My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:

Title: Deathly Fates

Author: Tesia Tsai

Narrator(s): Katharine Chin

Format: audiobook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368 Listening Time: Approximately 10 hours 25 min

Publication Date: 4/14/26

Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Asian Literature, Paranormal

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Macmillan Young Listeners for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A sweeping debut inspired by the Chinese folk practice of necromancy, Deathly Fates is perfect for fans of Descendant of the Crane, The Bone Shard Daughter, and A Magic Steeped in Poison.

As a priestess paid to guide the deceased home, Kang Siying has never feared death. However, when her beloved father collapses, Siying realizes that even she is not free from the cruel grasp of mortality. Desperate to provide her father with the medical aid he needs, Siying accepts a dangerous job that promises a generous commission, and travels to a hostile state to retrieve the corpse of a missing prince.

But the moment Siying places her reanimation talisman on the dead prince’s head, rather than make the corpse obedient to Siying’s commands, the talisman brings the prince back to life. Worse, he won’t stay alive for long—not unless he absorbs enough qi, or life force, to keep his soul anchored to his body.

In return for a reward worth twice her original commission, Siying agrees to aid the frustratingly handsome prince in finding and purifying evil spirits for their qi. As they journey across the countryside, encountering vengeful ghosts and enemy spies alike, they gradually uncover dark secrets about the prince’s death—secrets that could endanger both Siying’s father and their entire kingdom.

Content Warning: violence, death, mention of suicide, hauntings, grief

+ I really enjoyed this audiobook because of the narrator’s voice – I love the warmth in it and she did such a good job with all the characters she had to voice. Though I started off reading this ebook, the audiobook really kept me invested because of the narrator.

+ Siying is a corpse driver – a priestess who guides the dead to their resting place, and she can revive the dead, she’s a necromancer. She’s following in her beloved dad’s footsteps – and now that he’s older and sick she takes on more jobs so that she can help raise money to take him to a healer. She takes a job reviving a corpse not knowing that he is the second prince – but now that he’s sort of awake, she has to gather more qi to keep him alive or else he will die again. This quest for qi takes them through some haunted places which I really enjoyed! I loved the paranormal elements and the dangerous spirits they encounter.

+ I love the family elements. Siying loves her father dearly and will do anything to help him get better. But in the end, she has to accept she’s done everything can and let him go. Ren also deals with some family issues. Ren doesn’t want the crown – throughout their journey they encounter angry people and their stories of exploitation carried out by the kingdom. There is threat of a war coming so Ren doesn’t want to deal with that until he is forced to face the truth of things about his older brother, the heir.

+ The romance is slow burn and so sweet! It’s a dislike to like kind of romance, at least on Siying’s part. I love how Ren is playful and Siying is always scolding him. She’s grumpy and he’s the sunshing – they are opposites but very cute together.

~ Grief and anger really takes over Siying at the end with so many things happening at once – and I was surprised with her feelings of vengeance and rage. I know she was in a hurt place inside, but she really wanted to take someone out and it felt a little out of character. Would have loved more moments between her and her father also.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed the audiobook version of this book! Siying and Ren’s journey through haunted woods, a mansion and a haunted town really kept things interesting. I enjoyed the slow burn between Siying who’s the grumpy FMC and Ren who is a golden-retriever who doesn’t want the responsibilities of being a prince. We get to learn both characters and their motivations through their adventures and I also really loved the family element though I wish there were more scenes between Siying and her dad. The romance is slow burn and sweet. Overall, I think this is a good debut.

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