Elaine White's Life in Books

Book 10: Mirror of Fate
Star rating - ★★☆☆☆
POV – Seyah
Would I read it again – No.

** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **

And, once again, Holden was ignored and proven right in the end. I'm not going to keep repeating myself about this, because it's kind of pointless at this late stage.

Seyah wasn't a good POV, since I already had no reason to like her. All throughout the series she's been the whiney objector to anything and everything Holden's ever said, only because she doesn't want to admit that she knew he was flirting in their previous life, she led him on to believe it might go somewhere and then, in an attempt to avoid letting him admit his feelings – where she might actually have to brush him off – she flirted in a way that caused the crash that took their lives. And then blamed him. *rolls eyes*

Yeah, not a POV I wanted to read, thank you very much. Especially since it's been clear since Inez arrived that the two have been dancing around each other only to end up with a will-they-wont-they situation in this story, too.

Again, we have an inherent racism (which has actually been a subtle recurrent theme throughout the series), this time from a mixed-race character, Seyah, against a “white girl”, mimicking the same racism of the previous episode. I'm not sure if it's an attempt to show that mixed-race and Asian girls can be as racist against white girls as white girls can be to them. Either way, it only frustrated me.

To really sum up my feelings on this story, I'm going to share these two quotes, because they both made me angry for reasons I've already mentioned in previous episodes. But the point is this – no one EVER learns and, apart from a few, they're all too selfish to see sense. The only characters who had a good, logical part in the story and a brain have been killed or, like Holden, are ignored. The rest are treated like total rockstars for just uttering the same thing over and over and over again. But, you know what? They can dump on Holden, Umna and Loki for their caution all they like, but in the end, they're going to be the only ones left alive while everyone else takes the risks that get people killed.

““He thinks it's a trap,” Seyah said.
“Yeah,” Holden agreed, frowning at her. “I do. We know it's just as likely – maybe more likely – to be caretakers keeping the lights on as it is people.”
“Not all caretakers are bad news,” Inez spoke up. “The one Teddy and I were around first was harmless enough.”
“I still don't know if I believe that,” Loki said.”

“Inez gave a snort-laugh at that.
“What?” Holden asked.
“I'm just wondering,” Inez said. “have you ever done anything impulsive? Ever taken a risk?”
Teddy said, “Burn.”
Holden sputtered. “I – Well – ”
His eyes went to Seyah, and she wasn't sure if he was waiting for backup or what. He looked at her oddly, like she knew some impulsive thing he'd done. Interesting.
She stayed quiet.
“I don't want to take risks with anyone's safety,” he finally said.
“We all still have a voice, right?” Inez said. “We each have a vote. There's no reward without risks. Sometimes you have to take them and see where you land.”
Tension stretched out between Inez and Holden. No one else said another word, but everyone was watching. And, Seyah guessed, choosing their sides.
“Why don't we think about it overnight and vote tomorrow?” Seyah suggested, keeping her tone light.
If they voted right now, Holden might win. But she thought the longer the others had to see the city on the horizon, the more unable they'd be to walk away from it.”