What a crazy, mind-boggling, overwhelming, hyperactive book. Fates is a contemporary fantasy mix. Its setting takes place both in our world, called "Humana" and a multitude of other parallel universes accessed through Crossroads. Crossroads are pathways most human's won't easily see. The book is narrated in third person, primarily by the two main characters: Corinthe and Lucas or "Luc". Corinthe is a fallen Fate. She's living her life exiled from her world because she failed to execute one of her assignments, which come in the form of foggy marbles. You see she accidentally dropped it and it floated away down river. As a result of her screw-up someones fate was not carried out. Now, she's patiently waiting for her punishment to be lifted so she can return home to her sister fates. In the meantime, a woman called Miranda, "a guardian" is watching over Corinthe helping her achieve her goal by bringing her random assignments (foggy marbles) to carry out in order to get back in good graces with her people, eventually regaining access to her homeland. Lucus on the other hand is a human boy with a terrible life. His mother ditched he and his sister when they were very young. She left them at home one day and said she'd be right back, but never returned. Her leaving left their father in ruins, now he's a raging alcoholic. Lucas is primarily the caretaker of his younger sister Jasmine, who recently has fallen in with the wrong crowd. Lucas fears she may be following in their mother's footsteps. The story sets up with Miranda bringing Corinthe her last assignment, which is to kill Lucas. This will earn her re-entry to her world and her old life back. The only problem is will she be able to carry out his murder? 
 The characters in this book were just meh. I didn't really forge any type of bond with Corinthe. I duley noted her undying determination. Her homesickness is pretty palpable though out the story. I just never felt like I got to know her as well as I would have liked. It would have been nice to hear more backstory on her and her life before exile. On the flip side, I felt like I knew Lucas a lot better. His family and personal life were explored in further depths. What a pitiful life. I could appreciate how he didn't really feel like sharing anything with his ultra rich girl friend, I could feel his humiliation. His love for his sister felt realistic. It was sad to see her growing apart from her brother since they seemed like they had formed such a special bond growing up. 
 When I initially heard about this book I thought it might be filled with mythology or history about the fates. This was not the case at all. Instead, the main concept in this story had a lot to do with free will and the ability to chose one's own destiny vs. predetermined fate. Its certainly a great idea for a book, I just felt the execution was off in this one. Initially my thoughts were..."A single fate exiled to the human world. A boy who's been dealt a bad hand when it comes to family, written in an easy readable fashion I like it so far". However, as the story progressed my feelings changed. My number one issue was pacing. To say this book is action packed would be a blatant understatement! There is soooo much going on my head ached while trying to process it all. It IS possible to have too much action in a book. While reading this one I felt like I needed to come up for air. I mean there were a multitude of Parallel worlds, blood nymphs, killer bees, gnomes and a special flower that will save the day and honestly that's just scratching the surface! Too many ideas, not enough time for the reader to digest it all. 
 The ending is complete. The book concludes VERY open-ended, though. It still feel as if plenty of story is left to tell. I'm sure I will continue this one to see if the author is able to slow down and sure everything back up. The writing in this one was definitely very readable. Its definitely worth giving a try. Who knows it might surprise you. 
 I would recommend this to readers who are constantly searching for an action packed plot. If you find yourself craving for more action and less fluff this is your book. You will not have a moments downtime to be bored.