Fateful by Claudia Gray

Summary (From Goodreads): The RMS Titanic is the most luxurious ship ever built, but for eighteen-year-old Tess Davies it’s a prison. Travelling as a maid for the family she has served for years, Tess is trapped in their employ amid painful memories and family secrets.

When she meets Alec, a handsome upper class passenger, Tess falls helplessly in love. But Alec has secrets of his own… and soon Tess is entangled in a dangerous game. A sinister brotherhood that will do anything to induct Alec into their mystical order has followed him onboard. And Tess is now their most powerful pawn.

Tess and Alec fight the dark forces threatening to tear them apart, never realising that they will have to face an even greater peril before the journey is over…

New York Times best-selling author Claudia Gray delivers adventure, dark paranormal suspense, alluring romance, and a truly surprise ending, set against the opulent backdrop of the Titanic's first — and last — voyage.

Review: Wow, I'm not even sure where to begin this review. I should probably start by telling you guys that I loved it! Fateful was such a great book. It blended many different elements yet was able to make them all work together.

The main focus of the book is between Tess and Alec's romance, and the obstacles that they have to overcome. It's really done in an interesting way, since Tess is a maid and Alec is the heir to a huge steel fortune. It adds a nice upstairs/downstairs touch to the story and reminded me a little of Downton Abbey. Gray also adds some great relationships between side characters, so it isn't just a focus on Alec and Tess. Other characters have the chance to grow and develop as the story moves along.

There is a lot going on in this book. There are the historical aspects of the Titanic and the class system, as well as the paranormal aspect of werewolves and Gray's take on werewolf mythology with the Brotherhood, a powerful group of werewolves who use their abilities to gain wealth and influence throughout the world. While all this information can make the book seem dense at times, Gray keeps the action moving along at a nice pace.

I felt really anxious while I was reading this book. I think that was because I know how the story of the Titanic ends. There is the sense of urgency to the story which made it much more exciting.

I found Claudia Gray's writing to be really enjoyable. I haven't read the Evernight series, but Fateful made me want to check out her other work.

Bottom Line: Fateful was a great page turner! I'd reccomend it to fans of books that combine historical and paranormal themes, like A Great and Terrible Beauty.