Fated by Alyson Noel

Title: Fated
Series: Soul Seekers #1
Author: Alyson Noel

Release Date: 1st June 2012

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:
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 recognises 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.

In A Nutshell:
A great read set in New Mexico and featuring a plethora of Native American legends.

My Review:
I haven’t read any books by Alyson Noel, and I hadn’t read any reviews of Fated prior to reading it which allowed me to read Fated in a completely unbiased way.

Personally I loved it. I love that it was set in New Mexico and partly Morocco as these are not common locations for teenage fiction (just like I loved Laini Tayor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone being set in Prague). I loved that it drew upon the beliefs of the Native Americans. I love that Daire was strong and liked to do things her way but still felt unsure of herself enough to be a believable teenage girl who has never had a place to call home. Daire’s powers were an ancient birth right and they become something that provides her with a purpose and some sense of stability, something that her life has always lacked.

I’ve always enjoyed when myths and legends are intertwined into books, movies and TV shows and Fated was no different. Having actually spent some time in New Mexico I felt a little more connected to the story than I would have had it been set in a location I haven’t visited.

I became completely caught up in the story of Daire and the ancient connections that shaped the story. All the characters were well written and likeable, in particularly Xotichl and Chay. I will admit that I had trouble with some of the names, particularly those whose pronunciation I was unsure of, but that is really my ignorance more than anything else. Daire’s mother was rather irritating and it will be interesting to see what will become of their relationship in the sequel and if her mother will ever become aware of what has influenced her daughter’s life.

I really look forward to Echo, the sequel, and hope it is not too far away because unfortunately, with series, my urgency to read and my love of the story often fades. I usually forget just how much I loved the book at the time of reading and how desperate I was to get hold of the next one, the longer the space of time between them is.

I’m not a big fan of the fact Daire and Dace are supposed to be ‘fated’. I would have preferred that they found each other and that they had a connection rather than the added fact that they are fated to be together. I think the story and their potential relationship could have ‘held its own’ without this ‘destiny’ stream added. The story sounds a little cliché, as though it has been done before, but I feel that once you start reading, those thoughts will disappear, like they did for me.

Thankyou to Pan Macmillan Australia for this review copy.