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Fate of the Ashers, The Petros Chronicles Book 3, by Diana Tyler

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Fate of the Ashers: The Petros Chronicles Book 3

By Diana Tyler

Young Adult. Fantasy. Mythology.

3 Stars

Seriously, the best ending EvEr

They thought the war was over, but it was only just beginning…

One month after Chloe’s victory over Mania, everything seems back to normal. Actually, it’s better than normal. For one thing, her parents are alive, tensions between she and her brother Damian have eased, more Ashers exist, and she and Ethan are more than fellow former fugitives –they’re a couple.

But things take a downward spiral when Mount Aetna, a volcano thought to be extinct, erupts in Petros’s capital. Soon, what initially seemed like nothing more than a a natural disaster proves to be a sign of an imminent supernatural threat. The Olympian gods of old, heretofore chained in Tartarus, have been freed by the sea nymph Eione, and will do everything in their limitless power to bring the Ashers down.

Chloe and Damian’s cousin Hector is a dejected high school student who, as an only child, is hopeful his eighteenth birthday will bring him a life-changing doma. When he outruns the track team’s fastest sprinter, he’s certain his days as a benchwarmer are over. Little does he know that Ares, one of the most merciless and bloodthirsty gods, has taken notice of his power, a power Hector has barely tapped into.

Kidnapped and whisked off to Mount Olympus, Hector soon finds that being an Asher isn’t so great after all. Compelled by threats from the entire pantheon, he’s forced to embark upon a mission that will destroy every Asher and ensure the gods regain their former glory.

When Athena, goddess of wisdom, informs Chloe and the others of Zeus’s plan, they plan a daring counterattack: time travel back to heaven, before Petros was created, and thwart the rebels’ revolt against the All-Powerful. It’s two Ashers against an army of ruthless, power-hungry immortals who together possess an endless arsenal of deadly superpowers. How hard can it be?

Full of twists and turns and thrilling surprises, this final book in The Petros Chronicles is a riveting fantasy adventure for lovers of Greek mythology.

As a huge fan of the first two books in this series by Diana Tyler, I was excited to receive an ARC of book three, Fate of the Ashers.

I was so curious to see what was next in store for the world of Petros and Chloe, Damien and Ethan after the “conclusion” of their previous journey. Delightedly, the Greek pantheon was back for more shenanigans, including names and faces rarely talked about like this.

I started out enjoying the difficulty Chloe was having adjusting to her new timeline, fate coverthough I quickly found her issues confusing. She’d come so far with her faith, I was curious by her struggles, especially her struggle with forgiveness. This made the bulk of the book a bit tedious for me.

I found myself wanting more of Damien. His story was the farthest traveled. From his bona-fide boneheadedness in Book One, that he continues to harbor guilt over in this book, I just wanted more of his point-of-view. I wanted to feel his story arc as I did Chloe, and even Hector. As one-half of the Vessel, I was surprised not to get it.

For all my “complaints,” I loved this ending! The best ending ever! This twist was so clever–I was like —Oh! Whoa! This is spectacular!— It made the entire series more real and the book so worth reading!

I’m excited to start reading this series to my niece and nephews.

Happy Reading 🙂

Check out more of my reviews HERE.

Brainstorming Tactics

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Our Obsession with Notebooks

An introvert by nature, it’s been nice to find like-minded people through the #bookstagram and #writersfollowwriters community on Instagram.

One thing I’ve noticed in this culture of creatives is that my (ex)obsession with all things journals, notebook, and pen related items is (was) not unique. Watching so many great ways others’ use these tools is great fun (yeah, nerd alert. You already knew), and usually, has me conversating with myself about the desire to bring them back into my life. What better way to spend an afternoon than shopping for bound paper and cool graphic instruments?

Somehow, I’ve been able to repress the urge…

The last few years have converted me into a gypsy, my vagabond style of living forcing me to streamline my possessions. Simplifying travel became my most focused concentration. Going electronic was the easiest way to keep my library, both reading and personal-muse-storage, with me at all times. Instead of carrying pounds of notebooks and utensils with me everywhere, which I did for years (fueling an obsession I had with messenger bags), I went efficient. My MacBook Air was the best purchases I ever made.

After giving up the habit of amassing every cool writing tool I could find, I still find myself surrounded by some hangers-on…

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Still even this streamlining had me missing critical points in ideas my muse would throw that I failed to hang on to…

Current Brainstorming Tactics

There is so much advice floating around about how best to “plot,” to brainstorm, to organize one’s stories. After so many notebooks, filled with notes, and outlines, then moving on to trying to do this same thing electronically, I’ve found my most successful way for me is to simply stare into space…

I think it started when I realized all my newest story ideas were fueled by dreams. Recording the dreams usually sets me up to be able to hash out the thoughts/feelings invoked by such a situation (we all know how coherent dreams can be). It usually takes me weeks to figure out how a scene or emotion that caught me in slumber can be fixed to a cohesive design.

That’s where staring comes in.

Writing, whether through a keyboard or pen and ink, takes time; time where my run-amuck thoughts are racing faster than my fingers can keep up. I’ve lost so many nuances this way.

But staring off, letting my mind work through details, figuring out the interconnectivity of basic points, keeps me from losing so much. Often, this is part of my pre-sleep ritual: to lay in bed, rehashing points I’ve come up with, seeing if they still work after “sleeping on it.”

I used to forget when I didn’t write it down (a thing that happened more than not). I used to forget while I was writing it down. Now, it’s clearly in my head. As points solidify, I put in down in physical form so, instead of hundreds of random notes that rarely come together coherently, I have more solid plans when I  get down to writing.

  • What’s your brainstorming method?
  • How do you figure out the main points of your story?