Book Review: Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven
“The cruelest fate the gods and stars had ever written: the person I loved most in the world was the person who would ultimately destroy me.”
Title: Our Infinite Fates
Author: Laura Steven
Series? N/A
My Rating: ★★★
Genre(s): Romantasy, Romance, Fantasy
Age Range: Young Adult
Publication: 27 February 2025 (Wednesday Books)
CW: murder, death, violence, cancer, war, forced institutionalization, mild sex scene
One thing about me is that I am a sucker for a romantasy novel.
You shouldn’t be surprised by now, if you have read my previous book reviews. (And if you haven’t, wait are you waiting for?!) The beauty of storytelling is to be transported into someone else’s imagination—to get a glimpse at a world that only they could conceive of. And if you add in a page-turning romance, who am I to complain or judge?
Our Infinite Fates follows Evelyn and Arden, two souls that are infinitely bound together. The catch? They have to kill each other before their eighteenth birthday in every lifetime. Evelyn, in particular, takes issue with this destiny. Especially when she’s faced with a predicament: her sister is dying of cancer and Evelyn is the only hope—but in order to save her, she must race the clock to get a procedure done before she turns eighteen. Or else, all hope is lost.
On paper, I was destined to love Our Infinite Fates. But in reality…
The premise of Our Infinite Fates was immediately alluring to me. I was attracted to the concept of reincarnation; the idea that you can never truly escape your fate, no matter how far you run. Two souls that are constantly intertwined, two individuals chasing each other through time and space to find—and kill—each other? Okay, sign me up. I’m officially intrigued.
However, the reality was a bit different than what I was expecting. In short, this can be explained by the fact that I did not realize this was a Young Adult novel. Yes, I did not properly read the synopsis—that’s totally on me and I’m aware of it. But in my head, Arden and Evelyn were in a sexy cat-and-mouse chase, with daggers to throat and ripped bodices. Suffice it to say, I was surprised to land in modern-day Wales and be introduced to two seventeen-year-olds. (And did they need to be seventeen? I won’t get into it, but I personally think this could have been so much better if these were adults.)
I expected the fantasy novel to have a bit more… I don’t know, fantasy? This book could have been marketed better. Or at least, differently. I was expecting a lot of the romantasy elements that I have come to know and love as a frequent reader of the genre, and it was a bit disappointing to realize they were absent. The magic, both figuratively and literally, was missing.
Many of the plot points were redundant and the story as a whole could have been improved with a heavy-handed edit. I won’t get into details, as a lot of these occurred late into the narrative, but there were some extraneous details and plot points that really distracted from the main storyline (I’m looking at you, Ceri). A third-act plot point, in particular, added unnecessary and confusing.
Where is the love? No, seriously. Where is it?
The relationship between Evelyn and Arden was… interesting. But it wasn’t necessarily romantic. In fact, it felt a lot more like Stockholm syndrome than love. Falling for Arden in each lifetime was presented as a defeat, as though it was an illness to succumb to, rather than a coming home. And if we’re claiming these two to be lovers in every lifetime, I think we ought to allow them to, you know, fall in love. Perhaps not in every lifetime, but the current one would be nice.
Was there romance? There was merely detestation, confusion, and flat-out abduction. I wouldn’t even count this as an enemies-to-lovers. More like a “random guy I either like, or don’t like, or barely know who reveals himself like a Scooby Doo villain and then murders me every seventeen-or-so years.” Where is the pining? The yearning? The reason to believe that these two have more than a crummy fate in common?
And after a thousand years, are you telling me that Evelyn truly did not have a better sense of who Arden is? She has to be circumspect in her dealings with everyone around her, even 1,000+ years into the ordeal. I think this in itself made the romance unbelievable—if you are fated to someone, I feel that you would know, in your marrow, who they are. The uncertainty only diluted the romance, in my opinion.
I also found it confusing to give Evelyn and Arden different identities in each storyline. In writing this review, I even had to look up what their modern-day names were, as I didn’t even know (it’s Branwen and Dylan, FYI). And the commitment to the changing identities sometimes felt half-hearted. For example, Evelyn remarks that Arden knows how she takes her coffee—but wouldn’t their tastebuds change with each body they inhabit?
I did enjoy, however, the glimpses we got at Evelyn’s life as Branwen—particularly her relationship with her mother and sister. I wish we got more of this. Evelyn’s entire motivation was to protect her family—namely to save her sister’s life and to stay in this body, with her current family. But it didn’t feel that this was always her priority, particularly as the book progressed.
This book was not for me… but it may be for you!
I can see how this book could be enjoyable, and even powerful, to some. Particularly teen readers, who may be introduced to the genre through a book like Our Infinite Fates. A lot of the plot and dialogue reminded me of a CW show, and the poetry had a Tumblr-esque prose, which I feel could be valuable to a younger audience. But it wasn’t my style, which is why I feel like a 3-star review is both fair and well-suited!
For all it’s faults, Our Infinite Fates was well-written and Laura Steven is an author that should not be discounted or discredited. I was sorely mistaken about what sort of book this was and that was on me. Maybe this is a sign that I should steer away from Young Adult novels in general. In short, I wish that for every what, there was a why. And maybe, I was seeking something much different than what I got.
I hope that the right reader finds Our Infinite Fates—and that it touches their lives the way so many books have touched mine!
Synopsis: They've loved each other in a thousand lifetimes. They've killed each other in every one.
Evelyn remembers all her past lives. She also remembers that in every single one, she’s been murdered before her eighteenth birthday by Arden, a supernatural being whose soul―and survival―is tethered to hers.
The problem is that she’s quite fond of the life she’s in now, and her little sister needs her for bone marrow transplants in order to stay alive. If Evelyn wants to save her sister, she’ll have to:
Find the centuries-old devil who hunts her through each life―before they find her first.
Figure out why she’s being hunted and finally break their curse.
Try not to fall in love.
What do you think about YA Romantasy? Are you a fan? Or do you prefer more adult-centred content?
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