Chosen to Fall: Review and Exclusive Interview with Emmie Hamilton!
I teamed up with author Emmie Hamilton for the release of her debut novel Chosen to Fall (book one in the Destined series)! To give you a little idea about the book, here's the synopsis from Emmie's site:
"How far would you go to avoid your Destiny?
What depth would you travel to change your Fate?
How much would you risk before surrendering to the Chosen path?
Faria Agostonna, heir to the Queendom of Anestra, is tired of hearing about the Fates. That she must follow her Destiny. That it is already Chosen for her. Knowing she needs to be life-bonded in an archaic Elven ceremony makes it even worse. But when a darkness invades her land and threatens her people’s existence, Faria must figure out what sacrifices will need to be made and how far she will have to go to choose what is right for her people, even if it means ignoring the needs of her heart.
Nellie, a teenaged shapeshifter banished from Earth, spent years living in Anestra disguised as a human. After whisperings of a Warlock rebellion begin to surface, Nellie is recruited by Queen Amira to do whatever it takes to protect Faria – no matter the cost. Grappling with the risk of revealing her true nature, Nellie must come to terms with the depths she will travel to prevent the Final Battle and whether she has what it takes to protect her best friend, even if it means revealing the truth of her deception.
Spurred by their rebellious nature, both girls discover the truth of a lost prophecy, face the betrayal of those closest to them, and discover how many pieces of themselves they are willing to surrender to the dark magic that calls to them to save not only their home, but all connected to it."
Sounds pretty good right? Well it was! Here are my thoughts:
The characters in this book were absolutely brilliant and I instantly fell in love with Nellie. She’s kind and loyal and she’s the friend that we all hope to have. I thoroughly enjoyed reading chapters from her view point! In another breath, Faria’s POV chapters provided a stunning contrast! Faria is confused and caught up in herself and although a part of me wanted to dislike her slightly selfish outlook….I couldn’t!!
The writing was done so well that I actually sympathised with her in the frustration she felt from being kept in the dark! This was possibly one of the characters I’ve felt most connected to this year!
Emmie has a talent for changing how I feel about a character with every chapter! This really gave characters depth and kept me on my toes. I often found that I didn’t know who to trust and who to love!
The magic and plot in the book felt very well planned and although I feel that a lot of important points have not been revealed yet, the plot was easy to follow. World building was also done well, however I sort of feel like a lot of this aspect has been left for book two!
The pace of the book starts fast and continues this way throughout, making it a very fast read. Chapters got shorter as the book went on which I really enjoyed as any unnecessary detail was avoided.
My favourite elements of the book were:
- The use of a queendom #girlpower
- The mysterious male
- Jumping straight into the action
I would strongly recommend this book to people who enjoyed The Folk of the Air series and A Deal with the Elf King!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
Last month Emmie revealed the title for book two in the series - Fated to Burn, coming in November this year (fingers-crossed). In anticipation of this release, Emmie and I have teamed up again in a question and answer interview to answer some questions from my Bookstagram followers about Chosen to Fall!
Exclusive Interview with Emmie Hamilton
Q: So, Chosen to Fall was released in May - how have the first few months of being a published author felt?
Emmie: The first few months of being an author has been filled with such a roller coaster of emotions. It has been exciting, and scary, and stressful at times. Now readers have certain expectations so it feels a bit daunting moving forward, with hoping I can satisfy what the readers want with staying true to my story. Most of all, it feels incredible to fulfill a dream of mine to share my stories with the world. And it's only the beginning!
Q: I think most people who’ve read Chosen to Fall will agree that Hunter is the perfect book boyfriend material. What inspired the character?
Emmie: Ahhh, Hunter holds a special place in my heart. Faria is a strong female character, secure in what she wants and needs and isn't afraid to face those emotions head on, so I wanted to create the perfect counterpart for her in Hunter. He supports and motivates her and isn't afraid of her power, but he also has that air of confidence that makes it impossible to turn away from. Basically I tried to make my perfect boyfriend come to life, haha.
Q: In early July you gave us the title for book two in the Destined Series- Fated to Burn! Can you give us a little sneak peek at what to expect from book two?
Emmie: Fated to Burn was such an emotionally intense but fun book to write. Our main characters are forced apart through space and time, and each realm has their own sets of problems and demons to face. The stakes are higher, the emotions are darker, and everyone learns that all is not what they once thought.
Q: Many Bookstagrammers are curious as to whether Chosen to Fall is more YA or NA? What would you consider to be a more accurate classification? Can we expect more spice in book 2?
Emmie: So, The Destined Series is an Upper YA/NA crossover. It's sort of that in between stage where we get many of the YA tropes, but the characters age as the story progresses and with that comes a lot more adult themes. I think in general the book is good for 16+ but I will always put content warnings so everyone can be their own judge. The second book doesn't have more spice, because our main characters are each dealing with their inner demons and heavy feelings of grief and guilt, so it didn't make sense to add something that doesn't move the plot forward. Book three though, you can expect much more in that department.
Q: Which character POV did you most enjoy writing from and why?
Emmie: I absolutely LOVED writing from Nellie's POV. I put most of myself in her, from her personal experiences to the way she speaks. She was the easiest to write because of that, but also she adds a lot of comedic humor that lightens the heaviness which I appreciate.
Q: If you had to sum up Chosen to Fall in one sentence, what would it be?
Emmie: Chosen to Fall is about a reluctant teenaged princess with elemental powers who must decide how much she is willing to sacrifice in order to save her people.
I'd like to personally thank Emmie for taking the time to complete this interview!
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