by the main character’s voice, stay for the angel with the golden retriever personality.” Brie, the human nurse finding herself in not quite-so-human circumstances, rides the right side of the line between self-deprecating and hopeful. Even when she’s still believing that Cameron the angel is only a figment of her imagination.

The way the two play off of each other, their chemistry and their humor cement the strongest scenes. I legitimately cracked up at the idea of a supernatural being trying to hunt down the ‘demon’ voice of Siri when the main character uses her iPhone. The supporting characters are also wonderfully constructed and written, with best friend Sherry leading the pack.

I did like Cameron’s cluelessness as he tries to protect his charge more closely by physically living with her. However, the reasons for it didn’t quite make sense given a longer look. He’d been in a state of constant vigilance around Brie for a long length of time before the opening of the novel. So, I’m not sure why there was such a large lack of knowledge, especially around technology she’d use on the daily.

The only other thing keeping me from calling this a “Must Read” title is that I would sometimes forget Ruled by Fate was a fantasy. It felt more like flipping a switch at times. Back and forth between a fresh start, slice-of life story and the angel/demon fantasy instead of a true blending of the two.

The start of both the series and the authors’ career, I do hope to read the next novel. Readers who enjoy modern fantasy with supernatural elements will likely think the same.

Ruled by Fate is available to buy on Amazon.

Verdict:

READABLE