Ultra Meital Reviews: Three Fates by Mary Calmes, Amy Lane & Andrew Grey

The legends talk about three sisters, The Fates, they are immortal being spinning the wheels of fate. Sometimes, they take interest in some of the Fates they "create". Like they decided to help Cheyenne a bit so he can find his true love, though sometimes like with Cassidy and Raza they needed more than a little pursuading. With Lief and Hacon I'm not even sure what they THOUGHT would happen but they were willing to give it a chance and through it a love story was formed.

I liked the idea behind the Anthology, but the novellas didn't really work for me. They were all nice but somehow lacking, each for it's own reason. The first two were shorter (I'd guess round 80 pages each, together getting to the middle of the book) with the last one giving us a much more developed story (taking the whole other half of the book).

I'm a bit sad.. Andrew I haven't read before but I LOVE both Amy and Mary and this Anthology was actually me finishing up both of their Booklists. I've read SO MUCH by them I simply adored getting this one as a "finale" was disappointing.. But that's life and that's writing. Not every book would work for everyone.

Fate Delivers a Prince by Andrew Grey ★★
This was a bit too predictable for me. The relationships in this one felt almost "staged" they portrayed in a very uncomplex way which made me feel quite indifferent to the story of Cheyenne Dobson and Prince Arthur keuerningen. Cheyenne is a were-shifter, he is the youngest of three brothers and though his family is a rather loving one, he is plagued with a skin condition which complicated his life and makes him miserable. In a convention in Germany he attends with his family he meets Prince Arthur and right from the first sniff he knows - he is THE ONE - his mate even if he doesn't smell like his kind. It doesn't take them long even if Cheyenne is very insecure about the whole matter. Arthur is sweet and loving and since he knows what he wants he is patient enough to wait for them to form more than just a physical bond. There is a minor issue they have to deal with first before they can claim their HEA but it happens quite smoothly nevertheless.

Jump by Mary Calmes ★★★
Cassidy Jane has a gift. He might not know how he came to this gift (from his last life), what he does know is telling people their fate should be done with care and mostly when it's absolutely necessary! When he realizes the gorgeous guy in the bar he doesn't even know is going to be tortured and killed he takes action! and luckily Raza Bashandi actually believes him. As a thank-you he offers to take him out to dinner. Neither of them expected the off-the-roof chemistry, as though they've known each other for years, eons maybe. But when Raza realizes much before Cassidy does is if you believe in Fate you should believe it's simply meant to be.
There's more to this story, with Raza's reasons to being at risk, Cassidy's work situation and new friends and opportunities to both of them. I liked it, but even with the special introduction of the Fates in the beginning, it still felt a bit too quick for me. There was too much emphasis on the supporting characters (most of no real interest) and too little of actually THEM as a couple.

Believed You Were Lucky by Amy Lane ★★★
Though I enjoyed Leif Torval and Hacon Haldor's story there were too many little details around I wasn't happy about. First, there is the "wrapping" of the story, which is about the Fates and the way they intervened which somehow even without them realizing brought these two men together, then we had glimpses into what's happening with them - the three sisters of Fate with Loki and Thor and truth been told it was EXHAUSTING! I didn't understand half of what's they were saying or what and who there were talking about so at some point I skipped their chapters all together.
While I liked the idea of a thread (of life) being cut in half - one for Hacon and one for Leif, making Leif very lucky and Hacon very UN-lucky - There were too many nuances about the gods, and luck in general the theme of it was TOO pronounced in the story. See, someone was trying to take out Hacon and while Leif hit him with his bike he somehow saved him and it ALL turned into a story of luck and Leif being overly content with his life. For me it felt like a sweet idea he was in love with which luckily (pun intended!) disappeared once he fell in love with a man and realized that together they can share life and be what the luck have been for him when he was all on his own.