Published: July 21, 2011
Publisher: Compelling Read
Source: The Bookish Snob Promotions (thank you!)
Series: Erris Coven #1
Find the author: Goodreads || Website 
Buy: Amazon || Kindle || B&N

From Goodreads: When Lexie Anderson’s mother suddenly announces she is marrying a Romanian immigrant, Lexie willingly leaves behind her busy life in Connecticut for her penance in “The Moose Capital of the World.” Small town living is strange enough, now Lexie must cope with her overbearing stepfamily monitoring her every move. They disappear into the woods at night and keep a strange secret locked in their shed. Her once calm mother is now having violent outbursts and Lexie’s little sister is hearing sinister sounds coming from the forest behind their new home. Lexie’s biggest surprise comes when she discovers the boy she has been dreaming about since her accident is living in Maine. Despite Torin’s questionable reputation, Lexie cannot resist the physical and emotional attraction pulsating between them. Animals and people in town are turning up dead and Lexie learns the strange new world she lives in has real life monsters. Just when she decides she wants to be with Torin forever, she must fight to protect her mother and sister from being harmed by a formidable evil.

My Thoughts: Fate Fixed is an edgy, exciting and extremely creative take on the supernatural world. In it Wheeler takes some of our favorite paranormal entities and turns them on their heads by giving them unique qualities and histories, making Fate Fixed both an incredibly fast paced and engaging read as well as unexpectedly mysterious.

One thing that I absolutely loved about Wheeler’s debut novel is that she was able to write a YA novel without the whining. I cannot tell you how many recent YA novels I have read recently and found it impossible connect with the characters because of their constant need to complain and whine. I was so happy to see in Lexie a character that was strong but still vulnerable and didn’t play the martyr card. She tried to keep a brave face through all the changes her family was experiencing (the death of her father, the addition of a stepfather and 3 stepbrothers to her family, and a major move during her senior year) but wasn’t emotionally cold or distant and that chink in her armor made her feel realistic.

I love, love, loved how Wheeler created this world and told the Erris Coven’s history. She kept you in the dark enough to hold your interest and force you to fly through the pages and then revealed the whole story at just the right time which kept the pace going and the reader engaged. Hers was such a different take on Vampires and I was thoroughly impressed by not only the unique characteristics she gave them, but also her ingenious explanation of how damphyrs (half-vampires) came to be. I loved this history lesson as much as I loved the rest of the book and think the way it was told was the perfect complement to the rest of the story.

Fate Fixed was a light romance and at first I wasn’t sure how I felt about the idea of the damphyr’s fate-partners. My initial reaction was that the notion of dreaming of the one you were fated to be with forever was an easy way to pair her characters together with little thought. Boy was I wrong. Wheeler’s lead up to Lexie meeting her fate-partner was fantastic and she described their unbreakable connection in a way that made me feel it viscerally. I cannot wait to watch this romance grow in the next installment of the series.  

If I could wish for one thing it would be further explanation or exploration of what was happening with Ruby, Lexie’s mom. Something crazy was going on and there was a slight explanation towards the end of the novel, but I felt like if it was important enough to talk about in the first place than more time should have been spent on it. There could have been some really interesting elements added to the story there. And who knows maybe these details are being saved for book 2!

If you are a fan of paranormal YA fiction and have not picked up Fate Fixed I have to ask what are you waiting for? Wheeler breathes life into an area of paranormal fiction that is growing stale and gives her readers and mysterious and exhilarating ride through Erris County. Fate Fixed is a little darker than many books in the genre making it perfect for older teens and adults who are looking for more than broody but innocent vampires.

I received an e-copy of Fate Fixed from the Bookish Snob Promotions (thank you!!!) in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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