Fated

Fated by Alyson Noel is about a 16 year old girl, Daire, who is a Seeker though she doesn't know that yet..... instead she thinks she's going crazy. Noel weaves a world where magick's real, and people just are unaware of it, wrapped up in their own world, and where Seekers are working to prevent the Coyotes (the evil magick practisers - always need baddies!), from wreaking havoc on our world. I found it really credible and I prefer it when fantasy novels emphasise that the only reason we don't know about these magick things is because we don't want to notice them. Another series (Strange Angels) does the same thing and I really prefer it and like it...... though I would love to be able to notice the magick in the air - must not be going around it the right way!!
And, thankfully, there's the love interest, Dace Whitefeather.... and he is scrumptious....

Strange things have been happening to Daire Santos. Animals follow her, crows mock her, glowing people appear from nowhere. Worried that Daire's having a breakdown, her mother sends her to stay with the grandmother she's never met, who lives on the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico.There Daire crosses paths with Dace, a gorgeous guy with unearthly blue eyes. Her grandmother recognizes Daire's episodes for what they are - a call to her true destiny as a Soul Seeker, a person who can navigate between the living and the dead. Guided by her grandmother, Daire must be quick to learn how to harness her powers, because Dace's brother is an evil shape-shifter, out to steal them. Daire must embrace her fate as a Soul Seeker and discover whether Dace is the guy she's meant to be with . . . or if he's allied with the enemy she's destined to destroy.


Daire
She's plucky, brave, exotic, and funny (with a sarcastic dry humour) Love her! She's good fun to follow, you  care for her, and you want her to succeed. There are bits in the novel where she's a bit of a martyr 'should I go with Dace or is that going against my families ancestral rules' kinda thing, but nevertheless she's a really good lead character to follow.

Dace .... & Cade
The goodest and evillest souls around, literally. His twin brother Cade is the evil half, he's the good, go figure who Daire choose... They're both fit, but while Dace is warm and friendly, Cade is cold and aloof. I would have liked more a love triangle between them and Daire but I suppose, in some books that can be really annoying as you're shouting at the girl 'What the hell you going with him for? The other one's good and just as fit'!..... Yeah I analyse the Love relationships a bit too much sometimes, Jealously makes a girl green!

Paloma
Paloma's Daire's gran. She knows all about what Daire's going through and convinces Daire's mum that she can 'save' her saving Daire another trip to a mental hospital. She guides Daire through her Seeker training and helps her follow her heart as well as her head.

Xotichl (and it's pronounced So-cheee)
Although Xotichl is blind she can see energies which allow her to see the world and people clearly, usually more so than people with vision! She befriends Daire and helps to keep her grounded, sane and a teenager.... Daire's weight on her shoulders could turn her into an adult before you could say Snap!

Noel gets the necessary rivalries, relationships, humour and background into the novel in order to construct a intriguing addictive first book that leaves you craving more! I loved the incorporation of old legends and the animal spirit guides..... (I admit it, I took the quiz, I'm a wolf..... grrr) and how the Seekers began to seem plausible and real.

I would give this book 4 out of 5... I'm not being generous it really was that good and it's made me desperate to read the rest of them! I love how it's not ridiculously fluffy as some YA series can be!

You can get Fated from Amazon.co.uk for £4.61, it's definetly one to get....buy it or borrow it, just read it!
Fated is published by MacMillan books and again, I can't stress this enough, it's sooooo good! Buy it!

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