Fated by Alyson Noel

Release Date: 24th May, 2012

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Pages: 352pgs

The Story

Strange things are happening to Daire Santos. Crows mock her, glowing people stalk her, time stops without warning, and a beautiful boy with unearthly blue eyes haunts all her dreams. Fearing for her daughter's sanity, Daire's mother sends her to live with the grandmother she's never met. A woman who recognizes the visions for what they truly are - the call to her destiny as a Soul Seeker - one who can navigate the worlds between the living and dead.

There on the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico, Daire sets out to harness her mystical powers. But it's when she meets Dace, the boy from her dreams, that her whole world is shaken to its core. Now Daire is forced to discover if Dace is the only guy she's meant to be with . . . or if he's allied with the enemy she's destined to destroy.

The Review

A big thanks to Pan Macmillan for sending me an ARC copy of this book!

In Alyson Noel's newest adventure FATED, the first book in The Soul Seekers series, it tells the story of Daire Santos whose life changes dramatically when she is branded by the world's celebrity magazines as a mentally unstable, crazy young girl after an unfortunate incident that occured on her sixteenth birthday. With crows flocking toward her, with glowing people calling out her name, with visions of a hot string and a gorgeous boy with most beautiful set of blue eyes that continue to plague her mind . . . she too wonders if she's crazy like everyone else believes she is. With no choice in the matter, Daire's mother sends her to live with her grandmother - someone she doesn't even know - in a place called Enchantment, New Mexico, where she soon learns that she is a Soul Seeker and must partake in this new destiny already set out for her, in order to fight all of the evils in this small town and find love in the most unexpected places.

I have to start off by saying I wasn't a hardcore fan of Noel's previous Immortals series. I mean, I liked a few of her books in that particular series but it was an up-and-down series for me, so I really hoped this new installment of books was going to impress me. And surprisingly, I really, really enjoyed this book and loved it far more than anything else Noel has ever written. Not only does the book offer a great amount of interest to me, but there was hardly anything - if nothing at all - that annoyed me about this book and again I'm thankful for that small detail.

As for the main character, Daire Santos, I thought she rocked as a heroine and while she may have had her emotions take over at the worst possible times, but I loved her much more as the novel's voice compared to Ever - a character from her Immortals series - which is a good sign for those who didn't like that series so much. For me, Daire was a refreshing character who had some good old spunk in her. She's strong, she's opinionated, she's a free spirit, and she likes to take control of her life which I admired most. Even her supporting characters - one including a possible love interest and a possible soul mate - of brothers, Cade and Dace, were a whole heap of fun to add on to the storyline and I'm game for anything to do with a good and evil brother. The whole ordeal between these brothers - and even with Daire - was fantastic and I'm looking forward to reading more from this series!

Overall, FATED was absolutely original in its own way! From the vivid descriptions to the spirtual world the author, Alyson Noel, has cleverly created, I was so intrigued and stunned that by this book that I can't wait to see where Noel takes this series to because she sure as hell has a winner right here! If you didn't love Noel's previous Immortals series like I did, then I sugguest you take a chance on this book . . . because who knows . . . you and this book could be fated to be together! A little cliche I know but hey . . . it could be destiny!

The Rating

4 1/2 / 5 stars