Fate Ball


Fiction - General
Kindle Edition
Reviewed on 12/11/2015
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

I was born in Raleigh, NC and am one of five siblings who were all brought up to be free thinkers. After high school I traveled across Europe and North Africa for a one year headman trip prior to starting college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I worked in advertising and marketing for fifteen years before starting my own real estate company in 2002. Although I did some freelance writing throughout my ad career this is my first attempt at a novel. I am married and the father of two beautiful young girls. My family and I live in Chapel Hill with our two happy dogs, Dobbin and Bracey.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Cheryl E. Rodriguez for Readers' Favorite

Adam W. Jones writes a story of innocent love nestled within a southern lifestyle in Fate Ball. Life is full of opportunities at the age of nineteen. Able Curran has just returned from a trek through Europe when he meets the beautiful seductress, Ava Dubose. Ava is lusciously sweet. Her touch, her kiss, her sexy laugh, her alluring southern accent has Able falling headfirst into the raging sea of love. Able wasn’t prepared for what was happening. Before too long, Ava’s dark side begins to emerge, tainting their blissful love affair. Ava seems nonchalant about rules and boundaries, breaking them with ease, making authority figures playthings to outwit and toy with. Ava is always ready for fun, never embarrassed or fearful at all. However, underneath her perfect appearance is a silent, tortured soul. Ava is imprisoned and her jailer is addiction. As the temptress turns into a tempest, will their fated union prevail, or will it be lost in the tumultuous sea of love?

Fate Ball by Adam W. Jones is an unforgettable romantic tragedy. Mr. Jones elegantly portrays love and calamity, faith and fate, and heartache and despair. How can love be so wonderful and so horrible? Addiction is a powerful foe; few can withstand its deceptive grip. Once injected with its venomous poison, the craving is relentless. However, love has an enduring strength that refuses to let go. The main characters are in a tug of war, pulled back and forth by these magnetic conflicting forces. Hope rises and plummets again and again. Able’s character depicts the true nature of love; it never fails, it is patient, always believes the best, and it can withstand anything. But, the core of his character is his inner strength and resolve. Throughout the years of bliss and misery, he doesn’t become stagnant. He grows and evolves, in spite of love’s betrayal. Jones pens Ava’s character explicitly, revealing the life and nature of an addict. It is not a pretty picture. Moreover, those who love and care for addicts become victims of unbearable suffering.

As we watch Ava’s character spiral out of control, we really never know why. Some things in life are inexplicable, and Ava’s addiction captures the truth of this statement. As for Able, tragedy almost destroys him, but his destiny has a different plan. The Fate Ball bounces into his life; he rebounds through his brokenness, and discovers life and purpose. Adam W. Jones narrative, Fate Ball, magnifies the eternal truth – love never fails.

Samantha Dewitt (Rivera)

Able Curran never expected love to enter so violently into his life, but when Ava Dubose strutted into that party and kissed him, that’s exactly what happened. Their relationship was a whirlwind, romance and passion intertwined, but it ended just as abruptly as it began, or so it seemed. It turns out Ava isn’t through with Able after all, and fate has a somewhat nasty surprise in store for the both of them, something that could end in disaster if they aren’t careful, because Ava’s addiction could just destroy them both. Are either of them going to be strong enough to overcome it? Or can no one be saved?

This story is definitely one that you will remember for a long time. The characters are very interesting and you can’t help relating to both of them in some ways. Able is a well meaning and caring person who’s determined to do what he can for the woman he loves. But Ava is an addict and that takes precedence over everything else in her life. Fate Ball by Adam Jones is all about love and what some people will do to protect the ones they love against all odds. I sat down and read this book in one sitting and I’m sure anyone else will too because it’s just that amazing. You feel like you’re really there with them, struggling through the crazy roller coaster that is any addiction, and especially the one that Ava has tried to keep hidden for so many years. Excellent book. I really loved the characters and the story.

Maria Beltran

Adam W. Jones’ Fate Ball is a story of pure love. When Able Curran meets Ava Dubose in a Saturday night party at a fraternity house, he never expected her to even notice his existence. Notice she did and the two become a couple. The wild and beautiful Ava is every young man’s fantasy. Spoiled and addicted to alcohol, Ava eventually leaves Able to hook up with the wealthy George, an ex-boyfriend who is into cocaine. Devastated by the separation, Able gets on with his life and the two go their separate ways. But as Ava goes in and out of the rehabilitation center, Able becomes her rock, someone who will always run to her side every time she needs him. Fate Ball is what Ava calls destiny and she continues her self-destructive ways until Able gets a telephone call that he will never forget.

Able Curran and Ava Dubose are an unlikely couple in Fate Ball. Able is in love with Ava and chooses not to see her wild and reckless side until she leaves him. There is no doubt that Ava has feelings for Able, but the lure of drugs is too strong for her. Adam W. Jones’ novel reveals a dysfunctional relationship that may sound familiar to some people as addiction to drugs is becoming more prevalent nowadays. What makes his novel refreshing is that he does not completely condemn Ava, albeit the author treats her addiction like a disease. As such, this novel is also a commentary on one of the serious problems that faces our society today and how it is being dealt with by the people concerned. And if destiny has a hand in shaping our lives, can we do something to guide it in the right direction?

Patricia Day

In Fate Ball by Adam W Jones, Able unavoidably meets Ava Dubose when she literally throws herself into his lap at a party. He had not wanted to attend, preferring his quiet, often morose, solitude. However, senses he was not even aware of are awakened by the attention bestowed upon him by this stunning young woman. Hello life! She becomes his idol. Her beauty and her wild personality contrast completely with his. The moment of their meeting is etched into his heart and mind, and he is inescapably spellbound by everything she is. He does not really care what she is, or does, as long as she wants him as much as he wants her.

Their relationship develops into a warmth and passion that Able thought he would never experience. He is captivated by Ava. When it threatens to become ugly he is not deterred. His only focus is Ava. She is the love of his life and he will do anything for her. It is irrelevant when she reveals addictions of other kinds and is more enthusiastic about them than Able. Time passes. Their lives take different paths but inevitably Ava draws him back into her life once again. Can he help? Will she listen?

Fate Ball by Adam W Jones is a mix of the delight and the cozy contentment of love, as well as the anguish of rejection. This is a touching, tragic story of young love that I found completely irresistible. I found some of the bad language offensive, but in overlooking that the story held my interest because I wanted to discover how the tale ended, and what became of the two main characters. It is a good read.

Tracy A. Fischer

Wow. Just, wow. That’s almost all I can say after finishing reading the new novel, Fate Ball, by author Adam W. Jones. In a story so searing that a reader’s heart will actually ache, we find ourselves following Able and Ava, a young couple that falls deeply and completely in love. Ava’s wildness and her bold spirit intrigue and captivate Able, and soon he can think of little but her. But when Ava’s free-spiritedness takes a dark turn, one that leads her down the dangerous and destructive path of addiction, even Able’s never ending love can save her. Ava leaves Able, but somehow the connection and bond they have seems unbreakable, indivisible, even if Able does try. Will he be able to save Ava from her tortured existence? Will love be enough?

I loved Fate Ball. Loved. It. It’s hard to put into words how moving this story is, and how it truly conveys the importance of true love. Author Adam W. Jones has done a simply fantastic job in creating a story line that will captivate his readers from the very first page and will keep them reading obsessively until the very last word. His ability to create characters that his readers will relate to, care about, and continue to think about long after the story is done is simply second to none. I highly recommend Fate Ball to any reader who loves a great work of fiction with a darkly romantic story line. I certainly hope that author Adam W. Jones is already working on his next book. I, for one, will be eagerly waiting for its arrival.

Landon Smith

First loves truly shape your life, and that holds true for Able Curran in Adam Jones’ new novel, Fate Ball. Though a love story, this book was not at all what I expected…it was so much more.

I was immediately drawn into this story of a young man's coming of age. Told in a real voice, it took me back to my own young adulthood in the South….to chances taken and self-discovery, all within the back drop of deep southern traditions of girls’ schools, fraternity parties, mother’s polished silver and familial expectations. Able’s first love – his fate ball – drops literally in his lap, and his life will never be the same.

This is not, however, merely a sweet love story full of romanticism and fluff. It turns gritty and delves deeply into serious addiction issues that young people face today, highlighting the sickening consequences of drugs taking hold of a beautiful young person whose life started out so full of promise.

Fate Ball made me feel a wide range of emotions. I waited a few days after reading it to write this review, so my feelings could settle. Days later it has stayed with me and continues to resurface.... isn't that what all great books do? Simply terrific, and highly recommended.

Emma Buck

Fate Ball should be rated above 5-stars. It had my attention from beginning to end. An absolutely inspiring, romantic love story. Love so strong that it hurts. A book every book lover must read.

Amy Thatcher

Fate Ball is an intriguing story about addiction, the choices an addict makes, and the helpless journey an addict's loved ones must take. Fate Ball combines a realistic look at addiction with the hopeful dream of recovery. While the tale is sad, the novel is an enjoyable read and gives those suffering from addiction and those who love them a reminder that they are not alone in their struggles. Fate ball keeps the reader involved in the story from the beginning with feelings of empathy and/or sympathy for both Ava and Able. Other emotions and memories are also evoked for the reader as this is a story of first love.