Forewarned (Fated Love #1)
Chantal Fernando
The fae spend
their entire lives searching for their true mate.
But me? I know
who my mine is. And I don't want him.
My name is
Astrid. I'm a fae, a seer and a healer.
Not much scares
me. But him?
That's the
darkness I'm never going to let catch me.
Themes: Romantic Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
Being
a longtime fan of Chantal Fernando, I feel I have to be the first to warn other
fans that this is going to be unlike any story of her you have read in the
past. And the primary reason for that is that it wraps up with a terrifyingly
well-written cliffhanger that is going to leave you clambering for the
next book in the series. Now I won’t
lie, had I known the story wouldn’t be ending and the series was one of those
that continues on with the journey of the main characters through several books
I might not have picked it up, primary because I am not a huge fan of hanging
endings, but I would have missed out of a great story for sure. Chantal’s new
foray into the world of romantic fantasy is not to be missed and if you are a
fan of paranormal romance, fae characters, magick, or any combination of the
above I feel like you will be just as enraptured of the story as I was. Forewarned has a lot of emotional
intensity, drama, and craziness as Astrid faces her fears, tries to live with
her choices, and learns to accept that sometimes she has to just let fate have
its way. I am dying for the next story
and can’t imagine what will be coming for Astrid, but I know that ending will
lead to some serious issues, and I suspect I have a couple of ideas where it
might be leading but one just never knows, by I am sure Foretold will
kick off with a serious bang.
Astrid
is a fae, a seer and a healer and she has been in hiding since her powers
showed her the future that was coming her when she was a young woman. Her mate is not only the most terrifying fae
alive, but he is also the most sensual being she has ever seen, and she knows
he is destined to destroy her. When she
has to make a choice to possibly put herself directly in the path of her fated
mate and risk losing herself forever or lose the only family she’s got left,
she risks it all and confronts her destiny.
But that choice backfires in a big way.
Now she is on a runaway train and there is only one being she can look
to and possibly offer any level of trust in to keep her safe, the mate she
knows will destroy her. Rave, Prince of Shadows, is determined to make her his
mate, but the more time they are together the more she loses herself to him,
until she comes to think maybe she could love him. And then a startingly truth comes to life and
she is left with an impossible choice and has to again run from the terrifying
man that could take her very life.
Astrid
was an interesting dichotomy of strength and vulnerability from the very
beginning. She has never really interacted
with the type of man she is faced to pit herself against with when she meets
Rave and tries to pit her wit and sass against his experience and
ruthlessness. While she is terrified,
she rarely lets it show and her bravely and willingness to protest those she
loves seems boundless, and I could only say that I appreciated her for
that. I found a few times that her
naivete in a few areas made me want to slap my forehead and question her sanity
on several decisions and of course her unwillingness to just speak up and share
her fears with Rave were confusing, but I suppose the tory need them in order
to move in the direction it went. That
lack of deep trust and understanding led to so many misunderstandings and
ultimately broke them, but the lack of communication is always what tears apart
the best of relationships, so I wasn’t much surprised. I likes Rave a lot, much more than a couple
of his brothers, but I also wanted to kick him several times for being an
ass. I wanted him to just open his mouth
and talk with Astrid, which might have kept so many of their problems from ever
being problems, including the one that led to their ending. He is obviously a
vicious and protective fighter, but I imagine he is just as malicious when he
considers himself wronged, so Astrid will be in for some rough times in the
next story once they are reunited.
Forewarned
is the kind of story that is filled with worldbuilding, game play, and
ultimately the kind of challenges that make for a good fantasy novel, but I
surely wish I had known in the beginning it was a cliffhanger—just a reader
preference. Astrid is an intriguing
character filled with insolence, sweetness, strength, and grit, but with
passion for life and unwillingness to let anything crush her, even the mate
that destiny has proclaimed as her own. I loved watching her slowly beginning
to love and trust her new friends and family before a conniving witch came and
ruined it all, sending her fleeing and (I suspect) set her up for a lot of hard
times in the coming story. Rave was a
harder character to get to know, but I could see that he wasn’t quite as evil
as Astrid’s fears made him out to be and was in fact a good man, possibly with
a dark side, that was determined to keep his mate and show her they were well
matched. I do suspect that he will be
angry as hell when he catches up to her in the coming story and his angry will
lead him to make some seriously bad decisions that will make their relationship
difficult, but I hope they can get past it. The passion between Rave and Astrid
is there every second they are together and there is no denying they physically
crave one another, and the chemistry is there, but the trust that they are
slowly building is what finally gives us hope that love might be on the
horizon. I am seriously hoping the rest
of this serious comes quickly because I am hooked now and can’t wait to see
what happens for Rave and Astrid (not to mention finding out if my guess of
what happens next is correct), and I would like to see what happens for the
rest of Rave’s brothers as well. Chantal
Fernando strikes a chord with her ability to remind us that sometimes we should
accept that fate knows best; sometimes surrendering to our fates is the
smartest course of action as we make choices in life.
*eARC provided by author for the
purpose of an honest and unbiased review.
No compensation was provided.
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