Shadow Heir, by Richelle Mead

Release date: December 27th 2011
Published by: Zebra
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 2/5 stars


This review has spoilers of Shadow Heir. If you have not read this book and don't wish to know anything before doing it, please don't continue reading this. 






#1 New York Times bestselling author Richelle Mead returns to the Otherworld, a mystic land inextricably linked to our own--and balanced precariously on one woman's desperate courage...

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land's prophecy-haunted queen, there's no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born-children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld...

The spell-driven source of the blight isn't the only challenge to Eugenie's instincts. Fairy king Dorian is sacrificing everything to help, but Eugenie can't trust the synergy drawing them back together. The uneasy truce between her and her shape shifter ex-lover Kiyo is endangered by secrets he can't--or won't--reveal. And as a formidable force rises to also threaten the human world, Eugenie must use her own cursed fate as a weapon--and risk the ultimate sacrifice.


My thoughts:

I can’t believe I’m giving 2 stars to one of my favorite series (and favorite author). Richelle Mead’s previous series, Georgina Kincaid, and Vampire Academy, were fantastic, but just like this one, the final book let me down. The only difference, though, is the level of disappointment. I was so angry, frustrated and sad at the end of this book that I almost cried.

Eugenie Markham, after 4 books and plenty of adventures, fights, etc etc, still managed to act like a teenager sometimes. And yes, I get it that Richelle Mead wanted her main character to feel and act like a human, and have flaws, but to me, she just looked immature. Most of the time, I don’t really bother with this particular characteristic of the main character, but oh, this got on my nerves as the book progressed.

To be quite honest, I didn’t notice much development in the characters throughout the series except, maybe, Jasmine and Dorian. They were awesome, especially in Shadow Heir. Dorian simply made his feelings and wishes pretty clear, putting aside his greed for power. I loved him for it.

But one huge disappointment is the plot itself. Or maybe I should ask, what plot? Shadow Heir didn’t feel like a final book. First, there’s a villain that didn’t add anything to the story, let alone help conclude it. It was obvious who this villain was since the beginning, and their whole journey to stop this evil, evil character was just unnecessary. There were so many other things that Richelle Mead could’ve explored in Shadow Heir, and a new issue with the seasons in the Otherworld is not one of them. The bigger things, like the Storm King’s prophecy and consequences in the human world, and her own fate regarding whether she’d choose one world or the other, was simply put aside.

Yes, Eugenie’s pregnancy did play a big role, and I enjoyed it, mostly because Eugenie’s feelings about her children were so raw and real, it was obvious the author was putting her own thoughts there, since she just had a baby. But after that was resolved, everything was so rushed I felt lost. If Shadow Heir were two books instead of one (and I know that at first, it was supposed to be), things could’ve get worked out a lot better. There were so many things thrown at us just to finish the series and wrap everything up, that it all felt convenient.

I was particularly anxious to see how the Storm King’s prophecy would be dealt with. And, big surprise, there was a hell of a twist in the end, that just solved the problem for Eugenie. But that’s not all. Another big discovery in the very end, and the paternity problem was also resolved. A little convenient, it seemed.

Like I said, there was so much in this book going on, and in the end, I had the feeling nothing had changed at all. Prophecy, a new villain, the babies, personal issues, the romance developing, character growth… it’s too much for just, what, 350 pages? And when I finished Shadow Heir, I just sat there, on my bed, at 3 o’clock in the morning, thinking, what?

By all of this, my frustration is perfectly justified, right?

No, it’s not, because the part that actually bothered me and drove me over to the edge was the ending. Even now, I can feel my blood boiling in anger. How, oh GOD, did my favorite series came down to this? One of the big discoveries in the end left me so happy I almost began to cry in joy. And then, in the next chapter, I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

Eugenie, my dear, you find out that the bloody fox was actually lying about being the father of your children, and reveal that, actually, Dorian is Ivy and Isaac’s dad, and you decide not to tell him that? You decide to hide this from him, because, according to you, it’s safer for the kids if they don’t live in the Otherworld?

Oh, please, please, don’t do this. This decision, this particular and peculiar decision, angered me so much I almost stopped reading right there. Not two chapters ago, Eugenie was thinking about how her relationship with Dorian could be rebuilt, how she wanted to trust him, and base the aforementioned relationship on love and trust… and then she does this? It’s hypocrite, it’s ridiculous!

First of all, she made this decision alone, because she thought that telling Dorian he had kids would result in a very protective father trying to stay with his children in the Otherworld. And, even though Dorian would lift a city and do anything to protect Ivy and Isaac, it’d still be dangerous for them. Of course he would want to protect his own children! This is the man whose biggest dream is being a father and, let’s not forget, with Eugenie at his side. And yet, she hides this from him?

Again I say, hypocrite! This is the world’s worst decision ever made. It couldn’t disappoint me more. I remember I almost burst in tears when that old woman revealed Eugenie’s pregnancy in Dorian’s castle, and Dorian couldn’t even breathe, thinking her children was his. And how, over and over, he said to her that it would mean the world to him if Eugenie was the mother of his children. And then, in Shadow Heir, Eugenie just decides to hide it from him?

Dorian deserved to know. He deserved to have these kids, to be a father, because he gave everything to Eugenie, and in return, she kept Ivy and Isaac from him. After everything he endured for her, after their talk about trust and love, she still made this decision alone. Dorian had the right to know, he had the right to decide along with her if Ivy and Isaac were better off in the Otherworld or in the human world. And let me be honest here: With two monarchs as powerful as Dorian and Eugenie, and three kingdoms, I think Ivy and Isaac would have a lot of protection. And oh, it would've been so beautiful, so heart-warming if Dorian knew. Can you imagine his reaction to this revelation? Knowing that his biggest dream has become true? I can, and again, I want to cry for this not happening.

The fact that one of my favorite characters ever came down to this broke my heart, along with the fact that Dorian was kept in the dark, and the ones who deserved to die, or at least get their asses kicked (ahem, the fox and the bitchy queen) just went away, without a single hair out of place.

Richelle Mead has disappointed and frustrated me before. But never like this. And I’ve never felt this awful after reading one of her novels. Even now, I want to cry and scream my frustration. I just can’t believe Dark Swan’s final book was such a disappointment. I think a lot of people will love this book, but I just didn't. All I have now is the hope that Bloodlines won’t be as messed up as this series. 

Drink, Slay, Love, by Sarah Beth Durst

Release date: September 13th 2011
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 5/5 stars













Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire... fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops.

Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived. They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King's feast -- as the entrees.

The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do?

My thoughts:

Drink, Slay, Love attracted me by its cover – that is, until I read the synopsis. The concept of a vampire going to High School intending to lead all the students to a slaughter was way too interesting and, after shopping in Amazon – thank God for Kindle for Android – I was happily reading the book.

The main character, Pearl, is awesome in a level of awesomeness you don’t see much. She’s not a wimpy girl who falls in love with a vampire and looses the 1% of personality that she had. Oh, no, Pearl is the vampire, the predator, and seeing things through her point of view was fascinating at worst and mind-blowing at best. Humans are sheep, dinner, bags of blood not worthy of Pearl’s time, except for when she’s hungry. She doesn’t care if they get sick after being bitten, about their lives… until she’s stabbed in the heart by a unicorn.

After that, things go straight to hell for Pearl. She’s able to walk in the sunlight, and – big surprise – she starts to develop a conscience. But it doesn’t take too long for her Family to use her “gifts” to their own advantage. Pearl is supposed to go to High School, befriend the humans, and lead them straight to the Fealty Ceremony, a ball in which the King of the vampires will attend, and is expecting a big feast (her new classmates being the steak).

But killing is a lot easier when you don’t know your prey, and as Pearl begins to infiltrate in the human world, her new conscience rises and makes her feel guilty about what she has to do. Feeling more like a human each day, Peal has to balance the importance of Family and of friends, and think about her morals, her previous way of life, and if humans are really just food.

Pearl’s sense of humor and constant sarcasm was enough to make me laugh at every dialogue. Her inexperience with humans and their habits were hilarious and really well developed. I just loved Pearl as a vampire and as vampire-with-a-conscience. It’s simply fantastic to see a born predator starting to feel remorse and regret over her victims, like a lion afraid to slaughter the sheep.

Aside from that, the secondary characters were fantastic, both humans and vampires. Pearl’s friends in high school and her Family made her double personality, so to speak, even more enjoyable. One character that I particularly liked was Evan. As a romance lover (how ironic does that sound? xD), Evan was the perfect match for Pearl. His hero complex and sweetness made me swoon at the pages, but even with his charms being unleashed, Pearl still wore her sarcastic and indifferent mask.

However, the ending left me slightly disappointed. Not that it was bad, but I wanted one more chapter, at least, just to make things clearer about Pearl’s future. But then, maybe this sense of incompleteness is intentional, to make the readers wonder where Ms. Snarky will get herself into next.

Even the POV of a predator didn’t stop this book from being cute. Drink, Slay, Love is perfect for those who wish to take a break from clichés and go deep into a light and snarky story. Highly recommended. 

Clockwork Prince, by Cassandra Clare

 



Release date: December 6th 2011
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 5/5 stars











In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

My thoughts:

I was so desperate and anxious to read Clockwork Prince, that I bought the book immediately after I finished Clockwork Angel. And, big surprise, Cassandra Clare destroyed me. Again. I thought after The Mortal Instruments and Hard Bitten, my heart wouldn’t break again in 2011. Man, I was wrong. It seems I have yet to cry over a book before this year is over.

Spoilers are evil little worms, so this review will have none. That said, I’ll not reveal much about the plot, just what I thought about the characters and the book in general. Clockwork Prince did not fall into the second-book curse – if you’re not familiar with that term, it’s when the second book in a series is not as good as the first one, and you get slightly (or hugely) disappointed. Gladly, I can say that Cassandra Clare is free of this curse.

In Clockwork Prince, we get to know the characters a lot more deeply than in the first one. Will’s big mystery is revealed – it didn’t surprise me, I had something similar in mind when this issue was addressed in Clockwork Angel – and, finally, Jem’s mask of calm and assurance slips throughout the plot. I loved how we, readers, got to know Jem a lot better, and understand more of his disease, and how he feels about Will and the parabatai bond. As always, their relationship is awesome ^-^

Tessa surprised me (in a good way) when her relationship with both boys began to develop. I liked how she was mature and human when her feelings were concerned, but at the end, managed to make the right choice. Aside from that, Charlotte and Henry were so adorable and heart-warming, I found myself smiling and cheering for them to get over the Institute problems, and personal ones. They’re so perfect for each other, and the author, as always, pulled me into the book not just with the “love interests” and romance, but with the secondary characters as well.

And I’m sorry, but I can’t end this review without freaking out about the ending. What the hell? Why does this always happen in Cassandra Clare’s books? Can someone answer me that? Somehow, something happens to the characters that breaks our hearts.



And just like I said before, I loved how Tessa and Will handled this situation, but even then, I felt hurt not just for them, but Jem as well. I adore both boys, and I hope they get their HEA, either with or without Tessa.

If what I said in this review is not enough, then here it is: Clockwork Prince is fantastic, and I would give it 253641 millions of stars if I could. Yes, the ending broke my heart and made me desperate for Clockwork Princess, but the book was well worth it. This series is a must-read.  

Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare

Release date: August 31st 2010
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 5/5 stars












Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

My thoughts:

I’m a big fan of Cassandra Clare previous’ series, The Mortal Instruments. I absolutely love Jace, Clary, and all the characters, and the setting as well. I expected Clockwork Angel to be even better than TMI – everybody seems to think that it is – and I can say that yes, Clockwork Angel is, indeed, better than the Mortal Instruments.

The Victorian Era is stunning, right? Add Shadowhunters and demons in it, and you get an enchanting and mysterious setting. It’s fantastic to see how Shadowhunters behaved and talked and fought demons at that time. Truly, that alone would be enough to justify this 5-star rating.

But, of course, that’s not all. The characters in this series are as wonderful and infuriating as ever. Tessa is a mundane that found out she’s powerful – with the ability to shape-change, she can basically turn into any person with simply a personal object. This ability has not been introduced before, and I love how, even after reading 4 books, the world created by Cassandra Clare can still impress readers. I also like how Tessa, without fighting skills, can still trick and fight her enemies when necessary. She surprised me a lot of times. You go, girl \o

And I’ll be honest. I don’t know how Cassandra Clare creates such tormented, twisted and confused characters, and still manage to make us fall in love with them. Yes, this complex and infuriating person I’m talking about is the love interest – one of them, actually. Will Herondale – the famous Will – made me want to cry and scream in frustration. His love for Tessa is so obvious at some points, and yet, he insists in being crude and rude to everyone around him. I have a vague theory about his past, but I’m not sure yet. I hope Clockwork Prince will answer some questions about Will. But impolite behavior aside, his sense of humor and personality was one of the best elements of this book. Will’s just that awesome.

Jem is another lovely character. He’s so sweet, and his relationship with Will – the way they cared about each other like brothers – was heart-warming. It’s always interesting to see a relationship that doesn’t quite involve the main character being developed along with the plot. Cassandra Clare is a master in dealing with all the characters at once, both main and secondary ones, and at the end, wrap all that up and end the book with you longing for me.

Clockwork Angel being this good is not a surprise. I really thought it would be perfection. And now, I just can’t get enough of this series. Right after I was done with Clockwork Angel, I bought the Clockwork Prince ebook – desperately, actually – and started reading it on Christmas eve. Yes, I’m that much of a bookworm.

If you loved the Mortal Instruments, and are curious about this series, go for it. And if you don’t like TMI or have not read it yet, go for it, as well. This series deserves a million stars – a captivating setting, wonderful and complex writing, and an ending that will break your heart.

Ps: I still don't understand how Tessa hates chocolate. Just thinking of it makes me hungry. :3  

Double Clutch, by Liz Reinhardt

Release date: September 28th 2011
Published by: CreateSpace
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 2.5/5 stars













What happens when you fall for the perfect guy...twice...in one day?

Brenna Blixen spent her freshman year homeschooling in Denmark; now that she's back in the States, she's determined to make her sophomore year unforgettable. And by unforgettable, she imagined awesome classes, fun friendships, and maybe a little romance.

What she got was a whole lot of romance, and all at once.

The same day that dark, brooding Saxon Maclean charmed her with his killer good looks and whip-smart wit, Jake Kelly stole her breath away with his heart-wrenching smile and intelligent, thoughtful focus.

But Saxon is a proud player who makes it clear that he doesn't know why he can't get Brenna off of his mind and out of his system, and Jake's sweet and humble attitude hides a secret past life that might be darker and more complex than Brenna is willing to deal with.

Complicating the matter is the fact that Saxon and Jake were once best friends and are now arch-enemies...and the more Brenna finds out about their connection to each other, the more intrigued and worried she becomes.

Between keeping the peace with her lovingly over-protective parents, designing t-shirts for her high school's rising punk band, keeping up her grades in classes split between academic and technical high school, and running the track like a maniac, Brenna has enough to worry about with out juggling two guys who make her heart thud and drive her crazy all at once.

She has to make a choice, but how is she supposed to do that when giving her heart to one of them might mean breaking the other's?

My thoughts:

Beware: This book has a confusing love triangle. If you love those, and want to be torn between two guys, this is the right book for you xD

Ok, now humor aside, Double Clutch was a funny, (hot), and quick read. Brenna Blixen is one of those characters with a personality that’s 50% sarcasm, and 50% cuteness and cleverness. Love triangles are often dealt with pretty ridiculously. How many times did you read a book about a girl who doesn’t have anything smart, intelligent, funny, cute, or lovely in her, and all of a sudden, two guys are falling all over her? And you just don’t understand why she’s treated like a Greek goddess by, not just one, but two boys? Well, with me, that happens a lot, and it makes me really mad.

But in Double Clutch, I could actually see why Saxon and Jake liked Brenna. She’s just beautiful, both on personality and, according to the guys, on appearance. What really bothered me is that I couldn’t connect with her throughout the book, not in the way I wanted to. And that’s lame, because Brenna’s such an adorable girl, and I really wanted to know her better.

The same happened with the love interests. Saxon, the bad boy that every girl desires, and Jake, the sweet, hard-working boy with a mysterious past. That sure sounds interesting, but as the story progressed, I didn’t feel much about either of them. I just didn’t care if Brenna was with Jake or Saxon. Even though I like Saxon better – his honesty was one of the most admirable things in him, and I just loved his sense of him – I didn’t really cheer for him. Jake and Saxon were just there, Brenna felt things for both of them, and that’s the end of it.

I admit, though, that Brenna’s background was well defined. The author wrapped all the things that happened to her up, and her friends, family, and colleagues had a story and plot of their own. I hate it when everything in the world happens around the main character and her love interest. It’s just boring and unrealistic. In Double Clutch, Brenna’s life is well balanced, and it felt real and common.

I don’t know if the ebook I bought had some kind of error or something, but I found a lot of grammar mistakes in it, and yes, they bothered me. And some sentences were so confusing I had to re-read it three times to understand, and some of them I just don’t know what the author meant.

“The top shelf is new stuff on the right and stuff I feel like I really should read, but haven’t gotten around to reading, on the left.” Please, did anyone understand this? I… I just can’t!

The plot was a little predictable – especially when the synopsis gave away what the drama was about between Saxon and Jake. I would have enjoyed the book more if this little thing was a surprise, instead of something we knew just by reading the synopsis.

Double Clutch was, indeed, a very good book, but some things about it really didn’t work for me. Yes, I loved the dialogues and background and all of that, but the writing, plot, and main characters didn’t really please me. I may re-read this next year, though. I want to give this book another chance.

Angelfire, by Courtney Allison Moulton

Release date: February 15th 2011
Published by: HarperCollins / Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 5/5 stars












First there are nightmares.
Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.

Then come the memories.
When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

Now she must hunt.
Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember.

My thoughts:

I read this book back in February, but recently -- after Shattered Souls, that is -- I was really curious to read it again. Basically, I wanted to see if, after so long, I would still feel the same about Angelfire. If I would still love the characters and everything, or if Shattered Souls had me look at it in a different way. I must say, even after re-reading it, my feelings for this book are the same. 

There's someting in Angelfire that is completely appealing to me -- the characters. So, there's Ellie, the main character, a sixteen-year-old girl who's mostly normal until she turns seventeen. She has nightmares every night, of horrible creatures and monsters that hunt her down. And then she meets Will, and when that happens, Ellie finds out that her nightmares were not of her own making. They're memories. 


Ellie is the Preliator, a warrior that kills the demonic reapers that walk in the Earth, preying on human souls. The reapers' goal is to recrute souls to Lucifer's army, so there can be the Apocalypse. To stop those monsters from achieving their goal, Ellie has Will, her Protector, who, throughout the centuries, has looked over her and protected her, aiding her in battle. Everytime she dies, Ellie's soul is reincarnated, and at the age of seventeen, her powers are "awakened" by Will, so that she can fight again.


Honestly, I have nothing against Ellie. She's just a nice girl, and even though her actions sometimes disappointed me, I liked the way she handled situations, most of the time. Another great point in Angelfire is that Ellie doesn't take long to accept what she is. Oh, of course, meeting a guy that claims to be your Protector, and that you must fight demonic creatures with your swords is a pretty heavy thing to accept, but her memories - and her soul - prove it all to be true. 

I loved it that she accepted what she is exactly when the time was right. The book isn't all about Ellie's ridiculous temper and lack of conscience in seeing what was right in front of her eyes. Yes, she doubted Will, but when everything was right there for her to see, and there was no denying it, she could see in her soul that she really was the Preliator. 


Will... oh, one of my biggest crushes. He's a perfect character, and not the ridiculous kind of perfect. I mean the kind of perfect that made me truly feel for him, what he had to do, and what he had to endure everytime Ellie died in his hands. His devotion to her was one of the most beautiful things in this book. The way Will took care of Ellie, not just protecting her in battle, but also looking out for her, making sure she smiled as much as possible, was touching. I loved him for it. 


The bond between him and Ellie is heart-warming. And so is the romance, but you know why? The author didn't throw the romance at the plot and just made them fall in love out of nowhere. Oh, no. First, we get to see how much they're connected, how they are in sync with each other. The narration, even the slightest detail in it, made me sigh a lot of times. Will is Ellie's best friend, brother, partner, and the only constant in all of her lifes. Even dying again and again through the centuries, Will is the only person that is still by her side. And after showing us the depth of this amazing bond, the romance is slowly developed. It was amazing. The love between them was like an extension of the already-formed bond between Ellie and Will, and yes, it was wrong, but it felt so right. 


I found the plot and the way the things went pretty interesting. The reapers were like bogeymen, and I enjoyed the fight scenes. The writing was... okay, though the author sometimes repeated a lot of words in the same chapters. Nothing that would bother the reading, just an observation. I liked the pace of the story, how it was really fast sometimes and in others, slow enough to know what the other charactes in the room were feeling. Also, the secondary characters were really good, as well. Though I would like to know more about Ellie's father and Nathaniel, it was detailed enough. 


Throughout all of this, I must say that Angelfire is one of those books that pleased me as much as possible. I loved the characters, the romance, the mythology in it.... one of my favorite. I recommend it.

Fateful, by Claudia Gray

Release date: September 13th 2011
Published by: Harper Collins Children's Books
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 5/5 stars












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. 

My thoughts:

I'd set eyes on this book quite a while ago, but was brave enough to read it months after its release. Oh, well. I'm still hesitant about certain things, and Fateful was on the list. Titanic is my favorite movie ever, paranormal is my favorite genre, romance is my favorite part of a book, and the beggining of the 20th century is a fascinating setting. So my expectations were super high. This book had to be epic and completely breath-taking for me. And it was. 


First, there're the main characteres. Tess is a servant, a sweet girl whose goal is to leave the family she's currently working for, and search a new way of life in America. And for that to become true, she must go on the Titanic. You see, Claudia Gray manages to balance strength and vulnerability perfectly in a character, and Tess was no exception. She’s so caring, polite, and knows her place in society, even if she’s trying to change her position. But at the same time, she’s one of the strongest girls I’ve ever seen. Many times, I was proud of her actions, and urged her to continue having this amazing personality.

Alec is a different matter altogether. He’s a man tormented by the moonlight curse. Being a werewolf is such a heavy burden to carry, and even though he has his father to lean on, Alec still has to struggle every day with himself and people around him. Keeping the beast contained, physically and emotionally, weakens him in spirit, and it was a relief both to him and me when he met Tess. The circumstances weren’t the best – after all, Tess was being chased by the same werewolf, Mikhail, that’s been chasing him – but it was good to see him getting better.

I loved both Tess and Alec, and my heart flipped when the romance erupted. I loved how their love for each other gave them something else to fight for, a reason to keep going, even though it was impossible for them to be together – Alec fighting the best within him, and Tess working harder to achieve her dreams. All that while doing their best to survive Mikhail, whose threats were a constant blow.

Speaking of Mikhail, he’s one of those villains that I wanted to kill with my bare hands. The man was pure evil, and I forgot how to breathe every time he tried to hurt Tess or Alec, in any way.

But that’s not all there is to love in Fateful. The setting of this story was fantastically described, and while reading Claudia Gray’s details about the Titanic, I kept remembering about the movie. This may sound crazy, but I was half expecting for Tessie to meet a guy called Jack, in third class o.O

Aside from the setting, the writing was epic. Of course, being a historical fiction, the English is old-fashioned. I’m not used to this kind of language, having read just one historical fiction before (Haunting Violet, which was pretty good, too). So, I was fascinated by the way people spoke and used my favorite language.

This is a spoiler-free review, but I can’t help but talk about the ending. Every time I watch Titanic, I cry and sob at the ending. I still can’t believe Jack dies, even though I’ve watched this movie, like, a hundred times. Fateful broke my heart just as much in the end. And when I thought everything was over, bang! An enormous surprise. And then, right after that, bang! Another huge surprise. And a wonderful one, that is. I literally jumped on the couch and my face broke into a huge smile as I was reading it. Thank you, Claudia Gray, for not killing one of most amazing main characters I’ve ever met. I owe you one.

Fateful was a roller-coaster of emotions. Fascination for the setting and writing, love for the romance and the characters, and finally, an ending that will leave you breathless. If you’re a paranormal fan, read it. If you’re a romance fan, read it. If you’re a historical fiction fan, read it. You won’t regret it. I know I didn’t.