Awakened was a mixed bag for me. I liked the premise, and I enjoyed the way the author wove various paranormal creatures into the idea of turning to dark magic. That was a fresh and interesting idea. Hannah also had the potential to be an interesting protagonist, with her traumatic past as a springboard into the story. However, this book fell down on two main (and connected) points for me. The first was the pacing, which seemed too fast. I would have liked to have spent a little more time seeing Hannah discover magic and get to know Callan, giving us, as readers, more world building for the magical elements too. In addition, her relationship with Callan developed unbelievably fast. Yes, there is a plot point that tries to account for this, but that was not a compelling-enough reason for me to accept they would move from strangers to deep love and commitment so swiftly. Secondary characters, too, were a little underdeveloped since we spent hardly any time with them. Had the piece been longer, the pacing a little slower, there would have been more opportunities to develop the characters, relationships, plot and world building. This book references The Vampire Diaries in the blurb, and in some ways I think that is apt. I adored The Vampire Diaries when I was about twelve, but when I reread the series as an adult I was shocked at how bad I found the books in contrast to my great memories of them. Similarly, I believe younger teens will love Awakened with its magic, paranormal creatures and romance. It is just not one of those YA reads that is going to work as well for adults who are looking for something with more depth. That said, it was a quick and easy read that was entertaining enough in terms of premise, so if you are a huge YA fantasy fan, you might want to check it out. It gets 3 stars from me.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy. I have reviewed honestly.

This cool had so much potential! Unfortunately, the whole thing just fell flat for me. Hannah's character was uninspiring and bland. I did not find any joy in reading her story. The story is written in third person and I've never been a fan of books written in that tone. The entire writing style wasn't for me and couldn't keep me entertained.

However, I do think this book will appeal to many YA fantasy readers and encourage those to give it a go.

I wanted to really love this book but for me it was just predictable and kind of eh. I felt like this was just to check the boxes of YA fantasy troupes. The dead parents, the enlightenment about magic, the romance, it wasn't bad just not great. I found the writing to be a little flat which would stop any momentum I had in reading the story.

DNF at 25%.

The pacing of this book didn’t sit well with me. We were instantly thrown into everything without any explanation. It just all seemed way too fast. I loved the idea of a dark academia college setting, but the way this was written made it seem like a younger setting. It almost felt middlegrade, and I think it would have done really well as a middlegrade. I would have liked to get to know the characters and the setting more before we were thrown into everything.

3.5 I like anything about witches and magic so this was right up my alley. I loved the premise. It held my attention the whole time. However I do wish it was maybe a little longer so there was more detail. It felt like everything happened so fast. I still enjoyed it and I think it's worth the read.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Independent Publishers group for the ARC of this in exchange for my honest review.

The cover is absolutely stunning and was what first called to me when I saw this book on Netgalley. I was also excited to see it was advertised as for fans of Crave, and I would add fans of A Discovery of Witches (but keep in mind this was YA) and the Sweep series, to the list. It was a witchy fast-paced read, that tended to rely on tropes and the subversion of them to keep the story moving along. I enjoyed reading it, but was not shocked to find out that it was a debut book. The writing style was not my favorite, while the plot was fun and interesting, and I think some of that is just getting a first book out there. I would definitely give this author another try, and would recommend if you're needing an easy read to start off your spoopy season reading or to sandwich between two horror books this fall.

Sadly I ended up DNF this book at about 30%. I really wanted to like this one considering the synopsis, but unfortunately it was too YA for my liking. The author’s writing is very fluid but I had to make the decision to not continue on. YA books are hit or miss with me, and unfortunately this was just didn’t fill my cup personally. I would certainly attempt another book by this author possibly though.

A solid entry in the Young Adult Paranormal genre, 'Awakened' has some 'The Vampire Diaries' vibes, which I enjoyed. We follow the main character, Hannah, as she tries to get a fresh start at a college across the country and move forward, away from grieving her parents' death. The combination of an Anthropology class project and her searching every religion for answers as part of her grief, brings her to a magical grimoire and she unknowingly awakens a witch who knew her in a past life. As they work together to stop the devil who was also accidently awakened, Hannah grows closer to this cute witch, Callan.

Highly recommended for Young Adult Paranormal fans!

After Hannah has a traumatic event in her life she attempts to heal by becoming a college student and having an everyday normal life, but little does she know that normal is not in her future.

I have to admit that I was drawn in by the cover at first. I just loved the look of it.

If you are a fan of witches, magic and vampires I would suggest picking up “Awakened” and giving it a try. I personally felt the world building could have been developed a bit more, but the book overall was enjoyable and a short, quick read.

I will give Awakened this; it had a fascinating magic system and the dark magic transformation worked really well to include other creatures of magic. Plus, it did deal with trauma and PTSD that teen normals forget -they certainly did years ago.

As you can tell be the opening of this review, I didn't love this book. It reminds me of early 2010 teen books, and I am past that. I have seen many of the same things in many stories, so this story felt very strongly of Deja Vu.
The story pacing was fast and lacking; the love story was too instant (I know about the history, but it wasn't enough). Even the plot twist wasn't enough to save this book, in my opinion.

Younger me would have eaten this up, but I have grown, and I want more substance.

Thank you to Netgalley for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review!

After reading this book I give it a 3/5. I liked the the plot and the characters especially Hannah were very relatable. This book has anxiety rep and I honestly felt seen. The romance was cute and the story overall was fun and fast paced. It includes magic, witches, vampires, and so much more. It was entertaining and I definitely recommend to those looking for a quick read. Again thank you to Netgalley for giving me an arc of this book! :)

Hannah loses her parents in an accident 2 years ago, an accident which still has her haunted and finding answers to what happened on that terrible day because she has tried all possible logics but nothing makes sense. To move away from all that is hurting her she comes to Bellcliff University. As she passes the halls she feels a pull in the library as if someone is calling out to her.

H-a-n-n-a-h
H-a-n-n-a-h

Only to find no one, this continues for another day and becomes impossible to resist. Her this mistake leads to awakening a Callan, a witch. Someone who used to exist centuries ago, someone entirely handsome and seems familiar but isn't. She has awakened not only Callan but also the devil, the darkness who wants nothing more than to destroy her. This all opens her eyes to magic and she understands that it is very much real and she is more related to it than she knows off.

Hannah is smart, strong with a curious nature that is maybe because of things she didn't believe in or her grief. She is willing to fight a battle she knows nothing of.

The start had an eerie feeling to it. This debut was pretty good, fast paced and easy to read. It is enjoyable. The world building and magic system could have been more developed. The battle of good and evil seemed nice but a bit more to it would have made this book great. Overall it was a good read. Looking forward to more books by the author.

Thank you Netgalley and The Parliament House for ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

<b>1.5 stars.</b>

I don't really know where to begin with this one. You know when someone says, <i>don't judge a book by its cover</i>...well I did. This time I judged it by expecting this book to be really good and it just wasn't.
I have so many small issues with this book and I really wanted to go into this book liking it and I just didn't.
Here's my rant.

First off, the premise sounded great which is why I was excited when I received an ARC for this. This, alongside the pretty cover, is only what has made my rating go from 1 star to 1.5 stars. However, <b>where on earth</b> was the world-building in this book? I understand the author was trying to set the story in modern-day as we know it, but in our main character's eyes, this sudden world of witches just appears and Hannah just accepts it? Sorry? If someone turned around to me and suddenly told me we were living alongside the supernatural, I certainly wouldn't take it as well as our MC did. We also get thrust into the main plot point in chapter one with no build-up whatsoever. Pacing who? Because this book doesn't know her.
Equally, the characters were as bland and dull as watching paint dry. They honestly had no personality to speak of and were as memorable as my time in the womb.
Hannah - let's talk about every cliche thrown into one character here. Apparently having dead parents is now a personality trait and this girl's "grief" was honestly unbelievable. I felt like I could see what the author was trying to convey...but it just didn't happen.
Callan - okay, I get the guy is old but his speech was honestly the main issue I had with this book. I understand that he has just risen from a long sleep into the modern world, but this guy honestly spoke like an idiot. I am pretty sure people back in whenever the hell it was didn't speak in the same weird way as he did. I forgot to highlight examples but there would be times words used today would have been used back then too such as toilet or again, but it's as if this author has Googled the oldest synonym of said word and it really broke the story apart. I found myself re-reading some pages of dialogue because I found it harder to digest what was being said. I think Shakespeare has some easier dialogue than this character did. Poor guy.
Also, the conflict in this book was boring. Mara was about as evil as my big toe and I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. The plot supposedly revolved around this grimoire and defeating her but literally <i>nothing</i> happened.

I just didn't get on with this book and if it wasn't for the pretty cover, I would have never picked it up.
This is not something I recommend, sadly.
<i>I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I really did enjoy this book - it was an imaginative plot, I liked the campus setting and the main characters were likeable. I would have liked more of a build up to the ‘action’ so that the main character had had time to develop personality wise and to form stronger bonds to her roommate and college friends. This book definitely jumps straight into the plot which is great if you want a stand-alone book to read! I really liked the flashbacks to more historic scenes and the change in language used was really effective at distinguishing between the two main female characters in the book.

However…. There are a lot of grammatical errors that I would have expected an editor to review. I struggled to read some of the paragraphs as the pace of them was awkward because of the amount of short, unnecessary sentences. For example, on the first page:
“It was beautiful and soft, like the warm, amber sunset over campus, yet unsettling. Even a little eerie. Her skin chilled.”
Why were two extra sentences added? I do think it would have benefitted from someone (an editor??) being honest with the author and saying “show, don’t tell.”

Well this book throw me completely but in the best way possible, I tend to judge a book by the cover and I couldn't work out if this gripped me or not but I'm soooo glad I read this, such a unique gripping read, fantasy lovers will not be disappointed, the story was well throughout and the characters are so loveable, this is a must read.
#goodreads #amazon

I was super excited for this. The blurb sounded fun and the cover is stunning. I didn’t enjoy this as much as I had hoped.

One of my biggest issues was the romance. The entire book takes place over two days, and by the end Hannah and Callan (the witch) are confessing their undying for each other. It felt very rushed and it was hard to believe.

Initially, Hannah is set up as a closed off and stoic character. But as the plot requires, her personality does a 180 turn and she’s so trusting and forthcoming. Hannah’s motivations for helping Callan and risking as much as she did, didn’t make sense to me.

The most believable part of the book was Hannah’s griefs. That was handled well and it did make me feel for her.

The magic system was interesting. I would’ve loved to get to know it more or even to see Hannah learn how to use and harness it. However, the book settles for a more convenient option.

The book is really fast paced and certain aspects felt rushed. But if you’re one for an insta-lovey romance and a fast paced novel about witches, this one is for you.

Thank you Netgalley for this Arc, Awakened by Ciara Duggan!

This story revolves around 17 yo Hannah. She is a smart and kind girl just starting her first year at college, Bellcliff University, and really just trying to move on with a normal life after her parents death.

Hannah begins research for her Anthropology class and quickly finds herself in a mysterious part of the old school library that focuses on magic and mysticism. This is where she finds a very old book and somehow casts a spell. This is really the start to the book. She learns that magic is real and, at the same time, meets a very handsome young man, Callan. Now she becomes fully absorbed into her own history and a life that not only revolves around magic, but the very serious battle between good and evil.

I really enjoyed this story. It's a quick, fast-paced read that was easy to get into. My only issues were really that the writing style and the dialog between characters sometimes seemed awkward and because of that I felt slightly pushed away from the story. It made me feel less of a connection.

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.

Look for this out on Sept 7th!

I had high hopes for this book because of the cover and the comparison to SHIVER, which I love, but sadly AWAKENED simply was not for me.

It just felt like I've read this book a million times before. While it was a good book, it really wasn't anything new or different. The romance was fairly bland. The characters were pretty flat. And the plot is the exact same plot as all of this book's comp titles.

Don't get me wrong, this was a good book. It just wasn't different enough to hold my attention or feel the need to recommend it.

Thank you for the arc!

I must admit I judged this book by it's cover, because it's very pretty, but the plot is not so much. Let me just say this book wasn't bad, but it wasn't very good either. It was kinda meh. Our YA protagonist (with of course dead parents) tries to move on with her life and goes to college. She of course ends up summoning a witch (hear me roll my eyes). The romance was meh. It was like all the predictable schemes all over. It's like a book you read and think is okey, but you'll never think about it again, because it gets lost in the crowd of other YA books like this. 2,5/5⭐

I was given this ARC galley for free to read by the publisher. This is my honest review.

Hannah, a young girl just starting college,suddenly finds herself in a world of witches and magic. She learns the moment she got her magic caused accident that killed her parents, and should have killed her. With the help of a Siren she awakens when she awakens all magic while studying for a project, she must now defeat the evil let loose on the world.

I loved that this book had a little mention of the Salem witch hunts, since this book dealt with witches in that time period and in the modern world. I love reading books that take place in that time period, and I loved that this one was different. It gave me Hocus Pocus vibes with how the villain wants a song to bring all the modern witches to her power.