Title: A Beautiful Fate
Author: Cat Mann
Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance
Book Description:
Obsessive and driven by nightmares, Ava Baio is uprooted from her Chicago home after the untimely and tragic death of her loving mother. Taken across country by her antagonistic grandmother and placed as a boarding student at a school in Dana Point, California, Ava struggles with isolation and the loss of her mother and her grandfather. Faced with having left her beloved brownstone behind and attending a new school, surrounded by new faces and unfamiliar scenery, she finds herself sorting through unfamiliar and uncharted feelings with a strange and beautiful boy, Ari – a modern day Adonis. After an unconventional start to their relationship, Ava becomes intensely absorbed by her love for Ari, and with his help and the help of his family, she discovers who she really is – a Fate descended from Atropos. She learns that the Greek mythology she grew up reading is not comprised of myth after all.
Ava faces constant challenges both in her relationship with Ari and with the fact that she is being hunted by six threatening and ruthless men who want nothing more than for her to die so that they can live forever. She has no choice but to stand up for those she has come to love. In doing so, she becomes something she hates, a killer.
A true page-turner, A Beautiful Fate is Part one of The Beautiful Fate Series. The novel is full of suspense, romance and the allure of ancient Greece. Ava and Ari will leave the reader hoping the story will never end.
Teaser
Ari and I lay interwoven together in bed. I felt his hand run down the length of my back. I blinked my eyes open. It was only two in the morning.
“When is doing something you know is wrong the right thing to do?” he asked.
Snuggling deeper into his chest, I thought about his question. I knew what was worrying Ari. Could I do it, could I kill?
Everyone comes from somewhere. Some of us come from good and others from bad. The best part about life is that we have the ability to rise above the situation we find ourselves in; we are dealt certain cards, yes, but we don’t have to cheat to win. My father made the wrong choice; Andy made the right one. I hoped I would make the right ones, too. We were at war, a silent war that would not be reported on the news or told in any history books. The first battle was with ourselves as we decided how to deal with our internal conflicts on a day-to-day basis. Should I choose what’s right or should I choose what’s wrong?
Unfortunately, the line between right and wrong isn’t always cut and dried. The Kakos came from bad, the lowest of the low, and decided to try to go lower. They are direct descendants of Hades. Their blood is not watered down or tainted. They are literal spawns of Satan. They possess no soul and therefore feel no grief or regret for their actions. The Kakos’ ultimate goal is to live forever on earth. They escaped from hell eons ago, tracked down and tricked a descendant of a Fate, who agreed to allot them more time.
They followed this pattern for centuries until finally, the idea came to them that if there were no Fates, there would be no more cutting of their threads, and they would be free to live on earth forever. They then set out to kill every descendant from Clotho, Atropos and Lachesis they could find until they got to my father, the last known Fate on earth. He had made a covenant with the Kakos and then had broken his promise. As a result, the Kakos had declared war on every last Greek descendant. The Greeks could side with the Kakos or they could die.
I was the only weapon the Greeks had, but what do I know about war? I’m a seventeen-year-old girl. I have not yet discerned the path my life will take...and I am supposed to go up against the devil’s brood? If I fail, I die. Eventually the Kakos will come for Andy, Aggie and Ari and everyone I love. Andy will have to choose whether to side with the enemy and spare his family’s life, or accept death. In my heart, I knew Andy would never back down and that his family would die a horrible death because of his decision.
If I hunted the Kakos down, then I would have blood on my hands. I would be a murderer, a sinner, and a criminal. I decided to refuse to murder anyone in cold blood. I saw myself as good and I did not want to tarnish my soul.
Ari had asked me how a person knows when the wrong thing to do is right. And I answered: “If I must do wrong to save someone I love, it is right. I will not murder anyone, Ari...but I will kill to save you.” I will protect my people, but I will not go out in search of blood.
QuotesAva: “I hate death -- it’s so permanent and so unfair.” “Je t’aime aussi.”Ari : ““I love the girl that’s in my bed.” “Your skin is soft and I can’t seem to keep my hands off it.”
About The Author
Cat Mann has lived her entire life in central Illinois, but her interests and passions span the planet. She loves skiing, French music and working with the written language.
A self-proclaimed hermit, she is happiest at home reading, writing and scouring the far corners of the internet for new musical artists — artists she skillfully weaves into her tales of the offspring of ancient Greece. She is happily married to her amazing and awe-inspiring best friend, Derek Mann, and together they have created two beautiful daughters.
A Beautiful Fate is Cat’s first novel in The Beautiful Fate Series. The second installment of The Beautiful Fate Series, A Broken Fate, will be available August 26, 2013. Visit Cat on Facebook and keep up with Cat on her blog.
MY REVIEW....
Brush up on your Greek mythology kiddies because the good news is: is that you won't be wasting two to three hours of a bookworm marathon reading this!! And by the way, YES, there is an explanation behind the scissors on the cover. ;)
.....
The good:
I seriously devoured this book!! I'm normally very cryptic and skeptical of books involving mythology and children descended from deities and so forth but "A Beautiful Fate" is in a league of its own.
I can't explain too much of the plot without dishing out spoilers, but the story line is so refreshing that I couldn't help but get lost in the world of it all. I loved the all of the suspense, the mystery, the mythological elements, as well as Ari and Ava's love story.
The bad:
If anything, Ari's family seemed to come out of a fairy tale. I mean, they were literally the Brady Bunch minus the six kids, divorced and remarried parents, and a nanny. What I'm getting at, is their "perfect family" depiction with their chipper and too good to be real personalities. I just don't see characters like that in real life.
Ari's family also tended to take the situation of Ava's predicament too lightly at times. I mean, they're just as aware of what's going on with Ava and what their involvement, particularly their son, could lead to but they still remained a little aloof of the consequences. I'm not saying for them to become extremely paranoid with the oncoming threat that surrounds them but I wish they were more on top of the situation and would take precautions more often. After all, they do have Ari's younger sister to look out for.
Furthermore, what's with everyone always busting in Ari's bedroom when they know that Ari and Ava are sharing a room? And more less, no matter how old they are, what parents are okay with their minor son and his girlfriend sharing a room together? I get that they're in their last year of high school and are going to be adults but what's up with Ari's mom being okay with them having sex in there?? Hmm, my parents would so not have gone there when I was back in high school. It was a no no.
Over all:
I was literally on edge wondering what would come next with Ava's life at large and those around her lives' at stake. It was heartbreaking to watch her go and witness the tragic deaths of two key figures in her life and not be able to do anything about it.
I also really appreciated the characterizations of Ari and Ava (*well, more so Ava) because they were so well crafted and put together that I couldn't help but like and root for them. They are much more mature than many young heroines that I come across and they're backgrounds/who they're descended from are so interesting.
Ava, by far, stepped it up big when she put her wants aside and did what she had to in order to protect Ari and her "family". She was so bada** when she took control of her own fate and started embracing her powers and finding ways to take down the bad guys. How cool.
As for the ending, what a cliffhanger!! I was not expecting that!! Omigah, I need the next book already!! Ari better step up his role in book two!!
My Rating:
-Overall : 9
-Plot : 9
-Writing : 9
-Characters : 8.5
-Cover : 7
Where to get your copy!
Amazon
Smashwords
Barnes and Noble
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