Book Review: Fateful by Claudia Gray

Title: Fateful
Author: Claudia Gray
Publisher: HarperCollins Aus. 
Release Date: September 13th 2011
Source: Bought/Won
Format: Paperback

The RMS Titanic might be the most luxurious ship in the world, but all passenger Tess Davies wants to do is escape her dreary existence as a maid.
Trapped in a web of painful memories and twisted family secrets, Tess vows to make a run for it as soon as the ship reaches New York. A new world awaits... and a new life!
Her single-minded obsession shatters when she meets Alec. Handsome and mysterious, he captivates her immediately - but Alec has secrets of his own. As she uncovers the darkness lurking beneath his sophisticated surface, Tess discovers a horrifying truth. Werewolves, once only the stuff of nightmares, are real - and they are stalking Alec. Tess's love for Alec puts her in mortal peril, but an even greater danger lies in front of her before their journey on the Titanic is over...

My Thoughts:

I wrote this (or at least part of it) at midnight on the plane to Sydney, after devouring the entire book whilst everyone else was sleeping around me. I couldn’t sleep, I was restless, and all I could think about was Fateful. Fateful had consumed my mind, my thoughts and the story replayed intermittently like a movie inside my head. I’ve always been fascinated by the Titanic, although I have to admit this fascination only started after I watched the movie, and it was what initially drew me to Fateful.

I don’t know about you, but whilst reading Fateful, I could not help but compare it to the marvellous award-winning 1997 movie Titanic, which I might add is without a doubt my favourite movie. With every page, I was constantly thinking of a similar scene from. I mean, they weren’t all that different: star-crossed lovers who, under normal circumstances would never have set eyes on each other, somehow fatefully meet and fall in love, only to be met with a doomed fate. But comparing Fateful to Titanic was not all that bad; since I loved Titanic, it also meant I was in love with Fateful.

The romance.Alex. Tessa.The delicious, yet heart-breaking romance. It was the sort of romance that was so real , so heart-warming yet heart-breaking and I loved it. There was also a part of me thinking about how falling in love within a mere week just seemed...too fast. But then I had to remind myself, we’re talking about true love and the Titanic. Under normal circumstances I would probably roll my eyes and the scream in annoyance, but there was a certain realness about their romance that captured my heart and won my full support. Alex and Tess were consistently fighting on the verge of life and death for each other, and as a bonus, this took place on the Titanic. (Yes, I’m contradicting myself, but that’s just how my brain works!)

Oh, how can I forget? Werewolves.The whole concept of werewolves and the Brotherhood intent on recruiting- or should I say stalking Alex was all extremely interesting. I’ve never been much of a werewolf girl (blame the vampires for stealing all my attention!), but I thought the Brotherhood was described and explained reasonably well in one novel alone.

This may not appeal to everyone, but definitely try it if you are, like me, extremely interested in the Titanic. I’m actually still debating whether I would have preferred an alternative ending since the twist at the end was so unpredictable, but it felt both good and bad. 

Overall, this was a beautifully crafted historical romance, with a paranormal twist. If you like a novel that can evoke a strong emotional response from the reader, then this is perfect for you! Highly recommeded to everyone!