Fated (Soul Seekers, #1)

by Alyson Noël

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Fated is a mysteriously intriguing novel about a young girl who discovers she has the power to walk between the world of the living and the dead. Daire Santos has noticed some strange happenings around her, crows have been mocking her, animals have started following her around a lot, and people have started showing up mysteriously out of nowhere. When her mother starts taking notice of these weird things and starts worrying after her daughters mental well being, she decides that it might be better for Daire to send her off to stay with her grandmother she's never met before, to live in Enchanted New Mexico. Once out there, Daire meets Dace, a sweet and charming guy with unearthly blue eyes that seem familiar to her, only in her dreams. As Daire becomes closer to Paloma, her grandmother, she soon learns the truth of her destiny.

Daire Santos is a Soul Seeker who is able to traverse between the world of the living and of the dead. Almost as soon as she discovers this hidden gift, she is tasked with learning how to harness her new found powers. This is something that Daire has to master pretty quickly because Dace's brother, an evil shapeshifter, is vying for her power and will stop at nothing to claim it for his own. Daire has no choice, but to embrace her power and seek the answers to whether or not Dace is the one she's meant to be with or if he's with the enemy she's meant to destroy. The story that develops between these two quickly starts to turn into a story of love and trust.

At first glance of the premise for Fated, the story itself seems to be quite promising. Alyson Noel's idea behind the Soul Seekers is intriguing and definitely attention grabbing, if nothing else. Readers will find themselves wanting to gobble up as many details as they can, regarding the history and the mythology behind how the Soul Seekers came about and what exactly they can and can't do with their powers, and why it's important to never let evil shapeshifters steal them. Daire is a likable and easy character to connect with. It was admirable to see how brave and determined to take on her destiny of being a Soul Seeker, despite the few annoying flaws she did possess.

Dace is a wonderfully developed and charming character, of his own merit. He has such a warm and likable disposition about him and it's endearing to see just how much he does does really care for Daire. Their romance is sweet and fun to read about and readers will either enjoy them or not. Cade, on the other hand, had this alluring bad boy swagger going on that appealed to me on a more personal level. There's just something about a swoon worthy and irresistably bad boy that gets my blood to pumping.

Those who found themselves enjoying Alyson Noel's previous paranormal romance series The Immortals, are sure to enjoy this novel quite a bit as it explores new territory and brings a whole new world of mythology to the table in the form of animals and spirits. It is chalked full of wonderfully fun mystery, interestingly developed mythology behind the Soul Seekers making them and the Native Americans one of the more interesting aspects of the novel, and beautiful magical enchantment. It is quite an enjoyable and light read, for those who are looking for something easy to read.