About the Book
-
Author:
- Lindsay K. Bandy
- Genres:
- Contemporary
- Fantasy
- Historical Fiction
- Voices:
- Cis Boy
- Straight
- White (Non-Specified)
Cover Story: Gothic
BFF Charm: Yay
Talky Talk: He Said, He Wrote
Bonus Factors: Art History, Found Family
Relationship Status: Patron of Your Arts
Content Warning: Inevitable Fate features the brutal death of an animal and mentions of not-completely-consensual sex work.
Cover Story: Gothic
I will be honest—I didn’t notice the skull or the face on this cover until I looked closely at it. I love the juxtaposition of the two, but am unsure of what’s overlaid on the woman’s face or what’s coming out of it(?). The inversion of the skull’s colors is a great nod to an element of the book, though.
The Deal:
When his art teacher asked the class to draw someone from memory, Evan Kiernan drew a girl he’d never met, but could envision as clear as day. The same drawing, turned into a painting, got him an early start at NYU, through a Promising Young Artist scholarship. Evan’s stoked to be on his own for the first time in his life, and excited about the work he’ll do in college.
But then Evan meets the girl from the painting, Mara. And he starts having visions of a past in which another girl who also looks exactly like Mara dies. Evan’s not sure what’s happening, but he knows he’ll do anything to avoid repeating her fate.
BFF Charms: Yay
Evan is a sweet, charming, dedicated young man who does a lot better on his own in New York City than I would have at seventeen. He also keeps a mostly level head when faced with strange visions of possible past lives. He could work on his communication a little, but he’ll get there. (Again, only seventeen.) I’d totally give him a BFF charm.
Swoonworthy Scale: 7
There’s an element of insta-love to Evan and Mara’s relationship, thanks to their pasts. But the chemistry is real between the two; Bandy does a great job of making it seem fresh this latest time, even though we eventually learn that it’s the third time Evan and Mara have gone through this blossoming love. (Mara, too, is a wee bit Manic Pixie Dream Girl, but in a way that’s surprisingly appealing.)
Talky Talk: He Said, He Wrote
Now, I’ve never been a teenage boy who has visions of past lives and maybe the future, but Bandy captures his tortured teenage soul really well. I could imagine knowing someone like Evan when I was his age, and not thinking he was odd (except in a good way) or strangely disconnected from the youths. (That said, I am 40. I perhaps don’t quite remember what youths were like in my day.)
I also loved the interjections of the letters Kieran (whom we find out—SPOILER ALERT—was one of Evan’s past lives) wrote while in the asylum. They’re a prop for Evan figuring out the mystery, but they’re also a great way to learn the past without waiting for Evan to catch up.
Bonus Factor: Art History
One of Evan’s first semester courses is an art history class titled Mythology in Modern Art. I wasn’t an art student, but I’ve always loved mythology and how it permeates all of culture. I’d have loved to take this course in college, and loved the snippets of class we got to see through Evan’s eyes.
Dr. Mortakis switched the slides again, this time to a beautiful, curly-haired woman with intense blue eyes dressed in flowing tangerine robes. She was opening a box, allowing an ominous orange smoke to escape.
“Today, Pandora is associated with streaming music and kitschy jewelry, but in ancient times, she was the Greek equivalent of Eve. Pandora was beautiful, clever, and oh-so-curious, so when the gods gave her a box with strict instructions not to open it, she couldn’t help herself. And so, evil came into the world through a beautiful woman. Dante Gabriel Rossetti portrayed her here, in 1871, as the ultimate femme fatale, and doesn’t that fit with the mindset of the Victorian age? That evil and chaos enter the world the instant a woman disobeys?”
Bonus Factor: Found Family
Mara plays the drums in a local NYC band, and it’s more than just a bunch of people who all play instruments at the same time. They’re a little family unit, and they take care of each other even better than some actual blood family might. We don’t get to learn too much about the other band members, but the little glimpses into their personalities and lives made me like them very much.
Relationship Status: Patron of Your Arts
We had a good time, Book, even through all the stressful moments. (And there were many!) Your ending surprised me, but looking back, I can see how you wove elements of the reveal throughout. I’d love to hang out more, and I can’t wait to see your art hanging in a museum some day.
Literary Matchmaking
Lisa Maxwell’s The Last Magician series has shades of timey-wimey business and is set in NYC.
Mindy McGinnis’s A Madness So Discreet also features a misunderstood individual deemed crazy by the society and time in which they live.
Claudia Gray’s Firebird series involves doppelgangers, too, but of the alternate universe variety.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from CamCat Books, but got neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. Inevitable Fate is available now.
