When a series grabs you right away, that's the best feeling. I can safely say The Compelling Fates Saga by Sophia St. Germain had me in its grip: I finished this series within 10 days.
The series consists of four books in total. Officially it's listed as complete, but in her acknowledgments St. Germain already hints that the series is done for now. Luckily it doesn't leave things on an open ending: the ongoing storyline still gets a proper conclusion.

The series is mainly about Elessia, half human and half Fae. She has a rare and dangerous kind of magic: when she looks someone straight in the eyes, she can force her will on that person. Because of that magic, Merrick keeps a close watch on her on behalf of the king. When the king forces her to take part in an election for leadership, a life-changing adventure begins for her: she has to gather information for him about who's responsible for the threat against the kingdom. What you get is no simple power game: alongside the political intrigue and Fae magic, it's just as much about trauma, loss, forgiveness and personal growth.

Characters & their development

I think this might be one of the strongest elements of the series: the characters and the development they go through across all four books. In every book there was a moment where I thought: I didn't see that coming. On the other hand, there were also elements I saw coming from four books away. Spoiler Alert. Skip straight to the next paragraph to dodge those!

I still genuinely don't understand why every single character suddenly finds their soulmate. That sometimes feels a bit excessive.

The main cast

Let's go over the most important characters.

Character	Who are they?	Development across the four books
Elessia (Lessia)	The female lead; half human, half Fae, with the gift to force others to do her will.	At the start she mainly fights for her own survival and freedom. Along the way she learns to embrace her powers and heritage, to let trust in, and to decide for herself who she wants to be.
Merrick	The notorious Death Whisperer, a powerful Fae warrior and Lessia's main love interest.	At the start he's a closed-off, feared warrior who mostly lives by duty and control. Lessia changes that: he learns to open up and discovers that death and duty don't define his whole identity.
Ardow	Lessia's first real friend in Ellow and part of her chosen family.	At first he's one of Lessia's most loyal friends, but his political beliefs push him further and further away from her. His arc in the series mainly shows how idealism and loyalty can clash.
Amalise	Lessia's human best friend and someone who looks after vulnerable Faelings.	By nature she mostly protects others and prefers to keep her own feelings hidden. Her relationship with Zaddock slowly breaks that down: she learns to trust again and to let others take care of her too.
Loche Lejonskold	Regent of Ellow and an important person in Lessia's life.	His struggle mainly lies in the conflict between his responsibilities as a leader and his personal feelings. Betrayal and revelations about his heritage eventually force him to decide again who he wants to be.
Raine	A very old and powerful Fae with the ability to influence others' minds.	He starts out as a cynical, damaged Fae who'd rather drink away his grief than face it. Frelina is the one who turns that around: she teaches him to let his grief in and open himself back up to love and connection.
Frelina	Lessia's younger half-Fae sister, with special mental powers.	She starts out relatively sheltered and insecure, but grows into someone who trusts her own strength and choices. Her bond with Raine especially makes her emotionally stronger and more open.
Kerym	One of the Siphon Twins, with the ability to absorb others' powers and emotions.	He hides his pain behind humour and impulsiveness. After losing Thissian he has to learn to live with grief and responsibility, and eventually finds a new purpose.

Supporting characters with impact

Beyond that, there are characters who play a smaller but clear role. Zaddock is Loche's right hand and most loyal friend, though his feelings for Amalise mean he increasingly goes against his leader's expectations too. King Rioner remains the series' manipulative power figure, though Lessia and the others manage to defy his grip more and more as things go on. Iviry, leader and commander of Vastala, learns to let her vulnerability in alongside her strength. And then there's Pellie and her sister Soria: Pellie grows from reserved into someone who dares to trust herself, partly thanks to her bond with Kerym. Soria mainly remains the group's keeper of knowledge — essential once the bigger magical truth unfolds.

World-building

The series is set in a world where humans, half-Fae and different Fae peoples exist alongside and against one another. The Fae are divided across different territories and groups, each with their own power structures, magic and interests. The tension between these groups forms an important part of the story.

A central element of the world is magic that's directly tied to identity and free will. Among other things, characters can influence minds, take over powers, manipulate emotions and, through blood magic, be literally bound to someone. Power is therefore not just political or physical: whoever has control over someone's body, thoughts or magic also has control over their freedom.

On top of that, the world keeps expanding throughout the series. What at first looks like a conflict between Ellow and the Fae of Havlands turns out to be part of a much older and bigger conflict, in which different Fae groups, magic and ancient powers are all connected.

The overarching plot

Fair warning, the sections below may contain spoilers.

King Rioner's assignment

Elessia, usually called Lessia, is half human and half Fae and is trying to build a quiet life in Ellow. However, she carries a big secret with her: she possesses a rare gift that lets her influence others' will. Years earlier, King Rioner bound her to him with a blood oath. When he decides to collect his debt from her, Lessia has to carry out his assignment: she has to spy on the mysterious Loche Lejonskold, who's a candidate to become regent of Ellow.

What starts as a mission to gather information gets more complicated once Lessia develops feelings for Loche. At the same time, she becomes involved with Merrick, a feared Fae warrior known as the Death Whisperer. Merrick is technically supposed to be watching her on behalf of the Fae, but an attraction grows between them that becomes harder and harder to ignore. Lessia ends up caught between her obligation to Rioner, her feelings for Loche and her growing love for Merrick.

As political tensions between humans and Fae rise, Lessia discovers her world is bigger and more dangerous than she thought. Her own heritage, her magic and the mysterious powers of the Fae turn out to be connected. Her friends and family also get pulled further and further into the conflict, making Lessia realize she's not just fighting for her own freedom.

Merrick, Loche and the price of trust

Meanwhile, Merrick carries his own heavy past with him. Violence, duty and loss have shaped him for years, and he's learned to suppress his emotions. His bond with Lessia slowly changes that: for the first time in a long while, he has something — and someone — to lose. Their relationship therefore becomes not just romantic, but also a struggle between his need to protect her and Lessia's need to make her own choices.

Loche's position meanwhile also becomes more complicated. He turns out to know far more about his heritage and the power dynamics between the Fae groups than Lessia initially realizes. His feelings for her clash with his responsibility as a leader. Ultimately his choices turn out to have major consequences, for both Ellow and the Fae.

Over time, Lessia has to face the true scale of Rioner's power. The blood oath that binds her to him stands for exactly the thing she wants most: freedom. She not only has to try to break free from Rioner, but also discover whether she can use her own magical powers without exerting the same kind of control that has kept her captive for so long herself.

A bigger world, older magic

Meanwhile, the group around Lessia keeps growing. Raine, an old and powerful Fae badly damaged by his past, comes back into the picture. His cynicism and grief hide an enormous loyalty. When he gets to know Frelina, a new love slowly develops that forces him to face his past and learn to trust in connection again.

Kerym, one of the Siphon Twins, also takes on an increasingly important role. His ability to absorb others' powers and emotions makes him particularly powerful, but losing his twin brother Thissian leaves a deep wound. His relationship with Pellie teaches him a different way of dealing with his emotions, and ultimately helps him stop using his grief as a reason to destroy himself.

As the saga progresses, it becomes clear that the conflicts between Ellow, Havlands and the Fae groups are only the surface. There are ancient forms of magic and bonds between Fae that go back much further than the current political power struggle: bloodlines, mates, magic and free will all turn out to be woven together.

As a result, Lessia increasingly has to ask herself who she really is. She's no longer just the girl Rioner controls, or the woman trying to save her own life. She discovers that her heritage and her magic give her a much bigger role in the conflict than she could ever have suspected.

Meanwhile, the relationships between the characters also become more important. Amalise and Zaddock learn to trust each other despite their different worlds. Iviry has to figure out how to combine her responsibilities as a leader with her personal feelings. In the end, everyone has to choose between what's expected of them and what they truly want for themselves.

Freedom as the throughline

The fight against Rioner and the other power holders ultimately becomes a fight for something far more fundamental: the freedom to make your own choices. Lessia realizes she can't change her past, and that her magic can be dangerous, but that she can decide for herself how she uses that power.

In the final installment, everything comes together. The ancient magic, the different Fae peoples, the political conflicts and the personal relationships of the main characters all turn out to be part of the same bigger story. Lessia and her allies not only have to defeat their enemies, but also decide what kind of world they want to leave behind.

For Lessia, that ultimately means she no longer has to choose between love and freedom. Her development is really about understanding that real love isn't possession or control: Merrick has to be able to choose her without controlling her, and Lessia has to be able to choose without sacrificing herself.

So the saga ends as a story that began with one woman held captive by a blood oath, and grows into a story about free will, love, loss, power, heritage and the right to determine your own fate. What began as Lessia's personal fight to be free of a king ultimately becomes a fight for everyone: no one should ever be forced to hand over their own life.

In summary

Is it worth reading as a romantasy reader? Definitely. I found it refreshing that the relationship between Lessia and Merrick had real depth, and that a number of bigger themes come through. Think: how do you deal with loss, and how do you deal with the constant pressure from the people around you? I found Raine somewhat predictable in places, but it was lovely to read how he wrestles with his problems. I also had a genuine wtf-moment (in a good way) in every book, and I was almost crying by book 4. It's a series full of contradictions: on one hand you see certain things coming from miles away, and on the other hand plenty happens that you never saw coming at all.

Rating: 4.5 (out of five)
Spice: 4 (out of five)

The Compelling Fates Saga can be read, in English, through the Kobo Plus subscription.

Disclaimer: The first image was generated by AI.