First, thank you so much to City Owl Press and Netgalley for this arc.

Awaken is like nothing I've ever read. The blurb drew me in straight away and I can gladly say this book did not disappoint.

The book has a gothic vibe to it and is jam packed with romance, time travel and mystery. I absolutely adored the flashbacks and for me personally that's when the book really started to take off.

Marcia's writing is wonderful, she has the ability to transport you somewhere without going overboard on world building.

Whilst I did thoroughly enjoy this book, it didn't grab me straight away and it wasn't until around 40% that it started to pick up, after that I was hooked.

I can't wait to see what comes next from Marcia Armandi and will definitely be picking it up.

I devoured this in two days, such a beautiful story about love over centuries. Fated connection, mystery, suspense, time travel, it was a page turner that I could not put down.

This is the first book in the Shadows of a Forgotten Past series and it is a great start to a new series. I really enjoyed this book and the story of Florence and her new life as well as her past life. It is an exciting, thrilling and mysterious story with a dash of the Gothic theme as well as romance and secrets.

The author has written a great book with some wonderful characters that caught me attention and kept me reading. A book that drew me into the world of Florence where I could immerse myself in the pages of the book. I do like that in a good book. Can't wait to see what comes next.

Thank you NetGalley and ARC provided by City Owl Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

My first encounter with this author, and it certainly won't be my last! The writing style is absolutely magnificent. Blending gothic elements, time travel, mystery, mayhem, and romance, the story kept me captivated from start to finish. I found myself completely engrossed and unable to put it down.

Florence and Alexander are wonderfully crafted characters, both intriguing and delightful to read about. The way the story interweaves their lives, bringing each character to life, is truly masterful. While I found myself wary of characters like Mrs. White, I was charmed by Zaira, which only added to the richness of the narrative. Despite my suspicions, nothing deterred me from giving this book a well-deserved 5 stars!

Thank You NetGalley and City Owl Press for the opportunity to read this! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an advanced readers copy from NetGalley. Thank you so very much!

I loved this book and can't wait to pick up/see if there are other books in this series. This had a great mystery/thriller, romance vibe to it. I loved how the characters inter acted with each other. I actually want to know what has happened to some of the others from this book.

In this book General Sterling and his wife have a great and epic love story that ascends time and space. We get to see how when a chance meeting can make or break the future, past and present
Mrs. Florence Contini takes a chance on a job working for a recluse General Sterling from England during the depression. This chance meeting sets in motion a chain of events that ultimately lead to her falling in love with the General. She reminds him of someone dear to him and she's lost in a circle of frenzy trying to uncover the mystery surrounding this manor called Oak's Place. Florence can see ghosts that hang around Oaks place. Seems like everyone has something to hide. Was it the Gardener, the housekeeper, the cook or the driver? You will have to read it to find out.

Awaken was a solid 3⭐️ read for me- it had so many things going for it! World War 1 in England as one of the settings, historical romance, time travel, enemies to lovers. I didn’t see most of the twists coming and stayed up WAY too late to read the last few chapters. I just wish a little more of the romance and connection between the main characters was fleshed out- all of the scenes with Alex being NOT nice were fully detailed with dialogue and insight into how Florence felt about it, but we would jump forward months in time when the main characters were solid and falling in love, and were told they loved each other instead of shown how they got there. It made it a lot harder to connect with Alex the way I know we were supposed to.

A story of love transcending time. Florence goes to work for General Alexander Sterling. Overtime they fall deeply in love. But there are events from the past that catch up along with a housekeeper bent on keeping them apart. With a little bit of gothic elements, time travel, mystery, mayhem and romance the author has developed a compelling read in Awaken.

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH - IT IS NOW MY FAVE OF 2024

This novel was written so beautifully that you could feel yourself getting sucked into the story and becoming invested in the love story between Florence and Alex. This had an element of dual time lines and when I got to that section of the story and read about the past, i realised how much i needed a good ending for them. The way that this story has been told is wonderful and I am now patiently waiting to see what happens in the next book in the series.

Awaken by Marcia Armandi.
Shadows of a Forgotten Past Book 1.
I loved the cover. It was gorgeous. This is a new author for me. This was a good read. I did like the story and it took me a while to get into it. I did like Florence and Alex. Mrs White I didn't trust her at all. Zaira I liked. I did like how everyone helped her. The sister and priest. Even the Dr. I'm looking forward to the next book. 4*.

Really enjoyed this book, so well written and great characters. So looking forward to the 2nd in the series.
My thanks as always to NetGalley and to the publisher for the early review.

Awaken by Marcia Armandi was a compelling story!
I was enthralled throughout, on the edge of my seat in anticipation.
The storyline was unique and kept me wanting to read more.
I’m excited for book two.

Thank You NetGalley and City Owl Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I loved the story, I really can't wait for the next one!
the story was well thought out and paced well.

This was a very good book. I enjoyed it from the very first page to the very last page. I think other fiction readers will enjoy it as well and look how cool the cover is.

A beautifully unique love story! I really enjoyed this and it’s well-written. I don’t usually read fantasy but enjoyed this book and the unexpected twists were great!
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.