I’m thrilled to be part of the Fated blog tour, and share a review and giveaway of the book.

Book: Fated by Alyson Noel (The Soul Seekers #1), St. Martin’s Griffin, YA Paranormal, Book received for review, Hardcover 352 pages, On Sale Now.

Goodreads | Amazon | The Soul Seekers FB | Author info

About Fated:

Strange things are happening to Daire Santos. Crows mock her, glowing people stalk her, time stops without warning, and a beautiful boy with unearthly blue eyes haunts all her dreams. Fearing for her daughter’s sanity, Daire’s mother sends her to live with the grandmother she’s never met. A woman who recognizes the visions for what they truly are—the call to her destiny as a Soul Seeker—one who can navigate the worlds between the living and dead. There on the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico, Daire sets out to harness her mystical powers. But it’s when she meets Dace, the boy from her dreams, that her whole world is shaken to its core. Now Daire is forced to discover if Dace is the one guy she’s meant to be with…or if he’s allied with the enemy she’s destined to destroy.

Review:

Fated is the first book in the new 4-book Soul Seekers series by Alyson Noel. I’ve read a few of Noel’s Immortals series books, and the first book in the Radiance series so I thought I had an idea of what to expect with Fated. I was pleasantly surprised with Fated and liked learning about the mythology of the Soul Seekers. The first book sets up the series well by easing the reader into the story and slowly introducing the players, concepts and conflicts in a book that blends high school drama, spiritual powers, and a fated romance.

Sixteen-year-old Daire has grown up on movie sets, traveling with her make-up artist mom to exotic locations, never staying in one place for long. She attends Internet school and has had an unconventional childhood to say the least. When she suddenly has visions that cause her to go off on a wild rampage, the grandmother she never knew she had has offered to help.  She recognizes that Daire is fulfilling her prophecy to be a Soul Seeker and steps in to guide her on that path.

Daire is not thrilled to go to the small town of Enchantment, New Mexico- it is not the glamorous life that she’s used to. But she needs help with managing the visions or else face a life of medication and lockdown. Like in Mean Girls, Daire gets to attend high school for the first time and come face to face with cliques and homework, meanwhile trying to save the world from the villains who are out to destroy it.

Not only is there a spiritual path but also a romantic one, as a boy in town is a frequent star in her dreams. To complicate matters that boy is a twin – one is bad and one is good. Cade and Dace are both drawn to Daire and I’m guessing since there are four books it will take a while before Daire settles into her choice.

I liked learning about the new people in Daire’s life, her abuela Paloma, and her friend Xotichl especially. Daire learns to embrace her cultural roots and also a healthier diet, as she has to shed sugar on her new spiritual path. Animals also play an important and creative role in the story. Daire learns to shapeshift into any animal, even a cockroach in a particularly tense scene.

Fated reads very well and the descriptions set the scene perfectly. Noel takes the time to set the story up right so it never feels rushed or that any details were missing. The book starts off slowly as more and more is revealed but ramps up to an exciting conclusion. I’m glad there’s not too long to wait for the sequel – Echo is due out in November of this year.

Fated is also available in audiobook format from Macmillan Audio. The audio is read by Brittany Pressley and is just under 11 hours long. Listen to a sample: FatedClip.mp3

Check out the Book Trailer:

The Giveaway has ended. Congrats to Rachael who won a signed copy of FATED!