Fate (My Blood Approves, #2)

by Amanda Hocking

[Kim Deister]

Fate is the second novel in the My Blood Approves series, and the story line continued to pull me in as much as the first one did. I love the unexpected twists and turns and the action was just as well-paced as in the first. While sometimes the story had me wanting the characters to act differently, that frustration actually added to my experience with the story as it kept me wanting more, wanting more answers. The story line was a great one, and very well constructed and that kept me fully engaged in the story. I pretty much took every opportunity to read, even if in only 5 minute bursts! There is also just something about Hocking's ability to create very real characters, even though the majority of them are vampires (!), and that truly lends to the overall pull of the story line. You feel as if you know them, and they have very relatable characterstics and traits that really draw you into their lives. I felt like I was right there with them, and I love a book that can provoke emotional responses from me as a reader!

The fact that there was such a good story line, combined with fabulous characters, kept the book from being ruined by it's bad points. My problem wasn't as much with the writing itself as with spellcheck/editing issues. I am a bit of a crazed proofreader so I probably noticed more than the average person would. There were several places in which a word was dropped from a phrase, and a number of places where the wrong, "almost right" word was used. For example, in one spot the word "ruse" would have been correct, but the word "rouse" was used. I just think a little more proofing would have increased the readibility drastically. That being said, it wasn't enough to truly ruin my reading experience and I still thoroughly enjoyed the story.

My only other issue was with the conclusion. For me, it was far too abrupt, not really a cliffhanger. When I turned the page and read the last sentence of the book, I was lost. That sentence following the paragraphs on the previous page just didn't make sense together for me. It seemed to be start of a new scene, a new thought, instead of a conclusion.

For me, a book is a completely package. A strong story line and good characters are a must. There needs to be a good beginning, middle, and end. It needs to have strong, clear writing because it makes reading it more enjoyable. Even the cover art should be appealing because it is usually the first thing that you see of a novel. Overall, I enjoyed the book because it did have most of those things. The story line was strong and engaging, and the characters are fully fleshed out and real. The cover art is stunning. But there are definately a few improvements to be made in the proofing process. The conclusion wasn't great for me, and so much of reading is personal interpretation so that another reader might not see the same things that I did. And if those things had been a little stronger, I would have rated it higher because the story itself, and the characters, are a solid 4 mugs. But overall, I give it a 3.5 mugs.