Published: Harper Collins (September 13, 2011)
Audience: Young Adult
Source: For Review
Young Adult * Paranormal Romance * Historical
Description from Goodreads:
It's about a servant girl named Tess in 1912, who wants to escape from the house where she works, and most particularly the lecherous young lord of the manor. But that's not her biggest problem. While on a voyage to America, where she plans to escape and start a new life, she meets Alec, who's ruggedly handsome, fabulously wealthy, intelligent and yet so clearly troubled that she'd rather not fall for him, but she does. That also is not her biggest problem. Alec, it turns out, is a werewolf ... one cursed to change every night, unless and until he surrenders his independence and joins the Brotherhood, a pack of violently misogynistic werewolves who have been tracking him for months. You'd think that would be their biggest problem, wouldn't you?
But no. Their biggest problem -- though they don't know it yet -- is that they're aboard the RMS Titanic.
As a huge fan of Claudia Gray's Evernight series, I was very excited to read an advanced copy of her new book, Fateful. This new book is a stand-alone (as far as I know) and it's very different from her Evernight series. Firstly, this is historical paranormal fiction, instead of contemporary, and Claudia Gray does historical so well. Reading Fateful, it was very obvious that Gray had researched the period well. The dialogue, the clothing, the description... everything felt true to turn of the century London. She describes the lifestyle and the environment so well that I felt like I was immersed in the time period. Also, having seen the movie Titanic countless times, I could catch references to different real-life people like Margaret Brown and Mr. Andrews. You don't have to know a lot about the Titanic story to enjoy it, but I think history buffs (or fans of the movie) might get even more out of it.
Another really interesting aspect of the story was the werewolf element. It was handled in an original way, with an interesting twist on the typical werewolf pack, changing in the moonlight, and all the obvious werewolf myths. I also loved the villain in the novel. He was scary and manipulative and everything I want in an antagonist. The characters in general were very well-done. The wealthy family Tess works for is deliciously snobby and unkind and secondary characters, like Irene, Layton, and Myriam are very multi-dimensional and well-written.
Alec, however was my favorite character. His spirit was great, and I think he offered the most complexity. He and Tess had amazing chemistry and with all the obstacles preventing them from being together -- class/status, the fact that Alec is a werewolf, lurking danger of the villain, and their potential deaths when the ship eventually sinks -- their romance was sweet and light. It was very wel-done.
Overall I liked the story.The ending felt a bit rushed, and the plotline with Alec and the werewolves that are hunting him (which was great!) would have probably been developed better if it didn't have to work around the limitations of a short ride on a ship that would eventually sink. I would recommend this book, though, to fans of Claudia Gray's superb writing and people interested in history and/or werewolf mythology.
I am a full-time novelist based in Chicago. So far, in life, I've been a disc jockey, a lawyer, a journalist and an extremely bad waitress, just to name a few. I especially like to spend time traveling, hiking, reading and listening to music. More than anything else, I enjoy writing. Y
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CONTEST RULES:
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