Review: Fateful by Claudia Gray

Title: Fateful
Author: Claudia Gray
Series: STAND ALONE
Book #: Only One :')
Pages: 356
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: .5
Goodreads Rating: 4.01
Published: Sept. 13th, 2011
by Harper Collins

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.

Taschima's POV:

While containing no real substance this novel serves as a guilty pleasure who lets you further explore the danger and allure of the Titanic in a never before attempted setting- through a supernatural scope. Who knew werewolves and housemaids were battling for their lives long before the ship ever dared to sink?

While everything in the book isn't strictly true to reality (there's an author's note at the end of the novel that says as much; she might have created some personnel and stuff like that; it's based on the historical moment but the characters and some of the things in the ship are a bit made up) the novel is still enjoyable and you can intensely feel the desperation of those last few hours on the ship, which really is the big allure from a story that shows such a terrible historical moment. Just as the main character was running around all over trying to save the people she loved the most I was clutching my pillow, biting into it, and hoping like hell she at least get so save a few of them(fair warning though, the sinking part of the story doesn't last as much as you might otherwise prefer; It's no Titanic -the movie-).

As for the characters, I was not impressed. The main guy (Alec; love this name) was okay, interesting, but nothing really out of the ordinary. He is rich, he is cute, and he is a werewolf. The main girl (Tess), is poor, a house-maiden to a rich in status yet poor family, and a little too bland for my taste. I only really started taking a liking to her in the last few pages, when she finally started showing some spunk, but by then it was a little more than half the novel. The two character's romance though was very enjoyable, and is what made me keep reading through the first part of the novel. It may have been a little cliched, but it still pulls at the heart strings all the same. Even the dialogue at times made me roll my eyes a little (believe in yourself; you can do this; etc etc- the message felt like it was being fed down our throats). Overall the stories of the characters we're a bit too cliched and expected, nothing really caught you off guard, but you still manage to care a bit about the likable characters all the same- well, enough not to want them dead at least *grins*.

There was also some other things, something about an evil Brotherhood who wants to rule the world with it's werewolf members -wasn't fully developed, all we really know from it is what we know from the main evil guy (Mikhail) who is really annoying, and kind of scary -I dislike him very much.

I read the book in two sittings, so I really did enjoy it, I just think that it could have been better, the werewolf part of the story could have been more developed, and the Tess could have grown a spine a little bit earlier in the story. That's all.

PS; It is a stand alone, but there were a lot of questions left unanswered, things to do with the Brotherhood, the main characters' future... I think the book works as a stand alone though, I guess the rest is left to the readers imagination.