Review--Twisted Fates by Danielle Rollins

 

One past. Two girls. Infinite futures.

As far as anyone in New Seattle knows, Dorothy has disappeared. The stowaway from 1913, the girl that Ash maybe—possibly—could’ve loved: she’s gone. And in her place is bloodthirsty Quinn Fox, silver-haired and vicious. But even though he saw her fall through the anil on their last ill-fated mission through time, Ash can’t stop himself from looking for Dorothy around every dark corner. What he doesn’t know, though, is that the girl he fell in love with is the very same one who is fated to kill him.

As Ash and his friends grow increasingly desperate searching for a way to head off the devastating earthquake threatening to tear down New Seattle for good, Quinn and Roman are working to take down mob boss Mac Murphy, who is attempting to use them to control time travel for his own selfish purposes. When they collide, can they change the course of the future entirely?

 

 

Diving back into the TBR pile of unfinished series I decided to take on Danielle Rollins' Twisted Fates, the second installment in the Dark Stars trilogy! I remembered very little about the first book but I did uncover some notes, thanks past me! After a rocky start, I was able to get into the thick of things and after a slow start, things really started to ramp up near the end!

Ash has seven days left to live. Just seven. After that, he will be murdered by Quinn Fox, the notorious leader of the Black Cirkus. He currently mourns the loss of Dorothy, a girl from the 1900s that he rescued who became lost trough time after the first book's events and things are just glum for him. He'd do anything to find Dorothy and see her safe and sound, but with the clock ticking down to his final breath, he's not sure how much help he can be.

Meanwhile, we have Dorothy who has fully evolved into her role as Quinn Fox. Now here's where I have a real dicey memory. We learn how Dorothy came to be with Roman and doing the time traveling gig, but I guess I was not always clear on the how and why of her adapting her new persona. I know she has to be a tough looking chick in order to run the Black Cirkus, but I guess some of those minute details are just lost on me! Plus the the time traveling parts make it a wee more confusing as she's been with the Black Circkus for a year, but for Ash, he only lost Dorothy a short time ago.

So yes, time traveling is messy friends! It's one of the reasons why I can be hesitant with time traveling books. Let alone the actual aspect and science or sometimes magic of how the time traveling works. That involves lots of physics and science talk which can get overwhelming too, but again, just roll with it. That's what I do at least! Lol.

Dorothy and Roman are basically just trying to help the Black Cirkus survive. Things have been rough lately, and despite making multiple trips into the past for food and supplies, things just aren't getting any better. Then there's Mac to consider. He's another character I couldn't quite remember, but basically he's another unsavory sort. He and the Black Cirkus have always danced circles around one another. While Ash and his friends do more or less of the same thing. Needless to say, Mac is a crime lord who is loyal to no one and only wants power and prestige for himself, no matter the cost.

Things start to go horrendously wrong when Dorothy and Roman return back from one of their trips to the past. Mac is slowly, one by one, turning everyone against Dorothy and Roman and the outcome will not be good for anyone, let alone the world and the future itself.

Memory issues aside, I did struggle with this one a bit in the beginning trying to figure out what exactly was the end goal for Dorothy and Roman. Things didn't really seem clear, I knew what Ash's goal was and it was presented clearly. But luckily when the enemy begins to rise, end goals can change and it becomes clear what must be done.

Things were definitely very fast paced towards the end, leading up to that point it was a little touch and go. The end is where things get really exciting and had my head spinning, because more time travel! Not entirely sure what is being setup here for the final book but I plan to find out when I dive into that one next!

There was still a bit of romantic tension brewing between Ash and Dorothy as, naturally, eventually, the two do encounter one another again. Things become clear to Ash as to what this means for his future and yet, he can't bring himself to try to change things. Things were left unsaid by the book's end, so I am deeply curious as to what's going to happen when all is said and done between Ash and Dorothy. Honestly, with Rollins, you never know what you're going to get and I LOVE that! 

All in all, this was still a pretty fun and entertaining read. Yes, I struggled as I waited too long to finish the series and then there's the whole time traveling aspect to contend with. But still, the characters are definitely what kept me going! I enjoy getting both Dorothy and Ash's point of view. They are characters worth rooting for and I am eager to see how things will end for them and their friends and their current timeline! It's exciting and confounding, but when blended together they make for an unputdownable read!

Overall Rating 3.5/5 stars