Title: Fated
Author: Alyson Noel
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Release Date: November 13th, 2012
Lately strange things have been happening to Daire Santos. Animals follow her, crows mock her, and glowing people appear out of nowhere. Worried that Daire is having a nervous breakdown, her mother packs her off to stay in the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico with a grandmother she’s never met.
There she crosses paths with Dace, a gorgeous guy with unearthly blue eyes who she’s encountered before…but only in her dreams. And she’ll get to know her grandmother—a woman who recognizes Daire’s bizarre episodes for what they are. A call to her true destiny as a Soul Seeker, one who can navigate between the worlds of the living and the dead. Her grandmother immediately begins teaching her to harness her powers—but it’s an art that must be mastered quickly. Because Dace’s brother is an evil shape-shifter who’s out to steal her powers. Now Daire must embrace her fate as a Soul Seeker and find out if Dace is one guy she’s meant to be with…or if he’s allied with the enemy she’s destined to destroy.
Summary from Goodreads.com
My Review: I read Alyson’s Immortal series and loved the first couple of books, but the series started to drag for me towards the end. I was leery to pick up another series by Alyson, but the summary just sounded too interesting and I did like the first few books in the Immortals series and hoped that would be the case with the Soul Seekers as well.
Fated follows the life of Daire, she is a sixteen year old girl who has never really had a place to call home. She and her mother travel so much and as a result they never put down roots. Daire doesn’t really mind this and thinks she is not missing anything. She does however have strange things happen to her often, like time slowing down or visions of glowing people. She never confides these things to anyone for fear of them thinking she is crazy. However, one day when the visions spiral out of control, she goes into a fit and has to be taken to a hospital. The doctors say she has had a psychotic break and recommend her mother put her in a hospital. Forced with not knowing what to do next her mother takes Daire to her to stay with long lost grandmother in New Mexico since she says she can help her. Daire is not too happy about this turn of events until she starts to make friends and gets closer to her grandmother. She likes having people around her that care for her and she starts to settle into life in Enchantment.
Daire’s grandmother teaches her how to harness the power she has been given and I enjoyed the mythology that Alyson painted for us. It is not one I have seen explored too much and I found the Native American twist on all of it very interesting. There is a guide at the beginning of the book to acclimate you to all the sprits that inhabit this world and I did find myself referring to it a couple of times. The Native American culture really permeates this pages and I was very absorbed in learning more about this world.
Fated does have some romance weaved in, but it is really a story about Daire discovering who she is. We follow her while she tries to navigate this new world that she has been suddenly thrust into and learns about her past and what her future holds. I did enjoy Daire as a character, she is self-reliant, but still has some trust issues to work through. She does not want to let people get close, but once the walls come down she is loyal to those she loves.
As for the guys, there are two in here, Cade and Dace. Who also happen to be twins, one light, and one dark. Daire has had dreams for the past six months that all revolve around Dace. She thinks they are figments of her imagination until she comes face to face with him in high school. She gets tongue tied and is not quite sure what to make of him. They have a slow building romance which was very sweet and appropriate for their age and the circumstances they found themselves in. Sometimes in young adult paranormal the love interest can be an insta-love and there is no build up whatsoever. It was nice to see Alyson have her characters get to know one another and take their time building a relationship.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and the characters in it. However, I do not see myself picking up the next book. I did like what I was reading, but I am not compelled to look into the life of Daire anymore. I will read reviews of future books and see how it is received and might give it a try depending on what others say. If you read Alyson’s Immortals series and liked it, then odds are you will like Fated as well. I would read a couple of chapters see what you think and decide from there. Or check around and see what others think as well. Alyson is a good writer and has developed a very interesting mythology for this book, but I am just not wowed by the overall storyline.
FTC: I received this ARC for review as part of the Amazon Vine program.
Meaghan, Unfortunately, you did not learn anything about Native American ways. Noel provides stereotypes and new age approximations/appropriations.
I am sorry. I am afraid I do not understand what you are trying to tell me through your comment.