Fortune and fate by Sharon Shinn

Fortune and Fate is the fifth book in the Twelve Houses series and immediately grabs the reader’s attention with a breathtaking first chapter where Karryn a young noblewoman, heir to the great county of Fortune, has been kidnapped. She has no friends and is afraid that she won’t be able to escape the clutches of Tover who wants to marry her for her inheritance. Luckily for her, Wen, once one of the elite Riders who protect the ruler of Gillengaria, sees her predicament and comes to her rescue. Wen has been roaming aimlessly, trying to alleviate her guilt for not saving her king by helping strangers in need and wants nothing to do with Karryn or her estate. But fate intervenes and she finds herself unable to leave Karryn unprotected and recruits and trains a troop of guards to watch over her.

The plot of Fortune and fate concentrates on the journey that Wen makes to overcome her trauma after the death of the king. She cannot settle in any one place and has lost contact with her friends in the Riders. Her gradual acceptance of her self-worth and the growing attraction between the quiet studious Jasper, Karryn’s uncle, is central to the story. A subplot of Karryn’s growth into the responsibility of her inheritance and a blossoming romance adds interest. Readers of the previous books will be interested to find out more about the aftermath of the war and how people cope with change and there is plenty of action to keep readers absorbed.

The Twelve Houses series is sure to appeal to readers who enjoy quality romantasy and Fortune and Fate is one of my favourite books in this series. Wen appears briefly in the earlier books and this means that her story can be read as a standalone, but readers will want to read the whole series as the story contains sections about the six main characters from the earlier books. It is a favourite reread for me, and in print since 2008.

Themes: Fantasy, Magic, Soldiers, Romance.

Pat Pledger