Friday, April 27, 2012

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

26 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review!! I'm really excited to read it now :) I've been pretty hesitant about it but I'm glad good things await me after I finish my current reads!

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    1. I was worried about this too but it turned out to be the perfect read for me.

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  2. Woot! I wasn't a hardcore fan of her previous series too but I'm hoping that Fated will be better. :) And based on your review, I'm right! Glad you enjoyed this. <3 Can't wait to get my copy! Great review!

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    1. I hoped the same thing and lucky for me it worked out the way I wanted it too. I really enjoyed this book! Hope you do too when you get a chance to read it.

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  3. Ooh, I like the sound of Daire. I'm glad she's not like the mc from the Immortals as I am not a fan of that series!

    Thanks for the awesome review. :)

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    1. Daire has her own set of faults, but she didn't annoy me like Ever did. Thankfully.

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  4. Ooo! I'm really glad you enjoyed this book, Erin! I didn't quite enjoyed it as much as The Immortals series (probably because there is not much romance in the book :P) and I don't really like the twin brothers in the story (although I find Cade really interesting!).

    Awesome review, Erin! ♥ I still can't wait to read the sequel!

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    1. I'm glad I enjoyed this too. While there's not much 'romance' but yes . . . Cade was really interesting!

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  5. Great review, Erin! I haven't read anything by Alyson, I've read really mixed reviews of her work but you have me interested in this new series!Q

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    1. Thanks! Her Immortal series has mixed reviews and it did have it's up and downs, but I loved this book so you might love this new series too!

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  6. I just might consider reading this VERY SOON after reading your review :) I couldn't finish her Immortals series but I was pretty excited for Fated until I read a few reviews saying the two series are VERY similar! But I'm glad you enjoyed this so much :) Eeeeeeeeee! Can't wait to read this :)

    Oh, and I FREAKING LOVE YOUR BLOG'S NEW LOOK!!!!!!! Gahh how the hell did you design that banner? It's GORGEOUS<3333

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    1. Her Immortal series had its up and downs, and at first I wasn't going to read this book but I loved the cover and the sound of the storyline . . . so definitely give this book a shot!

      Anyway thanks for loving my new blog look!!! Isn't the banner gorgeous??????? I'm so happy with it.

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  7. Oh this gives me Faith. I stopped reading her other series after book 2. Hoping I enjoy this.

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    1. I know the feeling . . . I almost stopped her series but I still managed to finish all of the books. But this book was much, much better.

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  8. Ooh this is great! I wasn't a fan of Ever, so it's good to hear Daire is a great main character. Definitely looking forward to this one more now! Thanks for the fab review :).

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    1. Thanks Liz! Ever was a hard character to like and while Daire has her own set of faults, but I liked her which is a good thing.

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  9. ERIN, YOUR BLOG!!! :D IT'S GORGEOUS! <333 I love how... whimsical the whole feeling of it is!

    This is such a relief to read! I liked the Immortals series well enough, I guess, but I didn't finish just because it got kind of... tedious after a while. Ever was never my favourite character (oh sure, let me just grab that knife and SLICE OPEN MY ARM because you say so, no problem) and I'm really glad to hear that Daire is better! Poor girl... it sounds like her life is all sorts of crazy. Wonderful review, Erin! :)

    Sonia

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    1. Why thank you, Sonia! I'm glad you love my new blog design. Thought it was about time for a change.

      Haha I agree with you on Ever. She made a lot of the wrong choices . . . but Daire was a great character.

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  10. I've seen a few varied opinions on this, but yours is the first actual review I've read and I am SOLD. I'm super excited to start this! I haven't read anything by Alyson before, but this seems like a fantastic place to start since you loved it so much. I like the sound of Daire and do I spy some good brother/bad brother action? ME LIKE.

    Thanks for making me intrigued with your awesome review!

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    1. There are some mixed opinions for this book, but I'm glad I enjoyed this one so I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this book. ME LIKE brothers too. ;)

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  11. You know I've read NOTHING AT ALL by Alyson Noel, and I was wondering if this would be a good place to start... uh... wow? It sounds AMAZING. I love the whole girl-moves-to-backwater-town-and-discovers-supernatural-heritage/ability trope, and it looks like this was done well. GREAT review, Erin!

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    1. I love that type of story too! Anyway definitely start with this book! :)

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  12. I have this to read, your review just bumped it up higher. I haven't read any of Alysons other works, so I am fresh to her writing!!How do we pronounce Daire..is it like Dairy or Dare?? I need to get that straight in my head. I like she has good ol spunk!!

    Wonderful review!!!

    Michelle

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    1. Haha I had the same trouble with Daire's name. I always thought it was something like Dare . . . it's a still a mystery to me with how you actually pronounce the name. Hmmmm. Anyway she definitely has some spunk in her. Thanks!

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  13. I haven't read anything from Alyson Noel so this will be my first book from her. I have an ARC of it and now I am even more excited to get started with it. Thanks for the awesome review!

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