Fated

Author: Alyson Noël
Goodreads Rating: 4.21/5
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 308
Release Date: May 22, 2012


I won this as part of firstreads, and I won't lie, I judge this book by its cover. I'm really glad that I entered to win because it was a great start to a series. The thing I like most about this new Soul Seekers series is that books will be coming out ever six months instead of once a year. That does kind of suck because that just means I need to wait longer than everyone else for the next book.


Goodreads Synopses:


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.


Let your soul be guided to behind the jump to read my review.

I think I'll be reading the next book in this series when it comes out in November 2012. Although this book was a little harder to get into, once it got moving it was nice and quick to read. Perhaps the hardest part of this book was reading through Daire's teenage hormonal rages and having to get past her hallucinations in the beginning. It also took some getting used to this whole world that you were being introduced to.


I liked who the lore associated with Seekers seemed to be a mix of Native American and Hispanic traditions. For Seekers, or at least Enchantment, The Day of the Dead is a big deal which tends to be more Hispanic or Mexican (please forgive my ignorance if I'm wrong, and please correct me), but then the idea of Shaman's and healers and guide animals and their talk of the reservation seemed to be more Native American. I just loved how Noël took both of these worlds and merged them.


I really liked the dreams that Daire would have in which she would be with a boy who she knew she was fated to be with. Granted they hinted at an explicit nature, she didn't get into too much detail until later in the book. This series is definitely going to be for the older end of Young Adult Literature. She talks about on set hook ups (Her mom works as a Hollywood make up artist) and she seems wise beyond her years already. That is no doubt because rather than have a traditional upbringing, rooted in one place, or just going to school in general, she was constantly on the move with her young mother.


I will admit that I was annoyed by her mother, Jennika. I under stood how she was still young and that her daughter was half her age, but seemed to be more interested in what was best for her and not Daire. She also made quick assumptions about people (ie, Dace) which irritates me when people do that. I loved Dace and all she did was judge him.


I can't wait to see how the romance is going to play out between Daire and Dace mostly because I know Cade will try to mess it up, he is the bad guy after all. As for the supporting cast, Xoticl (pronounced So-Chee), Paloma, Chay and Lita, I think that its going to be interesting how their dynamic plays out. I also have a feeling that Lita, Cade's girlfriend sometimes, is going to become good friends with Daire.


Anyway, its a fun read even if it bares a resemblance to the Immortals Series (which I haven't read, this is just what I've seen other reviewers point out).