TWO CHOSEN ONES WITH ONE CHOICE: THE WORLD OR EACH OTHER
A Fate So Cold is the first of a new blockbuster duology from the New York Times bestselling authors of All of Us Villains, Amanda Foody & C. L. Herman.
For most of the year, Summer reigns peacefully over Alderland. Then, for six brutal weeks, Winter rages, obliterating towns and wreaking casualties. Magicians bond with powerful wands of Summer to defend the nation, a duty that costs many their lives.
Domenic Barrow never wanted such responsibility—but destiny hasn’t granted him a choice. The greatest Summer wand has awakened for the first time in a century, warning that an icy cataclysm looms on the horizon. And despite his reputation as the least suited of his classmates, the wand Chooses Domenic to wield it.
Ellery Caldwell spent years striving to be a perfect Summer magician—and burying her fears of her own power. But her worst suspicions are proven true when she accidentally creates the first ever Winter wand.
Now, as the unprecedented Chosen Two, Domenic and Ellery must thwart the oncoming cataclysm together. And in trying to fulfill their destinies, they wonder if they were brought together for a second fate: to fall in love.
Until they discover the unthinkable truth. The Chosen Two aren’t fated allies, but eternal rivals, and the only way to save their home is for one of them to slay the other.
This is no love story. It's a tragedy.
A Fate So Cold is the first of a new blockbuster duology from the New York Times bestselling authors of All of Us Villains, Amanda Foody & C. L. Herman.
For most of the year, Summer reigns peacefully over Alderland. Then, for six brutal weeks, Winter rages, obliterating towns and wreaking casualties. Magicians bond with powerful wands of Summer to defend the nation, a duty that costs many their lives.
Domenic Barrow never wanted such responsibility—but destiny hasn’t granted him a choice. The greatest Summer wand has awakened for the first time in a century, warning that an icy cataclysm looms on the horizon. And despite his reputation as the least suited of his classmates, the wand Chooses Domenic to wield it.
Ellery Caldwell spent years striving to be a perfect Summer magician—and burying her fears of her own power. But her worst suspicions are proven true when she accidentally creates the first ever Winter wand.
Now, as the unprecedented Chosen Two, Domenic and Ellery must thwart the oncoming cataclysm together. And in trying to fulfill their destinies, they wonder if they were brought together for a second fate: to fall in love.
Until they discover the unthinkable truth. The Chosen Two aren’t fated allies, but eternal rivals, and the only way to save their home is for one of them to slay the other.
This is no love story. It's a tragedy.
Title: A Fate So Cold (A Fate So Cold #1)
Author: Amanda Foody and C.L. Herman
Publisher: Tor/Macmillan Audio
Expected Publication Date: November 4, 2025
Review:
hank you to Tor, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with a print copy and audio copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I love me some dark academia and this definitely fit that bill. I was excited to jump in and see what the magic system was about and how the world would build out. It is very unique for sure!
The narrators for this title, Andre Bellido and Mia Wurgaft, were new to me. They did a fairly good job but I didn't love them. Their voices felt a it flat and I kept hoping they would have a bit more inflection during the action scenes but they didn't. I won't rule them out for future titles, but I did enjoy the book more when I as reading it in the print ARC as compared to the audio.
I love a good dual POV story. It's so much fun to get into both main characters's heads and see where they are at. This book did a great job with that. I really enjoyed the FMC and the MMC. Both characters have traumatic backgrounds. It definitely is something that shapes them, and their relationship with each other. I did feel like there could have been just a bit more background on their trauma. At times I was confused by it but in the end I did understand it.
I'm not sure how much I believed in the romance between the two main characters. It felt a bit forced given their forced proximity. I didn't feel it grow as it should.
The world is quite unique with it's living wands and the wands choosing their wielder. I also enjoyed the dichotomy of the winter versus summer wands. The pacing is done well. I kept wanting to move forward to see what would happen. The authors infused a good amount of action into the story, as well. This is my first book by this duo and they write well together, I didn't feel like the story was disjointed or weird in any way given there are two authors.
Theses authors built a solid fantasy. And that ending! I kind of figured we'd be seeing that particular character again (no spoilers here!) but I didn't know how it would happen. Now I need the next book so I can see how things play out. Fans of Harry Potter and dystopian books will really enjoy sinking their teeth into this one.
Author:
Amanda Foody is the New York Times, USA Today, and indie bestselling author of All of Us Villains (with C.L. Herman), the Wilderlore series, the Shadow Game series, and more. Her work has appeared in publications including Buzzfeed, Popsugar, Culturess, and Amazon selected All of Us Villains as the Best Young Adult Book of 2021. Originally from Pennsylvania, she lives in Boston, MA with her partner and their orange tabby, Jelly Bean. When not writing, she unironically loves to cook.
The Night Compass, the fourth installment in the Wilderlore series, releases on March 5, 2024. A Fate So Cold, her next novel with C.L. Herman, follows in Fall 2024.
The Night Compass, the fourth installment in the Wilderlore series, releases on March 5, 2024. A Fate So Cold, her next novel with C.L. Herman, follows in Fall 2024.
C. L. HERMAN is the New York Times, USA Today, and national indie bestselling author of atmospheric, magical novels, including the All of Us Villains duology (with Amanda Foody), The Devouring Gray duology, and The Drowning Summer. Their work has received critical and commercial acclaim and has been translated into over ten languages. Their next co-written project, A Fate So Cold, will release in fall 2025.
They currently reside in the Boston area with their partner and cat.
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