Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Review: Fateful by Claudia Gray

Fateful
by Claudia Gray
Publication Date: September 13th, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9780062006202
Source: ATW Arc Tours

Where to Buy:
B&N | Amazon | The Book Depository
In Fateful, eighteen-year-old maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, overbearing family she works for. Once the ship they’re sailing on reaches the United States, she’ll strike out on her own. Then she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets....

Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves are real and they’re stalking him—and now Tess, too. Her growing love for Alec will put Tess in mortal peril, and fate will do the same before their journey on the Titanic is over.

Featuring the opulent backdrop of the Titanic, Fateful’s publication is poised to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the ship’s doomed maiden voyage. It is sure to be a hit among Titanic buffs and fans of paranormal romance alike. (Goodreads)
Fateful drew my interest the moment I read the synopsis for the book. Seriously, imagine werewolves on the Titanic. Can you see why I was so interested in seeing how that would play out? I was even more interested in the ending of the book. We all know how that the Titanic had a very tragic ending.

Let’s start off with the characters. Tess Davies is a ladies maid for the Lisle Family, particularly for the daughter, Lady Irene. I liked Tess. She was kind hearted, but still strong willed. She has big dreams for the future, and she keeps a hold of those dreams throughout the novel. She never gives up on them. I think that’s very admirable. Alec is the son of a wealthy steel magnet, and also, a werewolf. They couldn’t be more wrong for each other, but it works. I love their relationship. Alec is so sweet, caring and very protective of Tess. They are definitely a great couple.

The secondary characters were well written as well. There are ones that I love; Irene, Myriam, Mr. Marlowe, Ned, George. I really loved and enjoyed reading about all of these characters. There are also ones that I love to hate; Mikhail, Lady Regina and Layton. These are characters you can really hate with a passion.

I used to be a huge history buff growing up, and I’ve always loved to read about the Titanic. I love how Ms. Grey wrote her fantasy around the events of the Titanic. It made for a really great read. The storyline was very creative, and was also well paced. I loved the descriptions of the ship, and of the time period. I was really anxious to see how the book was going to end, I just couldn’t imagine it. I was, however, very satisfied with the ending.

As stated in the Authors Notes at the end of the book, Ms. Gray did take a few liberties with the book to make it more dramatic than accurate. Instead of fictionalizing some of the people that were really on the ship, she chose to invent new characters. We do have a scene with one person that was really on the ship, and that is Mr. Andrews, who helped design the Titanic.

Overall, I thought this was a really great read, and it will definitely be a welcome addition to my collection. One note- Try not to think of the movie when you read this. Otherwise, you may have the music from the movie stuck in your head while reading it, as I did.

Happy Reading!

11 comments:

  1. I haven't read anything from Claudia Gray. I really want to try her books. Great post!

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  2. I really enjoyed this book as well. Tess was great. I also really liked Alec.

    I liked the amount of detail that Claudia Grey put in about the ship.

    I wanted to watch the movie so bad after reading it. haha.

    Great review!

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  3. So excited to read this one Christy! I'll inevitably have the Titanic theme song playing in my head while reading as you did, but I love the sound of the characters and the fantasy elements worked into some of the historical facts.

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  4. Great review! I'm so excited to read this one. I'm a huge history buff and this one sounds so good.

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  5. Great review! I just preordered this the other day for the reason you stated, The Titantic and Werewolves! How can you not want to read it, right?! Was pretty intriguied with the Titantic story as well, and I do have to admit it was news of the movie that started my interest, as well as many others I know of, but still I have maintained a curiosity about it through the ages! Hope this ships soon!!

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  6. Oh, I do always have an issue with movie music remaining stuff in my head when I read the books...

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  7. I was intrigued by "werewolves on the titanic" too! I'm so excited to read this, can't wait to see how it all plays out. Glad you liked the characters :). Great review!

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  8. I love the Titantic and history SO much! And this one sounds like an amazing book! Alec and Tess already sound cute and I can't wait to read about them!

    Thanks for the great review!

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  9. Haha - I'll have to keep that in mind otherwise I'll have Celine Dion in my head as a read! But seriously this sounds like a really great book. I love historical fiction, LOVE to read about the Titanic and love that the author was able to incorporate a paranormal element in with all of this. Thanks for the introduction to this book!

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  10. I've been wanting to read this ever since I first read about it! I'm glad to hear it meets expectations. I heard it has similarities to the movie--is it original enough to stand on its own?

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