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'A Sealed Fate' is not my usual kind of read and so I didn't expect much, but I was surprised to be hooked from the first chapter and devoured the whole book in one sitting!
I was impressed by the tightly plotted structure, unusual in a first novel, and even at the most shocking moment, everything still made sense. I have to be careful not to spoil the plot for other readers, but although I was completely surprised by the action of one character, I didn't have any trouble believing the event... the character was so fully rounded, and described so well in earlier chapters. I wonder if I would have been so shocked if a male character in a similar situation had done the same thing. Probably not, so I learned something about myself there!
Although the themes of the book are serious, Ms Gordon has a light touch and a rich vein of humour runs throughout. I laughed out loud on the train more than once. The story is thoroughly modern, but spiritual themes are woven into the plot and the motivations of the characters with a deft hand: a reader without an interest in these subjects would not be bored, but a reader with some knowledge might notice the cleverness of many little details in the writing... extra fun for me!
But the best thing about this book is the characters. The author understands so well how people hang together, how one thing in life relates to another, and how we tend to act in line with our personalities, no matter how perverse this may occasionally be! A real warmth shines through the writing... this author really cares about these characters and I really fell in love with the two main ones! I had a bit of a crush on the love interest too!
My one regret is that we did not get to find out more about Larissa's life beforehand, and I would love to know what happened next. I do hope that the author is planning a sequel, or even a prequel!
