Fated

By: Alyson Noël

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley

From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Immortals, Alyson Noël, comes Fated - a breathtaking new saga brimming with magic, mystery, and an intoxicating love story that will steal your heart away.

Meet The Soul Seekers.

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.

©2012 Alyson Noël, LLC (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

Wanted to like it.

I really wanted to like this story. I love anything infused with mythology and the discovery of power and strength (both inner and physical). Unfortunately, I felt like this story skipped around a lot, rushed through what I would have thought to be important developmental steps in Daire's self-discovery, and failed to satisfy the cravings it created.

The beginning of the story is full of mystery, but nothing is ever really solved or explained. I get the author was trying to avoid "telling" the reader the answers, but instead allowing the reader to discover them...unfortunately, it really felt like I was left hanging.

At one point Daire goes on a vision quest, in which she has to find her inner strength and hone her ability to distinguish between reality and illusion. But then out of nowhere the vision quest is suddenly over after what seems merely a struggle of Daire trying not to be a quitter, and out of nowhere she's enlightened and knows all about random powers without any explanation. I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I'll just say that what should have been an major developmental step in Daire's journey fell flat.

And then, the time period that should have been full of training and new knowledge is completely skipped over. In fact, the timeline of the whole novel felt very choppy.

Sorry but slight spoiler...before Daire's abilities and purpose or explaned to her (although not really truly explained to the reader), her "visions" are believed to be a psychotic break and a sign of mental disease, to the point her mother is considering institutionalizing her. Then, she moves in with dear old Abuela, and Daire's visions stablize. Then suddenly Daire's mom reappears and wants to force Daire to leave her new home with Abuela and move in to LA, without any consideration to her mental state (since her mom has no clue as to her powers). Ummmm...what happend to you being ready to commit her? Why would you suddenly try to remove her from the only environment where your daughter isn't going mentally insane according to your understanding? It makes no sense and seemed like a sudden forced conflict.

Basically, if you're in to mythology and want a few short steamy romantic moments (which also leave you hanging) then this story might be interesting for you. It was the only reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 2.

Otherwise, it really wasn't a favorite.

Fated--I like it

I keep changing my stars because I can't decide... 3.5/4

Full disclosure---I have not read the Immortals series by Alyson Noel at this point. Other reviews I've read about this book seem to bash Fated as being subpar... but having not read the Immortals I'm... in like with this book.

Daire, an internet schooled daughter of a hollywood makeup artist, has a life most girls dream of. She travels the world, spending her days around movie sets and hanging out with hot, young stars. When she starts experience visions of crows and heads on spikes screaming at her---and periods when time stands still while on a date with an rising star her world comes crashing in around her. Fearful of her mental health her mother rushes her back to the US to get her medical attention. The Doctors can not figure out how to help her and suggest committing her. Jennika (Daire's mom) receives a call from an estranged grandmother---who thinks she can help. Daire is sent to live with her in New mexico...

I love and am intrigued by the ties this book draws to Native American culture...I adore the twins Dace and Cade for very different reasons. Dace--because of the untapped potential---I thought that the build in their relationship went from simmer to boil a little too quickly. Cade--because who doesn't like a villian who likes to play mind tricks. I don't want to say anymore.

I am also intrigued by the secondary characters---especially Lita. (A blind seer)

While I think that I can see a definite building block here, and I enjoyed the listen--- I wouldn't buy a copy to pass along to people. I don't regret using the credit---there's something that's keeps me from being pumped about it. Whether I end up loving this book I guess completely rests on what is done in future books... and I'm not sure what that says about this book on it's own.

Pretty good!

I loved the first series by Alyson Noel and was looking forward to this new series. It took a little to get into it but by the end I was hooked. Getting ready to start the second book in the series!

Great!

I love this book! The narrator has this little hip hoppy tune for sochee...(sorry I forgot how to spell her name) that is a good thing I guess, but when I was first reading the book I imagined her as a cool down to earth girl. It doesn't HAVE to change tho

3.5 stars

I listened to this on Audible. I liked the story but it did take me a while to get through it

Unexpected

What made the experience of listening to Fated the most enjoyable?

The author does a really good job binging the lore of the Native American folklore into a modern story and makes it feel like it lives.

What does Brittany Pressley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I think I enjoyed the performance as much if not more than I enjoyed the story. This is one of those books that I am not sure I would have finished if I had just picked it up to read on my one.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I got teared up at a couple of points, but I am an easy to move when I read.

Any additional comments?

The story lags at a couple of points and there are moments where the author unexpectedly jumps the timeline and leaves the reader behind to catch up with her. But other than those little technicalities, the story is really fun and easy to follow.

Enchanting and Sad

This book has some very lovable and hate-able characters. I love the native american influences and magical intrigue. This book doesn't seem to end the series, just wish I'd know that first, so I could have waited before starting a series with no ending. I'm a little shocked and confused by it. The is a teenage magic love mystery. You will likely be confused until about 30 minutes into the book, stick with it. Feel sorry for the characters and move forward. It will all make sense.. eventually.

TIP: If you don't want to listen to the boring descriptions of what animals mean to the author, skip the first 5 minutes and 17 seconds of both books!

Fated

I love this book! I bought the paperback and read it. I was very happy when I signed up for audible and found out that they had the audible version. I have a lot of fond memories reading this book. I have family that lives in New Mexico and I think it's so cool that Daire goes to New Mexico. Brittany Pressley (the narrator) is not my favorite narrator. It feels like she didn't have many emotions in speech pattern. She I feel like she could be worse. I hope that audible offers the 3rd and 4th books soon. (Mystic and Horizon) Fated has wonderful character development and you get attached right away to the characters. I love that in the beginning of the book Alyson Noël has a spirit guide with animals and what they represent. I listened to this book while I was on a nature walk and it was really enjoyable to listen to while I was on the walk.

I like it

What made the experience of listening to Fated the most enjoyable?

Kind of slow but still a good read.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Daire

What about Brittany Pressley’s performance did you like?

I like her.

Any additional comments?

Hoping the next book will be better.

Vastly Overrated, Schizophrenic, and Clumsy

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The leading misfeature is the plot in which the heroine jumps frenetically between baseless overconfidence and irrational despair. As the plot developed I found myself hoping, even assuming that there must be some point of redemption where she actually tests herself and learns something, but I was disappointed in this as well.

A much better version of the story of the spoiled kid to grows beyond his childish youth can be found in Kipling's "Captains Courageous". As for "Fated," I'm mostly disappointed that anyone saw fit to publish something so pointless.

How could the performance have been better?

I'm not usually sensitive to reading styles, but the voice actor in this case does help to knock the general failure of the story out of the park. Her delivery is so earnest (while the protagonist is being so obtuse) that I found myself losing suspension of disbelief on a nearly constant basis.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Some of the descriptions of native American ritual and beliefs are interesting. I don't know if they are accurate, but they are at least interesting. And occasionally the author's description of the story setting hits a good fantasy note; but again all of these have been done better by other authors. Garth Nix for example paints a much more interesting and believable picture of the netherworld in my opinion.