Good beginning to a new series - Fated by Sarah Alderson

What happens when you discover you aren't who you thought you were? And that the person you love is the person who will betray you? If your fate is already determined, can you fight it?

When Evie Tremain discovers that she’s the last in a long line of Demon slayers and that she’s being hunted by an elite band of assassins –Shapeshifters, Vampires and Mixen demons amongst them – she knows she can’t run. They’ll find her wherever she goes. Instead she must learn to stand and fight. 

But when the half-human, half-Shadow Warrior Lucas Gray - is sent to spy on Evie and then ordered to kill her before she can fulfil a dangerous prophecy, their fates become inextricably linked. The war that has raged for one thousand years between humans and demons is about to reach a devastating and inevitable conclusion. Either one or both of them will die before this war ends. 

If your life becomes bound to another’s, what will it take to sever it?

Even despite hearing wonderful things about Hunting Lila I never got round to buying it – I know! So I started reading Fated knowing very little about the book or author other than some of my friends loved Hunting Lila. In fact, when I first picked up this book I hadn’t even heard of it before, but the blurb and opening paragraphs really drew me in. So much so that Fated by Sarah Alderson didn’t even hit the TBR pile it went straight from the mailbox into my hand, something that doesn’t happen often.

No one can doubt that Sarah Alderson is anything but a beautiful and talented writer. The prose and story flowed effortlessly and most aspects of the book just worked. I also thought that Fated was a bit different to the abundance of YA paranormal stuff out there, but only just a little different nothing game changing.

I’m writing this review after a few weeks of finishing the book and although it was enjoyable it hasn’t really stuck firmly in my memory. Even thou I found some aspects of Fated predictable I did enjoy it on the whole. Sarah Alderson has succeeded in creating an interesting cast of characters, especially those on the side of the evil Brotherhood. Most of the characters haven’t left a lasting impression, but what I did like and what stands out is the variety of characters from acid skinned cheerleader types, to vamps, shape shifters and the dark and mysterious shadow warrior that is Lucas.

However, something that let the book down was the ‘insta-love’ relationship between Evie and Lucas. He seemed to love her on first site and it was all a very predictable Romeo and Juliet type relationship. They realise that they shouldn’t be together because they are on opposite sides of an ancient and ongoing war but they can’t resist one another. Lucas is also willing to sacrifice everything for Evie, it just all seemed a little clichéd. But having said that I did enjoy their story, I just knew where it was going.

The ending of Fated was good and it definitely left the story open and begging for a sequel, which would be a book that I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up. I suspect that the next book would be even better than Fated because there was a lot of background explanations and info dumps at the beginning of Fated that was needed to set up the scene.

Personally I thought the book had a bit of a slow start and some slow chapters dotted throughout, but overall the story was interesting, strong and definitely made for a book that I read over a couple of days. In fact, Fated ended up being a terrible influence on me, when I should have been paying more attention to my studies I was out cheating on my Academic career reading about Evie and Lucas.

If I had to sum Fated up I’d probably say a so so beginning, a slightly better middle but with an utterly gripping end.

As I mentioned I haven’t read any of Sarah Alderson’s other books but I will certainly be reading more from her in the future. Hopefully I will be picking up Hunting Lila sometime soon, especially because I know that it has received some pretty glowing reviews from readers and reviewers that I trust.

The Cover - Would you pick this up off the book store shelf? - I don't think that I would if I knew nothing else about the book, I just don't like the cover! I also don't think it suited the story much, but I do like the colours.  - What do you think?




Genre – YA, Paranormal

Published by Simon & Schuster UK (Jan 2012)

Paperback – 320 pages (£6.99)

Source – I received a copy of Fated by Sarah Alderson from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.