Genres: Paranormal Romance
Published by Kensington
Released on March 1, 2011
Pages: 336
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
The Delight
Fated starts the Dark Protectors series with a bang! Action packed from start to finish with deep emotion being dragged out of each characters into the spotlight. This book will grab you and thrust you deep into the world of paranormal beings. Having been a fan of Rebecca Zanetti, I had put off this series. Why did I wait? That’s a real question. I loved this new world that I entered with an author who loves to ride the line of dominance to submissive without really having BDSM. And I love the hero’s appearance recently in one of her other series. Yep, I didn’t exactly know who they were, but after reading this, I know now!
Review
So I finally met Talen. The vampire everyone talks about when you hear about the Dark Protectors series. He’s a bad ass, has found his mate and intends to protect her and her child he has adopted as his own. See the world has special women who have some kind of powers and they are highly sought after for protection on the good guys side and for taking over the world on the bad guys side. When he shows up at Cara’s house in the middle of the night, she only thinks to protect her child, not learn he is there to protect them and her daughter forsaw this happening.
Cara has had abililites all of her life. It’s something she has tried to suppress. She dated fellow scientist, gets pregnant, but he dies before meeting their daughter. Now Cara is trying to work on her plant projects and raise her daughter only to be thrown into a war she never knew about.
The head bad guy wants Cara, and his son has been promised her daughter. But Talen arrives in time to rescue them, but also learns Cara is his fated mate. They wait hundreds of years to find the one woman to complete them, but he has decided she will love him, he will protect and care for her, but never love. Only he can’t control fate any more than Cara can.
Vampires are born and not made in this world. And by born I mean they are all born male. So to get a female they need an enhanced human who can take them on. Once Talen touches Cara, the mark of fate is upon him. The hip he touches on Cara with the mark burns. The best part, once a male has claimed his mate, no other male can forcibly take the woman or even agreeably without extreme pain.
While this is an instant love situation, they don’t go hot and heavy right off. Talen torments her with the whole mate thing. She tries to avoid him. But neither can stay away from each other long. Cara is on the run and we learn that vampires aren’t the only supernatural beings in the series. We meet some shape shifters I see getting their own stories eventually. There is references to the fae and demons.
As the story grows you get to know the family and you want their stories as well. Cara has a sister who is going to be in the next story for sure. These brothers though adopt Janie, Cara’s daughter, as their own and a better group of uncles I have never seen.
The story is very fast passed and if you blink you will miss something. It does suffer from the first book in the series issues and then adding the insta-fated romance with the bad guy going after the heroine to make her his own. Yeah, it happens and sometimes it has to happen for the series to move on.
While the story wraps up what is happening between Talen and Cara, there are bigger issues dangling into the next story. I figure I can’t read these out of order and I think I remember a few years ago reading a novella in this series and being totally confused. So I will see if I hit that one again or if I am confusing it with another series.
Fated is a intricate start of a new world with new paranormal creatures to love and get to know. I highly recommend it even if it suffers the first in a series issues. It will get better and I hope we revisit Talen and Cara…and even Janie. Janie will steal your heart and I don’t want to give away anything of her story in all this. She will be a big key in the series I just don’t know right now just how much. Onward to the next book in the series!
Challenges Met
Review Writing Challenge #32
Try Something New Challenge #18
Never Ending Series Challenge #1 (Dark Protectors)
Literary Pickers #27 – Over a year on my TBR
Books ‘N Tunes #21 – I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston
Series
Preview
About Rebecca Zanetti
New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti has worked as an art curator, Senate aide, lawyer, college professor, and a hearing examiner – only to culminate it all in stories about Alpha males and the women who claim them. She is a member of RWA, has won awards for her works throughout the industry, and has a journalism degree with a poly sci emphasis from Pepperdine University as well as a Juris Doctorate from the University of Idaho.
Growing up amid the glorious backdrops and winter wonderlands of the Pacific Northwest has given Rebecca fantastic scenery and adventures to weave into her stories. She resides in the wild north with her husband, children, and extended family who inspire her every day-or at the very least give her plenty of characters to write about.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 - Books N Tunes Challenge
- 2019 - Literary Pickers Challenge
- 2019 - Review Writing Challenge
- 2019 Try Something New Challenge
Shari
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It’s kinda sad the dad dies before meeting the daughter. Talen sounds super interesting. I love Rebecca’s books a lot so I’ll be keeping this series in my eyes!
Genesis @ Whispering Chapters
It is sad. They weren’t in love and were better as friends at work. Cara though was good about it and only had good memories to share with her daughter. With her daughter’s powers she was already calling Talen Dad long before I believed he could be her dad. I had a love/hate relationship with Talen, but after seeing him in the next book with Cara, you know he loves her. I am a fan or Rebecca’s as well, but kept putting off starting this series. So I just decided it was time since I keep seeing the books go… Read more »
Everyone is reading this atuhor and I still need to try one of her books!!
You do! She is awesome!
I just read Alpha’s Promise a while back and loved it. I haven’t read this one yet but it’s on my list to read. I really love her books.
I think I tried a book once in the middle and was so confused. So I am starting from the beginning and getting the books as she runs them on sale.
Talen!!!!
I see his name all the time in Rebecca’s group. I am hoping to see a lot more of him.
Oh, Talen… LOL, he really got knocked sideways by Cara. He thought he had it all figured out until she came along. I loved so many books in this series and especially the Kayrs Brothers.
Yep, he thought he could get her to love him and hold his heart away. Nope, she won’t accept that. It’s all or nothing. I am anxious though to find out what happens to her as I have only read up to 2.5 in the series so far.
I loved these books as well. I read a bunch and then missed a few and then read one for review and it was fine. It wouldn’t have been fine if I hadn’t read the ones I did first though. They were some of the first books I found on Kindle way back when Kindle was introduced-but I still remember the basics. Glad you loved it!