Awakened by Anna Applegate
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awakened is the second book in the Ariya Adams Trilogy by Anna Applegate. It is a fantastic paranormal romance- with vampires, werewolves, witches, supernatural elements, danger, kidnapping, mind games, manipulation, sinister plots, mystery, suspense, drama, secrets/twists, action… and so much more. This book is the second in the series and I highly suggest reading them in the correct sequence to get the most out of the story. I don’t recommend reading this as a standalone, as it is a continuing story that bridges from book to book.
As we discovered in book one, Ariya Adams in her senior year at college. She has a great, close-knit group of friends, and is looking forward to her final year. Strange things began to happen, and she started to think that she was going crazy. What she discovers instead is a supernatural world of vampires, werewolves and witches- where she is a direct descendant of a royal bloodline, with a special ‘gift’ that has placed a target on her back. She also discovers her protectors are a lot closer than she could have ever imagined. With her world turned upside down and her feeling for James growing stronger by the minute- will he be able to keep her safe and thwart the sinister plot that has her firmly in its sights? This fast-paced, action packed story should really be read to fully appreciate what a great book/series this is.
I did enjoy the first book in the series, ‘Protected’ (4 Stars), but I did have issues with the level of angst and melodrama in it. I am so happy to discover that in this book those issues have been resolved, and I really got to just immerse myself in the story and follow along as it all unfolded. This is such a great read, my favourite so far. It takes the great premise and foundations laid out in book one and takes it to another level. I couldn’t put the book down, I had to know what would happened next, and ended up devouring it all in a few hours. I got to the end and couldn’t wait to continue the story, so I dove right into book #3. This definitely isn’t your typical vampire story and I am so happy to say that it has its own identity, flavour and tone, from a lot of other books in the same genre.
In the last book the content seemed more suited to Young Adults- as there was a LOT of ‘teenage Angst’ and it was very light on the romance side. But this book definitely spiced things up a lot more. Ariya and James have an incredible connection and sizzling chemistry. Thankfully the angsty push-pull that really drove me crazy in the last book is not really an issue in this book. The story was exciting, suspenseful, surprising, romantic, and entirely captivating. There are emotional moments, jaw-dropping OMG moments, touching scenes, and heart in my moth moments that had me on the edge of my seat. I loved every minute and I can’t wait to find out what happens in book #3.

Thank you, Ms. Applegate!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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