Review: Fate Fixed by Bonnie E. Wheeler

Title: Fate Fixed
Author: Bonnie E. Wheeler
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pub. Date: July 21, 2011
Format: eBook
Source: Goodreads

A young adult paranormal romance/ suspense novel. When Lexie's mother announces she is marrying a Romanian immigrant, Lexie leaves behind her 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 and keep a secret locked in their shed. Her calm mother is now having violent outbursts and Lexie's sister is hearing sinister sounds coming from the forest behind their home. She soon discovers the boy she has been dreaming about is living in Maine. Despite Torin's reputations, Lexie cannot resist the attraction pulsating between them. Animals and people are turning up dead and Lexie learns the strange, new world she lives in has real-life monsters. When she decides she wants to be with Torin forever, she must fight to protect her family from a formidable evil.

Review

Fate Fixed, by Bonnie E. Wheeler is a YA Paranormal Romance novel. Lexie is the main protagonist in Fate Fixed. She is an 18 year old young lady, just beginning her senior year of high school. From the first page it is evident that Lexie is in an unenviable situation. She has been having a recurring dream, almost on a nightly basis. At first the dreams are idyllic, but they always end in a nightmarish manner. Though the dreams are haunting, Lexie seems to mostly be fixated on one particular element-the young man in her dreams. She does not know who he is, but she feels this inexplicable connection with him. Adding to Lexie’s nightmares is the nightmare which she must live, while awake. Lexie lost her father in the past year in a horrific accident which she caused. Now her family situation is a bit complicated. Her mother has remarried and her new husband has three teenage boys. If that is not bad enough, they are moving to Maine, leaving behind the only place Lexie has ever called home.

Lexie is hesitant about the move, but she goes along with it due to her mother’s happiness. Her mother seems happy with her new husband, Dragos, but as always in the supernatural world of books, things are never quite like they seem. Her new family begins to exhibit odd behavior. Well of course they were already a bit peculiar, considering the fact that they have this unusual tendency to sniff people, especially Lexie. Now, however, her stepbrothers seem overly protective, even territorial of her. Maxim in particular seems to rub her the wrong way, with his cruel ways. Alik, on the other hand, though he is a bit touchy, seems to connect with Lexie. She even trusts him in a way. Despite her new situation, Lexie makes the most of the situation and even meets a few new friends. But nothing could compare her for whom she meets next.

Torin is an 18 year old young man and recent high school graduate. He has lived in Maine his entire life and is somewhat of a loner. You see, Torin has a secret. In fact, his entire family has a secret. They are different, and if the “normal” population in Erris, Maine ever discovered just how unique they are, Torin’s fears as well as his families would turn into a complicated reality. The reader soon finds that Torin is linked to Lexie, just as she is linked to him. He has also been dreaming of a girl, while Lexie fails to know what the dream means. He does, and it will greatly impact her life, as well as his.

Though Fate Fixed focuses on the connection between the two protagonists, there is also an evil spreading throughout Erris. Animal carcasses are beginning to add up and humans are soon after added to the count as well. Is It simply a coincidence that all of these events begin to happen in town when Lexie and her new family move in?

Fate Fixed was an enjoyable read. Although I saw similarities between Fate Fixed and another YA Paranormal Romance novel, that did not trouble me. In fact, I much prefer Fate Fixed. Wheeler managed to effortlessly bring a new element to the genre. Also, her characters were three dimensional, which was a welcomed change. The layers, the characters in Fate Fixed have, allowed me as a reader to connect with each one, rather in a good or bad way. I wanted to know more about them and continue to explore their world. Nothing is perfect, so I did have two concerns with the book. Lexie and Torin’s relationship seemed rushed. For example within the first minute of meeting each other they kiss. Now I know that sometimes people experience immediate attractions, but that scene was a bit unrealistic. My other concern is that Fate Fixed is a YA novel, which means that younger teens and even tweens will be drawn to the book (series). There is a scene in which Lexie is sexually intimate with Torin and it is pretty intense, therefore this book is not suitable for all YA readers. Other than that, Fate Fixed is a much needed addition to the genre.