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The Beautiful Fate #1
A Beautiful Fate
Obsessive and driven by nightmares, Ava Baio is uprooted from her Chicago home after the untimely and tragic death of her loving mother. Alone for the first time in her life, at a new school in a new town, Ava finds herself sorting through unfamiliar and unsettling feelings with a secretive yet beautiful boy, Ari. 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 truly a myth after all and that she is the key in an ancient war- the only weapon her new family has to survive.
Will she be able to separate her heart from her destiny? Is she willing to kill to protect those she loves?
Will she be able to separate her heart from her destiny? Is she willing to kill to protect those she loves?
480 pages, ebook
First published June 11, 2013
33 people are currently reading
429 people want to read
About the author
Cat Mann
4 books31 followersCat Mann is an Illinois author who writes teen and adult romance. She is happily married to a genius of a man and together they are raising two beautiful daughters.
With her dog at her side, Cat obsessives over French music, witty films and lengthy novels.
Cat’s books have been listed on numerous Amazon bestseller lists, including the Amazon Top 100, Literature & Fiction Fantasy Based Novels, as well as being a top contender in Mythology & Fairy Tales.
To find out more about Cat’s projects and get dates on upcoming releases, find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authorcat.mann and follow her blog, http://authorcatmannblog.blogspot.com/.
With her dog at her side, Cat obsessives over French music, witty films and lengthy novels.
Cat’s books have been listed on numerous Amazon bestseller lists, including the Amazon Top 100, Literature & Fiction Fantasy Based Novels, as well as being a top contender in Mythology & Fairy Tales.
To find out more about Cat’s projects and get dates on upcoming releases, find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authorcat.mann and follow her blog, http://authorcatmannblog.blogspot.com/.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
July 22, 2014
3 Fated Stars
Heartbreaking, passionate, funny and unexpectedly adventurous, I had a great time with this book. It's young and refreshing if not somewhat hard to believe how much rests on an 18-year old shoulders and how she manages to get through it.
And then came the finale.......
That was mean.... Really mean!
Amazon Freebie 08/10/2013
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPXLA7G/r...
ENJOY!!
Heartbreaking, passionate, funny and unexpectedly adventurous, I had a great time with this book. It's young and refreshing if not somewhat hard to believe how much rests on an 18-year old shoulders and how she manages to get through it.
And then came the finale.......
That was mean.... Really mean!
Amazon Freebie 08/10/2013
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPXLA7G/r...
ENJOY!!
Read
November 10, 2013Okay so we've all read the blurb so I wont completely bore you by repeating it again, totally hate it when people do that.
Anyway A Beautiful Fate by Cat Mann was a book I received for an honest review (which I was extremely excited and grateful for) and heres me, being honest....I didn't finish it.
I was really keen to start this book and the start certainly intrigued me, but it felt stiff. Much to my disappointment it wasn't the only flaw I found.
I'm not a fan of teenagers that don't sound/talk like actual teenagers.
"I am tired"
"I am sad"
"I am sam" haha Jk.
I felt in those instances when sentences like these popped up (and they often did) that the characters would have been more personable if they had of been saying;
"I'm tired"
"I'm sad" and so on.
I'm not actually quoting the book here but these few sentences prove my point. Teenagers don't speak like that...their too lazy. Hell I'm 24 and I don't speak like that, I'm not a robot which is how I started imagining the characters after the first few chapters.
The writing style was also way too detailed in some places.
Now on to the main couple. Ari and Avas relationship in the beginning also had me rolling my eyes, cant stand a girl who cant grow a back bone and keep it there when it comes to boys who treat them wrong, even if its minor. she should have made him work for it more.
It also annoyed me how Ava seemed to be dishing up details about herself yet wasn't assertive enough to figure out Ari or maybe Ari was a jerk for not sharing...cant decide on that one still.
Oh and it annoyed me no end when Ari or his family would drop a bomb shell only for Ava to let it slide later on. If people who had killed my father were out to kill me also, I'd be freaking out, wouldn't you? I'd want to know every detail about these people, I'd also take steps to protect myself....did Ava do any of that or even ask many questions....nope and if she even thought of asking it was way after the fact.
Lastly i'll end my review on the one thing that didn't work most. The mythology. If you took out all the supernatural moments, which in my opinion were pretty sparse, up until the middle of the book then you have your usual YA romance...
I might have liked this book more without the mythology to be perfectly honest.
The greek myths which were used in the book weren't in-depth enough for me. What was the point of Ari being a descendent of Adonis? other then for him to have the excuse of being incredibly good looking? They had no real powers. Avas gifts were also lacklustre and a little discriminatory to everyone not Greek even though they'd all seem to have settled in America... I didn't understand why she only decided the fate of people from her cultural background. If the gods were real why not for the whole world???
What I did like was the idea of the school (though the classes were whack) Avas best friend, and Aris close knit family...otherwise not much else.
Maybe i'm wrong and should have read over the half way mark and all these questions would be answered, maybe not. Either way I couldn't rate this book because I didn't finish it and what I did read just wasn't for me.
Anyway A Beautiful Fate by Cat Mann was a book I received for an honest review (which I was extremely excited and grateful for) and heres me, being honest....I didn't finish it.
I was really keen to start this book and the start certainly intrigued me, but it felt stiff. Much to my disappointment it wasn't the only flaw I found.
I'm not a fan of teenagers that don't sound/talk like actual teenagers.
"I am tired"
"I am sad"
"I am sam" haha Jk.
I felt in those instances when sentences like these popped up (and they often did) that the characters would have been more personable if they had of been saying;
"I'm tired"
"I'm sad" and so on.
I'm not actually quoting the book here but these few sentences prove my point. Teenagers don't speak like that...their too lazy. Hell I'm 24 and I don't speak like that, I'm not a robot which is how I started imagining the characters after the first few chapters.
The writing style was also way too detailed in some places.
Now on to the main couple. Ari and Avas relationship in the beginning also had me rolling my eyes, cant stand a girl who cant grow a back bone and keep it there when it comes to boys who treat them wrong, even if its minor. she should have made him work for it more.
It also annoyed me how Ava seemed to be dishing up details about herself yet wasn't assertive enough to figure out Ari or maybe Ari was a jerk for not sharing...cant decide on that one still.
Oh and it annoyed me no end when Ari or his family would drop a bomb shell only for Ava to let it slide later on. If people who had killed my father were out to kill me also, I'd be freaking out, wouldn't you? I'd want to know every detail about these people, I'd also take steps to protect myself....did Ava do any of that or even ask many questions....nope and if she even thought of asking it was way after the fact.
Lastly i'll end my review on the one thing that didn't work most. The mythology. If you took out all the supernatural moments, which in my opinion were pretty sparse, up until the middle of the book then you have your usual YA romance...
I might have liked this book more without the mythology to be perfectly honest.
The greek myths which were used in the book weren't in-depth enough for me. What was the point of Ari being a descendent of Adonis? other then for him to have the excuse of being incredibly good looking? They had no real powers. Avas gifts were also lacklustre and a little discriminatory to everyone not Greek even though they'd all seem to have settled in America... I didn't understand why she only decided the fate of people from her cultural background. If the gods were real why not for the whole world???
What I did like was the idea of the school (though the classes were whack) Avas best friend, and Aris close knit family...otherwise not much else.
Maybe i'm wrong and should have read over the half way mark and all these questions would be answered, maybe not. Either way I couldn't rate this book because I didn't finish it and what I did read just wasn't for me.
July 30, 2015
This book was NOT what I was expecting. Going into it I knew that it was a mythology read so I was expecting Gods and maybe a one eyed giants or three headed dog. However there was none of those elements and this book is in a league of it's own.
Let me start by saying that I loved loved loved Ari. He isn't the normal Alpha male that I fall for. But there is simply something irresistible about a man who falls for a woman and doesn't let her go no matter what happens. A man who will love his lady love through complication, rejection, distance, danger and heartbreak. I only wish that I had the chance to see him fight side by side with Ava.
Ava is so brave. She experiences an excruciating tragedy after having hunting dreams for years prior. She is taken away from everything that she knows and is thrown into a different life. She quickly finds love and discovers that her dreams/nightmares has more significance than she ever imagined.
I don't know what her aunt Margaux's problem was, but she infuriated me more often than not. I loved everyone else in the book. Cat Mann did an awesome job developing the characters.
The cliff hanger pretty much guaranteed that I will be reading the next book soon. I'm already excited to see what the future has in store for Ava and Ari!
4 Beautiful Fate stars!
Let me start by saying that I loved loved loved Ari. He isn't the normal Alpha male that I fall for. But there is simply something irresistible about a man who falls for a woman and doesn't let her go no matter what happens. A man who will love his lady love through complication, rejection, distance, danger and heartbreak. I only wish that I had the chance to see him fight side by side with Ava.
Ava is so brave. She experiences an excruciating tragedy after having hunting dreams for years prior. She is taken away from everything that she knows and is thrown into a different life. She quickly finds love and discovers that her dreams/nightmares has more significance than she ever imagined.
I don't know what her aunt Margaux's problem was, but she infuriated me more often than not. I loved everyone else in the book. Cat Mann did an awesome job developing the characters.
The cliff hanger pretty much guaranteed that I will be reading the next book soon. I'm already excited to see what the future has in store for Ava and Ari!
4 Beautiful Fate stars!
June 19, 2013
Obviously I love this book.
October 14, 2013
Ava Baio's mom get murdered in front of her. Her father had already died shortly after she was born. She is sent to live with her grandmother, Margaux. Margaux is her mother's adopted mother. Ava keeps saying how much of a witch her grandmother is but personally i don't see it. Sure she's not sitting in her rocker knitting and baking Ava chocolate chip cookies, but I honestly don't see what Ava has against her.
Ava gets sent to a prestigious boarding school getting the education of a life time, and all she does is mope because Margaux sent her there. Sometimes you just have to trust your guardians know best and stop being such an angsty teen.
So Ava's uprooted from her "home" of Chicago and brought to L.A. According to Ava she lived in Chicago for 4 years and before that, Montreal. Personally i would think that where i spend nearly 13 years would be my home, rather than somewhere I spent four. Then again i'm not Ava.
So she gets to L.A. and Margaux is a super terrible person, taking her out to expensive fancy dinners and giving her more clothes and buying her a brand new $50k SUV and a WEEKLY allowance of $300! Damn you Margaux you are the devil! They never explain why Margaux has a burn on her hand or if it had any importance at all. This was just the beginning of a long string of useless information put into the book. I feel like Cat Mann spent too much time drawling on about nothing, and didn't spend enough time on important events.
About this time is where i spotted the first typo. Typically i give a book 2 typos before i start bitching about it, but A Beautiful Fate is peppered with them. I'm sure i didn't find all of them but there are enough for me to complain. Ok, i get it Microsoft Word will not underline the sentence "I remind myself to breath (page 15)" and tell you to use the word "breathe". If I wrote a book, I know there would be spelling and grammar errors, but i sure as hell wouldn't publish it until i knew for sure that all the errors were found.
So Margaux goes to work and tells Ava to be a good girl, and from what i understand Ava sat there for 9 hours and didn't move. What a weird girl. She runs 5 miles and then sits in the same spot in the same position for 9 hours? Makes sense. not. She is also such a great runner she never has to warm up or stretch.
Page 16 is where i found my first grammar mistake (yeah were only to page 16). Microsoft Word should have alerted her to this. "I'm pretty sure i will okay with that". As i said before i usually give a book 2 mistakes before i start to nitpick, but as i read on i found more and went back to highlight these since they were the first. I had to knock points off the star rating for the spelling and grammar.
Besides the grammar and spelling there were just little things that irked me. She had been at Margaux's house 2 days before she noticed her baby grand piano? Those things are not small. Power of observance is not Ava's strong suit apparently.
So Ava goes to her boarding school and meets some friends and they all have fun. Rory has a huge crush on her but she doesn't like him like that. Then she meets Ari and she likes him like that. But Ari only likes her when its dark out and she has nightmares so it seems.
Everyone wears flip flops, even the guys. Feet creep me out. This is my own person phobia, even when i read that a man is wearing flip flops, i gag just from imagining it in my head. gross.
So Ari and Ava and getting closer and she goes to spend a sunday at their house where they're all drinking and getting drunk at noon. Totally normal. Ava wakes up and Ari brings her coffee and is like hey come over to my house today, shes like ok, she takes a shower and gets dressed and by the time they get to the house people are drinking hard liquor.
She finds out who she is. She is a Fate. She is THE Fate. She is the last descendant of all 3 fates in one person. She fully controls the thread of life and death, and of course people want to kill her for that fact. Then Ava cries for the millionth time, don't worry she'll cry a million times more before the book ends.
For instance...
Ari's mom is all awkward and tells Ava it's ok if she slept in Ari's bed with him. I'm sorry but if she was such good friends with Ava's father she would know heads would roll if he knew. He'd be rolling around in his grave. I would come back from the dead just to bitch Aggie out and probably haunt her for the rest of her life, if she told that to my daughter. She should at least respect Ava's father and give him some kind of thought.
Ari and Ava become an official couple and they super love each other. They spend christmas together. They decide they don't want to have sex for a while and Ari is super understanding because he's her soul mate and they make me barf all over the place. And then later they make me want to puke even more. Everyone is happy and life is great.
The author uses "****" to separate paragraphs. Usually these are used correctly, they designate a space of time has passed but we're still in the same chapter. Other times when they are used there is no need for them, and there are time when she should have used them but didn't. The writing style of the book goes from clunky to flowing. The general story itself is linear, but it progresses at a random pace.
I'm having a hard time believing that a Canada/Chicago girl honestly thought L.A. was "absolutely freezing cold" when they went to the concert. While out in the freezing L.A. night, Ava has a vision of Ari's sister about to die and FINALLY the book starts to pick up. Ava rescues Lauren and gets kidnapped in the process and kills 2 Kakos brothers, and that was totally badass. She ends up in the hospital and Margaux makes her realize that she needs to get out of dodge before everyone gets killed. She moves to London and makes a couple more friends. Eventually the Kakos (descendants of the Greek god Hades) find her and she kills 3 more Kakos. She finally realizes she can't live with out Ari and goes back. She and Ari get married and finally after months of sexual tension "do the do" and while Ava is out on another run gets kidnapped by Kakos #6, the last descendant of Hades. He tortures her with sadistic games, but loses his phone and Ava some how texts Ari from it. The cops, fbi, cia, and national guard show up to rescue her and she busts out the front door.
All in all i have to say the second half (part 2) of the book redeems itself. Part 1 was boring and i had a hard time picking it back up when i had to put it down. Then i got to part 2 and it all changed, i was actually interested. Its a great idea, i've never come across a book quite like this yet. I just wish that Ava didn't cry so much, she's needs to let that inner badass out more.
Ava gets sent to a prestigious boarding school getting the education of a life time, and all she does is mope because Margaux sent her there. Sometimes you just have to trust your guardians know best and stop being such an angsty teen.
So Ava's uprooted from her "home" of Chicago and brought to L.A. According to Ava she lived in Chicago for 4 years and before that, Montreal. Personally i would think that where i spend nearly 13 years would be my home, rather than somewhere I spent four. Then again i'm not Ava.
So she gets to L.A. and Margaux is a super terrible person, taking her out to expensive fancy dinners and giving her more clothes and buying her a brand new $50k SUV and a WEEKLY allowance of $300! Damn you Margaux you are the devil! They never explain why Margaux has a burn on her hand or if it had any importance at all. This was just the beginning of a long string of useless information put into the book. I feel like Cat Mann spent too much time drawling on about nothing, and didn't spend enough time on important events.
About this time is where i spotted the first typo. Typically i give a book 2 typos before i start bitching about it, but A Beautiful Fate is peppered with them. I'm sure i didn't find all of them but there are enough for me to complain. Ok, i get it Microsoft Word will not underline the sentence "I remind myself to breath (page 15)" and tell you to use the word "breathe". If I wrote a book, I know there would be spelling and grammar errors, but i sure as hell wouldn't publish it until i knew for sure that all the errors were found.
So Margaux goes to work and tells Ava to be a good girl, and from what i understand Ava sat there for 9 hours and didn't move. What a weird girl. She runs 5 miles and then sits in the same spot in the same position for 9 hours? Makes sense. not. She is also such a great runner she never has to warm up or stretch.
Page 16 is where i found my first grammar mistake (yeah were only to page 16). Microsoft Word should have alerted her to this. "I'm pretty sure i will okay with that". As i said before i usually give a book 2 mistakes before i start to nitpick, but as i read on i found more and went back to highlight these since they were the first. I had to knock points off the star rating for the spelling and grammar.
Besides the grammar and spelling there were just little things that irked me. She had been at Margaux's house 2 days before she noticed her baby grand piano? Those things are not small. Power of observance is not Ava's strong suit apparently.
So Ava goes to her boarding school and meets some friends and they all have fun. Rory has a huge crush on her but she doesn't like him like that. Then she meets Ari and she likes him like that. But Ari only likes her when its dark out and she has nightmares so it seems.
Everyone wears flip flops, even the guys. Feet creep me out. This is my own person phobia, even when i read that a man is wearing flip flops, i gag just from imagining it in my head. gross.
So Ari and Ava and getting closer and she goes to spend a sunday at their house where they're all drinking and getting drunk at noon. Totally normal. Ava wakes up and Ari brings her coffee and is like hey come over to my house today, shes like ok, she takes a shower and gets dressed and by the time they get to the house people are drinking hard liquor.
She finds out who she is. She is a Fate. She is THE Fate. She is the last descendant of all 3 fates in one person. She fully controls the thread of life and death, and of course people want to kill her for that fact. Then Ava cries for the millionth time, don't worry she'll cry a million times more before the book ends.
For instance...
Ari's mom is all awkward and tells Ava it's ok if she slept in Ari's bed with him. I'm sorry but if she was such good friends with Ava's father she would know heads would roll if he knew. He'd be rolling around in his grave. I would come back from the dead just to bitch Aggie out and probably haunt her for the rest of her life, if she told that to my daughter. She should at least respect Ava's father and give him some kind of thought.
Ari and Ava become an official couple and they super love each other. They spend christmas together. They decide they don't want to have sex for a while and Ari is super understanding because he's her soul mate and they make me barf all over the place. And then later they make me want to puke even more. Everyone is happy and life is great.
The author uses "****" to separate paragraphs. Usually these are used correctly, they designate a space of time has passed but we're still in the same chapter. Other times when they are used there is no need for them, and there are time when she should have used them but didn't. The writing style of the book goes from clunky to flowing. The general story itself is linear, but it progresses at a random pace.
I'm having a hard time believing that a Canada/Chicago girl honestly thought L.A. was "absolutely freezing cold" when they went to the concert. While out in the freezing L.A. night, Ava has a vision of Ari's sister about to die and FINALLY the book starts to pick up. Ava rescues Lauren and gets kidnapped in the process and kills 2 Kakos brothers, and that was totally badass. She ends up in the hospital and Margaux makes her realize that she needs to get out of dodge before everyone gets killed. She moves to London and makes a couple more friends. Eventually the Kakos (descendants of the Greek god Hades) find her and she kills 3 more Kakos. She finally realizes she can't live with out Ari and goes back. She and Ari get married and finally after months of sexual tension "do the do" and while Ava is out on another run gets kidnapped by Kakos #6, the last descendant of Hades. He tortures her with sadistic games, but loses his phone and Ava some how texts Ari from it. The cops, fbi, cia, and national guard show up to rescue her and she busts out the front door.
All in all i have to say the second half (part 2) of the book redeems itself. Part 1 was boring and i had a hard time picking it back up when i had to put it down. Then i got to part 2 and it all changed, i was actually interested. Its a great idea, i've never come across a book quite like this yet. I just wish that Ava didn't cry so much, she's needs to let that inner badass out more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2013
I want to thank Cat Mannfor the opportunity to read and review this awesome book. I absolutely fell in love with this book (with the exception of the cliffhanger at the end).
The writing style kept me reading even in the middle of moving I snuck in chapters during my breaks!
It is a story about Ava who has recently lost her mother. She is forced to move from Chicago to California and live with her grandmother. She is then sent to a private school to finish out her high school year.
Ava meets Ari who is her next door neighbor in the coed dorms and is instantly attracted to him.
I absolutely loved Ava's character. She is smart but a little shy. She is reserved but still a warm personality. Ari is every girls dream. He is good looking, smart, family oriented and outgoing.
Ava suffers from nightmares and Ari comes to comfort her on her first night at school and comes to her night after night. He is caring during the night and concerned with Ava's nightmares but reserved during the day and has very little interaction with Ava which is confusing to her and heartbreaking.
I thought that entire cast of characters were brilliant especially Rory, Lauren and August. We discover that Ari and Rory are cousins and best friends and that a girl got between them before. Rory has feelings for Ava, but Ava only sees him as a friend. After Ari admits to Ava that he truly does have deep feelings for Ava - he confronts Rory and that is when Ari and Ava's relationship flourishes.
Ava discovers that Ari and Rory's family are actually descendants of Greek deities and that Ava is also a descendant of the Fates. Her "nightmares" are actually her being the deciding factor of "cutting someone's lifeline" to end their pain and suffering. She can also grant more of the lifeline to those deserving.
She also discovers that her father died shortly after she was born and that he had kept her identity hidden even from his closest friends. He was trying to hid her from a group of men that wished for immortality and by ending the line of the Fates they would never die!
This story has true love, friendship, action, adventure, heartbreak, pain and suffering and kept me on the edge of my seat.
I can't wait to read the A Broken Fatewhich is the second book in the series. Thank you - Thank you - Thank you for giving us this wonderful book!
Jeanne
The writing style kept me reading even in the middle of moving I snuck in chapters during my breaks!
It is a story about Ava who has recently lost her mother. She is forced to move from Chicago to California and live with her grandmother. She is then sent to a private school to finish out her high school year.
Ava meets Ari who is her next door neighbor in the coed dorms and is instantly attracted to him.
I absolutely loved Ava's character. She is smart but a little shy. She is reserved but still a warm personality. Ari is every girls dream. He is good looking, smart, family oriented and outgoing.
Ava suffers from nightmares and Ari comes to comfort her on her first night at school and comes to her night after night. He is caring during the night and concerned with Ava's nightmares but reserved during the day and has very little interaction with Ava which is confusing to her and heartbreaking.
I thought that entire cast of characters were brilliant especially Rory, Lauren and August. We discover that Ari and Rory are cousins and best friends and that a girl got between them before. Rory has feelings for Ava, but Ava only sees him as a friend. After Ari admits to Ava that he truly does have deep feelings for Ava - he confronts Rory and that is when Ari and Ava's relationship flourishes.
Ava discovers that Ari and Rory's family are actually descendants of Greek deities and that Ava is also a descendant of the Fates. Her "nightmares" are actually her being the deciding factor of "cutting someone's lifeline" to end their pain and suffering. She can also grant more of the lifeline to those deserving.
She also discovers that her father died shortly after she was born and that he had kept her identity hidden even from his closest friends. He was trying to hid her from a group of men that wished for immortality and by ending the line of the Fates they would never die!
This story has true love, friendship, action, adventure, heartbreak, pain and suffering and kept me on the edge of my seat.
I can't wait to read the A Broken Fatewhich is the second book in the series. Thank you - Thank you - Thank you for giving us this wonderful book!
Jeanne
January 30, 2015
I received this book series from the author for free in exchange for an honest review.
I was surprised when I received an e-mail from the author asking me if I wanted to read her serie's! I never thought I would ever experience that. I'm so happy! That put me in a more good mood when I started reading it. It even made me halt my current reading of Attachment by Rainbow Rowell.
I thought the plot was like all the other books in the greek mythological sphere but somehow this stood out to me. What I don't like, not necessarily just because of this book, is that the greek gods are always portrayed as the most beautiful creatures ever. I know the reason behind it but I'm sadly starting to get sick of it, all the protagonist always walking around earth looking like gods or goddesses while everyone else is simply ordinary or plain. But who would read it if there's just plain peeps. Someone must stand out.
Storywise, it wasn't as strong as I had hoped for. I still really enjoyed it but around the second half I just lost it a bit. It somehow turned a bit uneventful and unrealistic. Ava is 17 and her relationship with everyone else is just so mature for that age. They gave out more of a mid college spirit than high school teens. It really shocked me during the second half of the book. It put me off a bit.
What didn't seem realistic either was when Ava suddenly went on a spree to kill off her enemies. That went really fast and I didn't feel like it was important enough to focus. There was so much hype about the Kakos brothers that when she took a grip on it, it didn't feel as important anymore.
I do really like this series and I'm currently on the second book and almost done with it!
I was surprised when I received an e-mail from the author asking me if I wanted to read her serie's! I never thought I would ever experience that. I'm so happy! That put me in a more good mood when I started reading it. It even made me halt my current reading of Attachment by Rainbow Rowell.
I thought the plot was like all the other books in the greek mythological sphere but somehow this stood out to me. What I don't like, not necessarily just because of this book, is that the greek gods are always portrayed as the most beautiful creatures ever. I know the reason behind it but I'm sadly starting to get sick of it, all the protagonist always walking around earth looking like gods or goddesses while everyone else is simply ordinary or plain. But who would read it if there's just plain peeps. Someone must stand out.
Storywise, it wasn't as strong as I had hoped for. I still really enjoyed it but around the second half I just lost it a bit. It somehow turned a bit uneventful and unrealistic. Ava is 17 and her relationship with everyone else is just so mature for that age. They gave out more of a mid college spirit than high school teens. It really shocked me during the second half of the book. It put me off a bit.
What didn't seem realistic either was when Ava suddenly went on a spree to kill off her enemies. That went really fast and I didn't feel like it was important enough to focus. There was so much hype about the Kakos brothers that when she took a grip on it, it didn't feel as important anymore.
I do really like this series and I'm currently on the second book and almost done with it!
August 16, 2013
I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I FRIGGIN LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! It was beautiful. I loved the mythology and the suspense. There was action and romance. This book had one of the sweetest scenes that I have ever read in my life, I was tearing up. A Beautiful Fate also had one of the most ginormous cliffhangers ever!! I literally yelled out "NOOOOOOOO!". I need book two stat!!i don't think that I can wait!!, and the mythology is so different, well not different but the characters aren't who you would expect.
Oh Ava! I loved her. She had a great life and then it was ripped away from her and I loved watching her slowly try to piece it back together. Se is so strong and brave. We didn't give up when others would have. She would and did do anything in her power to keep her friends and family safe. I could connect with her and her love for reading! I'm. N love with Ari!!! He is so sweet and genuine and sexy!! He is willing to wait forever for Ava if he has too. The romance and sexual tension is off the charts.
A Beautiful Fate was an amazing read and I can't wait to grab A Broken Fate. I want to learn more of the mythology aspects. Plus hello? What was with that ending?? I'm so mad!!! I NEED A BROKEN FATE ASAP!!! I must find out what happens. I would absolutely recommend this book, basically to anyone who loves mythology, action, suspense, romance and an amazing read!!!
I FRIGGIN LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! It was beautiful. I loved the mythology and the suspense. There was action and romance. This book had one of the sweetest scenes that I have ever read in my life, I was tearing up. A Beautiful Fate also had one of the most ginormous cliffhangers ever!! I literally yelled out "NOOOOOOOO!". I need book two stat!!i don't think that I can wait!!, and the mythology is so different, well not different but the characters aren't who you would expect.
Oh Ava! I loved her. She had a great life and then it was ripped away from her and I loved watching her slowly try to piece it back together. Se is so strong and brave. We didn't give up when others would have. She would and did do anything in her power to keep her friends and family safe. I could connect with her and her love for reading! I'm. N love with Ari!!! He is so sweet and genuine and sexy!! He is willing to wait forever for Ava if he has too. The romance and sexual tension is off the charts.
A Beautiful Fate was an amazing read and I can't wait to grab A Broken Fate. I want to learn more of the mythology aspects. Plus hello? What was with that ending?? I'm so mad!!! I NEED A BROKEN FATE ASAP!!! I must find out what happens. I would absolutely recommend this book, basically to anyone who loves mythology, action, suspense, romance and an amazing read!!!
August 25, 2013
FAIRY THOUGHTS
Favorite Line(s) “I could smell him, he had an aura of clean sea air and freshly cut grass that was intoxicating and made my head feel fuzzy.”
“The love I have for him eclipses all other emotions and senses. I did not know it before, but there was a hole in my soul. A piece of me had been missing, and for the first time in my life I was one. I am whole”
“We were at war, a silent war that would not be reported on the news or told in any history books”
“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 filled my eyelids with Ari.”
What a epic love story!
Usually I don't like books that don't give me my paranormal fix right away but, this one was great!
Ava is descendant of Fate yep that's right Fate cutting your thread of life and the scissors Fate used ALL THAT!
Avi is a descendant of Adonis oh my and the way I picture him in my mind makes my mouth water just thinking about him!
They come together as I am sure fate has destined them too but, before they can have there happily ever after Ava must deal with the crazy Kakos brothers. They want her dead before she can cut their families thread. They want to be immortal and live forever. They are evil soulless men!
It was really a amazing love story that made me counting down they days until release for the next book!
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review (Mark My Words)
FIVE FATE FAIRIES
Favorite Line(s) “I could smell him, he had an aura of clean sea air and freshly cut grass that was intoxicating and made my head feel fuzzy.”
“The love I have for him eclipses all other emotions and senses. I did not know it before, but there was a hole in my soul. A piece of me had been missing, and for the first time in my life I was one. I am whole”
“We were at war, a silent war that would not be reported on the news or told in any history books”
“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 filled my eyelids with Ari.”
What a epic love story!
Usually I don't like books that don't give me my paranormal fix right away but, this one was great!
Ava is descendant of Fate yep that's right Fate cutting your thread of life and the scissors Fate used ALL THAT!
Avi is a descendant of Adonis oh my and the way I picture him in my mind makes my mouth water just thinking about him!
They come together as I am sure fate has destined them too but, before they can have there happily ever after Ava must deal with the crazy Kakos brothers. They want her dead before she can cut their families thread. They want to be immortal and live forever. They are evil soulless men!
It was really a amazing love story that made me counting down they days until release for the next book!
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review (Mark My Words)
FIVE FATE FAIRIES
June 12, 2014
Rating: 4.5/5
First a huge thank to the author for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I have to admit that I was really happy when the author offered me to read and review this book since I’ve a sucker for anything related to Greek mythology, don’t ask me why but I’ve always been drawn to story of this kind and this one didn’t disappoint. I found myself unable to put it down on more than one occasion and even if the love story between Ava and Ari might go through the classic hot and cold phases and moved way to fast by moment it’s still a great fit for the storyline. Ava is not the usual overconfident, strong and kick-ass heroine but she can hold her own and you can easily relate to her (minus maybe the fate part, but hey we can’t all be mystical creature!) Ari’s family might be overwhelming by moment but truly I wouldn’t mind being adopted by them anytime! The plot was well written and the author definitely has an addictive vibe in her writing. Definitely got me hooked into the series. Give it a try you won’t regret it!
First a huge thank to the author for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I have to admit that I was really happy when the author offered me to read and review this book since I’ve a sucker for anything related to Greek mythology, don’t ask me why but I’ve always been drawn to story of this kind and this one didn’t disappoint. I found myself unable to put it down on more than one occasion and even if the love story between Ava and Ari might go through the classic hot and cold phases and moved way to fast by moment it’s still a great fit for the storyline. Ava is not the usual overconfident, strong and kick-ass heroine but she can hold her own and you can easily relate to her (minus maybe the fate part, but hey we can’t all be mystical creature!) Ari’s family might be overwhelming by moment but truly I wouldn’t mind being adopted by them anytime! The plot was well written and the author definitely has an addictive vibe in her writing. Definitely got me hooked into the series. Give it a try you won’t regret it!
June 29, 2019
5/1/2015:Idiotic dialogues with characters focused on their love lives. The disappointement of the year!!! Keep away!!!
29/6/2019:The second time I read it I totally adored it but you don't get to see Ava's working as Fate unfortunately. The books are focused on her life as a normal person instead as Fate. I bought all the books of the series.
29/6/2019:The second time I read it I totally adored it but you don't get to see Ava's working as Fate unfortunately. The books are focused on her life as a normal person instead as Fate. I bought all the books of the series.
November 26, 2016
Just couldn't get into it.
I really don't know why it was so hard for me to get into this book. I've tried and managed to get to chapter 5 and that is it
I really don't know why it was so hard for me to get into this book. I've tried and managed to get to chapter 5 and that is it
November 13, 2020
What started as a slow read to pass the time when I was bored turned into 3 days of reading none stop after work. This book was a fresh tase into the genre that I adore so much and well worth the time invested.
My little understanding of Greek Gods and Goddesses only increased my intrigue into the story, I truly loved the subtle magic in the series. Some authors take this too far and make the magic the centre of the story leaving their characters lacking. The characters are beautifully developed and I love how the bond between Ari and Ava was focused more on the emotional side before delving into the physical. It only made the relationship pure and a suprisingly nice change to what I'm used to. Clearly Cat Mann is the opposite.
Seeing as the next book in the series is also free on Kobo as this one was I'll look forward to seeing where the story goes.
My little understanding of Greek Gods and Goddesses only increased my intrigue into the story, I truly loved the subtle magic in the series. Some authors take this too far and make the magic the centre of the story leaving their characters lacking. The characters are beautifully developed and I love how the bond between Ari and Ava was focused more on the emotional side before delving into the physical. It only made the relationship pure and a suprisingly nice change to what I'm used to. Clearly Cat Mann is the opposite.
Seeing as the next book in the series is also free on Kobo as this one was I'll look forward to seeing where the story goes.
March 19, 2017
Struggled to give the third star. I liked the book in concept and mostly also for story line. What is hard to swallow is the way Ava, Ari and the rest are portrayed. Ava is described as intelligent and strong but is constantly being told what to do, how to live and all her choices are being made for her by Ari, a man. She is weak minded and at the call of her emotions with no indication of intellectual strength. She just can not think for herself. She is at the whim of Ari sexually and emotionally. The only accomplished and strong woman, Ava's grandmother is the classic "hard bitch". Manipulated into a marriage just out of High school and moved into a house chosen by her now husband right down the beach from his family home. The women in this story are portrayed as so weak and dependent on men
it is hard to believe they live in the modern world.
it is hard to believe they live in the modern world.
December 4, 2018
Cover- Simple yet catchy.
Title- Good and justified.
Storyline- Compact.
Narrating style- Captivating.
Characterization- Connecting and perfect.
Plot- Well developed.
Presentation- Appreciable.
Recommendable- Yes.
Title- Good and justified.
Storyline- Compact.
Narrating style- Captivating.
Characterization- Connecting and perfect.
Plot- Well developed.
Presentation- Appreciable.
Recommendable- Yes.
February 20, 2018
Very interesting book and the heroine is very brave with lots of heart. Must read book #2
Want to read
October 30, 2022🎁 Books 1 & 2 in the Series are FREE on Amazon & on Apple iBooks today (10/28/2022)! 🎁
October 26, 2023
Wow!
Wow so much packed in one book! Laughter, suspense,heartbreak and so much more! Absolutely loved this book cannot wait for more!
Wow so much packed in one book! Laughter, suspense,heartbreak and so much more! Absolutely loved this book cannot wait for more!
August 26, 2013
A Beautiful Fate was a very addicting story. I was intrigued by the simple, yet dark looking cover. I was really drawn in from the first paragraph.
"They were screaming for me again. My knuckles were bone white as I gripped a pair of cold steel scissors in my hand. People, all strangers, screamed at me from beyond their closed doors, demanding death; begging for the coup de graće."
Isn't that crazy scary/good?! Ava is trying to survive after her mother's and grandfather's death. With no father in the picture to turn to, she's forced to live with her maternal grandmother, Margaux, who for some reason seems to hate her guts. Margaux is a straight up B in this story. Ava suffers from terrible nightmares about the deaths of her loved ones, and strangers, as mentioned in the excerpt above, but can't figure out why. The nightmares themselves were imaginative and at times were pretty scary. Once Ava separates from Margarux and settles into her new boarding school, she meets her next door coed neighbor, Ari, and the story really gets moving. Through a long series of events, Ava discovers that she is a Fate, and she alone controls life and death. This explains the nightmares she's been having.
I really enjoyed this story, but I did have some issues. Firstly, it needed more editing. Lots of errors and repetitiveness in both words and actions. One of my biggest pet peeves is the overuse of names in conversation, and there was a lot of that. Secondly, there were a few things that were said that didn't quite gel. For instance, Margaux is so mean and cold to Ava. We're told that she hates Ava, Ari, and his family. So it confused me when she suddenly offers someone a job with her company, and is later 'thrilled' with a pretty major event. I know that's vague, but I don't want to give anything away. Maybe I missed something that was explained, but I never really quite understood why Margaux hated Ava. Throughout the story, Ava would fall asleep for hours and hours, and people would make comments like "I thought you'd never wake up!" quite a few times. I thought it was because of the work she was doing in her dreams, but since there weren't any...it was never explained.
My third issue was that the whole Fate thing seemed to take a back seat to Ava's life away from Ari, and even after she returned. From about the middle of the book almost to the end, there's not really any mention of her work in her dreams. Ava had been having these dreams about cutting peoples life threads, which was done very well. She was also seeing men chase after her to try and kill her, but she was either told not to worry about or that she needed to take care of it. There was no explanation of how to do it, though. I assumed it would be in the dream world that Ava would do this, but Mann took a different approach, and that was totally fine and had tons of action. I felt like the middle of the book was a bit draggy, but it may just be because I was expecting more of the Fate plot. Maybe some of my questions will be answered in the second book, A Broken Fate, which I will be reading very soon!
Ava makes a decision to keep the ones she loves safe, and has to go through building a new life for herself all over again. I felt pretty bad for the girl. She goes through a numbing depression, and with the help of a few new friends, she's able to pull herself out of the pit and live again. Some of the things she went through during this time were seriously crazy. I loved the imagery Mann's words gave me as Ava was forced to deal with the very people that were trying to kill her. I could picture every detail as Ava fought not only for her own life, but to protect the people she loved.
I know it may seem like I didn't enjoy this book, but I really did. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have read all of it and be anxious for the next book. I am an honest reviewer, and felt that I needed to note my issues. I think that Cat Mann wrote a solid novel in that she could completely take out the Fate aspect and STILL have a kickin' story that I would have read and liked just as much. Mann is very detailed and knows how to really build the world she has created. The ending really picks up and there is a MAJOR cliffhanger and I'm totally invested into the story of Ari and Ava. I am pleased to have gotten to read A Beautiful Fate, and I look forward to seeing what else Cat Mann has up her sleeve!
"They were screaming for me again. My knuckles were bone white as I gripped a pair of cold steel scissors in my hand. People, all strangers, screamed at me from beyond their closed doors, demanding death; begging for the coup de graće."
Isn't that crazy scary/good?! Ava is trying to survive after her mother's and grandfather's death. With no father in the picture to turn to, she's forced to live with her maternal grandmother, Margaux, who for some reason seems to hate her guts. Margaux is a straight up B in this story. Ava suffers from terrible nightmares about the deaths of her loved ones, and strangers, as mentioned in the excerpt above, but can't figure out why. The nightmares themselves were imaginative and at times were pretty scary. Once Ava separates from Margarux and settles into her new boarding school, she meets her next door coed neighbor, Ari, and the story really gets moving. Through a long series of events, Ava discovers that she is a Fate, and she alone controls life and death. This explains the nightmares she's been having.
I really enjoyed this story, but I did have some issues. Firstly, it needed more editing. Lots of errors and repetitiveness in both words and actions. One of my biggest pet peeves is the overuse of names in conversation, and there was a lot of that. Secondly, there were a few things that were said that didn't quite gel. For instance, Margaux is so mean and cold to Ava. We're told that she hates Ava, Ari, and his family. So it confused me when she suddenly offers someone a job with her company, and is later 'thrilled' with a pretty major event. I know that's vague, but I don't want to give anything away. Maybe I missed something that was explained, but I never really quite understood why Margaux hated Ava. Throughout the story, Ava would fall asleep for hours and hours, and people would make comments like "I thought you'd never wake up!" quite a few times. I thought it was because of the work she was doing in her dreams, but since there weren't any...it was never explained.
My third issue was that the whole Fate thing seemed to take a back seat to Ava's life away from Ari, and even after she returned. From about the middle of the book almost to the end, there's not really any mention of her work in her dreams. Ava had been having these dreams about cutting peoples life threads, which was done very well. She was also seeing men chase after her to try and kill her, but she was either told not to worry about or that she needed to take care of it. There was no explanation of how to do it, though. I assumed it would be in the dream world that Ava would do this, but Mann took a different approach, and that was totally fine and had tons of action. I felt like the middle of the book was a bit draggy, but it may just be because I was expecting more of the Fate plot. Maybe some of my questions will be answered in the second book, A Broken Fate, which I will be reading very soon!
Ava makes a decision to keep the ones she loves safe, and has to go through building a new life for herself all over again. I felt pretty bad for the girl. She goes through a numbing depression, and with the help of a few new friends, she's able to pull herself out of the pit and live again. Some of the things she went through during this time were seriously crazy. I loved the imagery Mann's words gave me as Ava was forced to deal with the very people that were trying to kill her. I could picture every detail as Ava fought not only for her own life, but to protect the people she loved.
I know it may seem like I didn't enjoy this book, but I really did. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have read all of it and be anxious for the next book. I am an honest reviewer, and felt that I needed to note my issues. I think that Cat Mann wrote a solid novel in that she could completely take out the Fate aspect and STILL have a kickin' story that I would have read and liked just as much. Mann is very detailed and knows how to really build the world she has created. The ending really picks up and there is a MAJOR cliffhanger and I'm totally invested into the story of Ari and Ava. I am pleased to have gotten to read A Beautiful Fate, and I look forward to seeing what else Cat Mann has up her sleeve!
January 27, 2015
Thanks to the author, who sent me this book in exchange for an honest review
I am aware that indie authors don't get the benefits of authors published by established publishing houses; often they only have other people they know proof read it, or a couple of beta readers, or sometimes none of these things. For this reason, I try not to judge indie books too harshly on typos and grammatical errors and such, but it gets to a point where it is too much. This book just had too many punctuation mistakes and typos and stuff like that for me to overcome it; it sometimes made an uncomfortable reading experience.
Carrying on from this, the writing was often clunky; there was a lot of repetition, and often too much detail. I don't need a whole paragraph on someone using a kettle. I don't need a paragraph on her freckles, and I would've preferred to learn a lot of the information throughout the story, instead of through exposition. There was a lot of information given to us, especially in the first chapter, that just spoiled the reading experience.
Weirdly, while there was too much detail on mundane actions, there wasn't enough world-building for the novel to make much sense to me at all. The basic grasp is that there are people that are descended from the original Greek Gods still in the world, and then there are some bad guys, and the main character is descended from the Fates. She's the only one that seems to have a power - the others don't seem to really get anything from being descended from the Gods, so what is to say that they are? They don't have any strong religious or cultural beliefs related to the Greek Gods, and they seem to just fit in normally with the rest of society. It's only the Krakos people, who do bad things, and want to kill them, that seems to make them any different to absolutely everyone else. It was unclear who was Greek and who wasn't at the school - Emily said at the beginning that there were a lot of Greeks, but no one other than Ari and Rory were ever mentioned.
This society just didn't make sense to me. The Greek stuff seemed to be an afterthought to what was basically a love story. And not a very good love story, at that.
Ari and Ava suffer from one of the worst cases of instalove that I have ever seen; we are never shown a reason why they like each other. She is horrible and mean and boring and judges basically everyone. He does some really dickish stuff in the beginning, though becomes sweeter before the end. But at the beginning, before the Big Reveal, when she has no idea why he's treating her the way he does, she lets him get away with it. We were only ever shown him being an idiot, rather than shown any of the amazing, interesting conversations that they apparently have. We are only ever told that he is funny or sweet or interesting, just like we are only ever told that she is sarcastic, when really she never utters more than three sarcastic remarks in the entirety of the book.
Don't get me started on how rich everyone is in this book, and the main character's treatment of money. It makes me angry.
The Big Reveal itself was really unbelievable - suddenly Ava is told that she is not just a human, but a descendent of the Ancient Greek Fates and has the ability to end people's lives (though this is never really explained convincingly. Like, we're told about her cutting people's string things, but it's never really gone into in any sort of detail) and she's just like 'yeah, sounds legit' and wanders off. It doesn't have an emotional effect on her at all. She just accepts it.
I surprised myself in getting through this book. It just suffered from some of the worst YA cliches, and seemed poorly thought out and written. It's part of a series but I'll probably be staying well clear of those.
I am aware that indie authors don't get the benefits of authors published by established publishing houses; often they only have other people they know proof read it, or a couple of beta readers, or sometimes none of these things. For this reason, I try not to judge indie books too harshly on typos and grammatical errors and such, but it gets to a point where it is too much. This book just had too many punctuation mistakes and typos and stuff like that for me to overcome it; it sometimes made an uncomfortable reading experience.
Carrying on from this, the writing was often clunky; there was a lot of repetition, and often too much detail. I don't need a whole paragraph on someone using a kettle. I don't need a paragraph on her freckles, and I would've preferred to learn a lot of the information throughout the story, instead of through exposition. There was a lot of information given to us, especially in the first chapter, that just spoiled the reading experience.
Weirdly, while there was too much detail on mundane actions, there wasn't enough world-building for the novel to make much sense to me at all. The basic grasp is that there are people that are descended from the original Greek Gods still in the world, and then there are some bad guys, and the main character is descended from the Fates. She's the only one that seems to have a power - the others don't seem to really get anything from being descended from the Gods, so what is to say that they are? They don't have any strong religious or cultural beliefs related to the Greek Gods, and they seem to just fit in normally with the rest of society. It's only the Krakos people, who do bad things, and want to kill them, that seems to make them any different to absolutely everyone else. It was unclear who was Greek and who wasn't at the school - Emily said at the beginning that there were a lot of Greeks, but no one other than Ari and Rory were ever mentioned.
This society just didn't make sense to me. The Greek stuff seemed to be an afterthought to what was basically a love story. And not a very good love story, at that.
Ari and Ava suffer from one of the worst cases of instalove that I have ever seen; we are never shown a reason why they like each other. She is horrible and mean and boring and judges basically everyone. He does some really dickish stuff in the beginning, though becomes sweeter before the end. But at the beginning, before the Big Reveal, when she has no idea why he's treating her the way he does, she lets him get away with it. We were only ever shown him being an idiot, rather than shown any of the amazing, interesting conversations that they apparently have. We are only ever told that he is funny or sweet or interesting, just like we are only ever told that she is sarcastic, when really she never utters more than three sarcastic remarks in the entirety of the book.
Don't get me started on how rich everyone is in this book, and the main character's treatment of money. It makes me angry.
The Big Reveal itself was really unbelievable - suddenly Ava is told that she is not just a human, but a descendent of the Ancient Greek Fates and has the ability to end people's lives (though this is never really explained convincingly. Like, we're told about her cutting people's string things, but it's never really gone into in any sort of detail) and she's just like 'yeah, sounds legit' and wanders off. It doesn't have an emotional effect on her at all. She just accepts it.
I surprised myself in getting through this book. It just suffered from some of the worst YA cliches, and seemed poorly thought out and written. It's part of a series but I'll probably be staying well clear of those.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2014
*Originally Reviewed at Witchmag's Boekenplank*
*I received a copy in exchange for my honest review*
To be honest, this book and I had a rocky start. There was something with the beginning that made it hard for me to concentrate. I’ve never created so many notes within such a short amount of pages because I could not focus. It also took me some time to get accustomed with the writing style of Cat Mann, which felt different somehow. Not strange or weird, just different. Enfin, after a while the book and I managed to come to an understanding, to form a careful bond. Along the road we experienced the usual ups and downs, cause no relationship (except in fairy tales) is perfect. However the book and I did manage to part as friends and I might get a new friend if I manage to track down his friend, A Broken Fate.
As I said there were some down moments I encountered while reading. Besides the rather difficult beginning, I also felt that at times the story was too lengthy. I mean, it’s nice to read about the daily life of Ava, but that’s not what I came here to do. I came here to read about action, adventure. Greek mythology. Which means that sometimes things have to HAPPEN, at least more interesting or exiting things than the “mundane” lives of teenagers. Been there done that. It also felt like the book consisted of two parts, which could easily have been made in two books. The story is long enough for that to be possible. (can’t believe I’m actually suggesting something like this, then again I was always good in torturing myself ^^) It would feel better that way.
Okay now the ups. Lets start with Ava, who’s obviously not a people person, as she said herself. She’s not someone who easily shares her feelings or makes a connection with other people. You can actually see it in the way she “thinks”. This made it a bit harder for me to form a connection. Even after I got to know her, she managed to astonish me, I was speechless. O.O WOW! She’s so different from the usual female main characters you can find in the Young Adult / New Adult genre. She’s a true kick-ass amazon who will keep on fighting till her last breath to protect the ones she loves. And I loved her the more for it.
The plot too was a definite up. I mean descendants from famous Greek mythological creatures? That’s my kind of story! I also liked the detailed way Ava’s powers were written. It’s original and amazing. Then we have the way how slowly, oh so slowly all the pieces of the puzzle are revealed. It kept me reading, wishing things would hurry on, but enjoying the story nonetheless. I truly could not put it down, even when the book and I had one of our disagreements again.
But then….. The absolute up, the summit was definitely the ending. WOOOOOOOW! Talking about cliffhangers! I can’t remember ever reading one this colossal. Ever. It’s killing me from the inside and the next book has not been published yet…. NOOOOOOOO Thankfully there was a blurb for the next sequel that saved me from being left hanging, much (something I absolutely CAN’T stand). Still, me needs to know the whole truth! I want the next book!
Conclusion
3 HEARTS. Despite the antagonizing ending, the fantastic story, the amazing heroine and the fresh way mythological creatures are used in this book, I can’t give it more hearts. The downs were a bit too steep for me to do that. Still, I can easily recommend this book who love to read about the daily lives of teenagers, mixed with some paranormal stuff.
*I received a copy in exchange for my honest review*
To be honest, this book and I had a rocky start. There was something with the beginning that made it hard for me to concentrate. I’ve never created so many notes within such a short amount of pages because I could not focus. It also took me some time to get accustomed with the writing style of Cat Mann, which felt different somehow. Not strange or weird, just different. Enfin, after a while the book and I managed to come to an understanding, to form a careful bond. Along the road we experienced the usual ups and downs, cause no relationship (except in fairy tales) is perfect. However the book and I did manage to part as friends and I might get a new friend if I manage to track down his friend, A Broken Fate.
As I said there were some down moments I encountered while reading. Besides the rather difficult beginning, I also felt that at times the story was too lengthy. I mean, it’s nice to read about the daily life of Ava, but that’s not what I came here to do. I came here to read about action, adventure. Greek mythology. Which means that sometimes things have to HAPPEN, at least more interesting or exiting things than the “mundane” lives of teenagers. Been there done that. It also felt like the book consisted of two parts, which could easily have been made in two books. The story is long enough for that to be possible. (can’t believe I’m actually suggesting something like this, then again I was always good in torturing myself ^^) It would feel better that way.
Okay now the ups. Lets start with Ava, who’s obviously not a people person, as she said herself. She’s not someone who easily shares her feelings or makes a connection with other people. You can actually see it in the way she “thinks”. This made it a bit harder for me to form a connection. Even after I got to know her, she managed to astonish me, I was speechless. O.O WOW! She’s so different from the usual female main characters you can find in the Young Adult / New Adult genre. She’s a true kick-ass amazon who will keep on fighting till her last breath to protect the ones she loves. And I loved her the more for it.
The plot too was a definite up. I mean descendants from famous Greek mythological creatures? That’s my kind of story! I also liked the detailed way Ava’s powers were written. It’s original and amazing. Then we have the way how slowly, oh so slowly all the pieces of the puzzle are revealed. It kept me reading, wishing things would hurry on, but enjoying the story nonetheless. I truly could not put it down, even when the book and I had one of our disagreements again.
But then….. The absolute up, the summit was definitely the ending. WOOOOOOOW! Talking about cliffhangers! I can’t remember ever reading one this colossal. Ever. It’s killing me from the inside and the next book has not been published yet…. NOOOOOOOO Thankfully there was a blurb for the next sequel that saved me from being left hanging, much (something I absolutely CAN’T stand). Still, me needs to know the whole truth! I want the next book!
Conclusion
3 HEARTS. Despite the antagonizing ending, the fantastic story, the amazing heroine and the fresh way mythological creatures are used in this book, I can’t give it more hearts. The downs were a bit too steep for me to do that. Still, I can easily recommend this book who love to read about the daily lives of teenagers, mixed with some paranormal stuff.
July 31, 2013
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 their 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!!
.....
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 their 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!!
November 1, 2013
First, I would like to thank Cat Mann for allowing me an opportunity to read her book and for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Brief synopsis:
A Beautiful Fate begins with Ava Baio moving from her home in Chicago following the death of her mother, to attend a boarding school, picked out for her by her less than loving grandmother, in Dana Point, California. Ava finds herself suffering from the nightmare of reliving her mother's accident and death in her sleep along with other nightmares she doesn't understand. After meeting her Adonis like neighbor Ari, who sneaks into her room at night to calm her after she's awoken screaming from the latest nightmare, Ava finds herself falling for the mysterious boy. Eventually, Ava comes to learn that the reason for her dreams, and the foreknowledge of her own mother's death, is all due to the fact that she is the last descendant of the Greek Fate, Atropos. With the knowledge of her heritage and true destiny, Ava finds herself fighting for her life and the lives of those she loves in order to put an end to the evil Kakos family.
Thoughts/review:
Being a huge fan of mythology, especially Greek mythology, I found myself highly intrigued by the concept of a young girl who is a descendant of the Greek Fates, specially Atropos, the one who cut the thread of people's lives. From the very start of the book, up to the climactic and cliff hanger ending, I found my interest continually sustained and peaked as I anxiously flipped through pages to find out what was going to happen next.
The biggest detractor for me was the relationship between Ava and Ari. I found that their constant mooning over one another and ill humor when things weren't going right in their relationship or when they were apart to be annoying and overly unrealistic. At times, I felt as though I was rereading about the relationship between Edward and Bella in Twilight. Despite my annoyance over their relationship and the fact that Ava would on more than one occasion allow their relationship to cloud her mind and keep her from doing the job she was meant to as the thread cutter, I must say that I was happy that their relationship at least progressed faster and at a much better clip than that of Edward and Bella's.
In the end, I would recommend this book to those who enjoy modern takes on Greek mythology, teen romance fans, and readers who enjoy a good cat and mouse game between the hero and an unseen foe; all things which when combined in Cat Mann's book, lead to one incredibly aggravating (I yelled my discontent) cliff hanger of an ending. Despite my hand ups over the love story, I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series as I am officially hooked.
Overall rating: 3.5, would've been a 4-4.5 if not for the romance which annoyed me too much at times.
Brief synopsis:
A Beautiful Fate begins with Ava Baio moving from her home in Chicago following the death of her mother, to attend a boarding school, picked out for her by her less than loving grandmother, in Dana Point, California. Ava finds herself suffering from the nightmare of reliving her mother's accident and death in her sleep along with other nightmares she doesn't understand. After meeting her Adonis like neighbor Ari, who sneaks into her room at night to calm her after she's awoken screaming from the latest nightmare, Ava finds herself falling for the mysterious boy. Eventually, Ava comes to learn that the reason for her dreams, and the foreknowledge of her own mother's death, is all due to the fact that she is the last descendant of the Greek Fate, Atropos. With the knowledge of her heritage and true destiny, Ava finds herself fighting for her life and the lives of those she loves in order to put an end to the evil Kakos family.
Thoughts/review:
Being a huge fan of mythology, especially Greek mythology, I found myself highly intrigued by the concept of a young girl who is a descendant of the Greek Fates, specially Atropos, the one who cut the thread of people's lives. From the very start of the book, up to the climactic and cliff hanger ending, I found my interest continually sustained and peaked as I anxiously flipped through pages to find out what was going to happen next.
The biggest detractor for me was the relationship between Ava and Ari. I found that their constant mooning over one another and ill humor when things weren't going right in their relationship or when they were apart to be annoying and overly unrealistic. At times, I felt as though I was rereading about the relationship between Edward and Bella in Twilight. Despite my annoyance over their relationship and the fact that Ava would on more than one occasion allow their relationship to cloud her mind and keep her from doing the job she was meant to as the thread cutter, I must say that I was happy that their relationship at least progressed faster and at a much better clip than that of Edward and Bella's.
In the end, I would recommend this book to those who enjoy modern takes on Greek mythology, teen romance fans, and readers who enjoy a good cat and mouse game between the hero and an unseen foe; all things which when combined in Cat Mann's book, lead to one incredibly aggravating (I yelled my discontent) cliff hanger of an ending. Despite my hand ups over the love story, I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series as I am officially hooked.
Overall rating: 3.5, would've been a 4-4.5 if not for the romance which annoyed me too much at times.
August 17, 2013
The Fates are here, people. And they mean business.
All the feels I have right now are rattling around my brain making it impossible for me to be subtle about anything. So let me give a brief breakdown of why this book is pure awesome.
Greek motherfucking mythology! (see? no subtlety. I just can’t.)
It’s what I’m all about and this book delivers.
You like the tale of The Fates?
It’s here. (And just plain brilliant.)
It’s not something I knew a lot about and I was pleased to learn more about it.
Kickass heroines with a light trigger finger?
Meet Ava.
She’ll mope around one minute and then burn the skin from your face the next. She’s a tad off kilter, but considering her past, I think you’d understand.
Sexy heroes who get things heated and then stop abruptly?
Ari, the gentleman.
Oh, Lord help us. He is just amazing. I don’t find one fault in the boy. (But considering who his parents are, I guess you couldn’t!)
Strong family situations that make you cry?
The Alexanders and all the other Greek family members are simply a heartwarming crowd.
It reminded me of the family from My Big Fat Greek Wedding and I just fell completely in love with every single one of them. Ari’s parents are the perfect models on how to raise your kids. They are lenient where need be and strict when it comes to important shit. They get stuff done.
Adorable sidekicks, best friends, and difficult ex-girlfriends?
Mrs. Mann has you covered in every area possible. Meet August, Rory, and Julia.
Very rarely does a book get the characters right on every mark, but this one does. I could honestly read an entire book about Rory and be absolutely content. I love him. If I can’t have an Ari, I want a Rory.
Exceptional writing that delivers on every level?
Welcome. You’ve come to the right place.
The story is weaved phenomenally and it was hard to put this book down. I found myself thinking about it at work and wishing I had brought my Kindle with me. (I missed the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars to read this. I deliberately missed it. That means something.)
Cliffhangers that make you want to drown your e-reader in the nearest Siren’s lagoon?
Unfortunately, yes. (But so worth it.)
Those last few chapters are killing me. That’s all I’m gunna say.
Oh, y’all. This is just one of the coolest books I’ve read in a while. There is something to be said about books that are unique. Books that can take a simple fable and spin it into so much more. A Beautiful Fate is exactly that.
Romance. Action. Beautiful storyline. It’s all here and better than ever.
All the feels I have right now are rattling around my brain making it impossible for me to be subtle about anything. So let me give a brief breakdown of why this book is pure awesome.
Greek motherfucking mythology! (see? no subtlety. I just can’t.)
It’s what I’m all about and this book delivers.
You like the tale of The Fates?
It’s here. (And just plain brilliant.)
It’s not something I knew a lot about and I was pleased to learn more about it.
Kickass heroines with a light trigger finger?
Meet Ava.
She’ll mope around one minute and then burn the skin from your face the next. She’s a tad off kilter, but considering her past, I think you’d understand.
Sexy heroes who get things heated and then stop abruptly?
Ari, the gentleman.
Oh, Lord help us. He is just amazing. I don’t find one fault in the boy. (But considering who his parents are, I guess you couldn’t!)
Strong family situations that make you cry?
The Alexanders and all the other Greek family members are simply a heartwarming crowd.
It reminded me of the family from My Big Fat Greek Wedding and I just fell completely in love with every single one of them. Ari’s parents are the perfect models on how to raise your kids. They are lenient where need be and strict when it comes to important shit. They get stuff done.
Adorable sidekicks, best friends, and difficult ex-girlfriends?
Mrs. Mann has you covered in every area possible. Meet August, Rory, and Julia.
Very rarely does a book get the characters right on every mark, but this one does. I could honestly read an entire book about Rory and be absolutely content. I love him. If I can’t have an Ari, I want a Rory.
Exceptional writing that delivers on every level?
Welcome. You’ve come to the right place.
The story is weaved phenomenally and it was hard to put this book down. I found myself thinking about it at work and wishing I had brought my Kindle with me. (I missed the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars to read this. I deliberately missed it. That means something.)
Cliffhangers that make you want to drown your e-reader in the nearest Siren’s lagoon?
Unfortunately, yes. (But so worth it.)
Those last few chapters are killing me. That’s all I’m gunna say.
Oh, y’all. This is just one of the coolest books I’ve read in a while. There is something to be said about books that are unique. Books that can take a simple fable and spin it into so much more. A Beautiful Fate is exactly that.
Romance. Action. Beautiful storyline. It’s all here and better than ever.
September 30, 2013
(This book was provided to me by the author for an honest review)
I've often wondered what are the perfect ingredients for a great story. For me, I need to have good world building, great characterizations including a villian so vile that I want to jump through the pages to yell at them, sizzling sexual energy, mystery/intrigue and plenty of action. "A Beautiful Fate" has many of these things; but then again it fails miserably on some of the others.
17 year old Ava Baio has been yanked from her home in Chicago by her grandmother after the death of her mother. Grandma dearest is a famous fashion designer who owns a chain of Baio clothing stores. She enrolls Ava is a private boarding school and resumes her life as a fashionista not to be bothered with mundane things like loving a wounded child.
At school Ava meets and makes various new friends including a very handsome and sexy Ari Alexander. Ari is also attracted to Ari but his ex-girlfriend is hanging around trying to get back together with him. Additionally, Ari will comfort Ava when she has horrible nightmares but will not give her the time of day when they are in public. When, Ava's best friend, Mia from Chicago come for a visit, she calls Ari on his less than stellar behavior. Ari wants to make it up to her and takes her to meet his family. As soon as they meet her they know who she is and slowly reveal Ava's family history and destiny.
Here is where I began having my problems. Literally, 57% of the books was filled with the mundane day after day activities of Ava and not much excitement. She showers, she cries, she runs, and proclaims her endless and undying love for Ari etc. Then, we finally get a little bit of action making the read so much better. Then we are back to the mundane. This book had so much potential to be truly great but did not quite make it because of the mundane aspects, continuous declarations of love. The villian was not vile enough nor were the protagonists (i.e. Ari) really wonderful enough. I just did not enjoy the read as much as I had hoped.
On a good note, Grandmother Baio was a baddy and she made the story more interesting. I also enjoyed Ava's character and that of the Alexander family. I hope that the author incorporates more of grandma, more action, and more information regarding the fates in the next books in the series. I am sorry Ms. Mann but this was just an okay read for me but there are others who truly enjoy it. At this point, I do not think I will continue on with the series.
I've often wondered what are the perfect ingredients for a great story. For me, I need to have good world building, great characterizations including a villian so vile that I want to jump through the pages to yell at them, sizzling sexual energy, mystery/intrigue and plenty of action. "A Beautiful Fate" has many of these things; but then again it fails miserably on some of the others.
17 year old Ava Baio has been yanked from her home in Chicago by her grandmother after the death of her mother. Grandma dearest is a famous fashion designer who owns a chain of Baio clothing stores. She enrolls Ava is a private boarding school and resumes her life as a fashionista not to be bothered with mundane things like loving a wounded child.
At school Ava meets and makes various new friends including a very handsome and sexy Ari Alexander. Ari is also attracted to Ari but his ex-girlfriend is hanging around trying to get back together with him. Additionally, Ari will comfort Ava when she has horrible nightmares but will not give her the time of day when they are in public. When, Ava's best friend, Mia from Chicago come for a visit, she calls Ari on his less than stellar behavior. Ari wants to make it up to her and takes her to meet his family. As soon as they meet her they know who she is and slowly reveal Ava's family history and destiny.
Here is where I began having my problems. Literally, 57% of the books was filled with the mundane day after day activities of Ava and not much excitement. She showers, she cries, she runs, and proclaims her endless and undying love for Ari etc. Then, we finally get a little bit of action making the read so much better. Then we are back to the mundane. This book had so much potential to be truly great but did not quite make it because of the mundane aspects, continuous declarations of love. The villian was not vile enough nor were the protagonists (i.e. Ari) really wonderful enough. I just did not enjoy the read as much as I had hoped.
On a good note, Grandmother Baio was a baddy and she made the story more interesting. I also enjoyed Ava's character and that of the Alexander family. I hope that the author incorporates more of grandma, more action, and more information regarding the fates in the next books in the series. I am sorry Ms. Mann but this was just an okay read for me but there are others who truly enjoy it. At this point, I do not think I will continue on with the series.
November 7, 2013
The concept of A Beautiful Fate is absolutely fantastic! The first half of the book had me breathlessly reading and hopelessly longing to have Ava & Ari couple. The construction of the story was deliberate and intriguing. I truly loved the way Cat Mann approached the idea of mythological entities leaving a mortal legacy. It is a unique idea that made for an interesting and well thought out plot line. The main characters were appealing and easily relatable.
However, the second half of the book weighed down my rating, making it a three star book for me. Too much happened in a short amount of time. There were moments when I felt like I was being air lifted over the story line, so that instead of being connected and involved I was observing a fast forward to the happy ending. A happy ending which arrived much too early in the series for my taste. I am personally a fan of stories that revel in the angst of love and all the insecurities of starting a new relationship, especially one of the supernatural persuasion. This is strictly a personal preference though.
In my opinion, it always feels like once the boy gets the girl, or vice versus, the longing is over. The Twilight Saga ended for me in Eclipse, thus making Book 4 my least favorite. Once there was no lover's push and pull, I really had no reason to continue reading. But my joy in reading a romance involves the getting there, never the actual destination. Amanda Hocking might very well be the master of the angst driven love story as she is the only one I have ever read that pulls it off.
All in all, this book was a welcome change from vampires, werewolves and fairies and I am truly interested in seeing where the series will go next. In fact, I am adding A Broken Fate to my To Read List as soon as I post this review. Cat Mann has produced a debut novel which should be taken seriously, as she will likely only get better from here. I for one will be watching and waiting for whatever she writes.
However, the second half of the book weighed down my rating, making it a three star book for me. Too much happened in a short amount of time. There were moments when I felt like I was being air lifted over the story line, so that instead of being connected and involved I was observing a fast forward to the happy ending. A happy ending which arrived much too early in the series for my taste. I am personally a fan of stories that revel in the angst of love and all the insecurities of starting a new relationship, especially one of the supernatural persuasion. This is strictly a personal preference though.
In my opinion, it always feels like once the boy gets the girl, or vice versus, the longing is over. The Twilight Saga ended for me in Eclipse, thus making Book 4 my least favorite. Once there was no lover's push and pull, I really had no reason to continue reading. But my joy in reading a romance involves the getting there, never the actual destination. Amanda Hocking might very well be the master of the angst driven love story as she is the only one I have ever read that pulls it off.
All in all, this book was a welcome change from vampires, werewolves and fairies and I am truly interested in seeing where the series will go next. In fact, I am adding A Broken Fate to my To Read List as soon as I post this review. Cat Mann has produced a debut novel which should be taken seriously, as she will likely only get better from here. I for one will be watching and waiting for whatever she writes.
October 15, 2013
This was a pretty interesting book. More interesting than I thought when the summary make the all too comparisons of the love interest to a god... ugh. But I must admit, Ari is what I would classify as the ideal guy.
But that wasn't what I wanted to focus on. It's hard for me to judge it because our character changes so much within the scope of this book. I think she is okay at first, then I really like her because she is developing and making decisions and having conflicts with her morals, and then I am a bit annoyed with her towards the end (I suppose I don't like happy fulfilled characters or something), then some extremely dramatic things happen and I couldn't help but feel connected to her outcome.
The whole thing starts off with the idea that the descendants of the Greek gods and goddesses walk among us... and apparently all attend the same fancy school for rich kids... But moving on!
Then our heroine Ava finds that she is also part of the legacy... but she is a descendant of the Fates--the one eyed triplets who determine peoples life and death. I am curious about the logistics of them reproducing offspring, but maybe it's better we don't get into that.
The sweetest thing about it was Ava and Ari's relationship! I'm not usually such a sap, but it was really very sweet and that is when I loved Cat's writing the best. She brings a lot more real tenderness to their interactions where other writers kinda gloss over.
I also really loved how Ava is really put to the test with having to deal with life and death on her own. Yes Ari is there to comfort her, but ultimately she finds the strength within herself to do what needs to be done and though she does feel saddened for having to end life, it is in her job description. She comes to terms with it and doesn't dwell on the morality of it or go to extreme lengths to avoid it. It makes her a more powerful and complex character in my eyes.
Besides the sweet overbearing family (that seems to be popular in books these days) and the kind of cliche event that happens toward the end, I liked this book. Much more than I anticipated. The secondary characters really add so much to the story too because we get to delve into their back stories which makes it all feel so much more developed and fleshed out.
But that wasn't what I wanted to focus on. It's hard for me to judge it because our character changes so much within the scope of this book. I think she is okay at first, then I really like her because she is developing and making decisions and having conflicts with her morals, and then I am a bit annoyed with her towards the end (I suppose I don't like happy fulfilled characters or something), then some extremely dramatic things happen and I couldn't help but feel connected to her outcome.
The whole thing starts off with the idea that the descendants of the Greek gods and goddesses walk among us... and apparently all attend the same fancy school for rich kids... But moving on!
Then our heroine Ava finds that she is also part of the legacy... but she is a descendant of the Fates--the one eyed triplets who determine peoples life and death. I am curious about the logistics of them reproducing offspring, but maybe it's better we don't get into that.
The sweetest thing about it was Ava and Ari's relationship! I'm not usually such a sap, but it was really very sweet and that is when I loved Cat's writing the best. She brings a lot more real tenderness to their interactions where other writers kinda gloss over.
I also really loved how Ava is really put to the test with having to deal with life and death on her own. Yes Ari is there to comfort her, but ultimately she finds the strength within herself to do what needs to be done and though she does feel saddened for having to end life, it is in her job description. She comes to terms with it and doesn't dwell on the morality of it or go to extreme lengths to avoid it. It makes her a more powerful and complex character in my eyes.
Besides the sweet overbearing family (that seems to be popular in books these days) and the kind of cliche event that happens toward the end, I liked this book. Much more than I anticipated. The secondary characters really add so much to the story too because we get to delve into their back stories which makes it all feel so much more developed and fleshed out.
August 27, 2013
~This book review first appeared at Cuzinlogic and you can find it Here . ~
I loved A Beautiful Fate. It thrilled me, hooked me and entertained me every second I spent reading it. I, for one, am always looking for the kind of read that delivers so much that manages to “change” and feel different from how it felt in the beginning (like moods, settings, lifestyle, etc.) and this one does it perfectly.
Ava is broken from the start. She misses her mom. She’s scared of her daily nightmares about her and the strangers she visits at hospitals in her dreams, carrying a pair of scissors in hand. At her new boarding school, she meets this boy, Ari, who’s the only one able to calm her down and make her feel safe and whole again. Ava is a good person. Yet, it turns out she is dangerous and she does change as the pages go by. Her mood, thoughts and feelings set the atmosphere. When happy, all is bright. When depressed, everything is gray. And, when she is angry, her hate vibes kick butt quite nicely.
As for Ari and the rest of the Alexander family, there was nothing else, but to enjoy their company. They are lovable and caring, funny and very open to ALL subjects. This reminds me, Ava and Ari are head-over-heels for each other and aren’t afraid to show their love. There were some near *ahem* moments, but they remained on the sweet clean side and I’m ever grateful for that. It made the read much more enjoyable (in my opinion).
Lastly, I have to say that the ending (almost) killed me. Epic cliffhanger? YES. And, I need more, I need the sequel now. The author is completely evil ending the book that way, it was so not fair and I actually yelled when I couldn’t continue with it. It was so good, and that cover! Love it. I now consider Cat Mann a favorite author and would definitely recommend A Beautiful Fate to anyone who loves paranormal, mythology and romance mixed together.
*Please note that I received a complimentary copy of A Beautiful Fate in exchange for my honest review. All opinions shared are 100% my own.*
P.S. Did I already said I loved it? Because I totally did! I can't stop thinking about it and I wish I had more time to suffer freely from book hangover, but it turned out to be impossible. So many books, so little time... A Beautiful Fate definitely goes to my To Be Re-read pile!
I loved A Beautiful Fate. It thrilled me, hooked me and entertained me every second I spent reading it. I, for one, am always looking for the kind of read that delivers so much that manages to “change” and feel different from how it felt in the beginning (like moods, settings, lifestyle, etc.) and this one does it perfectly.
Ava is broken from the start. She misses her mom. She’s scared of her daily nightmares about her and the strangers she visits at hospitals in her dreams, carrying a pair of scissors in hand. At her new boarding school, she meets this boy, Ari, who’s the only one able to calm her down and make her feel safe and whole again. Ava is a good person. Yet, it turns out she is dangerous and she does change as the pages go by. Her mood, thoughts and feelings set the atmosphere. When happy, all is bright. When depressed, everything is gray. And, when she is angry, her hate vibes kick butt quite nicely.
As for Ari and the rest of the Alexander family, there was nothing else, but to enjoy their company. They are lovable and caring, funny and very open to ALL subjects. This reminds me, Ava and Ari are head-over-heels for each other and aren’t afraid to show their love. There were some near *ahem* moments, but they remained on the sweet clean side and I’m ever grateful for that. It made the read much more enjoyable (in my opinion).
Lastly, I have to say that the ending (almost) killed me. Epic cliffhanger? YES. And, I need more, I need the sequel now. The author is completely evil ending the book that way, it was so not fair and I actually yelled when I couldn’t continue with it. It was so good, and that cover! Love it. I now consider Cat Mann a favorite author and would definitely recommend A Beautiful Fate to anyone who loves paranormal, mythology and romance mixed together.
*Please note that I received a complimentary copy of A Beautiful Fate in exchange for my honest review. All opinions shared are 100% my own.*
P.S. Did I already said I loved it? Because I totally did! I can't stop thinking about it and I wish I had more time to suffer freely from book hangover, but it turned out to be impossible. So many books, so little time... A Beautiful Fate definitely goes to my To Be Re-read pile!
September 12, 2016
A Beautiful Fate by Cat Mann
Published: June 11th 2013
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Greek Myth
Rating: 3 stars
“Nearly every night, in my dreams, I find myself in a hallway, the kind of hallway hospitals have – long, mint green, and punctuated by occasional nurse’s stations. The stations are unattended and instead of the usual blinding florescent lights, the hall is dim and shadowy. I can hear the beeps of monitors and read what I presume are patients’ names on the doors of the rooms I pass by. Sometimes people call out to me and beg me to come in. Other times they scream at me to stay away. I am always carrying the same thing in my hand – a long, thin pair of sharp scissors.”
The Beautiful Fate is the first book to the series written by Cat Mann. As I have been a fan of Greek Mythology, Ms. Mann contacted me if I’m interested in reading her book and make an honest review. I decided to see her take on a modern YA Greek myth-themed novel.
Synopsis:
The Beautiful Fate is about a 17-year-old girl who is thrown out of balance because of her mother’s death. She must now move to California to live with her grandmother -which she isn't so fond with- was sent at a boarding school in Dana point and was forced to leave her best friend back in Chicago.
She needs to learn how to cope up with her grandfather’s death, then mother and a recent break-up. But how could she do that when she’s surrounded with a new school, new room, new faces and names.
**SPOILERS**
The transition of the Ava’s emotions could use a bit of work. I don't get where all the animosity came from. I get it that her grandma is a cold bitch but thinking “hoped that it hurt” was a little bit over the top. It was contradicting the phrase “there is no evil in my heart, just darkness”. And it annoys her that her Grandma knows that she’s doesn’t like ice on her drinks. She was cursing her grandma for giving her clothes from the latest collection of baio then to her pushing back tears. Another incident, One minute she is upset over the Mercedes and giddy on the next.
Also, the death of her friend didn't even faze her. Her emotions should have been written in detail and in depth. It lacks grief and sense of loss.
I love that Ava’s personality includes being a music lover. Also, the dream tally is unique and I really like it. Ava is sure about her feelings towards Avi, so that is a big bonus.
Read
October 19, 2013Book was gifted to me by the author in exchange for an honest review
I didn't finish the book, so I don't think it's fair that I rate it. I will, however, leave a brief review regarding the pages I did read.
I didn't really take to Mann's writing style. Some of the passages were a little too verbose and flowery for me. She also wrote every single one of the protagonist's actions in great detail, which got tiring to read.
An example: "As quietly as I could, I moved down the hall towards the guest bathroom and switched the faucet on; the knob squeaked in protest from disuse. I splashed my face with cold water and looked up into the mirror at my reflection."
And it kind of goes on like that. It reads like a list of actions, which creates a monotonous pacing.
There are also unnecessary asides like this: "I don’t use ice. Typically, ice is made from tap water, which is unfiltered; eventually ice melts in my drink and causes impurities to mix with my filtered water. I realize that this statement makes me sound nuts and annoying and we can go back to the silver spoon concept, but I can’t really help it; I am obsessive."
I get that it's supposed to give a glimpse into Ava's anxieties, but it felt really out-of-place and unnecessary to me.
I also didn't really like Ava's character and didn't really enjoy reading from her point of view. There's a lot of name-dropping of bands, which makes me wonder whether the author did that to cast Ava in a "cool alternative girl" kind of light? I don't know. Every once in a while would have been okay, but it's one after another, which makes her intention more obvious.
I think Ava also lacks a distinct voice, which makes it harder to connect to her. Even when she delves into her insecurities/faults, we don't get a sense of her personality.
An example: "Okay, I know many people have self-image problems. But I have truly always felt as though I am being avoided, as if people can sense that there is something not good in me. My logic tells me this is not true, of course. I am quiet at times and I keep mostly to myself, but there is no evil in my heart, just sometimes a darkness."
I also found a few typos while reading through the first fifteen pages. :X
I don't know. Some people might like this book, but it just wasn't for me.
I didn't finish the book, so I don't think it's fair that I rate it. I will, however, leave a brief review regarding the pages I did read.
I didn't really take to Mann's writing style. Some of the passages were a little too verbose and flowery for me. She also wrote every single one of the protagonist's actions in great detail, which got tiring to read.
An example: "As quietly as I could, I moved down the hall towards the guest bathroom and switched the faucet on; the knob squeaked in protest from disuse. I splashed my face with cold water and looked up into the mirror at my reflection."
And it kind of goes on like that. It reads like a list of actions, which creates a monotonous pacing.
There are also unnecessary asides like this: "I don’t use ice. Typically, ice is made from tap water, which is unfiltered; eventually ice melts in my drink and causes impurities to mix with my filtered water. I realize that this statement makes me sound nuts and annoying and we can go back to the silver spoon concept, but I can’t really help it; I am obsessive."
I get that it's supposed to give a glimpse into Ava's anxieties, but it felt really out-of-place and unnecessary to me.
I also didn't really like Ava's character and didn't really enjoy reading from her point of view. There's a lot of name-dropping of bands, which makes me wonder whether the author did that to cast Ava in a "cool alternative girl" kind of light? I don't know. Every once in a while would have been okay, but it's one after another, which makes her intention more obvious.
I think Ava also lacks a distinct voice, which makes it harder to connect to her. Even when she delves into her insecurities/faults, we don't get a sense of her personality.
An example: "Okay, I know many people have self-image problems. But I have truly always felt as though I am being avoided, as if people can sense that there is something not good in me. My logic tells me this is not true, of course. I am quiet at times and I keep mostly to myself, but there is no evil in my heart, just sometimes a darkness."
I also found a few typos while reading through the first fifteen pages. :X
I don't know. Some people might like this book, but it just wasn't for me.
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