This is the exorcism story that I have been searching for since reading The Exorcist. This story does rely on classic exorcism cliches, but adds elements to make it something all it's own. This possession was turned up to 11 since this was no lower level demon, but Asmodeus the right hand man to the devil himself. There are other paranormal and preternatural elements in the story as well making this a real page turner. Every chapter had frightening scenes and the pace was very fast. The characters assembled to fight Asmodeus and all very flawed, fleshed out, interesting characters to follow.

The trigger warnings for this book are animal death, suicide, pedophilia, and religious blasphemy. So if you can handle reading about these topics I would highly recommend this book. Especially if you have been searching for a great exorcism book like I have.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

When I saw The Wakening by JG Faherty, I was not sure what to expect. It was a novel about demonic possession so that sounded interesting. The fact that it was published by Flame Tree Press also put it toward the top of my list of books that I wanted to read. Flame Tree has been putting out some of the best horror in the past couple of years so I figured it would be a story worth reading. I was happy to get a review copy of the novel and this longer book hooked me from the very beginning.



It was 50 years ago when Father Bonaventura exorcised a demon from a young girl. As the demon departed her body, the demon revealed that it was Asmodeus, one of the most powerful demons of hell, and vowed revenge on the priest. Bonaventura brought evidence from the site of the exorcism to a friend in Hastings Mills, New York, for study. Now, a young girl in Hastings Mills is showing signs of possession. In fact, the whole town seems to be affected by an evil force. Could Father Bonaventura have accidentally released hell on Earth?


When Abby Rawlings started showing signs of possession, her father at first thought it was a poltergeist and called in a ghost hunter. After she was unable to figure out what was happening, she in turn called in an old lover and fellow ghost hunter and his TV team to assist. Things begin to get worse and spiral out of control until a defrocked priest shows up in town. Eventually, as all hell breaks loose, the ex-priest finds Father Bonaventura and brings him to Hastings Mills. Or back to the small town as Father Bonaventura used to live in the small town as head of its Catholic college. As he watches the town sink deeper into the demon’s influence, he begins to put together the pieces of the past to try to figure out what is happening in the present. Asmodeus is back and nothing in heaven or on Earth is going to stand in his way.



The Wakening is an exorcism novel in overdrive. Faherty kicks off the novel with a bang and never lets up until the final page. The novel is one scene of action and horror after another that rarely gives the reader time to breathe. It needs to be noted that there is a lot of extreme horror in this novel and topics that some readers may be uncomfortable with such as animal cruelty, pedophilia, and religious blasphemy. This is not a book for those who are easily offended. From my perspective, Faherty largely kept these topics in line with the story so that they did not seem gratuitous and thus I did not have a problem with them (for the most part, but I did get a little weary of almost all the priests in the story being pedophiles, but that is a different topic altogether). Overall, the novel worked well for me and it felt much shorter than it really was as it just kept me rocketing along through its entire length. There is not a lot of wasted words or sequences in this book.



The nonstop action, though, is also the books biggest flaw as it really never slowed down. This is a plus in many ways as the book was entertaining and a quick read but it also was overwhelming at times especially given the length of the novel. There were time in which it was almost sensory overload. Everything just kept happening with no breaks and left no time to sit back and think about what was happening. This does cause some chapters to lose their “Wow!” factor. But this is light criticism for what was, overall, a very strong novel. Faherty definitely makes a splash with The Wakening and it is not a book that I am going to forget for a while. it was a page-turner that kept my interest throughout its length and I did not want to put the book down. Highly recommended for those who are not easily offended and are not faint of heart. This is a very strong and entertaining novel of almost-extreme to extreme horror.



I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. The Wakening is scheduled to be released on January 18, 2022.

3.5 star review.

TRIGGER WARNING: animal death, suicide, blasphemy, paedophilia.

The Wakening is a supernatural head spinner of a read.
More than 50 years ago, Father Bonaventura exercised a demon out of a child's body - the demons hold had reached other habitants of the village and wreaked havoc upon them all. As the demon was exercised it vowed vengeance upon Father Bonaventura.
Present day - A young girl in another small town is now showing signs of being possessed by a demon. This time the whole town has been possessed as-well. The demon wants vengeance and nothing will stop on its way,but can a band of mismatched experts save the people and expell the demons for good.
This book was very fast paced and rammed with action on every page. It was a page turner but instead admit it was a little stomach turning and extreme for me in places.
The characters were well thought out and developed within the story but there was quite a lot of them that in occasion I did get a little confused.

This was the type of book that caught my attention quite quickly while reading it. It's the type of horror book that paints vivid pictures in your mind.

The main storyline of the book is trying to combat a vengeful demon and stop the evil spreading over the city! The storyline draws you in with intrigue and mystery, you want them to find the demon but also kind of want to see what the demon has up his sleeves. It starts off full force and doesn't let up at all, it keeps throwing more stuff at you keeping you drawn in to it. It is brilliantly written , with characters that are fun to read about and follow through the investigation! Definitely a good horror read

The Wakening by JG Faherty is a story about demonic possession that spans 55 years. Father Leo Bonaventura is a priest who first faces a demon, a Prince of Hell, named Asmodeus in a small village in Guatemala 55 years ago. He helps perform an exorcism, but the demon vows that it will get revenge. Fast forward to a year ago and a little girl named Abby Rawlings appears to be possessed by a demon. A ghost hunter calls for backup from a TV supernatural hunting team. Together they try to find out how to help Abby while simultaneously proving the existence of the supernatural. So begins a crazy story of how the this team of meddling ghost hunters try to thwart a demon who is so powerful that its influence can literally corrupt an entire town of people. Can they save Abby and the town from this demon?
The Wakening is full force action right from the start of the book. I enjoyed reading it, but there were a lot of characters and time periods to keep up with throughout the story. Overall, it all worked because you end up with an epic tale of demonic possession versus one episode. I enjoyed the book. This is my second book by JG Faherty, and I will definitely continue to read his works.

Not for the faint hearted! One of the most terrifying books I've read. So if you like being scared this is certainly one for you. Some parts were insanely graphic, but that just makes it all the more terrifying. One of the parts that made my skin crawl was the beetles that kept making an appearance. The demon Asmodeus certainly stayed true to its word. Full of Ouija boards, possession and exorcism, this book doesn't let up. If this is your thing, I highly recommend it.

The Wakening is just non-stop rip roaring, demonic action from the get go!

As a young priest, Father Bonaventura drives out a demon by the name of Asmodeus out of a small village in Guatemala. The demon vows revenge. Now an old man, near the end of his life, strange things start happening in his hometown. Is Asmodeus back to finish what he started all those years ago?

The intriguing storyline was backed up by a cast of unusual characters. The ones I found most fascinating were the twin psychics, Claudia and Shari, and all the strange things that seemed to happen around them.

I can't say too much more about the story, as I don't want to give away spoilers and keep that mystery for you, but the story is cleverly intertwined with plenty of shocks along the way.

My issue with the story was there were a lot of points of view in the book, which made it a little hard to keep track of who was who, but of course, that's just my opinion.

A little warning: the book contains graphic violence, sex, suicide and references to paedophilia.

The Wakening is not for the faint of heart, but if you love creepy, action packed horror, then this is a must for you.

3.5/5

55 years ago, Father Bonaventura exorcized a demon from a child in Costa Rica. The demon vowed vengeance upon the priest, and now that time has come.

Little Abby Rawlings starts showing signs of being possessed and soon the entire town of Hastings Mills seems possessed too. Can a team of ghost hunters, including psychic twins, a disgraced former priest, and Father Bonaventura save Abby and the town?

This book is non stop action. Which is both good and bad. It's good in that it sucks you in from the get go and you want to keep turning the pages to see what happens next, but at the same time, it's a bit over the top.

The main characters were developed enough for a book that's focused more on action. We see self reflection and growth as the book progresses. There are multiple points of view in this book, and a lot of characters to keep track of. For the most part, though, I was able to do this without much confusion.

If you like horror or books about demonic possessions where the plot advances at a break neck pace, this is for you! Content warnings for this one include animal death, suicide, pedophilia, and religious blasphemy.

Thank you to Flame Tree Press, JG Flaherty, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book to review. All my opinions are my own.

njoyable overall but not without its flaws.

Its a story of possession and exorcisms, poltergeists, pedophile priests, ghost hunters, the whole shebang!

It starts off at a 10 and doesnt really let up until the last page. The opening chapters will grab your attention for sure and had sucked me right in. Unfortunately the book never reaches the heights of the opening.

Although I did enjoy this one to a point, its real problem was it being at a 10 more or less throughout the whole book. Little light and shade, just full on throughout. It made the impact of the shocking or big scenes much less than they should have been. Think of those 80s action flicks that were just pure action throughout with little story - this book is nearly like the Exorcist version of that. Its just too much and your interest wanes as you move from one set piece to another.

The book also felt incredibly long for the story it told and could have done with trimming at least 50 pages off the read total.

Criticism aside, I did enjoy this one overall, just not as much as I though I would after reading the first few chapters. It has some really interesting ideas and angles here despite obviously being hugely influenced by The Exorcist, but maybe it had too many ideas for its own good.

Anyway, a solid 3 star book. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

Thank you to Flame Tree Press for giving me a copy of this book!

Alright right off the bat I have some trigger warnings for this book. So if you are one who have these triggers, I'd stay away because they can be explicit.
Trigger Warnings: Sex, Pedophilia, Animal Death, Child death, Suicide, Murder, Prostitution, Fire, Gore, Religious Blasphemy
Moving on to my list of things to talk about.
Characters: The characters were fine. I like the idea of a group of ghost hunters in books. I wish we had gotten more of the Twins because they were so interesting. Instead we got a heavy focus on a priest who is crappy.
Atmosphere: I think the main house and the dorm room were great places to have this horror novel, but the story is all over the place.
Writing: Having the very few chapters set in 'present' was unnecessary in my opinion, so having the 'One year ago' parts can be confusing at the very beginning when you're trying to figure out what's going on. The beginning is a lot to go through and can be confusing.
Plot: The plot's fine. I like the idea of a whole town being haunted. I feel like if the priest plot was going to be the main focus, then the story should've followed all the priests who dealt with Asmodeus. Otherwise the Twins had an interesting plot and following the ghost hunters through the whole story.
Intrigue: I was intrigued on how they were going to defeat Asmodeus, but that's it.
Logic: I feel that the Twins parts didn't make very much sense because they weren't the main focus of the book. There were some scenes that made zero sense, and I needed more explanation.
Enjoyment: I felt very meh about this book. It had potential, but with the sometimes explicit warnings as listed above I couldn't enjoy the book as much as I wanted to. As much as I wanted to find a great ghost hunter book, this just wasn't it.

Thank you Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Wakening started off really well and the scenes in the jungle setting were very evocative and set things up really well - they were really well described and augured well for the book.

After that I felt that the structure was unnecessarily complex. The need to label just about every chapter/section with 'one year ago' to allow for the occasional flash-forward that didn't really add anything to the narrative and, I think, probably actually detracted from the tension was distracting and could easily have been avoided.

I like when there are different strands of a novel that eventually converge - Stephen King's 'The Stand' for instance - and that setup exists in 'The Wakening' but it felt like the individual dips into characters' progressions/stories were too short in some cases which led to a fragmented feel for me. The book improved greatly when all of the character stories fully converged.

The story itself was good if not overly original but the sheer volume of supernatural occurrences were overwhelming. If the intent was to emphasize just how much evil had been unleashed into the world, for me it had the opposite effect and led me to begin to skim so that I could get to the outcome sooner. The lingering and repeated references to pedophilia could've been toned down - we get it, he's a pedophile! - and the ambiguity around whether the pedophilia was the character's own perversion (and that of another character - this was a multiple pedophile book) caused by the influence of the demon was disquieting (in a bad way), almost as if it was giving an out to the pedophiles for their crimes.

The way the main ghostbusting characters were written and developed and the way the book ends (in a couple of ways) leads me to believe that this could be the first in a series or at least will see a sequel. I don't think I'd be desperate to read it.

"It can be in many places at once, possess multiple people at once. The more powerful it becomes, the farther its evil extends".

I don't even know where to begin with this review. I feel like I just barely crawled out of a supernatural battlefield filled with green ooze, spinning furniture, levitating children and possessed priests. Every page was filled with some supernatural occurrence. If you've been looking for an over the top religious-horror based on exorcism, this is the novel for you!

The town of Hastings Mills, NY has gone insane. There's fires breaking out and people are either committing suicide, murder or having orgies in public areas. Only Father Bonaventura, a pair of eerie twin sisters with psychic abilities and a team of paranormal investigators can stop the demon from spreading its influence. They're up against one of Satan's generals - the demon Asmodeus, and its been set free, and spreading its evil at a rapid rate...

I love stories about possesion, religious horror in general tends to freak me out. This book certainly had moments where I felt genuinely scared and unsettled. However, as much as I praise Faherty for writing such immersive nightmarish scenarios, I became a little overwhelmed with the amount of things happening at once. I think it started off so well with the build up of impending doom. But after the psychic twins were introduced and the demon unleashed, there was too much to keep up with and ultimately took away the mystery and suspense. It was a little too in your face for my liking, it's scene after scene of supernatural warfare, raining frogs included! And this isn't even adding in the multiple perspectives of various characters I also had to keep up with.

Overall, it's a good supernatural horror novel. I do admire the creativity the author brought into this story. He knows how to write good horror scenarios and has lots of great ideas! But maybe too many ingredients were mixed into the pot. If action packed horror is your jam, look out for The Wakening by JG Faherty, set to be published January 18th, 2022.

3.5/5 stars from me.

TW: Sex, Pedophilia, Animal Death, Child death, Suicide, Murder, Prostitution, Fire, Gore, Religious Blasphemy.

Thank you NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for a digital arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is another cracking read from JG Faherty! After reading, Sins of the Father (another awesome story by this author) I had high hopes for The Wakening and boy, the story does not disappoint.

From the very first page, you are dragged into this story and deposited into a world of possession and exorcisms and a demon with a taste for vengeance against a priest. Each page crackles along at an awesome pace, building up the tension to the fantastic denouement!

Highly recommend this for all horror fans.

For fans of The Exorcist, Conjuring, Ed & Lorraine Warren, and Paranormal Activity.

A thrillingly mysterious novel that keeps you on your toes. A page turner that keeps you wondering what will go bump next.

The demon Asmodeus vowed revenged against Father Bonaventura decades ago and the time for revenge has come. As the Father lies in hospital recovering from surgery, a paranormal investigation team is in town to investigate unusual events in a home involving a child. In the span of a week things go from strange childhood behavior to bizarre and dangerous rainstorms and many of the town residents become crazy with lust, suicidal and murderous. Synchronicity is at play too, as the main characters begin to realize that they’re connected in some way to each other and to the damned town.

The Wakening takes evil and demonic possession to an extreme level, maybe a little bit too extreme. If this were a movie I’d say that the special effects were over done. The pages of green goo dripping down walls and spilling from the child, descriptions of stink, spinning beds, doors banging repeatedly, and levitation seemed to repeat and repeat. The effects and the wild mayhem kind of blew this into never never land, Still, It made for a fun, not scary, read with some likable characters that I did find myself caring about.
#netgalley #TheWakening