Saturday 25 March 2017

#BookReview The Awakening by Amanda Stevens

The Awakening by Amanda Stevens
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Shush…lest she awaken…

My name is Amelia Gray, a cemetery restorer who lives with the dead. An anonymous donor has hired me to restore Woodbine Cemetery, a place where the rich and powerful bury their secrets. Forty years ago, a child disappeared without a trace and now her ghost has awakened, demanding that I find out the truth about her death. Only I know that she was murdered. Only I can bring her killer to justice. But the clues that I follow—a haunting melody and an unnamed baby's grave—lead me to a series of disturbing suspects.

For generations, The Devlins have been members of Charleston's elite. John Devlin once turned his back on the traditions and expectations that came with his birthright, but now he has seemingly accepted his rightful place. His family's secrets make him a questionable ally. When my investigation brings me to the gates of his family's palatial home, I have to wonder if he is about to become my mortal enemy.


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I had thought to read this series from the beginning, but when I got approved for this one on NetGalley did I change my plans. Sure, there is always the risk of not getting into the story when you decide to not start from the beginning. But, I'm glad to say that I had no problems with this book.

First, I want to say that I really love the cover for this book. The ominous single gravestone speaks to me. Well, not in the way that it speaks to Amelia Gray, but then again she's a cemetery restorer who sees the dead. In this book, is it the ghost of a child that haunts her as she works to restore Woodbine Cemetery. Who is the child and who could have killed her? Amelia also has to deal with her ex-boyfriend John Devlin who earlier didn't want anything to with his family expectations, but now seems to have decided to accept his birthright. Could he now be a danger to Amelia and her secret about seeing ghosts?

The Awakening is an interesting book. Now, the case with the dead child ghost is not that mysterious or surprising. But, I enjoyed reading about how Amelia investigates the little girl's death, and the connection it seems to have to her own family. Speaking of her family, I was intrigued by the fact that Amelia's birth mother died while she was still pregnant and that it's a miracle that Amelia was born at all. I'm very curious about her family. Everything concerning her family and the past was really interesting and I seriously need to read the previous books so that I can learn more. I wonder if that's not the thing I liked the most about the book was Amelia, her gift, and her family. The case in itself was not the most interesting things, it's rather everything around it intrigued me. I liked that the ghost child case did reveal things about the past, and that through the dead child did Amelia learn more about certain things that I can't write about without spoiling the book. It's a good book, and I love the ending!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! 

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