This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend. Read the full disclosure here.
Book: “Worthy of Fate” by A.N. Caudle
Publishing Info: Ace, May 2026
Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!
Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound
Book Description: The Gem
Marked by the Gods, Kya is forced to partake in a Trial for a chance to be deemed Worthy. If she succeeds, she’ll be gifted great powers. If she fails, she could lose her life or worse. But that’s only the start of her worries. Now, the same plague that took her home is spreading and threatening the fate of the realm. Can Kya survive the Trial of the Gods and gain the needed power to rid the world of the growing threat before it’s too late? Or will she be drawn to what awaits her in the shadows?
The Shadow
Ryker has waited a long time for her—his mate. Now he’s found her. He plans to claim what is rightfully his, but dark forces threaten to destroy his Nation should he embrace the bond he so desperately desires. Unable to escape the drive to be near her, he waits for his precious gem, lingering in her shadow.
Review: This was a really confusing read. It was trying so hard to be so many things that I felt off-balance for much of my time reading it as we jumped from storyline to storyline and between one trope and the next. For one thing, while there are a million and one fantasy books featuring some sort of trial with the Gods, that is the most distinctive feature highlighted in the marketing for this one. That being the case, I was incredibly surprised by how quickly this particular plot point seemed to wrap up. Even if it’s familiar, there have been some really good books featuring trials, and I was really expecting this portion of the book to make up the primary plot. I enjoyed what we had from it, but it just wasn’t enough and left me a bit floundering once I realized the book was moving on to the next thing.
The two main characters weren’t bad by any means (even if the FMC had some supremely questionable decision-making towards the end), but they also didn’t offer up much that was new. Kya was stabby. Ryker was a shadow daddy. You get the gist just from those two short sentences.
I was also a bit disappointed to realize this was a fated mates romance. This one fell into the trap that so many romances do when it comes to this trope. That is, by calling them “fated mates,” the author neatly sidesteps any necessary work to show their relationship building up as they begin to know, understand, and care for the other. Instead, the heavy lifting is immediately swept aside by the simple fact that they are “fated,” with no other work done. In many ways, this robbed the story of any actual romance. The characters feel like an established couple almost from the start.
There was also something really odd going on with the writing in the last portion of this book, as far as the romance goes. Maybe it was just me, but it felt like I, the reader, was almost being drowned by a constant wave of pronouncements of love and devotion from these two characters. It got to the point that I was actually counting to see how many pages we could go before running into the next grand romantic proclamation. And boy, it wasn’t many! I enjoy devoted sentiments as much as the next person, but it almost felt like secondary embarrassment reading these two gush over each other nearly constantly.
All of this said, the book was a fast read, and I think readers who enjoy fated mates more than I do will absolutely love this one. Be warned that the supposed trials are a very minor portion of the story. But if you’re in it mostly for the romance, this does leave much more room to devote to these two, which definitely comes into play. So, while it wasn’t really for me, I do think there’s an audience for this book, especially on the more romance-heavy side of romantasy.
Rating 7: I wanted more from the trials and could have taken fewer declarations of love, all things considered.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Worthy of Fate” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Books With Fated Mates.
The Library Ladies 