Review: The Unchosen by Laura Huie
Blurb:
Fire spells her name. Dreams whisper of a lost magic…
Fia, a woman adrift in a sea of amnesia, has no past, no family, no identity. But, when a twisted arsonist burns her name across the city, Fia stumbles into a shocking truth: her forgotten past holds the key to saving two worlds.
Haunted by visions of Thedre, a realm of breathtaking magic, Fia discovers she's more than she seems. A hidden enemy from this mystical land has infiltrated Earth, and only Fia can stop him. But a sinister cabal plots to keep her from reclaiming her rightful place as leader, and wielding the power of light magic.
Time is running out. Fia must unlock her buried memories and master this unstable power before her city is reduced to ashes. But can she learn to control her newfound abilities?
Or will her power destroy everything she holds dear…
Review:
The Unchosen by Laura Huie grabbed me from the title alone. I’ve always had a weakness for stories that play with the “chosen one” trope, and this title drew me in. Add to that the entire concept of “returning to Earth”, especially when the story is about the main character already being there - and I was definitely curious. To my delight, the book delivered far beyond my initial expectations. The "returning to Earth" theme turned out to be a central element, but it evolved into something far richer and more complex than I had anticipated.
The Unchosen is a story about Fia - a powerful light user and leader of her people - who doesn’t know who she is and has been living on Earth with Karen without any memories of her past. She is loving life on earth, even though some of the conversations she and Karen have hit a little too close to home on what women have to deal with in the real world.
But Fia isn’t from this world. She is from Thedre, which is where her lover Winston lives and where he has been searching for her since she went missing. Their meeting is fraught with danger and felt almost wistful at the calm moments, as something was clearly wrong from Winston’s point of view. The fact that Fia doesn’t remember him or them together was painful to read!
As mentioned, Fia is a light user. That was a cool addition to the usual four elements, which are also represented in Thedre with a few additional twists to make them better the norms. And the world of Thedre itself is ruled by the “Fates”, something like gods who pick the Chosen Ones and their apprentices for each of the elemental nations in question.
As someone who loves reading different perspectives where deities are involved, I was hooked from Huie’s first depiction of gods and divine entities. They were portrayed in such a unique and engaging way that felt fresh. The gods weren’t just distant, ethereal beings that watched from another plane - they were there, they pulled the strings, and they were a central reason for many of the conflicts within the world of Thedre. We even got the chance to see that they can be petty!
Fia, however, is an unchosen. She has turned her back on the fates and doesn’t even remember why. She used to be the most powerful light user to ever exist and one of the special powers that light users have is to create hiddenways - portals that allow people to travel great distances through a tunnel-like path. (The fact that these hiddenways can be destroyed was just epic!)
And this is where the isekai element comes in with a really cool twist. Not only is Fia on Earth, having gotten there from Thedre, but she also goes back to Thedre accidentally, back to Earth with someone following her, and then once more back to Thedre. This back and forth helped build up so much tension, especially since Fia wasn’t in control of her powers and these hiddenways weren’t listening to her!
The way Fia deals with her magic is a comforting reminder of a favourite game of mine - we have a powerful character who is held back at the beginning and has to progress back to their previous level. This felt a little like gamification to me (in a good way) as she has to go back and relearn skills that nobody else was able to do! Even better, her way to train was through hard work and study, dealing with headaches and pressure from those around her, not just a snap-of-the-fingers and she’s suddenly back.
I loved her character so much - she was flawed, but extremely capable. Excluding her issues with the magic itself, she seemed to make smart decisions and owned up to her mistakes. Winston, on the other hand, was just a waving green flat for me! The way Huie hinted at their past relations as lovers while building their new relationship was so well balanced!
In fact, it’s Winston’s points of view that made me care for him so much and understand the two of them better. Winston loves Fia, cares for her, and he is willing to stand back and let her take her time to remember their past together. The way Winston treats her has so many green flags that it does have me secretly rooting for them to get back together, even though not my main ship.
There were a few other characters throughout that caught my attention, including the flame user Logi, Fia’s roommate Karen, and the verdant (plant magic user) apprentice Martin. At first, Logi and Martin didn’t feel as fleshed out, but their roles definitely drew the eye and their actions rounded off the story very well.
In the end though, the main thing that grabbed me and kept me in this story was world-building. Thedre was such an amazing world to enter into. As someone who isn’t a fan of political intrigue and the going-ons of leaders, I was invested in the story here. Huie was able to create struggles for powers and explanations that were not only relevant, but they were easy to understand without being dumbed-down, and with no overly technical jargon or exposition. This balance made the political intrigue a captivating part of the story rather than a tedious subplot.
For anyone on the lookout for a fantasy novel that offers a fast-paced narrative, epic magical elements, and intriguing background mysteries, this book is an excellent choice. Laura’s writing style was particularly noteworthy—her prose was engaging and dynamic, her main characters were fleshed out and easy to connect with, and she tied up just enough plot points to satisfy while leaving a few major ones hanging to make you want to pick up the next book!
Summary
Romance: side plot, unrequired M>F
Spice: none
Tropes: portals, elemental magic
Writing: third person, multi-POV, past-tense
