Fateful Hardcover – Bargain Price, September 13, 2011

First off, I must say that setting a young adult paranormal on board the tragedy of the Titanic is a fantastical idea.That said, there is plenty more to like about Fateful by Claudia Gray. There is the heroine, Tess Davies, a young ladies' maid hoping to change her fortunes once the Titanic docks in America; there is Alec Marlowe, the tortured first class passenger who harbors a strange, heart-breaking secret; there is Myriam, a third class Lebanese traveler whose friendship Tess comes to value in many ways; there is Irene, the young woman Tess cares for who has secrets all her own; and there is the Titanic itself, steeped in all the tragedy and grandeur of history. Tess is a young woman ahead of her time, determined to escape the life of a ladies' maid and live on her own in America, and her family's personal tragedy propels her to take chances she might otherwise avoid. Once on board the Titanic, however, her strange encounter with with a wolf on the streets of Southampton turns into an even deeper mystery when Tess finds herself stalked by the creepy Mikhail; her very life comes into danger when she realizes just whom--and what--she is dealing with.I really enjoyed Fateful with its fast plot, evil villain, and paranormal aspect. The fact that Ms. Gray was able to weave her story among the great ship and its real life passengers was very enjoyable for this Titanic buff, and she explains her liberties fully in the author's note. If the characters are a little too cardboard caricature, it's all right since the story fulfills its purpose and ends on a particularly unexpected measure. My biggest issue was with the idea that no one would report or raise a cry when a rather large wolf escapes and kills a man; that particular scene was really unrealistic, even for a paranormal. And though I loved the "romance" between Alec and Tess, I seriously doubt his ability to fall in love with a ladies' maid, even one who knows his secrets and rescues him. But still, it's a young adult novel and it's a paranormal so I can overlook that little qualm because the ending makes up for every single issue I had. I'm hopeful there will be a sequel or two because this story certainly isn't over. Fun and engaging with a unique setting.

Wonderful. This is by far Claudia's Gray's best work yet. I hope you guys give it a shot.Tess, the protagonist - Practical, smart, fiery, determined, strong. A great perspective to read. I LOVED that she was a servant--not that I enjoyed seeing her be treated badly or anything but just how often do you read a story from that kind of perspective? Historical romance & history itself are often written from the perspective of the victor, the rich, etc. etc. It was incredibly refreshing to have that other take on the story and one that was so heart-breaking. You'll really empathize with Tess. Plus, her reactions were always realistic, which is a nice touch for a paranormal world.World-building - More than just one world to build -- Gray had to establish both the paranormal world and the historical world, and on both counts, she succeeded. I never once doubted that Tess was on the Titanic; Gray adds a lot of details that make the ship seem like an authentic setting. I also enjoyed her werewolf world. I want to know more about the Brotherhood--how did wolves become this way? I think there was a mention of it but I want more and I want to know how such... misogynistic opinions came to exist.Relationships - Every relationship felt complex and well-developed .... LOVED MYRIAM. Ahem, and that's not just 'cause she's Lebanese ;p. It's mostly because the friendship between Tess and Myriam became authentic after only a few days... In general, I loved how Gray used all the pasts between the characters to form these dynamic situations layered with such incredible tension.The Villains - Just as in her Evernight series, Gray has created two sets of villains.. a couple close to Tess and one newly met. One set was incredibly realistic - there are some people who are that nasty and elitist - and the other set? Well, that's just the paranormal. Regardless, though, both posed a great threat to Tess that made me believe in the danger inherent to every moment she was on and off board the ship.The Romance - Because even though it was intense and had some elements of paranormal romance that I don't like--i.e. references to their obvious connection--it still had me sold. I love their deep-seated belief in each other and the way they admired each other's strengths and weaknesses. More importantly, I understood why they ended up together, why they were attracted to each other to begin with. Gray is a master at spinning romance.Accuracy - I mentioned this in both the protag. and world-building sections, but really it deserves its own section. The details of servitude and Tess's relationship with her employers, with the other passengers, even what happened when the RMS Titantic crashed--everything was vivid and done so well that I feel like Claudia Gray deserves extra props for her research.The Ending - Was not expecting that to happen... and yet... it was wonderful! I can't say anymore because I don't want to spoil it for you guys... Still, let me just say that Claudia Gray is brilliant! There. :).The Writing - The attire and dialogue and emphasis on class were all historically accurate not to mention the descriptions of the world as seen through Tess's eyes. In general, the writing was really fluid and evocative of a tragedy just waiting to happen.the Pacing - The pacing was sort of neither here nor there. At one point, I had to put the book down to go to class, but even when class finished, I wasn't really thinking about it because I hadn't gotten a place that I absolutely needed to read, you know? The pacing seemed constant throughout, and even when the Titantic crashed, I still didn't feel the urgency. Though... I think that may be due to the fact that I already knew that was going to happen...Thanks for reading my review :). Hope I was helpful.

Ladies' maid Tess is plunged into danger when she overhears a conversation whilst out on an errand for her employer. Rescued by Alec, she's drawn into the mysteries surrounding him and Mikhail, the stranger hunting them both. The Titanic provides both an opulent backdrop to the story and a source of heightening tension, and not just because we know the ship's fate: Tess' danger increases because there's nowhere to run from Mikhail, to whom she is prey...Vividly written, `Fateful' has a practical, determined heroine, and a charismatic hero trying to come to terms with what he's become. The supporting characters are well drawn, and the voyage's tragic outcome is handled movingly. This is one of the best books I've read so far this year, and I read a lot.

Wish there was number 2!

3.5 stars for this wonderful titanic-retelling.I really liked the characters in this book, even the 'nasty' ones, our 'villains', because they are all really well developed and they come across as realistic and believable, keeping into account that this all is happening in 1912. I came to care for Alec and Tess a lot and I really liked the added minor characters as well. Great characters are so important I think, and these characters already made sure I came to love this book a lot, despite knowing beforehand how the rest of the book would turn out. Gray has a talent for writing great main characters. Tessa, being a servant to a first class family on the ship, was a really interesting pov. And Alec, the first class passenger whom builds an intense relationship with Tessa, was soooo lovable! Grey really knows how to write lovable male characters *swooooon*I liked the added paranormal twist into the story, but somehow it also felt - in hindsight - like it was completely unnecessary to write into this story-line as well. I get where the author's coming from; wanting to add a nice paranormal twist to it all since a lot of the story-line development would be predictable since it's historical facts being written about. But if the paranormal twist wouldn't have been in there, it would've been ok to me as well because I just really liked reading about the characters and the titanic-setting more than I liked the paranormal elements to be honest hihi.I've been obsessed with the story of Titanic ever since I was a young girl and this has been my first titanic re-telling to date, so I was really excited beforehand to find out how the author used original elements of the well-known disastrous story of the 'unsinkable' Titanic. I can't say I'm disappointed because Gray's been able to really 'transport' me into this world, this setting and experience it all alongside the characters and made me feel all the feels. The angst, especially in the last part of the book, felt so palpable and I felt so sad - as I always do thinking about the disaster of this majestic ship hitting that iceberg - because the way Gray wrote about all those people dying.. it was beautifully done. I can't imagine what it must've been like for the people back than who died or survived, who experienced the sinking of this ship, but I think Gray did a good job on portraying this scene.The difference between first and third class was really palpable, as it was back in the days as well. Great writing! I loved coming across different characters, residing on different classes on the ship. From first class passengers, to third class passengers, to crew of the ship. Gray wrote a great diversity of characters into the story-line, as you would expect with this story, set in 1912.Taking into account that this is a stand-a-lone, I really think, overall, Gray did a great job with this YA historical fiction. Given the amount of pages used for this story, everything is developed really well I think. The added paranormal elements were okay to me, but I think it's just really personal as to how you experience the added paranormal elements. It was a nice way to add some 'spice' to a young adult historical fiction though. Overall, I really enjoyed this read and picked it up anytime I was able to. I loved the Titanic elements; the fictional ones and the real facts/characters she wrote about - the author explains about it all a bit more in the acknowledgement, which was really great I think; her telling more about how this book came to be and what was and what wasn't real and/or fiction and why she chose to write it that way.If you like knowing this book contains historical fiction, a great setting, some added paranormal elements, great characters, angst and a really likable romance, this is definitely a book you should give a try! I really liked this stand-a-lone novel about, regarding one of the most interesting historical happenings to date.

"Fateful" hat mich mehr als enttäuscht. Mich hat besonders die Kombination aus Titanic und Fantasy gereizt. Fakt ist aber, dass die Geschichte auf jedem beliebigen Schiff und in der heutigen Zeit spielen könnte. Man merkt nicht, dass man sich im Jahr 1912 befindet, die Personen denken und handeln nicht dem entsprechend.Die Geschichte der Titanic wird meiner Meinung nach genutzt, damit das Buch sich verkauft, was ja leider auch funktioniert.Das Cover ist wunderschön und mit ein Grund, weshalb ich dieses Buch gekauft habe. Es passt gut zum Inhalt, denn das Mädchen könnte der Beschreibung nach sehr gut Tess darstellen. Auch den Titel "Fateful" finde ich sehr gut gewählt.Die Charaktere finde ich weder authentisch, noch sympathisch.Schon mit der Protagonistin Tess hatte ich von Anfang an Probleme. Ständig denkt sie das gleiche, nur um ihre Gedanken dann wieder zu verwerfen. Für eine Kammerzofe ist sie viel zu frech und aufmüpfig. Sie wirkt, als wäre sie aus der Gegenwart in die Vergangenheit gereist und in die Rolle von Tess Davies geschlüpft. Zum anderen hat mich ihre "Liebe" zu Alec mehr als genervt. Sie sieht ihn eine Sekunde lang und schon ist sie unsterblich verliebt und würde alles für ihn tun. Alec ebenso.Alec ist außerdem der größte männliche Jammerlappen, der mir je begegnet ist. Wenn er sich nicht gerade in Selbstmitleid badet, macht er sich Vorwürfe und schwingt dramatische Reden.Die Nebenfiguren sind sehr blass und absolut klischeehaft, wie zum Beispiel die Mitglieder der Familie, für die Tess arbeitet, oder der "Bösewicht" Mikhail.Einen positiven Punkt gibt es aber: Tess Charakter wird ab der Mitte des Buches um einiges erträglicher und wenn man einmal davon absieht, dass die Liebesgeschichte eine typische "Wir-sind-füreinander-bestimmt"-Schnulze ist, ist diese auch recht schön.Die dramatische Geschichte der Titanic kombiniert mit Werwölfen und einer unheimlichen Bruderschaft? Klingt nach einem klasse Plot!An der Umsetzung mangelt es aber gewaltig, denn diese ist einfach nur grauenhaft. Der Name der Titanic wird ausgenutzt, um das Buch an die Leser zu bekommen.Was man bekommt ist nichts anderes als eine Werwolfstory, die auf jedem beliebigen Schiff, zu jeder beliebigen Zeit spielen könnte.Als ich das gemerkt habe, war ich oft versucht das Buch wegzulegen, denn es hat mir wirklich nicht gefallen. Ich habe meine ganze Hoffnung in einen dramatischen Untergang und ein ergreifendes Ende gesetzt, aber was habe ich bekommen? Der Untergang wird innerhalb eines Kapitels abgehandelt, das Ende ist lächerlich und überhaupt nicht zufriedenstellend.Die Autorin hat sich mit dem Setting wirklich keinen Gefallen getan, denn die Werwolfstory ansich ist nicht schlecht. Im Gegenteil, die Idee der Bruderschaft, die alle Werwölfe unterwerfen will, hat mir super gefallen, aber durch das Titanic-Drumherum wurde alles ins Lächerliche gezogen. Wieso? Ganz einfach: Alle Stellen, an denen man merkt, dass man sich tatsächlich auf der Titanic befindet sind einfach nur vom Kinofilm abgekupfert.Doch auch die Handlung hat etwas Positives: Dadurch, dass das Buch teilweise wirklich lächerlich war, habe ich mich doch bestens amüsiert und mir so manches Lachen nicht verkneifen können.Das Englisch ist nicht sehr schwer, aber auch defintiv nicht einfach.Wer gut Englisch kann, wird mit dem Buch wenige Probleme haben, wer jedoch nicht gut, sondern nur durchschnittlich in Englisch ist, sollte die Finger von dem Buch lassen.Außerdem sind mir häufige Wortwiderholungen aufgefallen.

I loved the adaption Claudia made of the titanic. The story line was very interesting. Mixing facts with fictions. I enjoyed this book, once I opened it I didn't put it down until it was finished.