Recent Reads: Fated by Alyson Noel

Fated by Alyson Noel
Copy provided by: MacMillian Audio for review

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Background: Daire just turned sixteen and strange things are happening to her. While away on site at her mothers work, she has a terrible breakdown and attacks a boy star. After that it was grandmas or an institution for her insanity, her mother opted for the mysterious grandmother. Once there Daire finds herself learning more about the visions she thought were crazy and coming to understand a long fought battle between good and evil.

Review: I am so happy to have listened to this book! First off, I love the cover a beautiful purple/pink fade, crows and a profile. I like when books really use color on their covers. Ok on to the book itself- I really enjoyed this read. Alyson Noel is a wonderful author. I have read a few of the Immortals series, but this one seems to be for an older audience (not much older though). It is deeper and more questioning than her Immortals series.

Likes: I enjoyed Daire most of the time. In the beginning, she is super moody and emotional and only thinking about herself, later this changes as she learns. I love when people learn things and then adapt. Yay her! I also enjoyed the grandmother; she is very no-nonsense straight to the point. I really liked the story telling, Noel does a great job of leaving enough suspense and questions to pull the reader forward. The story is captivating and the world she creates is realistic yet magical. I just couldn’t stop listening. She is able to add characters to the story seamlessly, leaving some mysterious and others very clear upon their arrival. Love it. I am interested in seeing where this series goes.

Dislikes: I thought it was weird to begin the book with a lesson on the animals and their attributes, I think it might have been better received in context, maybe the grandmother explaining more, like later in the story…but this may just be me. By the time they were brought up again, I had forgotten a lot of what was said because it was not in the context of the story, just a history lesson. I also thought it weird that Daire calls her mother by her first name, this gets explained away in the book, but I still found it odd, she never even refers to her as ‘my mother,’ just “Jennika”—odd. You would think there would be a stronger relationship because they are closer in age to one another.

Overall, very good read. If you like books about Native American mythology, the supernatural, or just a destined love story.

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