Book Review: Awakened by Ednah Walters

Book: AWAKENED
Author: EDNAH WALTERS
Genre: YA FANTASY/ PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Published: September 2010, PILL HILL PRESS


I received this book for review from Star Book Tours

From Good Reads:
Most teens turn sixteen and get the license to drive, Lil Falcon gets the license to kill demons, but no one told her she is not supposed to fall in love with one.

Orphaned as a child and raised by an eccentric grandfather, Lil is concerned with surviving high school and is unaware she's a Guardian—a being with super powers charged with killing demons and protecting humanity. But when she meets Bran, a mysterious boy with amazing abilities, his psi energy unlocks her latent powers...


My Review:
AWAKENED tells the story of Lil Falcon. One day she's an average teen, and the next she's uncovered family secrets, discovered that she is part of an angelic society that protects human-kind, found her true love, and become the target of an evil nemesis. And, truthfully that is in the first 1/4 of the book. It may seem like too much, too fast for some readers. I admit it was a little too much, too fast for me.

I found the development of Lil and Bran's relationship to be very rushed, even for a YA paranormal romance. But wait, Ednah Walters does give a plausible (in the world of AWAKENED, at least) explanation for why they feel the way they do. It works for the book, and there wasn't a third-party intruder that can be usually found in a YA romance. Don't get me wrong, I do like a good "triangle", but the way that Walters wrote the connection between Lil and Bran, a triangle would have been overkill. So, I thank her for not going there.

And now, here's where I am going to totally contradict myself. What really worked for me about AWAKENED was the fast pace of the novel. Wait! What? You say. I know, I just said in the previous paragraph that Lil and Bran's relationship moved too fast. But, it was just that aspect of the plot, ok? Otherwise, I thought that the novel moved along mirroring the regular balls that are thrown at teens. Juggle this, juggle that. So, Lil might be a little abnormal. It doesn't mean that she doesn't have to take the hits.

In the end, I really enjoyed reading AWAKENED. Some books I like because I admire the writing. Some, because I admire the author, and others because I like the genre or plot. But, it's always great when I find that I am having fun reading a book. Though, obviously none of the above is exclusive, in and of itself. I did like the characters that Walters introduced, and though "angels" seem to be big in YA right now, she created her own mythos that sets this book apart from the crowd.


3.5/5 for plot
3.5/5 for characters
3/5 for language

My Rating: 10/15 Recommend


Here's a few links that will give you more information about the author:
Ednah Walters website
Blog
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