Awaken by Kristen Day
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

If the first book had me intrigued, the second one has me hooked!

I found myself on the edge of my seat for every twist and turn of this book (and there are a lot!). It is anything but predictable. Stasia finds out about more of her abilities and what is needed for her to complete her journey to the Underworld and back unscathed, not to mention Finn’s big secret! With the presence of Nadia, a new arrival from California who already seems to hate her, and the unexpected run-ins with bloody ghosts, having to die just to enter the Underworld is proving to be the least of her worries.

Kristen Day does a wonderful job depicting a world that can be both beautiful and horrifying. The imagery created is amazing and the dialogue is witty. The pace of the story was steady and never dull. I was impressed with her ability to blend both the light and macabre sides of the story so well together. It definitely makes her style of writing unique.

The only con for me was, like the first one, I still didn’t feel like I got to know who Finn was. He was present on and off for the first half of the book but then MIA for most of the second half. He was starting to feel like Edward from the second book of the Twilight series; talked about more than actually present. Yea, we know he loves Stasia and we find out his troubled destiny, but other than that his character still felt a little two dimensional for me. I felt I knew Stasia’s roommates better than I knew him. I couldn’t help but wish for some bonus chapters from Finn’s point of view (especially for that scene with Stasia just before Halloween and the last scene at the end!). Maybe it’s just me, who knows, I’ve been told I could be broken :D

Regardless, this was not enough to stop me from desperately wanting to read the third book. The new insight about her dad and the cliff hanger ending are killing me! I must know what happens next! I seriously don’t know what to write without giving spoilers, but you must know you have to read this series. It is fresh and unique and leaves you needing more!

I am thankful the author gave me a copy of this book for an honest review.


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