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Awakening (The Watchers Trilogy #1)

by Karice Bolton (Goodreads Author)

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 2,367 ratings · 327 reviews

Alone in snowy, remote Whistler village, Ana tries to build a new life since losing her parents. With a cozy condo, a sweet-faced bulldog and an evening job to leave the days free for the slopes, life slips into a great routine. If only she could shake the guilt for not remembering anything about her parents and banish the night terrors that haunt her every dream.
On a whi...more

Paperback, 312 pages

Published September 27th 2011 by Purely Persistent

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Feb 10, 2012 Giselle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook, arc, paranormal

EDIT NOTE 2/10/2012: I was told the author edited her books and improved the dialogue / added contractions etc. Take this in consideration when you read my review.
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Ana has felt lonely her whole life - or what she remembers of it. Living the simple life and working at a local pub, she meets this family who makes her feel very strange and, for some reason, seems very familiar. She soon realizes they are not what they seem, and neither is she.

When I first started Awakening I was really drawn to th...more EDIT NOTE 2/10/2012: I was told the author edited her books and improved the dialogue / added contractions etc. Take this in consideration when you read my review.
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Ana has felt lonely her whole life - or what she remembers of it. Living the simple life and working at a local pub, she meets this family who makes her feel very strange and, for some reason, seems very familiar. She soon realizes they are not what they seem, and neither is she.

When I first started Awakening I was really drawn to the story and the intrigue was very enticing. I felt the need to know everything about Ana. Why she has no memory of her past, why these strangers make he feel so overwhelmed - I wanted to know it all. I was a bit thrown back by the dialogue, however. The absence of contractions made the characters sound very stiff and formal. I had the hardest time picturing them realistically because of this. Nonetheless, I did my best to ignore this and found myself still enjoying the story.

The plot in Awakening is very intricate. There is an elaborate backstory and complex Nephilim lore. I found the take on angels really well thought out. It was interesting to find out Ana's past and see her re-enter this world she forgot existed. Although I did find there were a few of the character's actions that I couldn't comprehend: Why did Ana keep her dreams a secret? Why did Athen insist on making her wait for sex? Maybe there was a deeper meaning that I overlooked. As for the romance, it holds a big part of the book. It's sweet and intense - some may find it's fast moving, but since they knew each other from their past it's not really insta-love. The long-lost and reunited aspect is definitely original and quite romantic.

As a whole, the problems I had with it were mostly character related and I was still able to enjoy the story-line. I'm interested in the whole angel lore and it's a good start to the series. This one was mostly an introduction and the pace can be slow at times, but I have a good feeling the action is slowly building up to something great in the next installment.(less)

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Feb 20, 2012 Darkfallen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-n-reviewed

I would say that this is more of a 3.5 stars. I really wish Goodreads would give in and add the half star option. Lol

Ana has spent her whole life alone. She lost her family so young that she doesn't really remember them or what it's like to have a family period. Always feeling a bit hollow inside and having trouble ever trusting anyone enough to get close to them has left her not really having many friends. In fact since she moved to the quiet ski town of Whistle she has only made one "kinda" fr...more I would say that this is more of a 3.5 stars. I really wish Goodreads would give in and add the half star option. Lol

Ana has spent her whole life alone. She lost her family so young that she doesn't really remember them or what it's like to have a family period. Always feeling a bit hollow inside and having trouble ever trusting anyone enough to get close to them has left her not really having many friends. In fact since she moved to the quiet ski town of Whistle she has only made one "kinda" friend. Leading a pretty boring and predictable life of work, home, work, repeat. That is until she goes to work one night and everything changes. Turns out she has a family after all...just not a very human one. Will she be able to accept who she really is before it's too late?

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The story is great and I found myself not wanting to put it down. Needing to know what happened next. I will say that it felt a little rushed and crammed most of the time though. Like the author was trying to fit too much information into to few pages. I kinda think with all that was happening in this story that this really could have been separated into two books. Giving the author room to flesh some stuff out a bit and draw a deeper connection to her characters and the story. I think doing that would have caused a deeper emotional connection for me and this book would have easily been 5 stars.

I did feel at times that the main character, Ana, tended to go back in forth with her emotions a lot. One minute she would be mad and the next minute she was happy about the same thing. At times this bothered me a bit. I just wanted her to make up her mind. But still I couldn't help but like her. She's like that best friend that you just have to smack every once and a while. Lol And I LOVED Arie. She reminded me of Alice in every way and who doesn't love her?

In the end I think with a little more re-writing this story would not only be great, but mesmerizing. I say support your indie authors and give this one a shot...You won't be disappointed!(less)

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Mar 02, 2012 Diayll rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Books with Angels and Demons, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy

Originally Reviewed at: Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 5 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: Author
Reviewer: Heather

Awakening is the first part of The Watcher’s Trilogy where we meet a young woman named Ana. She works as a waitress in a resort town, but has no knowledge of her past accept a handful of newspaper clippings. Ana is frequented with disturbing nightmares that haunt her, no, torment her to no end. She knows not why these dreams occur until Athen enters into her life.

Athen, nor his family,...more Originally Reviewed at: Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 5 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: Author
Reviewer: Heather

Awakening is the first part of The Watcher’s Trilogy where we meet a young woman named Ana. She works as a waitress in a resort town, but has no knowledge of her past accept a handful of newspaper clippings. Ana is frequented with disturbing nightmares that haunt her, no, torment her to no end. She knows not why these dreams occur until Athen enters into her life.

Athen, nor his family, are what they seem to be, and Ana quickly learns that she is a part of their world: the underworld. Athen has been searching for his lost soul-mate, Ana, since the demons erased her memory back in the 40′s. Our main character struggles with this new-found knowledge that shakes her very core, and sends her into the realization that her nightmares are a reality. However, she is surrounded by love, friendship and most of all a family that would die for her. But can Ana learn to be a white demon again before it’s too late? Will the Awakening process work, thus reuniting Athen and Ana again?

I’ll be honest here folks. I wasn’t entirely sure about this book when I realized it was about demons/Fallen Angels, and an intricate force of good versus evil with a race that is supposed to be damned by God. These characters – Ana, Athen and the rest – are the children of Angels that fell in love with human women. As punishment God forbid entry to heaven to the Angels that fell as well as their children, but what made the story unique was that not all the angels or children are evil.

This doesn’t stop the race of white demons from doing good deeds, and helping to guide the human race to live their lives righteously. When the black demons/Nephilim interfere or try to cause turmoil, the white demons are there to do what they can to defeat them. It is just an entirely new side for me in literature; however, it was an incredible story.

Karice Bolton didn’t leave a stone unturned or question unanswered. She backed up every part of her story’s world, crossed the T’s and dotted the I’s. Every part of the story was perfect, engaging and addicting. Once I started I couldn’t put it down, and when I was done reading I found myself purchasing the next book in the series. I’ve only braked to write up this review, and then guess what? I’ll be jumping into the next book.
(less)

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Mar 04, 2013 Kayla Eklund rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: angels, reviews-completed

I loved Awakening. At first, I thought it was going to be a Twilight copycat. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was nothing like Twilight, which is a good thing. Awakening is about a woman named Ana. She works at Grizzly Pub as a waitress. One night, Athen and his family come into the pub. She is immediately attracted to them but can’t figure out why. The plot was great. It kept me turning pages until the very end. I was definitely surprised by what Athen and his family revealed to Ana. It was...more

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Oct 04, 2012 Kathleen rated it 1 of 5 stars

I found this book very slow paced & I have to admit that this is another one that I just didn't have the desire to finish although I made it well past the half way mark. The prose is very repetitive with not really much happening in the story line. The dialogue between the characters sounds very juvenile...the number of times the main character started a sentence with "Huh" really drove me crazy! This was a very disappointing read. The synopsis intrigued me and this could have been a good bo...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Jessica rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: sucked-too-bad-to-finish

I honestly just didn't like this book at all. The characters are hollow, and the plot line weak. The love story was unconvincing, and I almost felt like I had missed a book- you know, the one describing how and why they love each other? All the interesting points felt like they were stuck there on purpose, with nothing but filler in between. It just didn't flow very well. I got a little over 50% done before I gave up on it. It's VERY young adult, in spite of the ages of the characters... (immort...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Lisa Falls rated it 2 of 5 stars

Okay, I tried really hard to get into this book but I just couldn't. The main character's reactions and thought processes are unbelievable. First she meets these people at the bar she works at and they freak her out only to have them show up at her house after getting her number by bribing a coworker. Does she freak out? Does she call the cops? no. she goes out on a DATE with the guy right then at midnight. The whole story is unbelievable, and suddenly loves this guy after like two days because...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars

At first, I wasn't sure what I would think of this series. I got the first book for free when I went on what I like to call a "Free Book Frenzy" on Amazon.com. It had a pretty cover and I'm into paranormal romances. I'm even more into a series, because stand alone books are not enough! I want to be able to escape to another world for at least a week - I read fairly fast.

A little history lesson first:
This series is loosely based on the Nephilim. Basically the "sons of God," or angels, came to Ear...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Honestly...the two stars was a bit generous. This book was so slow at times, I was completely frustrated with the characters and the lack of antagonism...there is like, barely any conflict in this story, when there is it lasts for two whole seconds and it's gone. The most 'exciting' action in this story happens at the very end and it's one of those "Oh you HAVE to be kidding me!?!" type moments. We don't know anything about Ana, and everything seems to move too perfectly. It is very slow, perhap...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Morgan Swain rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, romance

The idea behind the Watcher's Trilogy isn't anything so unique you haven't heard it before, but is interesting anyway. Ana, the main character is living a boring unfulfilled life until she meets some people that explain to her that she's different, and change her life forever. It took me about two chapters to really get into the book, but from the beginning i liked the tone the author was trying to convey, and i knew that things would only get more interesting as i kept reading.

Here's what I lik...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Nereid rated it 4 of 5 stars

Why did I wait so long to read this book, not sure really but I am so converted. I read it in one day and immediately bought the other two books. I loved this story and the visual imagery enveloped me,I was wishing I was there experiencing it first hand. Beautiful scenery of pristine snow covered fields and clean fresh mountain air is imprinted on my mind. Ana is an orphan, lost and alone and feeling there is something missing from her life and then she sees Athens across a crowded room (always...more Why did I wait so long to read this book, not sure really but I am so converted. I read it in one day and immediately bought the other two books. I loved this story and the visual imagery enveloped me,I was wishing I was there experiencing it first hand. Beautiful scenery of pristine snow covered fields and clean fresh mountain air is imprinted on my mind. Ana is an orphan, lost and alone and feeling there is something missing from her life and then she sees Athens across a crowded room (always wanted to use that phrases lol). He makes her feel tongue-tied and it is as if there is a magnetic pull happening and she cannot look away. Going against every instinct she has Ana agrees to a date with a virtual stranger no less and her life is changed forever. Not only does he feel familiar and safe, he is her soul-mate that was lost to her and he is here now to begin the Awakening to reclaim her as his heart and soul. Arie his sister and her partner Cyril are all nephilim or white demons that are on earth to save humans from their baser instincts and desires. Black demons are out there tempting humanity wrecking havoc on the world and Ana is a part of something bigger to prevent evil from taking over. Everything is confusing and overwhelming but her previous nightmares start to make a bit of sense, they are not just dreams per se but premonitions of what is to come and they are haunting her. My only criticism is I did wonder why she never told any of them about her nightmares as they would have been forewarned especially when Athen told her they could be so relevant as it was part of her gift. No training or information was forthcoming on how to defend herself if the situation ever arose so Ana was left feeling insecure and unprepared for the outcome. Karice has now totally ruined any hope of me finding a guy I would be happy with as the standard is so high now after all the romantic stuff Athen does for Ana, I am definitely jealous. I loved the dog sled ride and he is so thoughtful but reading her mind would give him a slight edge.

(View Spoilers)Afraid to tell Arie and Cyril or Athen of what she sees, she keeps it to herself hoping to change the visions by not acknowledging them but disaster strikes all too soon. Torn from the life she has grown to love, she is grief stricken and now has to circumnavigate a world that is foreign to her still though there is some hope to recover what she has lost. Will she be able to fend off the demon hunting Athen or will she be too late?(less)

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Aug 13, 2012 Pamela rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was painful to get through. I kept hoping it would get better, but it just let too many things unexplained (like "phasing" of fallen white demons is such a critical part of the story, but it's never really explained, how it works or what the "awakening" process actually is). It was just a really muddled, convoluted story with gaping holes that really require explanation for the reader to understand.

I agree a previous reviewer that the romance was really unbelievable, the chemistry seem...more

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Jul 24, 2012 The Haunted Rose rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Ya paranormal lovers

Recommended to The Haunted Rose by: Karice Bolton

Shelves: watchers-trilogy

Cover Thoughts-
Perfection! It has the snowy holiday feeling of the book and it shows the white demon (angel) side of the book. Although Awakening never brings up Ana wearing a white dress or having angel wings I can tell its her. It's magical just like the story. <3

First Thought-
Sounds very interesting. :) The summary tells of loss, love, and a supernatural world; my favorite three things in every book.

What I liked-
My favorite scene ever is the ending. That is seriously the climax in the book...more Cover Thoughts-
Perfection! It has the snowy holiday feeling of the book and it shows the white demon (angel) side of the book. Although Awakening never brings up Ana wearing a white dress or having angel wings I can tell its her. It's magical just like the story. <3

First Thought-
Sounds very interesting. :) The summary tells of loss, love, and a supernatural world; my favorite three things in every book.

What I liked-
My favorite scene ever is the ending. That is seriously the climax in the book. My jaw just dropped. You will literally never see it coming. I also like how Awakening isn't all supernatural. It has a comfortable, homey feeling. It's not all love and death and life sucks but I'm an angel so its alright. It's loss, friendship, love, companionship, recovery, and loss again. The setting is basically around the holidays so it diffidently brings the festive feeling. I was wishing it was Christmas and that I had a nice fireplace to read Awakening next too. I also love bull dogs so it was so cute learning that Ana has had a bulldog her entire existence. It makes me wish I could have that. There was a few action scenes and few demons suck moments, but my favorite overall moments were the ones where Ana had visions. She completely underestimates herself and those are her true moments of awesomeness. I am totally looking forward to Legions especially after reading that ending. I really enjoy reading fallen angel stories and hawt guys so Awakening was the perfect book for me.

What I disliked-
Sometimes I felt like for a fallen angel story it was slow. I'm used to lots of adventure and romance. Awakening diffidently had romance but I wasn't seeing the action I was looking for. A few fighting scenes with demons just didn't fill my violent heart. :) It was probably too comfortable. I think maybe Karice should write just a bit more out of her comfort zone one time to see what happens. I am hoping in legions and cataclysm that there is more action and death. I know that sounds depressing but a good angel or human death adds creativeness to the series. It kinda sucks that white demons can die but come back to life every time. :( Also I got confused with the names in the beginning. Arie, Athen, and Ana. I got it all figured out now though!

Overall Readability-
A total top of the to read lister. It gives a different original take on the fallen angel story that you should totally check out. It might be slow or too comfortable but you should relax with a slower supernatural every now and then. If you like killer endings, knock out angels, and ravenous demons I recommend this to you.

My Final Thought-
What? Oh my gawd. Athen? Of all people? Athen? Poor Ana. How will she go on?

4 out of 5 Haunted Roses(less)

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Jul 02, 2012 Maddi at megamad4books rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, free-books

Even though this book was free, I wouldn't even recommend it to people as just a fun book to read when there's nothing else. This book is terrible.
So the story line is the typical angel story, she's an angel but she doesn't know and then she sees her soulmate and finds out who she really is and discovers her missing family. So here's the problem -

1. the whole book just doesn't seem at all genuine. The whole time Ana is being confronted with these extremely weird facts that would turn her world...more

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Jun 22, 2012 Jenn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Hmmm being the first of the series I thought it was more about character building. I think so many words were used to describe the surroundings rather thAn feelings. I found that each scene didn't feel as engaging as it could've been. The love they have for each other I know is great but I didnt feel it.

And there could have been a deeper reason for Athen to make Ana wait for their much awaited love making than just because he wanted it to be later rather than sooner. Maybe he was waiting for so...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Cari rated it 2 of 5 stars

This was .99 on the Nook Color, but I'm hesitant to suggest it even for a fun read. The beginning was fine - interesting concept, girl who has no family/connections and meets a strange family. However, the book spiraled down quickly - there were few action scenes, and those that existed were resolved quickly and with little conflict (with the exception of one scene at the end.)

Athen was much too perfect to be realistic. The controlling aspect of his nature (watching her, telling her not to leave...more

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May 25, 2012 Tara rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love Awakening for the very reason I've read that some people don't like it and that is the detail. I've always preferred books where the author takes the time to describe the little things. For instance, when Ana is dogsledding I loved it! I've never been, but I feel like I've done it now. The snow on the ground, icicles on the trees, all things that I think added to the story, were described beautifully. I was completely immersed in the lives of these characters and I think a lot of that had...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Alisha rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story itself is pretty cool: young woman finds out she's not human, meets her true love, and happiness ensues while darkness chases them. I can enjoy that, and I did. The story moved just fast enough to keep me interested.

I don't know much about the author, and I haven't researched her, but she seems to be a novice to writing. I think she has promise and with time, could grow into a good author.

There are some points I didn't care for. First is the writer's seeming obsession with very romant...more

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Mar 07, 2012 Annika Paxman rated it 2 of 5 stars

Awakening was certainly intriguing at first, and I still believe that that idea of the story itself has potential. With Ana alone in the world and suddenly being thrown into a world she never remembers and a family she has no recollection of. Unfortunately, the story quickly began to drag for me. Ana's constant musing about how blissfully wonderful her new family is quickly became redundant and tiresome as well as the "too perfect" interactions of the family members.

The most frustrating for me...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Erica Glass rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. At first I thought it was kind of silly the way she could not stop staring at the people with "the green eyes". And then I was even more 'what the heck' when she agrees to meet the green eyed guy who called her at midnight and asked her to meet him downstairs. I am definitely the friend Karen in the story, saying "stay away girl!" lol. But you can also feel the instant connection, so you forgive Ana. Before I knew it I was completely hooked into the story! Along the way MANY questions come up, w...more At first I thought it was kind of silly the way she could not stop staring at the people with "the green eyes". And then I was even more 'what the heck' when she agrees to meet the green eyed guy who called her at midnight and asked her to meet him downstairs. I am definitely the friend Karen in the story, saying "stay away girl!" lol. But you can also feel the instant connection, so you forgive Ana. Before I knew it I was completely hooked into the story! Along the way MANY questions come up, which you find answered in a later chapter. But usually those answers bring about more questions, and so on and so on. We learn that she has indeed met these people before...a long long time ago. She and the the others are white demons (fallen angels...the children of angels and humans) that are constantly fighting the dark demons. Her and Athen have such a connection because they have been in love for may years. They are the definition of soul mates! When a white demon is "killed" by a dark demon they simply regenerate in another location, but their knowledge of their true self is erased. They live as a mortal until their family, in this case Athen, his sister Arie, and her love Cyril, can perform the awakening to help them remember their true self. They have been waiting on Ana to "come to" for over 50 years! So now her dreams - err nightmares - make sense. She has been dreaming of the time she was separated from her family. She has been having another dream, one where the same thing happens to Athen. Oh no! And of course...that is how this first of a trilogy ends. Athen finds himself alone surrounded by dark demons and Ana arrives just in time to see him be defeated. Oh Ana, why didn't you tell him your dream!!! I found myself truly devastated. Soul mates were just reunited and then separated again. Ugg! You know a book has touched you when you think about it for days. I dreaded reading the next book, Legions, simply because I did not want to see Athen in a state where he did not know Ana. But luckily I couldn't refuse... (see my Legions' review).

Side note - there is one question I have never received an answer for. Where the heck do they get money??? They do not have jobs, but have all the money in the world to buy houses, ski trips, daily lattes, big shopping trips, you name it! (less)

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Feb 04, 2012 BookHookup rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ana can’t remember much about her past or her family, but she’s made a life for herself in Whistler, B.C. (yay Canada!!) and enjoys her job in a local pub. However, she’s stayed clear of building any lasting relationships. That is, until a strange family walks into the pub one night and, for reasons she cannot explain, she is totally drawn to them. From that first meeting, her relationship with these strangers, and most importantly the gorgeous Athen, moves quickly. And soon, Ana realizes why sh...more Ana can’t remember much about her past or her family, but she’s made a life for herself in Whistler, B.C. (yay Canada!!) and enjoys her job in a local pub. However, she’s stayed clear of building any lasting relationships. That is, until a strange family walks into the pub one night and, for reasons she cannot explain, she is totally drawn to them. From that first meeting, her relationship with these strangers, and most importantly the gorgeous Athen, moves quickly. And soon, Ana realizes why she doesn’t remember her past and, most importantly, why she let this family into her life so quickly.

I really liked the author’s take on angels, the explanation of dark vs. white demons and how they fit into our world. The writing was very descriptive and it was easy to imagine the world Ana was living in as well as the one she dreamed about almost every night…even though they were as different as night and day. The story is written in the first person so the reader spends quite of bit of time “inside” Ana’s head. This works for this story because she is rediscovering herself, her history, her family and her purpose. Being able to hear it first hand from her makes sharing these experiences with her more real.

The romance in this book was both fast-moving and remarkably slow. Ana and Athen fall in love within hours of meeting each other…which normally is way to fast for me. But then we discover their history and realize that the speed of these feelings actually does make sense. However, once the fire starts burning, it burns too slowly and, in part, this is where the story falls down for me. I didn’t feel the chemistry between these two as much as I wanted to. I kept looking for there to be more considering their history but just couldn’t feel the love. Maybe one of the reasons was that Athen, even as he was helping Ana remember her past, was really stingy with the information she needed. I know there were reasons behind this but I was a bit let down each time Ana didn’t push the issue and demand answers to her questions. It was frustrating for me as a reader…I was ready for more and it was withheld. This gave the story a sluggish feel in the beginning.

I enjoyed the secondary characters, Arie and Cyril. They added some levity and energy to the story. I would have liked to have seen more of her friend Karen who seemed to be the only person Ana had a relationship with before Athen. However, for me, the best supporting character award goes to Matilda…Ana’s bulldog. It was nice to see that type of relationship in the book.

The last few chapters of this story certainly pick up speed…we’re left with a cliffhanger and Ana is left with a big challenge ahead of her. I won’t ruin the end for you but I will say that it definitely sets up the need to read the second book.(less)

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Jan 24, 2012 Erika rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Title: The Awakening
Author: Karice Bolton
Publisher: Purely Persistent
Number of Pages: 320
Date of Release: September 27th, 2011
Summary From Goodreads:

Alone in snowy, remote Whistler village, Ana tries to build a new life since losing her parents. With a cozy condo, a sweet-faced bulldog and an evening job to leave the days free for the slopes, life slips into a great routine. If only she could shake the guilt for not remembering anything about her parents and banish the night terrors that haun...more Title: The Awakening
Author: Karice Bolton
Publisher: Purely Persistent
Number of Pages: 320
Date of Release: September 27th, 2011
Summary From Goodreads:

Alone in snowy, remote Whistler village, Ana tries to build a new life since losing her parents. With a cozy condo, a sweet-faced bulldog and an evening job to leave the days free for the slopes, life slips into a great routine. If only she could shake the guilt for not remembering anything about her parents and banish the night terrors that haunt her every dream. On a whim, Ana goes out with Athen, a guy she’s just met in the Grizzly Pub... The only problem is that she feels like she already knows him. Within 48 hours of meeting Athen and his family, Ana’s world implodes. She falls for Athen quickly and before she knows it, a past life begins to resurface. As thrilling as the revelations appear at first, she fights against the chilling information that Athen is from the underworld. Soon she begins to struggle as her own supernatural gifts are slowly unveiled, and she realizes that the nightmares she’s been having might be premonitions and not dreams at all. It is up to Ana to decipher between fact and fiction before it is too late, and her new love, Athen, follows in her same fate - one that is lost between two worlds.

Review: When I first heard of The Awakening, I was seriously intrigued. I mean the summary; I thought would basically be the whole book in a nut shell. It was not, and I am left trying to dissect my love for the characters and the story. The world Karice Bolton has created tore at my heart and I loved every minute of it.

Ana, the main character, is a mystery to the reader until about page fifty. I liked that, because everything about her was raw and pure. As Ana learns more about herself and gains confidence, essentially coming into her own, my loyalty to her grew with every flip of the page. Athen well what can I say is a dream! I mean he has the perfect looks, and miraculously has a personality that is so compassionate and tender yet fierce that he is essentially any girls (or guys if that is your preference, no judgment here) perfect man! Cyril and Arie had intense personalities, and added some comic relief, that had me chuckling at times. I think I need Arie to go shopping with me!!

The four main characters Cyril, Arie, Ana and Athen, all make up a unique family that symbolized the most important thing in life, love. The Awakening focused on a Family that is not a normal human family, and even with the paranormal element, Karice still managed to get the message out to readers not to take your loved ones for granted.

The only slight issue I had, was that I wished there was more dialogue in the book at times. Although I wanted more the description was lovely and made up for it. I really liked that this book wasn’t just boy falls in love with girl, boy saves girl. It was so different from the standard in YA right now that I am shocked to put it lightly. I really didn’t even see the ending coming and that cliffhanger, OH MY GOD!

Fans of Keary Taylor will delight in The Awakening by: Karice Bolton. The novel is definitely a book to be read for any paranormal junkie. I need to get my hands on book two soon!
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Jan 17, 2012 Krystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ana has no memory of her past, but when she meets a certain family, she feels a strong connection. When Ana learns bits and pieces of her past, a whole world opens up for her. The Nephilim is a mystery that the reader will enjoy learning about and creates a backdrop for a unique plot the reader will love getting into. Ana doesn't seem to have a lot of love in her life until Athen. Athen sweeps her off of her feet and doesn't set her back down on Earth. Their romance is cute and sweet, the reader...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Criss rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: waste-of-time

This review may have some spoilers.

I read a lot of good reviews on this book. This review is not one of those. I stopped reading around page 85 and can't force myself to read any further.

First let's talk about the good thing. The idea is good. Children of good fallen angels watching over human kind. I even liked the idea behind some, I guess u can call it, reincarnating into a normal life to be found again by the families and reintroduced. Not a bad story.

The bad...the writing... The story doe...more
This review may have some spoilers.

I read a lot of good reviews on this book. This review is not one of those. I stopped reading around page 85 and can't force myself to read any further.

First let's talk about the good thing. The idea is good. Children of good fallen angels watching over human kind. I even liked the idea behind some, I guess u can call it, reincarnating into a normal life to be found again by the families and reintroduced. Not a bad story.

The bad...the writing... The story does not flow well at all and only pulled me in enough to keep asking what the heck and was the main reason behind me not even finishing it. There was absolutely no detail. Those first 80 pages could have been probably 200 if there had been more detail.

The story begins with the girl meeting Athen in the bar she works at and she is supposed to be around 20 but she acts more like an idiotic teenager...not that there's anything wrong with teenagers, we have all been idiotic teenagers before. She meets this guy and instantly falls stupid in love with him. Like literally that instant. Now there is a reason behind it that is explained later but the guy shows up at her place like a few hours later knowing what floor she lives on. What self respecting woman would not have warning bells going off!! She mentions them to him and he tells her all cryptically ,it's not time yet. WHAT!! You act like we have known each other for years and when I start questioning it you give me that line. And instead of insisting upon answers she says okay and goes on...not realistic at all!!! That happens a few times until he decides , it's time!! At this point my eyes hurt from all the eye rolling I had been doing.

Maybe this will appeal to teenagers but as an adult...not for me..... The beginning of this story would have been much more believable if there would have been more character development. Basically you spend the first 80 pages following these two on dates while she internally monologues how much she likes this stranger and how it's weird but doesn't seem to stop her. This should have been the beginning to a book entitled HOW TO GET YOUR ASS KILLED BY A SERIAL KILLER.

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May 29, 2012 Kristen rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay, I want to preface this with the fact that I have not finished this book. I am about 20% in, but the book is just so boring and dialogue so bad that I can't continue.

I was really hoping to get into the PLOT of the story and perhaps that would save the book for me - help me push through the rest of it. But 20% in and I have NO IDEA what the plot is. Other than her having some strange dreams.

The characters are not easy to grab hold of in this book. Everything feels so forced and juvenile tha...more

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May 14, 2012 Maria rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: chic-lit, 2012-books

OK, this was only a 2 because the concept is so intriguing. If not for that, this was a solid 1 star book.

First, the good:
-Unique concept (girl with no family finds out she's actually a Fallen Angel/Good Demon)
-The setup for the next in the series was pretty decent, but could have used some work.
-It was free for my Kindle app.

That's all I've got for the good. Now for the not-so-good:
-I know the character is supposed to be young, 20 or there about, but she was more whiney than Bella Swan on her w...more OK, this was only a 2 because the concept is so intriguing. If not for that, this was a solid 1 star book.

First, the good:
-Unique concept (girl with no family finds out she's actually a Fallen Angel/Good Demon)
-The setup for the next in the series was pretty decent, but could have used some work.
-It was free for my Kindle app.

That's all I've got for the good. Now for the not-so-good:
-I know the character is supposed to be young, 20 or there about, but she was more whiney than Bella Swan on her worst day.
-Speaking of Bella, this smacked me as fan fiction that combined Twilight and Sookie Stackhouse. But not the goods elements, the ridiculous or annoying ones.
-Word choice was abysmal. I like the word "awesome" and employ it frequently. This was overkill though. I get that Athen (which I kept wanting to read as Athens or Anthem, BTW) was supposed to be this hot slice of heaven, but could she not think of a different word to describe him and the experience in general? Also, I think the phrases "My family", "My new family", and "I felt so blessed/lucky/special" should be banished going forward. I certainly wouldn't miss never reading them again.
-Again, I read the e-book version of this, so maybe it was different in print (does come as a print edition?) but there were a ton of grammatical errors throughout the story. Sentences didn't always come to a complete thought, sentences had disjointed thoughts, words were missing, those sorts of problems. If a proofreader in a bona fide publishing house isn't available to you, then hire a college English major to proof your manuscript for $150. They'll do it, trust me. Heck, I'D do it for $150. I would just never want to release a story with my name attached to it that wasn't the best it could possibly be, and to me that means having multiple pairs of eyes read it for content, wording, style, punctuation, etc....
-Major editorial revisions were needed with this story. I found myself re-wording sentences, fixing scenes, and changing the action in my mind to make the story flow better. That shouldn't happen.

A large number of readers have rated this, and the other 2 in the series, very highly, and I can't figure out why. The concept was good, and it had potential. Unfortunately, the grammatical mistakes, the stilted conversations, the incorrect character names, the ridiculous, incessant inner monologue of Ana, all of these things make it hard for me to view this with a high rating. Am I missing something here?

I'm torn on trying the other 2 in the series. Perhaps I would give them a try if they were also offered as free downloads for the Kindle or iBooks apps. If not, I doubt I'll finish the trilogy. (less)

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Apr 19, 2012 Melody rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: april-reading-challenge

Honestly this book strted out with promise it opened with a great dream sequence that really set some pace for action and mystery then enters the "strangers at the bar" and to be completely honest it went down hill REALLY fast!! How does an intreverted, semi paranoid loaner go to a love sick puppy following this guy and his family EVERYWHERE with no hesitation?? And what gets me the most is she knows hes keeping things from him and shes all good with that even though every thought process she ha...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Happyreads rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bookse-i-loved

Awakening was a wonderful first intro into the trilogy. I loved the idea of memory loss, long lost loves reuniting, and the quietly building battles erupting here and there throughout the story. I LOVED the sweetness between Athen and Ana. The author wrote with great detail, which is something that I really appreciate in a book. There were a few times that it slowed the story down, but it would pick up again and I would plop back in their world. Learning about Ana’s history and watching the supp...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Eileen rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story has an interesting premise and, I think, some potential. And I liked the characters, for the most part. That having been said, I was so frustrated reading this book.

For one thing, the author needs a thesaurus. I told a friend that I could make a drinking game out of reading this book and take a sip of wine every time the words "incredible", "amazing", or "gorgeous" were used; I'd be drunk within the first 30 pages. It started to grate.

Dialogue needed some help. Yes, some of it was true...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Teak rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

OK so the start off of this book was a little weird...kind of jumps right into it...so I was thrown off a bit...figured with a start like this the book wouldn't be so great...now after saying that I'll add that throughout the book this seems to happen frequently and I feel I'm left with more questions then answers but I couldn't put the book down! I started realizing that maybe the rush was for a reason. The author really wants to throw her readers for a loop,and if I am correct then she has don...more

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About Karice Bolton

Karice Bolton is a Young Adult/New Adult author living in the Pacific Northwest.

Titles include:

The Camp

The Watchers Trilogy
Taken Novella (A Watchers prequel)
Awakening (Book 1)
Legions (Book 2)
Cataclysm(Book 3)

The Witch Avenue Series
Lonely Souls (Book 1)
Altered Souls (Book 2)
Released Souls (Book 3)
Shattered Souls (Book 4) Spring 2013

Karice married the love of her life who she met in high school,...more

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Awakening (The Watchers Trilogy #1)

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