Still Distraught Over Fateful

* Spoiler warning for Fateful by Claudia Gray *

In my review of Fateful by Claudia Gray, I expressed my disappointment with the ending, but I felt like I couldn’t go into as much depth as I would have liked to without spoiling the entire book, so here I am.

Now, from the beginning of the book, I had it in my head that people were going to die. I mean, it is the Titanic, after all; it kind of goes with the territory. Fateful was going to be a tragic love story that would leave me thinking about it for days afterward.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for happy endings, but this book was supposed to end sadly. But nooo, the two main characters, Tess and Alec, lived happily ever after. >:/ What’s up with that?! It’s not supposed to end like a Disney princess movie! That’s just not how a story about the Titanic works!

In my opinion, it would have been far more romantic if Tess and Alec had died together! The ending ruined the entire book for me; it could have easily gotten five stars from me if the conclusion had been heartbreakingly tragic.

Well, now I feel much better. Thanks for listening.

Review: Fateful by Claudia Gray

We have a guest reviewer today—it's Melissa, Ally's sister and Lee's cousin! Melissa will be contributing occasional posts in the future, too. Without further ado, here's her first book review!

Fateful
By Claudia Gray
Publisher: HarperTeen

To Sum It Up: Tess Davies is a servant for a wealthy English family, the Lisles. Tess dreams of escaping the cruelty of Lady Regina and creating a new life for herself. Opportunity arises when the Lisles decide to take a trip to America on the luxurious Titanic. Tess has devised a plan to leave the Lisles when the ship reaches America. She only has a few more days of servitude, but will Tess lose sight of her dreams when she meets the handsome first class passenger, Alexander Marlowe? Alec has a dark past that could put Tess and everyone she loves in terrible danger.

Review: I found Fateful to be very well-written, and it brought new life to the story of the Titanic. Claudia Gray created an enticing plotline with werewolves and a werewolf-kind-of-cult. That kind of drama mixed with the inevitable disaster awaiting the passengers of the Titanic is a recipe for a fantastic book. I feel like this book was so close to a five star, but there were only two things holding it back.

First of all, I just couldn’t connect with the characters. I didn’t dislike them; I just wasn’t in love with them. Tess was cool, but I wish there had been something more to her. Alec also had so much potential, but he, too, was missing something. Alec is a cursed and tortured soul, but I feel like Claudia Gray could have pulled more out of him. I feel like he should have had some passion besides Tess, making him more memorable. The plotline was so good; I wish the characters had been just as good.

I was also very, very disappointed with the ending. I really wish it had ended differently. I feel like if the end had gone in a different direction, the book could have reached its full potential.

All in All: I think the book is definitely worth a try. The plotline is too good to just write off because of a few letdowns. Even though Fateful is not one of my favorites, it was very enjoyable. I hope you like it just as much, if not more than I did.