Monday, September 5, 2011

Fateful by Claudia Gray

Fateful
Claudia Gray
Paperback, 356 pages
September 13th 2011;Harper Collins Children's Books
Young Adult PNR/Historical Content


THE FAERYS VIEW


Fateful was so much better than I thought it was going to be. Truthfully, I wasn't expecting it to be as thrilling or captivating as it was.
Just goes to show that you can't always 'judge a book by the ship it's about!
My original thought was: "Okay, Faery Chica-here's how it's probably going to go---Doomed Titanic + Lovely yet Helpless Servant Girl + Tortured yet Good-hearted Werewolf = Tragedy on the lower decks that only the werewolf can save the poor servant girl from".


I envisioned scenes from the movie Titanic only Jack's a bit furrier, Rose is demure and trades in her silk dresses for homespun cotton and an apron all while Celine is singing her heart out in the background [Faery's humming/singing/whistling 'The Heart Must Go On....] FAERY FARTS!!! I'm STILL singing it-Dangnabbit! For the love of FAE, get that song outta me head! Ahem...I digress.... on to the review part...


I couldn't have been more wrong! Fateful was so much more and so different from my original and I admit, close-minded first thoughts. The synopsis doesn't do the book justice; I can only hope that the reviews do.


Tess is a ladies maid for a prevalent family that is leaving London for America via the Titanic. The Lisle family, aside from Irene-the daughter and Tess's responsibility, the rest of the family is arrogant and horrid to those they see as beneath them, which is all but the finest nobility. Tess is a fantastic character, she's had to fight her way through life and at her young age she has decided to start over in America. Tess is compassionate and kind but she also has a stubborn side that combined with her street smarts will make leaving the Lisle's and starting over a challenge she feels confident in making. She's tired of being walked on and knows in her heart that better things await her. It’s a dream that she’s had since hearing of their trip and one that she is determined to make a reality.


When Tess meets Alec aboard the Titanic, they quickly form a bond. Alec is the son of a wealthy business man and it soon becomes apparent that Alec and his father are not only hiding a very big secret but there is one very nasty Mr. Marlowe who can help Alec with this very big secret but only at a very steep price. Mr. Marlowe also has his eye on Tess and will stop at nothing to have her. The characters in Fateful are all wonderfully described; I enjoyed the secondary story's going on amid Tess and Alec’s story along with the description of the Titanic. That era is fascinating to me, it’s sort of a turning point in so many different ways and Ms. Gray captures that beautifully.


Fateful is truly captivating and a page turner! Ms. Gray weaves a tale around the tragic loss of those aboard the Titanic with a spellbinding story of love, loss and betrayal. The ending is absolutely perfect and this is a book that I would recommend to all friends of all ages. It's just that good!

7 comments:

  1. I'm so excited! I've been hearing such good things about Fateful and I want it soo bad. Good review.

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  2. Okay... I wanted this one before, but now I MUST have it! Oh this one sounds so delicious and I love the various aspects to the story. Yeppers! I needs it! :)

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  3. lol. Love the Titanic comparison. ;D But truly, glad you enjoyed the book more than you thought. That is always a plus when you do. :) Thank you for the great review.

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  4. Werewolves and the Titanic sounds amazing. I will have to give this a read. Fantastic review :)

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  5. This book was SO good! I really enjoyed it! And I had the Celine Dion songs stuck in my head the WHOLE time as well! Gah! lol! :) Great review!

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  6. I may be one of the few people in the world that did not watch Titanic. I knew the ending wasn't good, I wanted to save myself the heartache! But based on your review, I will definitely want to read this one. Sounds like I'll like the ending better!

    Heather
    Still haven't called me back!

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  7. You haven't watched Titanic? For real? As well as I know you, that is the last thing I would've guessed!

    Watch Titanic! That's your assignment for you, David and the boys! Make sure you've got lots of tissues!

    Yes, I know I haven't called but I haven't forgotten! I've been doing 2 hours and 45 mins of really progressive physical therapy 4 days a week I'm getting Strong Like Bull! Teehee-Well, stronger than a kitten anyway! It takes about 40-45 minutes to get there or longer depending on if I get behind a hay baler etc... so it ends up being a 4-5 hour day and that's when I don't have any shopping to do. I've been wore out but in a good way!

    I'm planning on calling you tomorrow, I hope you're home :o]

    CHRISTY: Thats hilarious that you had that song stuck in your head, too! Big GAH! LOL! If I even think about it, it'll start again!

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