Book Review: Fated by Sarah Alderson

Title: Fated 

Author: Sarah Alderson
Series: Standalone
Pages: 310
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Date of Publication: 5th January 2012
Source: Publisher*
Synopsis from Goodreads: What happens when you discover you aren't who you thought you were? And that the person you love is the person who will betray you? If your fate is already determined, can you fight it?

When Evie Tremain discovers that she’s the last in a long line of Demon slayers and that she’s being hunted by an elite band of assassins –Shapeshifters, Vampires and Mixen demons amongst them – she knows she can’t run. They’ll find her wherever she goes. Instead she must learn to stand and fight.

But when the half-human, half-Shadow Warrior Lucas Gray - is sent to spy on Evie and then ordered to kill her before she can fulfil a dangerous prophecy, their fates become inextricably linked. The war that has raged for one thousand years between humans and demons is about to reach a devastating and inevitable conclusion. Either one or both of them will die before this war ends.

If your life becomes bound to another’s, what will it take to sever it?

My Thoughts:
Having never read anything by Sarah Alderson before, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was hoping for lots of action and some romance and just an all round really good read. And that's EXACTLY what I got. It was jam-packed with action and there was a cute little romance going on, and the writing was incredible and ahh, it was just amazing. A PERFECT way to start the year!

Fated jumps right in and starts with action, and it doesn't stop until the very last page. I haven't read a book with so much fighting and training and everything like that for a while, and it was great! There wasn't a single moment in the book in which I was bored or left hanging, wondering what was going to happen next, because nothing ever stopped happening, if that makes sense! I NEEDED to keep reading even though it was super late and I was falling asleep because there was no way I'd be able to wait to find out what happened to Evie.

Speaking of Evie... She was AWESOME. She was kick-butt and (nearly) the whole time she was determined and strong and I loved finding out all about her and her new world right along with her. There was a little bit in the middle in which she disappointed me, but that didn't matter so much because she comes back EVEN BETTER and even stronger so it wasn't all bad. I loved how wary she was of everything, and how she didn't believe everything she was told all at once just because someone who says they're 'the good guy' says so. She seemed very level-headed and sensible and I liked how she didn't get distracted by all the crazy... ;)

And then there was Lucas. He was pretty cool, I must say... ;) I loved how there were two storylines about him - one with Evie and one with The Brotherhood. I enjoyed reading about both sides of his life, and it was great learning all about the Brotherhood and finding out how they operated. Let me tell you, they sound SCARY. Like, a big, supernatural gang who have no problem with killing you if you get in their way... *cowers in the corner* Haha no really I'm not that scared... :P Anyway, what he did in the end was ADORABLE. Aww, it was so cute and he gave up so much and awwww it was great. But I won't spoil you!

The plot was amazing. Like I said before, it was full of action, but it wasn't just that. I couldn't stop reading because there was always something happening, and I could NEVER guess what was coming next. Like, I'm awful at guessing plots anyway, but with this I had no hope at all. Half way through I thought maybe I had an idea as to what would happen, but I was so, so wrong. And at the end, looking back, I'd never have guessed. Like, there were complete character reversals, and I'm still not 100% sure who was good and who was bad. I think it's open to interpretation as there's not a sequel planned, but I can't decide! I can't decide whether a certain character was a bad, selfish, evil guy, or whether he was just doing his best to try and protect Evie and he just wasn't particularly good at it... ;)

Overall, Fated was amazing. An awesome read, one that I'd recommend to everyone who's a fan of young adult. It's one of those paranormal books that's more of a contemporary with a paranormal twist than a paranormal... But it is most definitely paranormal at the same time... That makes little sense, I know, but I think if you read it you might understand what I mean. Anyway, if you're a fan of Sarah Alderson definitely do not miss this one, and if like me, you've not read anything else by her this is a great one to start with! I'm definitely going to be finally reading my copy of Hunting Lila that's been sitting on my shelf for ages, now!

*Huge thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending me this in exchange for an honest review! In no way has this affected my opinion of the book. 

My Thoughts:

I give it 5 Feet!

Challenges:
2012 British Books Challenge