Fated Blight is the first entrance in the trilogy of The Sum of Ages Series and I think this is a very good first book. I got this book via a giveaway in The StoryGraph and it has been a pleasure.

Rating: 3/5

I really loved having characters of a different race and seeing a different mythology, Philippine, feed the world where the story takes place. It was a breath of fresh air in a space filled with English lore. On top of that, reading some Spanish sounding words in a fantasy novel was new to me and made me a bit more special than usual.

The underwater scenes require a special mention. They made me live things that I have not experienced before in other books. It felt very original to me. And the writing was to the point, it can be tricky to make the reader connect with otherworldly situations in a way that makes us feel like we are there. Even though being underwater might not seem as unfamiliar as other environments, I have only been a few meters below the surface, and those who have gone deeper, it was surely not without the aid of an oxygen tank. Those scenes being rooted in reality, albeit a reality that few have experienced, made them just more impactful to me.

Something I was not a fan of is how the two POVs were so disconnected throughout the entire book. I was waiting for the characters to touch point always in the next chapter, but to no avail. I imagine they will get closer later in the series, but not having them connect in the first book broke my expectations and made me be more aware of this flaw. More than it deserves, because I don't think it's a bad thing that the two main characters have their separate paths, but I was not expecting it.

The story of the boy didn't quite hit the mark. Aside from the main action scene, the rest of the story felt like a prolonged setup. While it was interesting and left me curious to know more about the world, I found myself more entertained with Olenka's narrative.

Overall, I'm quite happy with it! I enjoyed the reading and I'm interested in knowing more. The next books definitively go on my to read list and I hope to get to them soon! 👏