The Awakening [Deckle Edge] [Paperback]

 

 

Create your own review

The Awakening, by Kelley Armstrong is a fantastic second installment to the Darkest Powers trilogy. Continuing the story of 15-year-old Chloe Saunders, who after discovering she is a necromancer ends up in a flight for her life, the stakes are even higher in The Awakening than they were in The Summoning, because now Chloe knows that her life is not as important to her pursuers as keeping her and her secret contained.

After making her escape from the deceptive Lyle House, and having been betrayed by the one person she trusts most in the world, Chloe is once again trapped by the mysterious people who know her secret and want to make sure it doesn't get out. And this time, it's not just a simple matter of sneaking out and disabling an alarm to get away. To make matters worse Derek and Simon aren't around to help her, and Rae doesn't seem to want to get out at all. Just when it seems like hope is lost, help comes from a very unexpected source.

The characters we met in the first Darkest Powers novel are back, and I can honestly say there's not a poorly written or out of place character in the book. And the more we learn about each of them, the more there is to like. As information about Simon and Derek's background is revealed, it's hard not to be as invested in them as we are in Chloe, who continues to surprise with her bravery and determination. As obstacle after obstacle is dropped in their path, Chloe and the small band of supernatural misfits never wavers in their efforts to overcome the evils that are after them, and ultimately to save those they left behind.

As with all of Armstrong's novels, the supernatural world meshes seamlessly with everyday life, due to her immense skill at making us believe that the things we never thought were out there, could actually be true. After reading these books, I don't think I'd be surprised to find out witches and werewolves were real! The writing and dialogue flow smoothly and naturally, there's never a moment that takes you out of the story. As an added bonus, The Awakening has a tie-in to Armstrong's Otherworld novels, creating an expanded universe that had me giddy upon discovery.

The Awakening is an action packed, suspense filled adventure you won't be able to put down. I know book reviews are supposed to highlight both the good and bad aspects of a story, but I just don't have anything negative to say about The Awakening. I can't wait for the third volume in Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Powers series to arrive.

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

Comments: The story picks up shortly after Book One and without giving much away, I'll say this book's main focus is that of the teens being on the run. While all six teens are still in this book, only five of them are a part of the story and if you've read Book One it may not be the five your thinking of. As all the teens take part in the plot, two of them in particular become the main characters and the undercurrents of a romance are felt boiling beneath the surface.

As often happens with the second book in a trilogy, The Awakening does have a feeling of being the middle part, filler if you will, awaiting the big climax of Book Three. Oh, I still enjoyed it, very much in fact, but the plot just doesn't advance very much. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of exciting, tense, and unexpected moments and a couple of reveals along the way. What this book does do though is show a lot of character development. We learn a lot of previously unknown information (secrets even) about each teen and we also get to know each one much more closer. All of the supernaturals, as they call themselves, have personalities which are made up of both likeable and unlikable characteristics making them real people to connect with.

While the plot only slightly advances we do learn a lot of the background of the story, how and why the teens have their powers, and who is after them and why, plus information on their own personal backgrounds. This compiled with the Book One leaves the reader very anxious for the big showdown in Book Three. Having been hit with a cliffhanger ending in The Summoning (which I don't like), I am happy to say that The Awakening leaves us with a more finite, however brief it may be, ending.

Kelley Armstrong is my new found favourite author and I'll be going back and starting her adult series for sure now.

*** SPOILERS ALERT!!! ***

I really, really liked this book. The Awakening, the 2nd book in the Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong, continues where it left off in the first book, The Summoning.

When I had finished reading The Summoning, I felt like I had been ripped off. Ever since the Twilight Saga came out, writers are writing young adult fiction. This is all good, but since the Twilight Saga was a trilogy, people feel like they have to write their own sagas and trilogies (or sometimes, as in the House of Night books, a whole set of TWELVE books). Again, this is all fine and good, but writers have to remember that at the end of each Twilight Saga book there was closure. A new idea was introduced at the beginning of each book and that was dealt with accordingly leaving the reader with a sense of finality by the end of the book.

With these new sagas, authors are trying to lure readers into reading the next book by leaving us with a cliffhanger. Cliffhangers are good, but authors have to realize that we, the readers, also want something to happen in a book as well. Not just plans and character development, but action, a climax, and, again, that sense of finality. When I read The Summoning, I didn't feel this. I was upset. But I was also curious about the next book ' would it also just be more of the same, without any closure? Or would Armstrong give us something we want?

The Awakening opens up at the institute Chloe, Victoria, and Rachelle were taken to after they tried to escape Lyle House, having been tricked by Chloe's Aunt Lauren. Immediately, Chloe's goal is to get out ' to get away from these so-called doctors who were trying to make her 'better.' It comes easy to Chloe, but not as easy as she would have liked. Having managed to hack into Dr. Davidoff's computer (with help from a ghost we're sure to meet in the next installment), Chloe learns the fate of those like her ' if they show no sign of improvement, of figuring out how to control their powers, they are terminated. According to his records, though, Chloe and Derek are different ' their fate unknown.

Chloe and Tori manage to escape the institution with help from Liz's ghost and Tori's spells ' and no help from Tori's mother, Mrs. Enright, who saw right through Chloe's reasoning to help the Edison Group on their mission to find Derek and Simon. Tori and Chloe attempt to part ways at this point ' Tori saying she'd rather go back to her father, who knows nothing of her powers. Here we get to see some emotion on this strong, and usually scheming, character ' her dad ends up calling her mom, who comes to meet her instead, to bring her back to the Edison Group. Now, Tori has no choice but to stay with Chloe.

The girls take up shelter in a shed and wait for Derek and Simon (who left a very clever drawing of graffiti on a building for them). That night, Chloe manages to raise the soul of a dead bat, turning it into a zombie bat. While at first I thought this was a useless part of information, if showed the reader one thing ' Chloe needs to know how her powers work and how to control them.

Eventually Derek and Simon show up and the four of them set off to find a friend of the boys' father, Andrew, who can help them get Rachelle and Aunt Lauren out of the institution. Their journey is met with plenty of adventures, from Chloe accidentally creating another zombie while dreaming to Chloe and Derek meeting more werewolves. The action is never-ending throughout this novel, which is great for the reader ' it makes for a real page-turner. Tori is her usual self, but throughout the book her and Chloe get to like each other slightly more. Dereck learns to control his emotions around Chloe, and to tolerate Tori.

There seems to be a hint of romance in this book and it reminds me of the Edward/Jacob issue in Twilight ' will readers go for Simon? Or will they turn towards Derek? Throughout the book, Simon is the one who is quieter, more like Chloe, and is always thinking that Derek won't know how to control his emotions. Derek, on the other hand, shares many moments with Chloe ' his second encounter with turning into a werewolf, being one big one ' and gets more personal with her, sharing stories of his childhood. Chloe starts to feel a 'funny feeling' in her stomach when she's around Derek ' something that never comes into fruition in this book, but romance-lovers will probably jump at the chance to see who Chloe picks in the third book.

By the end of the book, they are found by the Edison Group again, and are trying to escape. The four managed to find Andrews house, but it was abandoned ' similar to when Simon and Derek's dad left suddenly when they were younger. They manage to escape, again, from the Edison Group, but only with the help of Andrew ' the Edison Group's one hostage ' who takes off with the EG's van to rescue our main characters.

We are left with a cliffhanger, but also a sense of resolution ' the group found Andrew ' and now Armstrong has set up the premise for the next installment: Get back to the institution and rescue Rachelle and Aunt Lauren from their evil clutches. And will there be any development in the love triangle in the next book? We'll have to wait and find out!

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 11 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Review by Tea and Tomes (tea-and-tomes.blogspot.com)
I read the first book in this series last year, and ended up rereading it again this year so that I could bring myself back up to speed on the story before ploughing ahead with... Read more

Published 15 months ago by Ria Bridges

4.0 out of 5 stars Frosy from Books Like Fairytales >> [...]
Following Chloe in this second book of the Darkest Powers trilogy was so much fun.

We get to see Chloe struggling with new information about her and along with Derek... Read more

Published 16 months ago by Frosy

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good read
I liked this whole series. The mounting chemistry between Derek and Chloe is nice and you find yourself looking forward to when something finally happens between them. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Dany Duchesne

5.0 out of 5 stars Spellbinding
Kelley Armstrong did an amazing job writing this book... I think it captivates you right from the beginning where she hit the nail on the head, so to speak, about teens and their... Read more

Published on May 5 2010 by Raven Mocker

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely lives up to The Summoning
This book had all the great qualities that I liked previously in The Summoning. It certainly did live up to its standards and I nearly ate up the entire novel in one sitting. Read more

Published on May 4 2010 by Karoline

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Teen Adventure/Sci-Fi Read
This book was a good second chapter of the trilogy by Kelley Armstrong. It had a great pace and the characters had great depth. I look forward to the next installment.

Published on July 26 2009 by R. M. Taylor

4.0 out of 5 stars Supernaturals on the run
It' a pretty cool idea -- a secret cabal devoted to genetically engineering and controlling supernatural creatures like witches and werewolves. Read more

Published on Jun 6 2009 by E. A Solinas

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Not too long ago, Chloe Saunders was an ordinary teenage girl with dreams of making movies when she got older. Read more

Published on May 1 2009 by TeensReadToo

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 11 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!