REVIEW: FIGHTING FATE (GRANTON UNIVERSITY #1) by LINDA KAGE

Series: Granton University #1
Category/Genre: NA Contemp. Romance
Publisher: Omnific
Publication Date: 7/16/13
Format: ebook
Pages: 286
Source: Received from publisher for review
Rating: 4 stars

Forgiving your brother's murderer may be noble, but falling in love with him borders on betrayal.

When Paige Zukowski enrolls at Granton University in honor of her dead brother, she has no idea fate will land her on the same campus with the very guy who killed him. But Logan Xander isn't quite the murderer she's always believed him to be.

A day hasn't passed since the tragedy that Logan doesn't wish he could go back and undo everything. It doesn't take Paige long to realize he's suffered as much as she has. Forgiving him for ruining her life might not be so impossible after all. But when she actually starts to like him and realizes he likes her in return, their true anguish begins.

I recently read Linda Kage's novel, Price of a Kiss, and immediately decided "I need more from this author."  She has a writing style that is hard for me to pin down. It's definitely charming, very clean and concise, but it also has a bit of a light-hearted feel, even when the subject is not.

Fighting Fate poses a serious premise: What if the monster you think you know is just a regular man? What if your pain is his guilt? What if the truth isn't black and white? What if you fall in love with your brother's killer?  This isn't the first story of it's kind - not by a long shot - but this is always an interesting premise. I was curious to see if Kage could give a realistic-feeling story that didn't just brush over the logistics and emotions of developing feelings for the man who ended a loved one's life, but really dug deep. I believe she did..

Fighting Fate was a sweet, sad, funny, heart-breaking, and ultimately up-lifting story. Very bittersweet. I loved that Kage took the time to let us know the characters, letting the reader settle into the story. As the story moves along, the characters experience a great deal of growth. Paige begins the story angry and broken, and as she gets to know Logan, realizing the truth of her brother's death wasn't so clean cut, she learns the power of forgiveness. Logan begins the story completely defeated. He lost everything in one moment. As he becomes to know Paige, he also learns the power of forgiveness, but also redemption.


Fighting Fate was another really good, thoughtful and charming book from Linda Kage. I look forward to reading many more of her works in the future.


Favorite Quote:


  Helpless anger stole over him. She was going to ruin his life. Before he could even brace himself for the fallout, she'd crush everything he'd worked three years to build. And here she was, acting scared of him.
  He wanted to grab her and shake her, make her look at the man behind the murderer, and force her to forgive him, tell him it was okay, that she knew he hadn't meant to kill her brother.    ~5%


  "When I look at you, I should feel nothing but guilt and remorse. I should close down and burrow into that wretched place inside myself. But I can't. I just...I feel so alive. You've made me smile and laugh and...and want.   ~65%

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About the author:

The youngest of eight children, Linda Kage grew up on a dairy farm in the Midwest. She now lives in Kansas with her husband, daughter, and nine cuckoo clocks. Linda is a member of Romance Writers of America and its local chapter, Midwest Romance Writers.

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