Farmer Fiction: ‘The Fates Divide’ keeps readers at edge

Second novel of series leaves romance to focus on betrayal

Author+Veronica+Roth+signs+copies+of+The+Fates+Divide+at+Barnes+and+Noble+in+Frisco%2C+Texas+on+Wednesday%2C+April+18.

Madison Ward

Author Veronica Roth signs copies of “The Fates Divide” at Barnes and Noble in Frisco, Texas on Wednesday, April 18.

Veronica Roth, author of the hit series “Divergent,” released the second book of the Carve the Mark series “The Fates Divide” on Wednesday, April 11. The book continues the journey of Akos Thuvhesit and Cyra Shotet as they try to find a place where they belong after losing trust in everyone around them. To promote her book, Roth announced a six-stop book tour, including Frisco, Texas where she joined her fellow friend and author Kara Thomas.

The first book, “Crave the Mark,” lacked to develop any character background with the plot. At the end of the book they made an successful escape off the planet Thuvhe. However, Akos and Cyra have no clue what lies ahead after hearing Lazmet Noavek, the former leader of shotet and a soulless tyrant, is still alive after being presumed dead.

At the start of “The Fates Divide,” Cyra finds herself in a trace of self thought as she is shocked with news that her father is still alive. As Akos and Cyra start to finally have a serious conversation about information they have learned, a piercing scream from someone getting murdered raises their attention. Readers are only a few pages into the second book when the plot begins with betrayal on the ship. With the reader not expecting the first plot twist, it leaves them at edge. From the moment this tragedy strikes, the book becomes an irresistible read.

“The Fates Divide” begins with new character perspectives including Akos’s sister, Cisi, and his brother, Eijeh. This brings massive plot development to the story by being able to see the hidden missions these characters hold and allows for the holes in the story to be filled. It offers readers a chance to see past the characters who are believed to be innocent when in fact they’re not.

Akos and Cyra see the news and start planning their assassinations on Lazmet separately after a twist gets thrown making them rethink everything they ever believed to be a lie. Then Akos betrays Cyra by leaving to go kill Lazmet without telling her. The twist near the middle is what completely changes everything. It changes their fate but not how readers would expect.

With Akos and Cyra finally seeing each other again after all the tragic events that occur, Cyra decides to make jokes to get rid of their awkward tension. As the book closes, readers can see their trust for each other building again making their relationship stronger than before they were seperated.

Overall, “The Fates Divide” is an exceptional book compared to Carve the Mark. With all the surprising betrayal and deaths hidden throughout, it leaves readers shocked and wanting more. Sadly with it being a duology, it’s the end of the series but it leaves off with an amazing build up and heartfelt ending.