Fateful

Fateful by Claudia Gray, 2011. 336 pages. Published by HarperTeen. Source: Publisher for review.

In Fateful, eighteen-year-old maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, overbearing family she works for. Once the ship they’re sailing on reaches the United States, she’ll strike out on her own. Then she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets....
Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves are real and they’re stalking him—and now Tess, 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.

First Sentence:

It's not too late to turn back, I tell myself.

Honestly, I wasn't too sure about reading Fateful even though I enjoyed the last two books of Claudia Gray's that I have read. Why, because the book features werewolves...on the Titanic.

Frankly I haven't been too impressed with books featuring werewolves, I just cannot stand how they're all the same with the characters whose a werewolf is all whacked out and raging around. It bores me and is just too typical. So I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this one, it might just be because Ms. Gray took such a unique spin on the myth and add to the fact that book is set on the Titanic.

As for Ms. Gray's writing, I thought that Fateful was definitely the best book of hers that I have read yet. Her writing was absolutely brilliant, especially the part were the Titanic was sinking and you could feel the fear mixed with the unbelievability of the situation to the passengers of the ship.
  Fateful is not the first book that I have read set on the Titanic, just the first one that happens to be plagued with werewolves, which I thought actually made for an interesting twist to the whole thing (especially the end of the book).
One of the things that made Fateful such an interesting read for me would have to be all the detail that Ms. Gray put into the story setting and that the characters voices definitely seemed to fit the time in which the book was set. I loved how she made the addition of the supernatural to the Titanic's story fit so well, and that it never once seemed forced while I was reading it.
Tess, I thought she was a pretty great character. I loved that she was willing to fight for what she wanted, and really enjoyed seeing her grow throughout the book, plus it was definitely interesting to see the relationship between her Miss Irene. The only thing I didn't really like about her as a character would have to be that she could be a bit irritating at times, especially when you knew she would just love to say something but couldn't since she was well...a maid in the early 1900s.
    Alec, as far as werewolves go he actually wasn't that bad of one. I mean to say that I actually liked him as a character even though he was a werewolf. The reason I liked him was that he wasn't always raging around like the Hulk killing and destroying everything in his path, plus I felt like he actually did care quite a bit for Tess and that she would be safe.

What really made this such a great read for me would have to be the end. Its not that I was happy to see Fateful draw to a close, but the twist that Ms. Gray threw in at the end of the book. I loved it because it was just so very unexpected and well done. I just loved it!
   While I found Fateful to be a highly enjoyable read, I do have a couple of things that kept it from be a 5 pineapple read. What kept it from being a 5 pineapple read for me was the content, I had thought that Tess and Alec were different then some of the other characters, so I was quite disappointed in both of them when they slept together on what they thought was their final night together (they were parting ways for safety). For me it just ruined what was beginning to look like a potentially sweet relationship, while it wasn't graphic in nature it left me disappointed in them.

Content (will contain spoilers; highlight to see):
Language- I don't recall there being much in the way of foul language in this book (a few uses of the more minor swear words).
Violence- I would say is relatively high at points (
Sexual content- while there isn't anything graphic, Tess and Alex do end up sleeping together in the latter half of the book (its heavily implied, but not written out).

Final Verdict: Fateful one of the few werewolf books that I would recommend.

Fateful earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.