Thank you to Netgalley and the published for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This book was fast paced but I had a lot of questions about the magic system throughout the story. Some of the dialogue was awkward and clunky. Definitely one for YA fantasy fans looking for an easy read

I do recommend this as a quick and fun read that focuses on the fight between good and evil magic, along with different supernatural beings. If you are looking, however for something just a bit deeper I would recommend a different read.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

This book took me an excessively long time to finish/approve, because I struggled to connect with it. It was my no means a bad book! But the fantasy elements didn’t feel immersive in the way I would’ve liked. That being said, if you’re looking for dark academia & fantasy- and you prefer books written in a slightly more detached manner, check this out!

Thank you so much Netgalley & Independent Publishing group for the eArc!

I really like the cover of this book…. And that’s about it. The story of a young girl trying to move forward in life- meets a guy, magic…. Just fell flat for me. There was no spark to any of it. But! The cover is pretty and eye-catching!

I unfortunately did not enjoy this book. But I think it would do well amongst avid readers of paranormal YA fiction.

This was a did-not-finish. The plot had potential, but ultimately I think it failed in the execution. I was quite confused a lot of the times through the book, especially with the magic system, and the characters didn't really endear themselves to me either. Somehow it just felt like any other YA, and that would have honestly been fine, except that other aspects that would have pulled them up, like the characters, just fell flat.

This book initially caught my attention due to the stunning cover yet when I saw how it had been pitched I had extremely high hopes. When I requested it I saw the premise and thought that it was trying to compare itself to a lot of great books. When referred to as for fans of ‘Crave’, ‘Hush Hush’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’ you are setting yourself up for a brilliant book and I felt as if Awakened nearly lived up to it.
Awakened follows Hannah after loosing her parents in an accident. Desperate to leave her old life behind and escape the past Hannah moves for college at Bellcliff University. Once there she discovers that she can feel the magic around the school before accidentally awakening a witch in a hidden cave by the campus. Hannah is forced to face the fact that she has brought magic back to the world as she struggles to realise that she has been a part of this narrative for a lot longer than she remembers.
The story in this book had such good potential and it did deliver in some aspects. The dual timeline narrative really added to the story-line by letting you see the story play out in both the present and the past. The history aspect of the book was the most interesting to read about and seeing how the witches developed made the book so interesting.
The main character Hannah was really fun to read about as she had very relatable moments to discovering the magic. The representation of anxiety through Hannah’s character was interesting however, in some points it felt like the anxiety was not portrayed in the right way.
On the other hand some aspects of the book were a little hard to read especially with the matter of insta love. The two main characters instantly fell for each other and although it was explained within the book it still felt a little too much. A lot of aspects of the story felt as though they were not expanded as much as they needed to be.
Overall I feel as though the book needed to be developed more with the story line as well as more focus on the side characters which is what resulted in it being a three star book for me. The characters were interesting and the magic system was captivating however needed more detail in order for this to be a higher rated book. I would maybe read more of the series if it developed the characters and the story.

Thank you for NetGalley for this book in exchange of an honest review!!

'Awakened' is a YA fantasy book that won't hit the mark for every reader. While the premise and story are engaging and fairly interesting, the dialogue/writing was at times difficult to get into. There were a lot of tropes/cliches that I could have done without. But that being said, it's definitely decent for a debut novel.

☆☆☆ /5
(english review below)

Une lecture qui me laisse mitigée. Si j’ai globalement apprécié l’histoire proposée par l’autrice, j’ai, cependant, eu de la difficulté avec le style d’écriture.
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Après avoir perdu ses parents dans un accident dont elle est la seule survivante, Hannah cherche désespérément des réponses. Hantée par les événements de cette nuit tragique, elle lutte pour passer à autre chose, aspirant à une vérité plus profonde sur sa perte. Mais quand vient le temps de tourner une nouvelle page et de déménager à travers le pays pour l'université, elle jure de laisser le passé derrière elle. Après tout, l'Université Bellcliff est à des milliers de kilomètres des fantômes qui lui hantent l’esprit.
Pourtant, quand Hannah réveille accidentellement une belle sorcière d'une grotte cachée près du campus, elle se rend compte qu'elle n'est pas la seule chose à sortir de son sommeil. Hannah a réveillé toute la magie… y compris le diable elle-même.
Comme si les sorts, les malédictions et la nervosité universitaire ne suffisaient pas, cette sorcière prétend la connaître depuis quatre siècles et leur connexion est plus que fortuite. Plongée dans un monde de sorcellerie et de monstres, Hannah doit se battre pour empêcher la magie qu'elle a déchaînée de réclamer un prix bien trop élevé pour qu'elle puisse le payer.
¤
Comme dit plus haut, j’ai plutôt bien apprécié l’intrigue.
Ce roman met en scène une protagoniste de 17 ans débrouillarde et en deuil, qui essaye d’avancer dans sa vie. Hannah a perdu ses parents et cherche un nouveau départ. En intégrant l’université de Bellcliff, la jeune fille essaye de tourner la page et je dois dire qu’elle m’a beaucoup touchée. Au fil du roman, j’ai beaucoup apprécié connaître les pensées et les émotions qu’Hannah ressentait. J’ai ressenti de l’empathie pour la jeune fille, pour ses pertes et sa confusion lorsqu’elle se retrouve soudainement confrontée à la magie.
L’intrigue d’une jeune fille qui réveille accidentellement quelque chose de magique, qui a du mal à y croire et qui va partir dans une quête pour sauver le monde n’est pas originale pour moi. Et pourtant, les aventures d’Hannah m’ont emportée. J’ai adoré en apprendre plus sur cette mystérieuse magie qu’elle réveille, ce nouvel univers qu’elle découvre.
Pour autant, je reste sur ma faim avec ce roman. Il me reste encore pas mal de questions qui sont encore sans réponses quand j’ai déjà fini ma lecture. Également, si j’ai été entraînée par l’intrigue, je me suis heurtée à quelques difficultés de lecture liées à la narration. J’ignore si c’était à cause de mon niveau en anglais ou parce que le style d’écriture ne me correspondait pas, mais j’ai été plusieurs fois perdue pendant ma lecture. Plusieurs fois, j’ai dû relire des passages car je n’arrivais pas à comprendre exactement et de manière fluide ce qui se passait dans ce roman.
Ces difficultés rencontrées dans ma lecture ont malheureusement teinté mon appréciation, bien que ce n’était pas en soi une mauvaise lecture.

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ENGLISH REVIEW:

A reading that left me mixed. While I generally liked the story offered by the author, I did, however, have difficulty with the writing style.
¤
After losing her parents in an accident only she survived, Hannah is desperate for answers. Haunted by the events of that tragic night, she struggles to move on, yearning for some deeper truth about her loss. But when it comes time to turn a new page and move cross country for college, she vows to leave the past behind. Afterall, Bellcliff University is a thousand miles away from the ghosts nipping at her heels.
Yet when Hannah accidentally awakens a handsome witch from a hidden cave near campus, she realizes he isn’t the only thing stirring out of slumber. Hannah has roused all magic…including the devil herself.
As if spells, curses, and college jitters weren’t enough, this witch claims to know her from four centuries prior—and their connection is more than casual. Thrust into a world of sorcery and monsters, Hannah must fight to keep the magic she’d unleashed from claiming a price far too steep for her to pay.
¤
As said above, I enjoyed the plot quite well.
This book features a resourceful and grieving 17-year-old protagonist who tries to get on with her life. Hannah has lost her parents and is looking for a new start. By entering Bellcliff University, the young girl tries to turn the page and I must say that she touched me very much. As the story unfolded, I really enjoyed hearing about Hannah's thoughts and feelings. I felt empathy for the young girl, for her losses and confusion when she suddenly found herself confronted with magic.
The plot of a young girl who accidentally awakens something magical, who finds it hard to believe, and who sets out on a quest to save the world, isn’t original to me. And yet, Hannah's adventures swept me away. I loved learning more about this mysterious magic that she awakens, this new universe that she discovers.
However, I remain on my hunger with this book. I still have quite a few questions that are still unanswered when I have already finished reading. Also, while I was intrigued by the plot, I encountered some reading difficulties related to the storytelling. I don't know if it was because of my level in English or because the writing style didn't suit me, but I got lost several times during my reading. Several times I had to reread paragraphs because I couldn't understand exactly and fluently what was going on in this story.
These difficulties encountered in my reading unfortunately tainted my appreciation, although it wasn’t a bad book.

I would say this book was average. I had a fun time reading it but sometimes the writing and dialogue could be kind of awkward. It really reminded me of Crave by Tracy Wolff.

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

This book has a pretty cover and sounded intriguing, but I quickly lost interest and would have abandoned it if I hadn't felt obligated to finish it. I'm trying to figure out exactly what it was that prevented me from caring about the characters and getting into the story. All I can come up with is that I wasn't a fan of the writing style. It attempted to be grand and all important, but it just . . . wasn't. I suppose a good example is the love story. At one point, it'd described as "cosmic love," but I honestly felt absolutely no chemistry between Hannah (17) and Callan (?). Everything felt that way for me. Mara's character practically exuded the cackling laughter you'd expect from overdone, one-dimensional villains. Those two examples are pretty representative of the rest of the book. Perhaps it received a heavy dose of editing and revision after the ARC I read--I hope that's the case.

Note: A little swearing and two f words. Implied off-page sex.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

So, this book is okay. It wasn't hard to read, really fast paced. I honestly don't think I really connected with the characters, so it made the storyline a bit flat for me. Hannah and Callan were odd in their own way, and while we did get enough information about the past to understand the present, I just didn't have the connection with them to care all that much.

I'm glad I got the chance to read this book. I'm glad it was a standalone, because I'm not sure I would pick up a sequel to it. But maybe if the author writes another book, I'll check it out!

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a great concept for a book and I really enjoyed it at the start. The plot felt really rushed and a little thin, If it were a longer book I think it could have been really great with both scene and character building. The characters were compelling but not very fleshed out. Ultimately while I really enjoyed what the book was going for it didn't quite make it. This was a pretty basic YA story. I did read this book in a short period of time and overall it wasn't bad but I feel it could have been so much better with: more magic, character growth, and development in the story.

Hannah is suddenly thrown into a magical world that she knew nothing about. All she knows is that a voice in the hidden rooms of the University library is calling her, drawing her to books under floorboards, taking her to beach-side caves, awakening magical boys from the past.

And it really was as magical sounding as that! At least at the beginning. I could see Awakened by Ciara Duggan having great potential, and the parts that I did enjoy, I really enjoyed. But unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.

The magic throughout the book was interesting but left me with a lot of questions. It could have done with a little more care when it came to world-building, I thought, but the concept was one I could definitely get on board with. I could see where Duggan was going with a lot of it, but it didn’t give me as much depth as I would have liked.

The plot was pretty classic, but I did really like the college aspect of it, and finding a hidden book in a dusty library room is right up my alley! I would have liked to read more about Hannah’s classes perhaps, and they’re felt to me like a bit of a hole in a few plots points.

The romance and other relationships throughout the story were okay, and while Hannah was an okay main character, I would have liked to learn more about Callan and also the other characters like Hannah’s roommate and other students. The connections with the ‘normal’ or non-magical world were there but they didn’t play a big part. And I do think it would have made me like Hannah as a character more if we got the chance to see what she was like with the people she was meeting as she gets to Uni for her first year.

So as you can see, a real mixed bag for me!

I’ve given it three stars because while I did like it overall, it had a lot more potential than was given. Also, shout out to the cover designer; it’s truly a stunning cover!

It was a well written quick story for any fan of ya fantasy. The story is well-paced and no dragging out of the world building especially for a stand-alone book.

I wasn’t able to read this one as I have not been able to download a copy. As I was bot able to read the book, I will still give it a five star review because it was not the author’s fault.

Becca is trying to escape the life she once knew; after her parents died in a car accident, she's been living with her anxiety-- it's always there. When she goes off to college, she is called to her magic... by a book.

This book is just fine, all around. The characters are fine, the plot is fine, the pacing is fine (okay, the pacing was a little too slow), but there was no oomph to this. At times, it felt predictable.. and then it felt silly. Overall, not my book, but I think best for younger readers.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Wow such a great read it kept me up all night in a good way.