Queens of Moirai is a 2023 fantasy romance novel by Rhiannon Hargadon. It is the first entry in the Descendants of the Fates series and is a retelling inspired by Greek mythology. It was published in September 2023.
Morena Atropos is the Third Fate, the controller of Death, the granddaughter of Atropos. Doomed with dark gifts of destruction, and imprisoned for all of her life in a stone tower, Morena's only view is the Obsidian Sea. Those she loves are taken away from her or used against her - what choice does she have but to serve as assassin? Hiding her strength, Morena hones her murderous abilities, serving as slave to an unstoppable villain - her mother, Malinda the Mad, Queen of the Blood Throne. There's no hope of escape until the arrival of a mysterious stranger who claims to be her betrothed. He's there to finally rescue her, and Morena is all too willing to throw herself into his muscular arms. But all is not as it seems... and as his lies unravel, it plunges Morena into a love-triangle of forbidden love and arranged marriage, and a choice between her heart or her soul. In the meantime, her mother and her zombie army are on the move, and the other Fates expect Death to save the day.
I enjoyed the plot of this novel overall. It was easy to become drawn into the story. The narrative follows Morena as she comes into her powers as Death and embraces her abilities and her role within the wider world. It's equal parts a twisted coming-of-age story and the classic fighting-against-oppression tale. The struggles she faced as she fought to defeat her mother and create a better world made for a compelling story, with stakes that felt real and incredibly high as the story progressed. It's an engaging story with compelling ideas at the center. While I enjoyed the plot overall, some of the twists and turns felt unsatisfying. Certain revelations are meant to feel earth-shattering or surprising, and they don't come across that way. I was easily able to predict both the mid-narrative twist and the final reveal, due to the foreshadowing being a bit too heavy-handed. I wish some of the foreshadowing had been more subtle, or that they'd been red herrings, but the lack of surprise didn't diminish my overall enjoyment of the story. The climax was exciting as I was reading it and felt satisfying for the story. The climax and resolution set the stage for future books very well, while also making this story feel complete, as well.
I think I liked the idea of most of the characters more than I liked the characters themselves. Morena is the embodiment of Death, and the idea of a character like that is very intriguing. However, I didn't connect with her as I was reading. She wasn't written consistently in terms of characterization and her arc left me puzzled, as her growth seemed random and not driven by events within the story. She was gullible when the plot required it, but shrewd and distrustful otherwise. She was willing and able to kill, except when she wasn't or felt the need to quibble about morality, which felt unnecessary. These inconsistencies didn't make her feel complex, but instead as frustrating. The same is true of other characters, where their backstories or roles within the story are intriguing, but their execution doesn't quite work. I wasn't invested in the dynamics between characters, including the romances, because I wasn't heavily invested in any of the characters on their own. I also didn't feel much chemistry between Morena and either of the two love interests that she had.
I found the writing to be good overall. The prose is well-written without being too flowery. It was easy to be drawn into the story quickly. The story has a certain degree of gore and violence, and the author made the right decision by not trying to shy away from the more grotesque aspects of the world that she built. The descriptions aren't gratuitous, but they properly set the tone and fit the setting. The adaptations of Greek mythology were interesting, and made the story feel unique. At the beginning of the book, the story felt disjointed and an unclear timeline didn't help. The reason why becomes evident later, but it could've benefited from a little polishing.
Queens of Moirai was a book that I liked, but didn't love. It had a compelling and engaging story, though some twists were easy to predict. The cast of characters is intriguing, but I could not connect with the protagonist. The writing is good, and the story introduces a lot of interesting ideas. It's an interesting read, and an entertaining one, but not an instant-favorite like I was hoping for.
Rating: 3 Stars
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