Review: Fated by Alyson Noel - Farah

Title: Fated

Author: Alyson Noel

Publisher: St.Martin's Press

Publication Date: March 22nd, 2012

Genre(s): Young Adult (Fantasy)

Challenges: A-Z title, 

Source: Publisher 
Format: ARC

Pages: 352

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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 is the first book I read by Alyson Noel. I did know that a lot of people enjoyed reading her books, but I started reading with no expectations whatsoever. As I started, the beginning was very interesting. I noticed that a lot of people said they couldn't get into the story because of the beginning, but I found that part to be one of the most interesting parts of the whole story. Daire Santos, the main protagonist of this story, had had strange things happening to her laterly. She has "visions" or "hallucinations" of crows following her, and glowing people and other animals. Her mom was very worried about her, because no medicine seemed to help. Therefore, she gets sent to live with her grandmother in New Mexico. The mother of her dead father she never met, until now.

I enjoyed reading about Daire, because she isn't one of those annoying protagonists who you might cross paths with sometimes. I liked her character, and she reminds me of myself sometimes *wink wink*. I loved seeing how her relationship with her grandmother evolved, and how she also made an awesome new friend. Also, just as I was hoping that there would be parts of her going to school, she gets enrolled in the public school. I loved the twists of the book, and how there is pretty much a mix of everything. 

Like the usual young adult, there is a gorgeous male lead. Dace, who has an "evil" twin brother, crosses paths with Daire one day at school. While she is instantly remembers him from her dream, she is also mesmerized by his beautiful blue eyes. I'm not going to get into what happens, because I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say that Dace was not your typical "bad boy" character. While I enjoyed most of the things in the story, I'm going to have to admit that I felt confused at some parts. I just couldn't imagine what was happening, and rarely I would get lost as well.

Overall, Fated was a very enjoyable book to read. I recommend to all you young adult readers, because it is an awesome book that will not disappoint. Even though I had to read it at times when I wasn't studying for my exams, I did enjoy those hours. I am very excited to find what happens next in the second book of the Soul Seekers series.

4 musical notes

Here is a clip from the audio book that is offered through MacMillan Audio! Be sure to check it out if you're an audio book type of reader, and if you're not, well this could be your first audio book! ;)