Review: Review of Fate
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 24, 2013
The protagonist Kris seems to have it all: a house on the beach outside of Charleston, South Carolina, a rewarding job as a video editor, and two best friends Veronica (Roni) and Cassie who are always there for her. She also has the unusual gift of being precognitive. All of her life she has had premonitions in the form of dreams or visions of events to come. With this gift, she has the power to step in and alter the outcome of these premonitions.As the story opens, readers learn that Kris has been having nightmarish dreams in which she is a participant. This has never happened to her before and puts her on guard. She can't seem to shake the feeling that she is being watched. However, she dismisses these feelings even though she is being constantly observed.Initially, Kris tries to ignore all of the signs that she is being stalked, even when Damien moves beyond merely watching her. He begins leaving her roses on her doorstep and car, making late night phone calls telling her they will be together soon, and even breaking into her house to install video cameras, so she is constantly under his surveillance.The author provides Damien's point-of-view to provide insight into his twisted mind.  However, I think the story line would have been stronger if readers weren't given access to his perspective. His character is a clichéd villain. He never provides any real understanding of his motives for kidnapping and killing or why he chooses Kris to become his latest "beauty."  Although his thoughts do indicate his obsessive nature, they also contribute to the predictability of the plot.In the midst of this drama, the author expands the story line to include a romance that ensues between Kris and her old college love, Nick. Fate has intervened through Nick buying the house next door to Kris, thus reuniting the couple. As they meet over an initial dinner, the reason for their breakup is revealed. In the past, miscommunication caused each of them to feel betrayed by the other. Now, their honesty with each other opens the door for a potential future together.  I, somewhat, expected that they would continue to keep their bitterness about the breakup to themselves, creating further conflict between them. I was pleasantly surprised that they were able to discover what really happened in the past and move beyond it, realizing that now they have been given a second chance ten years later.The story progresses with Nick becoming more prominent in Kris's life. As they spend more time together, it is obvious the two want to be together. Unfortunately, the chemistry and sexual tension that so often enhances a romance is lacking between these two. Both characters want to move slowly in the relationship to see how much has changed between them, and this may contribute to that lack of "heat" that I hoped to be present.I really liked Kris as a heroine. She faces reality head on instead of living in denial. Once she realizes she has a stalker, she confides in Nick and doesn't hesitate to involve the police. She also has the foresight to learn to use a gun for protection, keeping it with her at all times. I also appreciate the fact that, overall, both Kris and Nick listen to police investigator, Dylan, who is in charge of Kris's case.Once Dylan discovers Damien is a serial killer, he brings in the FBI. Now, even though I am by no means an expert in police procedure, I did find fault with some aspects of how the FBI handled catching this killer. One primary example of this is allowing Kris stay with her friend, Cassie, instead of going to an undisclosed safe house. Investigators are already aware that Kris has been to visit Cassie in the past, and Damien could know of Cassie's location since he has been stalking Kris. Even though Kris does have an agent to protect her during her stay at Cassie's, the agent stays in a guest bedroom and goes to sleep, as well, at bedtime. Damien's profile has revealed that his MO is to kidnap victims in the middle of the night while they are asleep, so it is unbelievable to me that the agent would fail to stay awake and guard Kris.One aspect of the book that I most enjoyed was the periodic visions that Kris experienced. They were descriptive enough to foreshadow events to come, yet also elusive enough to prevent the particulars of the plot to be exposed and keep readers in suspense as to when the events will occur and how much Kris can alter the outcome of these premonitions before they become reality.Overall, I am glad I read the book. Another editing would have cleaned up some minor grammatical errors, but they are few and did not distract me from the reading experience. The ending seemed abrupt to me and after such a climatic outcome, I didn't expect to move straight into an epilogue, but the author does provide resolution.  In Fate, the author provides enough details to interest me in reading the rest of the trilogy, with each book focusing on Roni's and Cassie's stories respectively.