Fateful

Fateful
Claudia Gray
328 pages
Publisher: HareperTeen
Source: library
★★★★★

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

When I first heard about this book last year I thought, "Warewolves on the Titanic?  Really?"  But I'm slightly obsessed with all things Titanic, so I knew I had to read it.  I picked it up last night around ten p.m. and didn't stop until I turned the last page a little after one thirty a.m.   FIVE FREAKING STARS.

Tess Davies is a servant to a very prominent English family, the Lisles.  Out of their thirty-five servants, Tess is selected to accompany the family to New York for their daughter's spring social season.  Once on board the ocean liner, Tess keeps having uncomfortable run-ins with a man named Mikhail who seems to have it out for her - as a werewolf.

I loved how the romance between Tess and Alec, the first class passenger who always managers to save Tess from Mikhail, developed.  It was paced just right and they didn't immediately fall in love.  It was a very sweet romance that I couldn't get enough of - in between the action.

There was lots of action in this book, as well.  Fight scenes, threats, lots of running through corridors - it was that aspect of the book, the fast pacing, that really kept me turning the pages through the night.  I don't know how accurate I was in my head, but I kept picturing the setting from the movie Titanic.

But as I kept reading the book, I kept forgetting what ship they were on.  I realized over and over that there was going to be an ending - the ship had to go down even though Tess and the others had no idea.  I kept realizing there couldn't be a happy ending.  Sure enough, I was close to tears near the end of the novel, but I can't really tell you why - I don't want to spoil the ending you don't know about.

I highly, highly recommend.  Five stars plus.  You need to read this book.  Seriously, add it to your library holds now.