Review: Very Intense Read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 22, 2013
The whole book I had my heart in my throat. That's how emotion-filled this book made me. When a book is done right, it keeps you in suspense until the precipice of the story where you finally get relief for what you have been feeling the entire book. It's almost akin to having a strenuous workout. You're left winded and with your heart pounding but still wanting more or a good relaxing drink of water to cool down.Fighting Fate by Linda Kage is one of those books that comes along that really kept my attention outside of the obvious love affair. The book is a slow burn which I really savor. I'm so tired of reading the romantic pair getting together in the first half of the book. After all, readers tend to lose so much interest once that happens.We follow a freshman, Paige, into her first year of university. Her life is made up of recent tragedy. Not only did she lose her brother three years prior, her mother committed suicide the year before, and her father has sunken into the depths of alcoholism. She's only really can depend on herself. And with her one dream to fulfill her brother's wish to go to Granton and major in marketing, Paige sets out to do just that in his memory. What she doesn't expect on her first day of class to is sit next to her brother's killer, Logan.Woo!In a series of very unlikely events, Logan and Paige can't shake one another. They end up in the same grief counseling group and even work at the same place. Logan who is operating on the deepest form of guilt and regret and does everything in his power to avoid Paige for her own comfort. But immediately, you see the pull these two have to one another. With their shared history, they can't help but comfort each other. Paige learns about forgiveness and Logan learns what it means to have someone care for him enough to help him. They are no longer alone.But like I said, all of this is a slow burn. The real meat of the story is how their relationship evolves. Which works so well. Even the unbelievable romance between the two is very palatable. The height of the story with Einstein, another lesser character in the book, is intense. And the ending was strong with each character getting their own redemption. This was a solid book and I really enjoyed it.Onto the negatives. There aren't too many but some that just irked me. Throughout the whole book, the author was constantly reminding us that Logan killed Paige's brother. Over and over. And not just her brother but by extension her mother. And then blamed for her father's alcoholism. It's a constant theme in Paige's and Logan's head. Over and Over. Did I say over and over?Also, Paige seemed to get over her aversion to Logan pretty fast after she realized she had feelings for him. I thought that should have come a little sooner for her character and she had to work through it a little more before she decided to fully be with him.And finally, I don't know if the author was a Twific author or just read a lot of Twific, but since it's an Omnific publication I assumed she may have been one or both. If I'm wrong, then this is one heck of a coincidence. Here's why I thought this: Paige (Bella) hates the sight of blood, she doesn't know she's pretty, her mother is out of the picture and she lives with her out of touch father, she has two friends Bailey (Alice, who happened to have a pixie haircut and loves clothes and played Bella-Barbie with Paige) and Tess (Rose, who happened to be more cynical and negative), Reggie (Mike), Paige and Logan meet up in class on the first day, causing tension, and Bailey falls in love or obsession with a Jasper-esque Cowboy that says "darlin". Now this is my own assumptions, nothing I have gathered from anyone else. From being in fandom for so many years and editing former Twific authors, it's almost second nature to notices these similarities.  I'm not anti-P2P by any means, in fact, more power to you. And I'm not saying this was a Twific either. I just noticed the parallels.All and all, this was a good book. I will be reading more in this series when it comes out. I liked the characters, the setting, and the intensity. The plot seemed original enough and it was a solid page turner. I really enjoyed the love affair and the sexual tension with Paige and Logan. Very hot stuff and so forbidden which equals hot!On a final note, the editing is superb!