Genre:
Fantasy/New Adult
Description:
“After
losing her adoptive parents in a horrific car accident, Elena Kelly
is sent to be raised by her cousin, Gregory. On Elena's twenty-fifth
birthday, Greg takes her out for a nice birthday dinner. While in the
ladies room, a strange creature pulls her through a mystical mirror.
Elena lands
on a strange beach in a strange dimension and comes face to face with
a creature she has never seen the likes of before. Out of thin air, a
handsome, dangerous Sorcerer appears and fights the creature.
Terrified, injured, and in a strange land, she is forced to trust the
stranger who just saved her life.
On the way
to find her cousin, he tells her an unbelievable tale of her true
origin. Elena is next in line for the Fae crown, her fate is to unite
the Dark races, and her life is in danger.
Once she is
reunited with her cousin, she discovers that everything she thought
was real is a lie, and she lives in a world with Vampires, Witches,
and Demons.
As
Elena's powers increase so does the danger she faces. She must learn
to fight and come to terms with who she is if she has any hope of
saving herself as well as the ones she loves.”
Author:
“K.K.
Watson grew up and currently resides in Winter Park, Florida. During
the day, K. K. works a very technical position in the Environmental
Sciences field. As a creative outlet, she tried her hand at writing,
and the result is the Dark Races series. In her spare time, K. K.
loves to read chick-lit, edgy paranormal romances, and urban fantasy.
Like her reading, K. K. likes to write stories that are sexy, dark
and suspenseful, with strong heroines and hot alpha-males.”
To learn
more please check out Ms. Watson’s website or on Facebook.
Appraisal:
Tempting
Fate is a compellingly unique
story and has good pacing. The characters are varied and well
developed. I wanted to add coming-of-age to the genre listing, but
that doesn’t quite fit. Elena is twenty-five years old, but has
just learned her heritage as a Fae. She was raised as a human and
shielded by protective magic to hide her from the magical realms. She
has a lot of catching up to do as she learns about her newly budding
powers. Her strong personality comes across as an entitled bratty
child. There were several times I rolled my eyes or wanted to slap
her. I had to remind myself Elena is out of her element and
floundering to find out how she fits in.
With the
help of her new demon friend, Amber, she is introduced to vampires,
witches, and an oracle. Amber is a wonderful character who provides
Elena a sounding board. She is knowledgeable about the ways of the
magical realm, witty, and lots of fun. Aiden of Avalon, the last
druid, is charged with Elena’s protection concerning a prophecy
that will unite the Realms of the dark and light Fae. Elena has the
weight of the world on her shoulders while trying to learn about this
new world she has been thrown into.
Tempting
Fate is told through Elena’s
eyes so we are allowed her personal insights and struggles to come to
grips with her new life. This seems to be Ms. Watson’s debut novel,
which I found to be not quite ready for prime time. I would have
enjoyed this book so much more if I hadn’t had to wade through the
freshman editing errors/mistakes. Beside the commonly found errors of
missing, extra, or wrong words and punctuation, I found Elena’s
mother’s recounting of her past full of inconsistencies. Another
problem I encountered was repetition; while there is a lot going on,
I think there are certain aspects of the story that stick with the
reader and we don’t need a rehash to follow the story-line. With
the help of a good editor these problems could be ironed out to make
a more focused, cohesive story. This novel is well worth the
investment to add a final polish.
FYI:
Adult
sexual situations and language. If you are sensitive to F-bombs, I
have to warn you there are several.
Format/Typo
Issues:
Sadly this
book, as it stands, is riddled with issues that range from proofing
errors to problems with story consistency.
Rating:
*** Three Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 135-140,000 words
No comments:
Post a Comment