Review: Fateful by Claudia Gray

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Eighteen-year-old maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, troubled family she serves. It’s 1912, and Tess has been trapped in the employ of the Lisles for years, amid painful memories and twisted secrets. But now the Lisle family is headed to America, with Tess in tow. Once the ship they’re sailing on—the RMS Titanic—reaches its destination, Tess plans to strike out and create a new life for herself.

Her single-minded focus shatters when she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets of his own. He’s in a hurry to leave Europe, and whispers aboard the ship say it’s because of the tragic end of his last affair with the French actress who died so gruesomely and so mysteriously. . . .

Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves exist and are stalking him—and now her, 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.

In Fateful, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray delivers paranormal adventure, dark suspense, and alluring romance set against the opulent backdrop of the Titanic’s first—and last—voyage.

Review: 

I'm a sucker for anything Titanic related. I've seen the Titanic movie a least a dozen times (Who else can't wait for it to be released in 3D this spring?!), and every time I see a book about, I always give it a try, so it's no surprise that I read Fateful. What the surprise was, though, was just how much I enjoyed it. It was romantic, suspenseful, and well presented.

Fateful begins the story of Tess Davies, a girl who is planning to escape the controlling and demanding family she works for once they set foot off the Titanic and into New York. What she wasn't planning for, though, was catching the eye of Alec, a mysterious and handsome wealthy man, as well as Mikhail, a older gentlemen who seems to wanting not but death for Tess. Tess doesn't know what's inspired any of this, but as the clock ticks down and she begins to fall in love with Alec as well as fall into the dangerous path of Mikhail, secrets begin to reveal themselves...secrets that are even more deadly and disturbing than she could have ever imagined! What will happen next? Only more pages can tell in this great new addition to Titanic lit!

One of my favorite parts of this book was without a doubt the setting! I adored all the descriptions Claudia Gray used to bring the story to life, and I especially enjoyed how she altered some facts and events to make it even more fun and original.

I also really enjoyed the characters! Tess was someone I could automatically sympathizes with, because not only was the family she worked for truly horrible and demanding (save for Ned and Irene), but also her past wasn't the most pleasant thing out there. There wasn't a moment where I wasn't rooting for her to stand up for herself and get out of that toxic environment. What I loved most about her character, though, was how she truly found herself on the ship, even if it wasn't under the most usual circumstances. At the beginning, Tess was a bit weak and nimble, but by the end, she certainly wasn't someone you wanted to mess with. Alec was another great addition, and even though I sometimes wondered whether if he was a good or bad guy, I more than once found him to be a pretty great guy, especially when Tess was involved. Also, the bad guys in this one were great in the way that they were drop dead evil. From Mikhail and the family for which Tess worked for, all presented were pretty darn scary to say the least!

Lastly, I felt the plot and writing in this was decent as well! I have to admit that for the most part I saw where this one was going to end from the beginning but even with that, it still managed to surprises me occasionally. I also enjoyed the paranormal addition to this one. I felt like it was presented in an interesting way and it truly did work with the characters and such.

Romantic, fun, and suspenseful, Fateful by Claudia Gray is a great addition to Historical Paranormal. I can't wait to see what's up next for Claudia, especially if it's a sequel to this one!

Grade: A-

Fateful (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads) is now out!

Source: Publisher- thanks HarperTeen! 

Review: Evernight by Claudia Gray

Bianca dosen't want to leave her small town to go to a boarding school called Evernight with a bunch of rich brats. But she didn't have any other choice her Mom and Dad thought it would be best for them as family to leave and experience things outside their small town. Plus, they got jobs teaching there, adding to their wanting to go.

When Bianca first gets to Evernight she is scared by the middle ages castle like look and the ever haunting gargoyles. So, she decides their is only one thing to do to get away: run . Her plan turns out to be not that successful ,but she ends up meeting a guy named Lucas. Lucas understands her running away because he doesn't want to be there either. Also, he is not the Evernight type like Bianca making her feel like he can truly understand her like no one else has ever done.

Though, just as she thinks she will be okay at Evernight everything starts to go wrong in her first week. It seems like her parents are lying to her. The other kids at Evernight are rich, powerful, and full of elegance which Bianca is totally not full of. Also, she begin to think Evernight is full of evil. She only thinks she can talk to Lucas about this, but he's suddenly acting like she does not exist at all.

If someone asked me to describe Evernight in one word I would say gripping without thinking twice. It picked me up with the mystery and romance in the first chapter letting it seem to me I couldn't put it down for a long period of time. Bianca is a believable and unique character because of her feeling like she enough to be part of Evenight. Also, I though how she never gave up on herself or broke up with Lucas because of what the rest of Evernight wanted her to do mad her truly brave. Lucas to was a brave character because he would stand up for himself, Bianca, Bianca's friend Raquel, and his roommate and BFF at Evernight, Vince without thinking twice. Even it did involve a fight.

Though, even though I enjoyed Evernight, I didn't like how it seemed like her being a vampire was just dropped out of nowhere. I would understand it if she was finding out at the same time or if it turned into third person. But Evernight was in first person making it seem like Claudia didn't really know where she was going with the story when she began to write it or that Bianca was ashamed of being a vampire. In the way that she didn't just be truthful in the start.

Anther problem I had was how controlling Lucas could be at times. Such as telling her not to trust the people who have always been their and loved her. Also, how in the first half of the book he isolated her from her classmates and friends. How Lucas was with Bianca it kind of reminded me of the relationship between Edward and Bella in the Twilight series. An abusive relationship waiting to happen.

The last problem I had with Evernight doesn't have to with the book as much as how they marketed it as being similar to the Twilight saga. The only ways it was similar was in how I stated in the above paragraph and how it had to do with vampires. Other than that Evernight is it's own unique book.

I'll admit I had some problem's with Evenight but it won't let me not read the sequel, Stargazer, which comes out next year. I can't wait to see what happens because Everinght had a big cliffhanger ending.

I sugguest this book to anyone who likes a good vampire book.

Grade: A-