This is a fun venture into a realm of mysticism that I was never really familiar with. It's a great YA book, definitely made for a YA audience, but enjoyable for any reader who can keep that in mind.

I know that not all adults read YA, but I'm one that does. There are a select few that don't feel like they are targeted specifically at teens but happen to have protagonists that are in the YA age range, and then there are books that are YA and target that audience. This is the second kind, which is not a bad thing. I feel it's important to point that out when reviewing YA books. It's targetted at the YA audience and while someone who enjoys YA will still enjoy it because it's well done and all the characters are great with an interesting plot, I wouldn't recommend it to an adult whose only experience with YA was the Hunger Games or the Lunar Chronicles, one that may complain of angst in some teenage characters. I find that sort of thing ridiculous.

First of all, adults have angst too and second of all, sometimes it's totally appropriate. Oh yes, and there's third, don't read about teenagers and then complain when they act like teenagers. Okay, I'll admit that some writers do go overboard and characters are doing things that seem ridiculous, but that's bad writing and not what YA is actually about.

Daire is a great character. She's gotten more freedom than is normal for a girl her age and she knows it and respects that. She respects her family, even when she disagrees with them but she's not afraid to go it alone if she needs to. The two male leads don't quite form a love triangle, and I feel like that's made obvious from the first dream. Their dichotomy in character is well done and even explained. There's a reason for it. And there's a reason for the specialness of each character. I hate when a story has someone who is just "the one" without a viable reason for it. This definitely has great reasons for why each character is crucial to the plot.

I loved all the adults too. Her mom is truly trying her best and even Daire sees that. Her grandmother is amazing, even when she's being cryptic. Each one gives Daire a little insight into what's going on around her. She does have troubles with adults, but none of the blatantly ridiculous things that make it seem, in some of the poor attempts at YA, that the teens are the only people in town with any sense. They all have their own things going on and some are even trying to manipulate these teens, which are little too powerful for their own good.

The mysticism was new for me. It was a part of what drew me to the book in the first place. This is one of the books I came across only because of Top Ten Tuesday lists and therefore a reason I really love those posts. I was never much into magic stories, but mysticism is something else entirely, especially when I can read about new ones.

Ill Fated is another of those books where I think my rating would have been better if I’d read the previous books in the series. As I had trouble connecting with the characters. I was however, able to pick up the story easily which is good.

I could be wrong, but it seemed that much of the story line was pertinent to this particular book, so I wonder if this is the case throughout the series?

Rachel’s writing is exciting and kept me hooked most of the way through, once I had figured out who everyone was. Her characters appear to be well written and I can imagine Maurin to be an interesting person to follow.

With it’s twists and excitement I would certainly recommend this book to any paranormal lover, but I do recommend reading the rest of the series first. Enjoy

NB I received this book free in return for an honest review