Fateful

Claudia Gray

Publisher:  HarperTeen

Publish Date: September 13, 2011

Version: Hardcover

Series: none

You’re strong enough to stand up to anyone. Smart enough to do anything you want. Don’t sell yourself short; don’t be afraid of what your new life is going to offer. Because I know—if there’s any justice in this world, good things are going to come to you. Better things than you ever dreamed.

Tess Davies is an eighteen year old servant of the Lisle family.  She is a handmaid to Irene Lisle.  Tess was young when she and Daisy, her sister, started at the Lisle household.  This is the story about the Lisle family going aboard the RMS Titanic to make the trek to the United States.  They, of course, took servants with them, which included Tess, Ned and Mrs. Horne.  Before leaving on this journey, Tess meets Alec in the streets of Southampton as she is running an errand.  He saves her and then leaves. 

While aboard the Titanic.  Tess and the other servants are housed in the third class quarters.  This is unusual for servants to not be up in first class with the people they serve.  Tess has a key that will allow her to go into the first class quarters from third class at any time.  She makes an unexpected friend in Myriam, sees Alec and gets to interact with him a little more and also meets Mikhail aboard the Titanic.  Soon she learns the secret that Alec was trying to keep from people and what Mikhail has to do with it.  She also learns that she is in danger and relies on Alec to keep her safe.

I have always liked the story of the Titanic.  Having this story happen on board there, really made me like it all the more.  The way that Gray tells the story, it is mesmerizing and I had to know what happened to Tess, Myriam, Alec, Mikhail.

Being a wolf doesn't seem anything like being a god to me, unless a god gets twitchy every full moon and is likely to have fleas.

Eighteen-year-old maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, troubled family she serves. It’s 1912, and Tess has been trapped in the employ of the Lisles for years, amid painful memories and twisted secrets. But now the Lisle family is headed to America, with Tess in tow. Once the ship they’re sailing on—the RMS Titanic—reaches its destination, Tess plans to strike out and create a new life for herself.

Her single-minded focus shatters when she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets of his own. He’s in a hurry to leave Europe, and whispers aboard the ship say it’s because of the tragic end of his last affair with the French actress who died so gruesomely and so mysteriously. . . .

Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves exist and are stalking him—and now her, 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.

In Fateful, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray delivers paranormal adventure, dark suspense, and alluring romance set against the opulent backdrop of the Titanic’s first—and last—voyage.

Nobody else will ever be able to save me if I’m not fighting as hard as I can to save myself.

▪ Tess.  She really shows her strength throughout this story.  Even though she is a servant and must do what the Lisle family tells her to do, she stays true to who she is and her convictions.

▪ Alec.  He has a hard time coming to terms with whom and what he is. That is what this story is about.  The thing I love about Alec is that he sees through the social statuses that other people of that time were so concerned about and sees people for their character.

▪ Irene Lisle.  She is the daughter of the Viscount and Regina Lisle.  She is also the person whom Tess was a personal servant to.  I liked Irene’s character because even though she was in the upper class, she still respected people.  She treated Tess as a friend.  Granted, she had to act certain ways in front of her mother, but you can see her true personality and heart by the way she spoke about things.

▪ The Titanic.  I am a sucker for Titanic stories.  I don’t know what it is about it that draws me to them.  While Gray does admit that “on some points [she] chose drama over accuracy,” it still is a compelling story that highlights the facts pertinent to the sinking of the White Star Line vessel.

But you have nothing better to do with your time than harass us, do you? Go back to ruling the universe from Mount Olympus or whatever else it is you mongrels do.

▪ Mikhail.  He is the “bad guy” in this story.  I admit that I do like some bad guys, but not in this case.  Mikhail is bad through and through.  He compares himself and his “kind” to Gods.  He even tells why he believes this.  It did not work for me.  When Gray penned him as the antagonist in Fateful, she did a very good job because I couldn’t find one redeeming quality about him.

▪ Layton Lisle.  He is a slimeball.  I don’t like his character because he portrays the stereotype of the upper class male.  I don’t like stereotypes and like it even less when characters fulfill them.

▪ Regina Lisle.  She is the mother to Layton, Irene and Bea.  The reason I don’t like her is that she is so worried about appearances that she doesn’t realize or care whom she hurts.

▪ The Brotherhood.  You don’t really get to hear that much detail about them.  What you do hear, however, points to that they are no good.  The fact that Mikhail belongs to them makes me like them even less.

“You should go."
"I can't."
"Because you want to stare at the monster?" Alec's green eyes blaze, but with a wholly human fire now. "Or because you pity me?" I couldn't guess which possibility he loathes more.
I fold my arms. "I can't leave because the door's locked. Believe me, I would've gone hours ago if I could have."
"Oh. Of course." Then he looks so abashed--so boyish, and so handsome--that I almost want to laugh.”

I found this cover on Goodreads and I must say that I like it better than the cover that I have.  The picture above doesn't do the US cover justice as there is foil to the blue background.  Still, I like the cover of the girl in the red dress more.

“As far as I can see, in this world, you’re a fool for not using whatever gifts
you’re given. It’s not as though you lied or cheated or stole to get Howard Marlowe as your father. That’s who he is; that’s who you are. You got dealt a bad card when you were bitten—so use one of the better cards you have in your hand to make up for it.”