Escaping Destiny (The Fae Chronicles Book 3)

First of all, beware that while it is a review, this is also a rant of sorts that I need to get out of my system after listening to this book/reading this book for however many hours. My anger feels like a teapot that has been slowly building and building as I read this book and that at a certain point, I was whistling, ready to explode in anger. The rampant, completely unchecked sexism, classism, and the condescension behind all of the mansplaining that the men kept doing to Synthia just made me want to scream for a good portion of this book while also wishing I could reach through the page and punch the men in the face (except the demon, he at least recognized that these fae were classist, sexist pigs and he treated Syn with respect and a kind of reverential love).I want to make something clear: the "Synthia, I want to have complete control over your pleasure and passion" stuff that the beast liked to partake in, that's cool with me. In fact, that's what drew me to the series, looking for a romance with some kink involved! I thought it was hot, and the chemistry between Beastboy (my nickname for Ryder/his beast) and Syn was freaking off the charts! I've also read a LOT of romance novels of all kinds, with so many different types of cultures but the fae culture by far felt the most insulting to womanhood in general. They just treated women as baby factories and property to be sold off, or punching bags if it were Alazander. That being said, I just grew increasingly pissed off at how Syn was just letting these fae force her to walk the path they wanted her to walk. I get that she's been thrown into a world she doesn't know, that things are changing so fast she doesn't know up from down, and that a lot of what she was doing in Faery originally had to do with healing the land and saving Earth, but the version of Syn from the first two books was a warrior that did not back down, did not let Ryder change the subject to get out of a conversation, did not shy away from it and bow down to his whims no matter who might see her defiance shining in her eyes. She didn't care for who was watching; I respected the HELL out of her for that, and I miss that part of this woman. I get why she can't be that if she's going to end up by Ryder's side and be his wife, and I see what the writer is trying to do here by changing those aspects of Syn's personality, along with others we start to see like her being less of a loose cannon that will just haul off and hit people that piss her off and ask questions later. It's not that she's becoming meek and obedient, but she's becoming someone worthy of being a queen, worthy of that station. I get it, WE GET IT. But still, there were so many moments throughout the book where I felt she should've read Ryder the frickin' Riot Act, because GOD ONLY KNOWS I would have. I couldn't believe some of the things she let him get away with. Ryder is sexist, and there's no getting around it. Whether it's the result of his upbringing or not, the result is the same. The reason I couldn't give it that 5th star was that this just reinforces all these stereotypes in romance novels that I hate with passion. Why does the g***** woman that's stronger than most male witches and fae have to end up barefoot and pregnant? She faces more adversity in her life than anyone else in the books, and for what, to just become a "baby-making factory" as she called it when she was going to be married off to Adam? Sure, she doesn't end up as his baby-making factory, but her plight just switched to man that was more sexually attractive and less emotionally supportive... greatttttt. I expected something else, I guess. Possessive and protective, I'm good with that. I can even respect and snicker at some punishment for being a mouthy brat. But the way Ryder treated Syn was not just that, it had undertones of condescension and "I know best, dont question me little girl" vibes when he was irritated enough, and that made my spirit rebel at me and left me respecting him a little less..... that was until we finally get to know a little more about the beast and it would seem that he is the ONLY one that actually respects this woman enough to consider her his match, his equal, his one and only before Ryder can pull his head out of his ass long enough to recognize it. Not that the beast is without his flaws though.... his part in getting Syn pregnant is unforgiveable in my opinion. It's a violation of a woman, and it's yet another thing that these romance books do ALL WRONG and I don't understand it! These women always just end up letting it go, making excuses to themselves about why it's okay for a guy to get you knocked up against your will to create an heir or keep you around forever, to trap you. IT'S NOT.I won't pretend that I didn't feel utter sadness when I realized that the author decided that it was somehow necessary to reduce Syn to this poor, victim of a woman being thrown around from family to family like a volleyball, treated like a slave or property, and basically forced into all the things she never wanted for herself. How does that add to the story, I don't think it does personally, but I'm sure many fans would argue that the fact she continues to get back up and be a survivor even after all she's gone through, when the hits just keep coming, shows her strength and determination. I can get behind that to some extent, and even agree with it, but in my opinion the author just took it way too far and alienated women like myself in the process. I loved Syn so much as a character because she wasn't one of the common romance females; she wasn't obsessed with love and having little babies after being married to the man of her white picket fence-lined dreams made me love the character all the more, and the level of badass she exuded was just astounding. Honestly, I loved Syn so much in part because she had the same outlook on children that I do... avoiding having them at all costs. That along with her power, her complexity as a person, her constant struggle with trying to be strong all the time but wanting to be able to cave in and be weak, I loved it all and even related to some of it, and I think that maybe the author thought that Syn would never have made the choices that caused her to end up barefoot and pregnant so "fate" (AKA RYDER, the evil mastermind that he is) had to make them for her to get her where she ended up needing to be in the end so that she would have the opportunity to grow as a person and recognize that she didn't really want the things she said she wanted, etc. but part of me believes that's just a copout and that if the woman didn't want children, she didn't want children, and that should have been supported rather than ignored entirely because it's not that she just happened to change her mind, it's that she had NO CHOICE but to change her mind. It's not that she was just talked to and her perspective changed, nope, she was just bulldozed and while you can't un-make the child, she could have given him more than a probing stare and a stiffly worded question. Either way.... she's still one of my favorite female characters, at least in parts of the books. She was a bad b**** and I think I want to see how the rest of the series plays out. I'm hoping that this review will end up becoming a moot point and that I can just erase it entirely as it will no longer be accurate by the time I'm through all the books. A girl can dream....

I would just like to say I ABSOLUTELY ADORE AMELIA HUTCHINS. Yes the spice is absolutely FULL EFFECT!! But the fact that not only the spice got mw shook but the STORYLINE GOT ME SHOOK TO THE CORE!! 10/10 would DEFINITELY recommend!!

I cant believe each book can have more twists than the last! But she keeps doing it! On to read the next one!

Plot finally became more mature and can see the storyline unfolding. Liked the history of the land and seeing the side characters have their own growth and how they’re all related within the final plot. GladI kept reading. But “farting buckets….”whew.

Complete post with CHARACTERS INTERVIEW here: [...]Well, there’s no surprise that I absolutely LOVED the third book in the Fae Chronicle Series!Amelia’s mind must be such an interesting place to live! Her ability to tell a story and make you feel like you’re inside of it and are friends with the characters is just amazing!Escaping Destiny takes off right where Tauting Destiny left us! Syn is about to be taken to the Horde Kingdom and the mystery behind the Hoard King is finally solved! I was so glad my theory was right!!!But the biggest shock was not about who was and what happened to the Horde King. Oh no, prepare yourselves for some shocking news!!! I was speechless!! But I love all of the surprises! Well, almost all of them LOLRyder and Syn’s chemistry is as sizzling as usual, or even more! Their banter is just as fun and the fights lead to epic make up time!Even though I love Ryder to death, he was an ass to Syn through a lot of parts of the book! There were times that I loved his Beast better than him! Without the whole Fae Shenanigans to deal with, the Beast certainly can have a more clear vision of what he really wants! But I do understand his side and he more than make up for it!!!I loved to see all the characters again in Faery, their interaction, the guard, and…Ristan!! I love the Demon so much!!If Ryder wasn’t in the picture he’d be perfect for Synthia, but well no one’s better for Syn than Ryder!This book is packed with Fae politics and action…Ryder learns how to woo Syn (yes, even Royal Badass Fae needs to woo sometimes ;) ) and Syn needs to learn to accommodate her human life into her new Fae life. The fact that she’s been raised human is what makes her Syn and also what makes her the perfect match for Ryder. He needs her human side.It’s certainly difficult for Synthia to understand how Fae’s politics goes, and even more difficult since Ryder is so busy being immersed in it. But then the reason why he does it is to protect her. Both Ryder and Syn can be unreasonable sometimes, but I also give both of them reason most of the time. Ryder made me cry sometimes, I admit but then we get glimpses of how he thinks and why he does what he does and you just cry again from being much more in love with him!I blame Amelia Hutchins for turning me into a hopeless lovestruck girl for her characters! This book has the right dosage of funny and snark and action and love and…well…HOTNESS!Holy Hotness! I want to be a F***ing Fairy Happy Meal if I’d be treated like Syn is! Amelia certainly can make us fan ourselves while reading her books!!I can’t tell you what my favorite part of the book was, because there isn’t just one! The whole book is a surprise after surprise and it’s packed with what I love most: a hotter than sin male hero, a badass heroine (I want to be Syn when I grow up!!!), a funny and sarcastic Demon, some hot guards, a sweet Fae named Adam (I like him so much more now!!!) and action!!I can’t wait for the next book in the series, it will bring so much more into the story! I hope Syn continues with her badass backbone, Ryder needs it. And I hope Ryder pulls his head out of his a*** and just say he loves her forever!! We are all waiting for it! I also can’t wait to know how things will turn out! This book doesn’t end in a cliffy, but it will make you want more like RIGHT NOW!!I can’t wait to see what Danu is up to!! She is certainly full of surprises (anyone else felt a little something between her and Ristan????)

*~*Synthia*~*❤️ *~*Ryder*~*I felt this book went into a lot more depth about the fairy world and explained so many things so it was way better book to me. I really can’t wait to read the spinoff series books and maybe see other characters love interests and whoever their love matches are..I’m so excited.Synthia went after her man and he still in some stupid type of denial but it’s going to happen I can’t wait for the next book I can’t imagine how a series can go 7 books long still be interesting.Definite way way stronger and his back and I’m so happy for her. And now Ryder is balanced.

So now we're told she's fallen in love with someone who:1. killed her first lover and best friend to remove him from her life;2.stalked her relentlessly, forced her to masturbate in front of him and took her memories;3. sexually assaulted her, repeatedly;4. raped her, repeatedly;5.blackmailed her with threats to her friends and family; and,6.given her away to become someone else's sex slaveThe series is a long list of MALE fantasy cliches. It is a parody of BDSM since there is no concept of consent introduced. Playing "spot the abuse" bingo makes this laughable, in a somewhat compelling but not in a good way

Wow, wow wow wow!!!! What a beautiful, fantastic, amazing, incredible series this is. I’m not only obsessed but so addicted. This is one of the most intense reads of my life and I absolutely love it, every word, chapter, page. Book 3 and I can’t get enough, I am so happy to have found this series and even more happier knowing there are still more books to this wonderful series.I’m a sucker for a strong heroine, I love it when they just keep fighting for what they want, what the believe it and for the people they love.This so far has been one huge adventure and it still feels like it’s only just started.You can’t well for me anyway feels like such a deep connection to these characters and it’s so much more than I could of ever expected with this series and I’m here for it 😁This series is a keeper, one I want for my collection to be able to read again and again!

Amelia Hutchins is fast becoming one of my favourite authors and I am so glad to have found her; I have becoming addicted to this series. I love her writing style, the edge-of-your-seat pace she sets for her stories and the gripping plot lines that continually surprise me with their twists and turns. The characters that she has created for The Fae Chronicles - protagonists and supporting cast alike - are complex, multifaceted souls that exhibit all the traits that I crave to keep my interest.While we're on the subject of characters, if you've read my reviews before, you'll know that I always enjoy a story more when the main female character is intelligent, resilient, resourceful, self-reliant and has plenty of gumption. Synthia (Syn) ticks all my boxes and also comes with a great sense of humour and a sarkiness that I love.I love that this book made me feel so many emotions; yes, the tears did fall at times - but I won't tell you how often or when ;-) - the tension had me holding my breath on the edge of my seat, the fighting got my adrenaline pumping and the sex scenes, wow, were so hot and erotic that the tingles were off the chart but what I loved was that there are beautifully tender moments that just warmed my old romantic heart.I would just like to say that some of the behaviour of the species in this book may cause offense or trigger emotions some readers would prefer to avoid. It's always a grey area, romances written about succubi or inccubi type Fae, because sex without consent is rape. The Fae Kingdom is an antiquated world of arranged marriages, concubines and sex as food. Having said that if you persist, Ms Hutchins gives us insightful glimpses into Ryder's inner dialogue which illuminates the obvious love that he has for Syn.Escaping Destiny is a great read (with no perilous life-or-death cliffhanger) which is why I have rated it 5 stars. I already own the rest of the books in this series and I am keen to see how the remaining story threads are resolved and what will happens next for our heroic Syn.

Synthia really has been hit with the bad luck stick. No sooner is she kidnapped and returned to her birth parents does she find out why she was hidden and it wasn’t for anything fun. She was to be Gifted to the Horde King the most terrifying being in faerie. She was Gifted to obtain the release of her brother who was being tortured and to stop a war. After the treaty was drawn up, her parents faked her death and hid her away in the human realm. Now she’s been returned she’s given a couple of days to get to know her family before she’s to be whisked away by the Horde King.In this book poor Synthia doesn’t know if she’s coming or going. From one Royal House to another in a matter of days. From forced marriage to her best friend, who she’s definitely not in love with, to a concubine to a monster is not a great jump to make as quickly as she has to.It’s really hard to discuss this book without giving away massive spoilers because a lot happens in this book and some of it is pretty surprising. I will say that there is pretty of hot and steamy scenes in this book, as there were in the last two books. You have to remember that fae feed on emotions, which are the most easily generated during sex.We also get to know Ristan a lot better in this book, and learn more about his visions. For a demon, he’s a pretty good guy and is rapidly becoming one of my favourite characters.The plot rockets on and it’s filled with emotional upheaval and I need to read the next book now!

Escaping Destiny (The Fae Chronicles #3)I've come to really like a few of Ryder's guard, especially 'Demon'.😆 Darynda seems nice too, Claire however is 100% vile!😡 This Storyline doesn't really explain itself very well. I don't think Syn being kept in the dark is a strong enough reason to do the same to the reader in this case, the 'reveals' just aren't that shocking or surprising, it's annoying!😕 I'm falling out of the series at this point, if it was in KU I probably would've continued, but nearly £4.00 per book when I'm not really enjoying it? Nah, it's too much! I gave it a good go I think.👍Debbie, 1970, UK