Fateful by Claudia Gray

Summary

Eighteen-year-old Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy troubled family she serves. It’s 1912, and Tess has been trapped in the employ of the Lisles for years, amid painful memories and twisted secrets. But now the Lisle family is headed to America, with Tess in tow. Once the ship they’re sailing on—the RMS Titanic—reaches its destination, Tess plans to strike out and create a new life for herself.

Her single-minded focus shatters when she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. By Alec has secrets of his own. He’s in a hurry to leave Europe, and whispers aboard the ship say it’s because of the tragic end of his last affair with the French actress who died so gruesomely and so mysteriously . . .

Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves exist and are stalking him—and now her, too. Her growing love for Alec will put Tess in mortal peril, and fate will do the same before their journey on the Titanic is over.

• Number of pages: 325

Review

The story of the Titanic is one of the saddest and most interesting tales I’ve ever heard. It’s just one of those things that have always interested me (like the last Grand Duchess Anastasia or the Victorian Era). If you didn’t notice from the synopsis, this story is a little different from your average historic tale about the almighty Titanic. Or did you not get that from the werewolf part? In that case I tell you now, this isn’t your average historical fiction. I’d have to say it’s like 60% paranormal, 25% historical fiction, and 15% mystery. That sounds like an interesting combination doesn’t it? Well, it is. I thought that this book was not only interesting, but also easy to read. There weren’t any part where it felt tedious to keep going, or any parts when I want to skip ahead. I was in the mood for an easy read like this that kept me hooked till the end.

The one thing I was fooled at was the actual historical part of the story of Titanic. I thought that a good chunk of the book was going to happen during that horrific event. Turns out that it’s actually just a little part of it, maybe 1 or two chapters I think it was. That’s all I’m going to say on that. It was great to learn little things about the boat that I never knew about, like the 3^rd class living conditions or the events that happened during their week stay on the most magnificent vessel up until the iceberg. It’s funny how I kept picturing Rose and Jack to come up around the corner, or thinking to myself, “While all this was happening, Rose and Jack must have been doing this.” I guess that’s just one of those things that I always associate with Titanic.

Tess was a great, easy protagonist to follow. She had her goals set, and she was practical till the end. That’s sometimes fun to read in a character, especially when things start to turn out a little differently than what she planned . . . kind of like werewolves appearing out of no where and her ship sinking. That kind of stuff can mess up anyone’s agenda. The other characters were good to read as well, for instance, the lady she Tess worked for was a pompous woman about to lose all her money with a messed up son and a daughter that only defends herself when things are already too late. Alec was ok to read, he was pretty temperamental most of the story, but then again with his situation it is to be expected. It wasn’t that bad anyway. All around the story was pretty good, and I thought that the ending—though pretty incredible—was also something that summed up all the lose threads pretty well. So from 1-10? I think a 6 is in order.