A Simple Twist of Fate by April Asher

A Simple Twist of Fate by April AsherA Simple Twist of Fate by April Asher
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on May 13, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley
Purchase on: Amazon// Barnes & Noble// BookBub
Add to: Goodreads // StoryGraph

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.



At the bright-eyed age of eighteen, witch Harlow “Harry” Pierce attended her first Fates Haven Finding Ceremony certain the Blue Willow Wisp would lead her to her Fated match, her cougar shifter boyfriend, Jaxon Atwood. But Fate had other plans, guiding her best friend to him instead. With a broken heart, all her belongings, and a vow to never return, Harry did the only thing a broken-hearted witch could do. Run.

Thirteen years later, she returns to her magical hometown—with her half-human, half-shifter goddaughter in tow—hoping that not only would the town work its magic on the troubled teenager, but that the local Alpha of the Rocky Mountain Pack could help Grace identify—and control—her fiery abilities.

Jaxon Atwood was a shifter of few words and even less patience… until his mother retired as Alpha of the Rocky Mountain Pack and left the running of things to him. It’s a headache he didn’t need, and one that brought the witch who’d ripped his heart from his chest knocking on his door.

Ever since the disappearance of the town’s Fate Witch over a decade ago, Fates Haven’s magic has been slowly going haywire. There hasn’t been a Fated Match made in thirteen years, putting the town in serious jeopardy of losing its title of Most Fated Mates Per Population. But now, something is stirring in Fates Haven, Colorado, and it smells like the past, tastes like change, and looks like A SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE.

three-stars

review

When I first picked up A Simple Twist of Fate by April Asher, I thought this was going to be super deep and involved. I was expecting angst and romance with a side of single guardian. Instead, this was super cute and breezy.

Despite being over 300 pages long, this really felt like it was 200 or under. The pacing was just way too fast. It never felt like we had a chance to linger with a character or relationship because the second we got close to anything, we were whisked away to the next scene. I wish we could’ve spent more time learning about Jax and what his relationship with Harry was like. I wish we’d gotten glimpses of Harry’s friendship with Larry and Elodie. I wanted to feel the angst over running away from home because the love of your life was announced to be the fated mate of your best friend. Instead, we’re pretty much just told they loved one another and they were best friends and let’s continue the story along. It honestly felt like this was a set-up story for a burgeoning series, which I’d love to read, but I still wish we could’ve focused more on the character relationships, platonic and romantic.

Despite how fast this blew by, even the surface level interactions we see were cute and lovely. It felt cozy. The stakes felt low and there was never a moment where I thought Jax and Harry wouldn’t get back together. The competition was fun and Grace was adorable. This just felt comforting.

I think if you’re looking for something with angst or deep character dives, you might not get that here. If you’re looking for something sweet and light, A Simple Twist of Fate by April Asher definitely hits the spot. It’s super fast paced and introduces such a great cast of characters. I’m positive if this turns into a series, the subsequent books will settle into a steadier pace and I am really looking forward to that!

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