Friday 26 July 2013

Choices of Fate - S.Simone Chavous - Review



On her own since the day she turned eighteen and left the group home where she grew up, twenty-five year old Alexa Ryan has made a comfortable life for herself.  She has a great job, the perfect apartment, every material possession a girl her age could desire.  Unfortunately, she also has an unusual condition that has forced her to keep everyone at a distance. 

Ethan Kellar has spent his entire life running from destiny.  When he was just a boy, a powerful seer prophesised his role in events that would determine the outcome of the secret war his people had been fighting for centuries.  A role he was determined not to accept, leading him to avoid letting anyone get too close, until the night Alexa fell into his arms.

Drawn to her in a way that he has never experienced, Ethan decides to take the ultimate risk by trusting Alexa and revealing to her all that he truly is.  Thinking she is an ordinary woman, he believes that she is the key to preventing the prophecy from being fulfilled and allowing him to live the life he has always wanted, one that he chooses.  Having been so consumed with the desire to determine the course of his own life he wants no less for Alexa and knows he must tell her everything, give her a choice.  Before that happens they surrender to the intense physical attraction between them and he realizes too late that in trying so hard to change his fate, he may have set the events of the prophecy in motion. 

In that moment, Ethan makes the most difficult decision of his life and does the only thing he can to save Alexa.  He walks away. 

Consumed by grief, Alexa falls into a deep depression until she learns that her brief encounter with love resulted in a child and somehow finds the strength to put herself back together for the sake of her baby Chloe. 

Nearly two years after Ethan walked out Chloe develops an unexplained illness that sends Alexa in search of anything that can help.  Her pursuit leads her back to Ethan and thrusts her into his dark and mysterious world, unlocking the secrets of her past and revealing threats to their future.  Together, Alexa and Ethan fight to protect Chloe and their love, but there is one battle Ethan fights alone as he struggles to choose his own path and avoid the choices of fate. 



 Review:


Ever felt that instant, all consuming attraction to someone?  That's how it was with Alexa and Ethan.  The minute their eyes met across a crowded bar, that was it.

After a whirlwind romance (2 days!) they are head over heals in love, and spend one wonderful night together.

The next morning, Ethan is gone, leaving just a note.  Alexa has never been in relationships because of her "condition" - she is a telepath and has been able to read minds since she was a teenager - everyone except Ethan (a gift that I would like some times!)

A pregnancy results, and Alexa raises baby Chloe - adorable! - on her own.
When Chloe is 8 months old she starts to change.  At her wits end, she sees a specialist, who knows exactly what the problem is.  He also knows Ethan, and brings him in on the situation - and back with Alexa.

Turns out Ethan is a vampire - and Chloe is their
Can Alexa and Ethan keep their family together when everything is conspiring against them?

The story had a bit of a Harry Potter meets Twilight feel to it - war, prophecies, chosen ones, vampire babies.

I also loved the relationship between Chloe and Tilly, Alexa's Great Dane.  Their bond is just wonderful!

The writing was great, you would not think that S.Simone Chavous was a first time author at all.  The characters are well developed (though the speech from Ethan and his family felt a bit too formal at times, however they are foreign and like aristocracy, so it is undertandable).

Went through the whole range of emotions with Choices of Fate - love, laughter, tears.

It makes you wonder, what would you give up to be with your soul mate?  What would you do if your baby was prophesised to save the world? What is you have no tomorrows? Is love enough?  How would you cope without your family from a young age?

Book 2 in this series is not out until later this year, but I am looking forward to see where the story goes, as this one was not at all what I expected.