"To find out what a story's really about,' the Librarian said,

'you don't ask the writer. You ask the reader."


- SNOW & ROSE by Emily Winfield Martin


Wednesday, July 11, 2012

A "Nobel Beehive Award" Review: Fated by Alyson Noel


The Soul Seekers Series #1
by Alyson Noel
Release date: May 22nd, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Young Adult
Format read: Hardcopy

SUMMARY
(from Goodreads) 

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.


Fated Book Trailer



MY REVIEW

I had been anxiously waiting on the release for Fated after having read The Immortal Series and the Riley Bloom Series. I was also trying to keep my expectations on an average level since The Immortal Series was a bit up and down for me (I have issues with book 3, lol) but really enjoy reading about Riley Bloom. Alyson Noel's writing and world-building is astounding! The story-line is somewhat similar to The Immortal Series in that both main characters learn that there is much more than just the world that we live in. But the similarities end there. The Mexican and American Indian influence and folklore to it was so interesting to follow which gives the book such a distinct supernatural feel. I cannot even imagine the amount of research that was done to create such a story. 


The main character, Daire, travels the world with her mother, Jennika, who is a celebrity make-up artist. While traveling, Daire starts to have visions that would cause any person to never want to leave their house again. As time goes by, while in Morocco, the vision gets worse, more graphic and scary to which she finally has a break down. Trying to keep Daire safe and out of the hospital, Jennika agrees to let Daire stay with her grandmother who live in Enchanted, New Mexico. While there, Daire learns about her dead father's family, why Daire has these visions and who she really is.
It is fascinating to learn everything alongside with this main character.

And yes, there is a love interest. It is a combination of it being insta-love and not. It is hard to explain and one to definitely read and follow along. I don't want to give any spoilers, just know, I really loved how they came together.

I am really looking forward to learning more about who and why a certain someone or someones is 'fated' and why a particular someone is referred to as the 'echo'.

Go here to see my thoughts on book 2, Echo, and the rest of the series here! 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Alyson Noel
Born and raised in Orange County, California, she's lived in both Mykonos and Manhattan and is now settled in Southern California where she's working on her next book.


4 comments:

  1. Truly I am happy to read such a great Review... While I was not the biggest fan of The Immortal series I wanted to give this one a try!

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  2. I enjoyed Fated very much, too! :)

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  3. This was my first Noel book, but I really enjoyed it as well! Loved how she wove in the Native American aspects and the world building as a whole!

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  4. To be honest, when I first read this synopsis it sounded rather bland. After reading your review, however, I now realize that there is more to this book. The "Mexican and American Indian influence and folklore...which gives the book such a distinct supernatural feel" sounds really intriguing.

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