Broken Fate

Alien Pop Star #1

by Jennifer Derrick

Zeus gave her one simple job: Kill every human. Atropos-daughter of Zeus and the third goddess of Fate from Greek mythology -spends her eternal life snipping human lifelines when their mortal lives are over. As if being a killer doesn't make life miserable enough, she and her Fate-wielding sisters must live amongst the humans on Earth thanks to a long-running feud between their mother and Zeus. Living on Earth means they must mingle with the mortals, attend the local high school, and attempt to fit in-or at least not stand out too much.

Killing and mingling don't mix, which is why Atropos' number-one rule is to avoid all relationships with the humans. Caring for the people she has to kill is a fast track to insanity. However, when Alex Morgan walks into her first-period English class, she knows she's in for trouble. He's the worst kind of human for her to like-one with a rapidly approaching expiration date. And he makes Atropos want to break all the rules.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Mythology, Paranormal, Greek Mythology, Young Adult Fantasy, Retellings

282 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2016

About the author

I became a writer at the age of six when my parents bought me a child’s typewriter for Christmas and agreed to pay me a penny per page for any stories I churned out.

When I got older, I realized that I needed to make (much) more money from my writing so I first turned to the corporate world (where I learned that I am spectacularly unsuited to cubicle life) and ultimately to freelancing where I now write everything from technical manuals to articles on personal finance and European-style board games.

My writing career came full circle when Clean Teen Publishing accepted Broken Fate, my first novel. By my calculations, my parents owe me about $3.00 for that book.

I live in North Carolina and, when not writing, can often be found reading anything I can get my hands on, playing board games, watching sports, camping, running marathons, and playing with my dog.

Reviews

[ʚ Aileen ɞ · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's no nice way to say how much I disliked this book, so I'll just let the rating speak for itself.

[Aviar Savijon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broken Fate

A book where because of love mythology runs amuck. A very interesting tale of the powers of Greek mythology reunite to tell a simple tale of love. A great book one that you should read.

[Tenille Berezay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story absolutely entertained me. I loved that the character's experienced pain and heartache with grace. They were strong and fierce in their loyalty. I loved the way the author brought Greek gods into the story...I felt like this was an older, more intense Percy Jackson. The only thing that I would change about his book was Atropos' job. It just didn't make sense that she would ever be able to leave the room where she cuts life lines...maybe if the room had some kind of way to alter time or...something. I questioned this from the beginning and it really bothered me for the rest of the read. With an awesome cliffhanger ending, I'm waiting for book 3 to be released because I know things are about to get crazy-intense!

[Lexie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah being the Death Fate is HARD y'all. Like the most boring, tedious, repetitive job available. And Greek Gods are jerks.

Pro: I pretty much agreed with everything Sophie (Atropos) said about life, death and acceptance thereof. We would prolly be good friends.

Con: I kind of wanted to stab Alex several times, for various reasons mostly involving him NOT GETTING IT. Also part of a series! Dammit.

---
This is the second book in a year I've read featuring the Three Fates wherein the youngest (Atropos, she of the Death Fate) ends up feeling empathy and/or affection for a mortal almost bringing doom upon the world. Look, Death can't play favorites - I don't care what region of the world you come from that's true. It never ends well. As seen in The Shadow Behind the Stars, things go really wrong really quickly when Death plays favorites.

Sophie is at pains to tell us what some of those bad things are plus, as if that wasn't enough, Zeus also tells us, Thanatos is off in the wings threatening all those bad things and hell even Alex recognizes how bad it could get. Death is, as Sophie spends a good chunk of the first 15% of the book explaining, a necessary part of life and is inevitable. Do some people not deserve how they die? Sure. Do some deaths suck more than others? Oh most definitely. Still. Its a thing. Accept it.

And this review took an awfully dark turn...

On a brighter note I liked how Sophie and her sisters Chloe and Lacey (Clotho and Lachesis) acted liked sisters. They poked each other, they bugged each other, they got mad and did petty things. Even after three thousand years I find that endearing. I found fun the ways Derrick played with names (the Fates were also known as the Moirai and their last name is Moiraine for instance). I may have slightly cheered when Sophie astutely noted how lazy and disconnected her fellow Gods were becoming during one particularly (not) fun visit to Olympus.

In general I liked Sophie. I call foul on her sudden interest in Alex, but I came to the conclusion by the end it was part interest, part pity over how sad his life was and partly because he was basically a Dead Man Walking. He was her job personified in a lot of ways. And - spoilers sweetie - I liked that Derrick killed him off. I suppose since this is a series, and he's in the Underworld waiting for Sophie, he could pop back up again, but I'm cool with him not returning to the living.

I wasn't much a fan of Alex to be honest. He seemed a bit too...perfectly suited to Sophie. Sophie is questioning the point of everything and her family is pushing her to be more outgoing...in enters Alex in her life with a persistence that would make me punch a guy and a tragic past Sophie is entangled in (to be truthful if death is involved she'd be caught up in that tragic past so this isn't that big a deal). He put up with her awkward socialness, brought her to an old ruin of a cemetery as their first date, and just seems to know how to act with her when even her family has issues. Her family that has known her for three thousand (ish) years.

Its not all giggles and sunshine of course - Ares is skulking around and he misses Sophie quite a bit (they dated for a long while, but then he broke her heart in a thousand pieces to begin dating Aphrodite) but he is genuinely (with good reason) worried about Sophie's actions. You can hear Thanatos all but cackling with glee after he tells Sophie there's a prophecy about her downfall and not ten pages later she's showing above regular interest in a mortal that could lead to, you guessed it, her downfall as a Fate. With Sophie's downfall the one taking over (Thanatos' sister Ker) will more or less make humanity suffer in horrible ways to feed the appetites of thousands of bloodthirsty monsters.

No pressure to do the right thing or anything.

Going in I had no idea this would be part of a series (I'm actually really bad at remembering to look this up), so it was a bit frustrating to get to the end and not have the full story. It sounds like Sophie is going on a Heroic Quest, which I am all for to be honest, and if Derrick's pinterest board of inspiration for Book 2 is anything to go by, Sophie is going to have a hell of a Quest to complete. Which again, bring on the questing! I'm even kind of digging her sidekick Ares, since when he's not ignoring her personal need for him to not act so close with her he's fun and does seem to have her better interests at heart.

All for all, I'm looking forward to the second book and seeing where this leads.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossed from the first chapter

This book was just what I needed, with a great storyline, compelling and complex characters. The words flow from the pages, creating a world where the fates are living in our world, going to school while, tending their duty to Zeus.
I've always had a penchant for the God's of Olympus, and I'll be getting the next book in this series asap.

I loved that the emotional growth Sophie, or Atropos as she was known by the ancient Greeks, as she spent time with Alex.

Alex, his life has been a rough one, but Sophie brings him something to distract him from the problems he can't run away from.

Their relationship builds slowly, and I loved how he never lost his humour or charm, but will fate give them a happy future?

‘Oft have I heard that grief softens the mind, And makes it fearful and degenerate; Think therefore on revenge and cease to weep.’” - Shakespeare. I think this sums up how I feel, at the end of book 1, and l can't wait to read book 2.
Highly recommended

[Jenny Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read my full review at http://blackwords-whitepagesteenya.bl...


This is the first book I have ever read by this author and I was totally blown away.

Wow, this was really a phenomenally fun read! I enjoyed the story and how the author spun this story. Greek Mythology brought forth to modern day was just genus and remarkably refreshing. I have never read anything like this story, which made it a fun and enjoyable read. The characters are phenomenally well written and the story-line is incredible and magical. I loved this author's sense of imagination and how she created this story. I highly recommend this story to all to enjoy including teens. I am also excited to read more by this author.


Clean Teen Publishing provided me with a digital ARC copy of the book for review purposes only as part of the Clean Teen Publishing Elite Reviewers. No remuneration was exchanged.

[Amy Braun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good grief, where do I start? Okay, first things out of the way: This is a fun, interesting take on the Fates from Greek mythology. I really enjoyed how they lived their lives and that Atropos was the one who got the short end of the stick. This was definitely an emotional journey that hit a little too close to home for me in some aspects. It had a few sweet moments, especially as Atropos let her guard down and allowed sweetheart Alex into her life. She was a great lead character and I could really relate to her. I enjoyed most of it. However, a word of warning: This one of those books that is meant to break your soul. Seriously, it shows no mercy. If anything can go wrong here, it will go explosively wrong. I'm all for characters being put in terrible situations and struggling to get through them, but it was almost too much here.

[Laura..devouring books like crumpets · Rating 1 out of 5]

On page 20 it goes into description how a baby struggles before dying from an airplane crash, i read paranormal/ fantasy. to get away from the real world, if i wanted to imagine baby's dying i would watch the news which i avoid... no not for me too depressing i think the author could have made a point without going into so much detail. Did not finish the first book i have ever had this happen with i just couldn't read on though.

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story offers an interesting twist on Greek mythology by placing the gods in a very modern day world. While some would rather hang-out in Olympus, playing video games or surfing the internet, others live on Earth and try to blend in. The author does a great job of bringing this all together, while still allowing the gods to maintain their dignity. It is simply a lovely mix which grabbed me right away.

Atropos has snipped human life lines, bringing their end, for over 3000 years, and her attitude about it is understandable. She keeps a certain amount of pride, while dealing with normal issues of insecurity and not fitting in. Stuck at an eternal seventeen, she lives a high school life despite her ancient age. At times, she portrays a typical teenage attitude, which just doesn't match up to someone who has existed for that long.

The story pulled me in completely the first half of the book despite the age vs. attitude problem. Atropos does have some very understandable issues. The romance is sweet-perhaps a little sudden, but that is also explained later on. Atropos' ill-made decisions were a little too naive, though.

Near the end of the book, the plot took a turn which ruined the rest of the story for me. But it flows with the action and story, so it probably won't bother everyone.

That's why I'm giving this three stars. I enjoyed the first 80 percent of the story, and simply didn't like the direction it took at the end. But it's an action packed read with many elements which are perfect for a young adult audience who loves mythology with a nice amount of romance thrown in.

[Coral Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zeus gave her one simple job: Kill every human. Atropos, daughter of Zeus and the third goddess of Fate from Greek mythology, spends her eternal life snipping human lifelines when their mortal lives are over. As if being a killer doesn't make life miserable enough, she and her Fate-wielding sisters must live among the humans on Earth thanks to a long-running feud between their mother and Zeus. Living on Earth means they must mingle with the mortals, attend the local high school, and attempt to fit in, or at least not stand out too much.
Killing and mingling don't mix, which is why Atropos' number-one rule is to avoid all relationships with the humans. Caring for the people she has to kill is a fast track to insanity. However, when Alex Morgan walks into her first-period English class, she knows she's in for trouble. He's the worst kind of human for her to like, one with a rapidly approaching expiration date. And he makes Atropos want to break all the rules.

I love reading new stories about tales you think you know everything about. This one was no different, finding out a new story about the goddesses, The Fates. Once I started the book, I could not put it down and was laughing and crying through the entire story. I cannot wait to read more Threads of the Moirae. I love Atropos. She lets her carefully built walls down for Alex and it may well destroy her.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Evelyn Chartres · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are certain elements of life that few of us think about. Many avoid dwelling on death and few question how we ended up where we are. Was it blind luck? Skill? Ruthlessness? Or was it pre-ordained by a greater power?

This book tackled both elements by living through a moment in the life of one of the Fates. The author Jennifer Derrick seems to have a knack for dragging Greek mythology thousands of years ahead into the now. She breathed life into these ancient gods and goddesses and left me emotionally invested in their outcomes.

All of the elements are there, political intrigue, alliances, life, and death. The latter is central to our main characters existence and the reader gets to see what happens when rules are bent or broken.

I found it hard to put this book down, taking any opportunity I had to advance a few pages. Alas, the much of the story remains to be told. So I ordered Avenging Fate to see how just how this tale unfolds!

[Luchi Vazquez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book and I was quite sad when I didn’t.

The storyline was good and entertaining and it had so much potential, but this characters were so annoying that they ruined the book for me.

I had a LOT of problems with the decisions they were taking and some things were so unrealistic, mean and selfish.

On top of that, the relationships and love stories were rushed and imposible to believe. I mean how can you meet someone and a week later be completely in love and wanting to be with them OVER YOUR FAMILY when you are dying and who in their right mind would want someone who is dying to be spending time ONLY WITH HER and get jealous if they want to be with somebody else, not to mention ruining your whole life and the whole world. WTF. I get the whole fate thing but one thing is to love someone, but this was borderline toxic and a lame excuse for instalove. I SAID WHAT I SAID, sorry not sorry

This lacked MAJOR story and character’s relationships development but I truly think this has potential idk maybe it was not for me but i really liked the Greek mythology aspect and this author take in this theme.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jennifer Derrick definitely knows how to write characters vibrantly and extremely well. The characters that we are meant to love, I loved.. The characters that we are meant to hate, I despised.

This book was filled with love, happiness, grief, humor, brutality, and ruthlessness. So much happened that just had me on a rollercoaster of emotions. The ending to this book had me so upset just because the outcome was written so incredibly well. I can't wait to read the next book and I'm sad that I have to wait around for it.

I loved reading about the Greek Mythology. Jennifer Derrick was able to portray all of her characters so efficiently that it was never boring to read about any of them. She was also able to wrap it into modernized times really flawlessly.

Also I loved the characters desires for books.

[Yara · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story! The author does a wonderful job of making Sophie (Atropos) pass off as a teenager when in fact she's a three thousand year old goddess. Sophie is serious but has her moments of hilarity. Alex has a losing battle against him: he has a short shelf like by way of terminal illness. It's a cruel joke played on both of them but they make the best of it. I love their shared love of reading, and of exploring abandoned places. This book made me laugh, teary eyed, angry, and dying (no pun intended) to get my hands on the next book.

[Blue · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book catfished me.

The cover is gorgeous and the idea of the story sounded to amazing to pass up. After all, any book based around Greek gods should be amazing right?

WRONG. I really disliked the characters. Actually... I hated them. I really felt like a mother hen getting angry at little chicks for doing everything they are not supposed to. The story was wayyyyyy too romantic for me and at the same time strayed away from the promise of Greek gods.

I was fooled by this book and will not be continuing with the series.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been soooo good! But I personally cannot stand when a writer tries to incorporate modern lingo into an ancient setting. Plus the dialogue felt stiff and dis-genuine most of the time. I really liked the premise of a moral falling for an immortal (especially for the Death Fate). But the story only scraped the bottom barrel of its potential.
This novel could have been soooo much better *sigh*

[Ann-Marie Sackfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give it a 3 star - it was ok. Introduced me to some of the gods/goddesses and what they’re gods of which was interesting to me. I just felt the plot was rushed and could have been better. Not much detail and felt it was a bit like it was TLDR summary for everyone. It was readable but I also couldn’t wait to finish it so I could move on to something better.

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Broken Fate” is a young adult retelling of the Fates, in the style of a tragic Greco Roman mythological tale.

Read full review in the 2016 November issue of InD'tale Magazine.

[Amanda White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story!

I have always loved Greek Mythology and this book is adds unique twists to stories I have always liked. A love story intertwined with death , a fascinating book well worth the read and I can't wait to read the next one!

[Cátia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written but utterly depressing and frustrating, with an ending (brought on by Sophie's utter stupidity and negligence) that makes you want to throw the book across the room. Will not be reading any more of the series.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

bro what was the ending?? absolutely did not give me anything at all. This felt so empty. Had a strong start and middle, but then the ending ruined it for me. It felt rushed.

I enjoyed the dynamic between the main two, but that’s the only thing this book has done for me. —> 2.5 stars

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan. I think if I had not read Divine Rivals right before this one, I would have liked it more, but this was a snore fest, with so many holes in the weaving of the The Fates into regular life, I couldn't believe it. I won't keep reading the series.

[Lindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me

DNF - i struggled to get to 40%. I got to Jesus Christ existence with Sophie and didn't want to hear the rest or negative about him.

[Karla]

Interesting take on Greek Mythology and the Three Fates, really looking forward to see what happens next with Sophie/Atropos

[Alex Latham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 76 complete.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of the book had me questioning where it was going, but in the end I really enjoyed it! I love mythological fiction and this did not disappoint. Looking forward to the next one!