Mike's job is basically doing background checks on people, which comes super in hand when right across the street Xtina moves, a mysterious neighbor with a very "special" gift, who grew up in the town but decided to leave due to her troublesome relationship with her parents. Together, they'll try to solve several mysteries, such as the ghost who isn't a ghost but has been appearing during Mike's sleep every single night since he moved into his new house.
A paranormal mystery with a side or romance, this story hast quite an interesting setting and even side characters (like Jess and Jacob). This was such an easy and fun read. It was not at all hard to follow the plot line for someone whose first language is not English.
This was the 3rd book by Jill Sanders I've read and she's becoming one of my favourtie authors for sure.

"The Awakening" by Jill Sanders is a captivating read that'll draw you in with its enchanting story and well-developed characters, leaving you eager for more from this talented author.

The first book I have ready by this author, The Awakening has some intriguing characters and an easy to follow storyline.

Synopsis:
Christina swore she’d never return to her hometown of Hidden Creek, Georgia again. Her upbringing there could only be described as torture at best. She never asked for the unusual abilities she possesses but was quite certain they would torment her the rest of her life. After spending years hiding and trying to escape the judgement and abuse of her family and the cruel people of Hidden Creek, she's finally come to terms with her gift. But with her parent’s sudden passing, it now falls on Christina to return and take care of everything. With her parents gone, she finally hopes to close this dark chapter of her life and leave Hidden Creek behind for good. That is until she finds herself mysteriously drawn to the intoxicating gentleman next door, who seems to share a strange and unusual bond with her.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
An interesting paranormal mystery with a dose of family secrets and romance.

I enjoyed reading the awakening. Kept me interested in till there was no pages left to turn. I was able to read and not let list in the events of the story. Jill is an awesome author and I love her writing. I have followed and read her for years.

Paranormal, mystery, romance. A few twisty turns, and a great quick read. This is a new aspect of writing from one of my favorites and I look forward to reading more like this in the future.

The Awakening, Paranormal Romance by Jill Sanders

Christina Warren ( Xtina) comes home to Hidden Creek on the news her parent have died in an accident. Michael Kincaid (Mike) a former military man and police officer of the Atlanta Police Department. moved to Hidden Creed and bought a fixer-upper Now Xtina and Mike are neighbours I really liked the Special Powers the main and secondary characters have. Very unique powers but interact with all the others. As expected by the title "something will be awakened" in this case, the numerous characters have special powers that are "awakening" or become most potent.

There should be warnings on books that you have to purchase anther book or books to get the conclusion! I have to be really intrigued otherewise out of spite I drop the series then and there. In this case I will be looking for the other 2 books of this series. I just hope the next is as compelling as this one. Great story and had me engrossed the entire way. I just have to know what happens next!

I liked this book. It had a decent amount of suspense, the romance wasn't too much for me, and the paranormal aspects were believable and not annoying or scary. However, I wish the book was longer. The storylines wrapped up a little too quickly for me. There wasn't time to really connect with the characters and the romance was almost too immediate for me. It read like a novella instead of a full-length novel. In addition, it ended on a cliffhanger of sorts. While that did make me want to read the next book, the ending wasn't enough to make the first book a satisfying read on its own.

My hope is that when I read the other books in the series, this first story is a nice set-up to the others. If not, this read alone was a little disappointing. It is a nice, quick beach read, but certainly not a book that will end up on my permanent shelf. I don't feel that I wasted my time, and I will read the remaining books in the series, so all-in-all it's a good start. Considering that I was able to read the book for free, in return for an honest review, it was definitely worth it.

**I generously received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review**

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. Christina (who prefers to be called Xtina - frankly I, not even sure how to say that) finds herself in the uncomfortable position of going home after the unexpected death of both her parents in what seems to have been a nasty car accident. She’s very conflicted going there, because her parents were extremely abusive, but also because the majority of the townspeople think she’s some kind of freak.

Christina (sorry, I just can’t bring myself to call her Xtina, it’s just too Christina Aguilera for me) has abilities. When she touches people, she sees things - things they’re thinking about, their pasts, etc. She also has other abilities. When she meets the hot new neighbor across the street, a retired cop with demons of his own named Mike, there’s some major chemistry. A romance quickly develops.

But there are a lot more things going on in this little town than it seems. This was, unfortunately, where the book derailed a bit for me. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll just say there’s at least one murder to be solved, an unexpected connection brought in, a mystery man, another guy with some “abilities” - it’s just a LOT, particularly for a book that was only 265 pages.

Also, while I liked Christina and Mike, and we as readers are led to believe they may have some kind of soulmate connection, I just didn’t quite FEEL the chemistry between them. I also questioned how easily Christina seemed to step back into life in the small town she hates, in the house filled with bad memories, because her actions didn’t line up to her WORDS (hating the town, feeling uncomfortable there, etc). Did I mention when Christina has visions she often either pukes or passes out? At one point, Mike apologized for having left her in public by herself after she had a vision that left her passing out in a grocery store and hitting her head on something, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t like the implication that she needed a minder. How had she managed on her own all this time?

But the cardinal sin was the book ending on a cliffhanger. I absolutely hate, hate that in a book, and frankly I think it’s unfair to the reader who loyally purchased and read your book. So for that, I’ve got to downgrade my rating a little.

I did feel the story and the author’s writing had a lot of potential, it just needed refinement. And as I said, I am a huge sucker for books featuring heroines with psychic abilities and found that aspect fascinating.

I’m rating the book a 3, but feel it was closer to a 2.5.

Absolutely a suspense filled page turner! I finished it in 5 hours I couldn't put it down! Loved the paranormal added in ,very well done even for people that may not usually read it! Romance, suspense,paranormal you will not be disappointed! Loved the main character Christina! Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange for my honest review! Can't wait to read the next ones!

this book was brilliant. when I got to the last page I was not happy. I did not want it to end at all. I did not see many of the twists at all, and I loved that. I cannot wait to read more from this author. Thank you NetGalley.

I loved this book and now am looking for the next two in the series. i can not turn down the "dark family secrets"books. This a very good paranormal mystery. It has mystery, ghost, family secrets, secret brother, every thing that makes this type of book great

I couldn’t connect with this book at all, can’t pinpoint exactly why but it couldn’t hold my interest and I wasn’t interested in what happened to the characters, so a no from me


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion