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Vampire Awakenings #1
Awakened
Librarian's Note: This is an alternate/new cover for ASIN B008S2DDU6
Professionally edited by Leslie Mitchell at G2 Freelance Editing and rereleased 2/12/14.
Traumatized by her past, and struggling to move on from it, Sera has spent the past three years of college hiding herself from the world and content to stay that way. A chance encounter with Liam shatters her sheltered world, leaving her stunned and shaken by the strange feelings and emotions he arises in her, feelings she never thought she would experience and that frighten her in their intensity. Harboring a dark and deadly secret of his own, Liam knows that he should stay away from Sera; that he will only bring her more hurt, but he is irresistibly drawn to her and unable to deny himself the pleasure that only she can bring to him. But when their pasts collide with their present, and Liam’s true nature is revealed, will their love for each other be enough, or will they be torn apart forever?
Mature readers 18+
Cover art by www.EbookLaunch.com
Professionally edited by Leslie Mitchell at G2 Freelance Editing and rereleased 2/12/14.
Traumatized by her past, and struggling to move on from it, Sera has spent the past three years of college hiding herself from the world and content to stay that way. A chance encounter with Liam shatters her sheltered world, leaving her stunned and shaken by the strange feelings and emotions he arises in her, feelings she never thought she would experience and that frighten her in their intensity. Harboring a dark and deadly secret of his own, Liam knows that he should stay away from Sera; that he will only bring her more hurt, but he is irresistibly drawn to her and unable to deny himself the pleasure that only she can bring to him. But when their pasts collide with their present, and Liam’s true nature is revealed, will their love for each other be enough, or will they be torn apart forever?
Mature readers 18+
Cover art by www.EbookLaunch.com
349 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 29, 2012
4275 people are currently reading
11754 people want to read
About the author
Brenda K. Davies
97 books2,283 followersBrenda K. Davies is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Vampire Awakening Series, Alliance Series, Road to Hell Series, Hell on Earth Series, and historical romantic fiction. She also writes under the pen name, Erica Stevens. When not out with friends and family, she can be found at home with her husband, son, dogs, cat, and horse.
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September 17, 2025
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Awakened is the first book from the Vampire Awakening Series and it is written by USA Today bestselling author Brenda K. Davies. This is a book where a guy meets a girl. Girl has a secret and tells it on their first date. Boy is a vampire, but we are 80% in the book until it’s mentioned (even though title clearly states it, and you keep expecting it to happen). When the secret is told - boy gives girl a choice to escape. Girls chooses to stay, and boy becomes possessive because he wants her too much. Then he does something to her, kind of against her will. And then they live happily ever after.
If I was a few years younger, I would have loved this book, probably because I wouldn’t have noticed all the glitches in it. But right here, right now - I didn’t enjoy it as much I wanted too.
Strong, sexual language and sex scenes can be found throughout the book. This was a book from my sister Tea’s Wishlist Challenge - and I was embarrassed to tell her I am reading this book - because I knew what kind of scenes she has read…
Apart from that - the characters were unrealistic and unlikable. I liked their friends and their enemies more than I liked the main characters.
Sera - a girl that doesn’t talk to men, and has her own opinion on things, suddenly meets this guy, and he becomes possessive of her, and her character development stops right here. She keeps nodding at him, and obeys his every command. Not much of a heroine, is she?
Liam - a guy that is actually a vampire, but doesn’t tell Sera until things get really serious. He lies to her, is possessive, wants to kill everyone that touches her, and loves her and wants her so much that he has to turn her into a vampire, otherwise he’ll kill her. Really?
Now, if we take the fact that this is a vampire book - firstly, we don’t get to read about vampires until the book is almost finished. And when we do, it is unfinished, and barely even described. I don’t know anything about the way they become vampires, how they survive in the world, how they feed, how they die, but apparently, they can have children, so I guess the author covered everything. Oh, and, also - vampires can walk into the sun, but the more they kill, the more the sun hurts them. So believable - and FAIR.
The only thing that I liked was the ending - the point about how children are possible seemed to have worked out well. Not believable, but it was nice to see that as a theory. And it was also a great layout for the next story to come - which I will be reading, just to see if this writing will improve.
What is your favorite vampire book?
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Awakened is the first book from the Vampire Awakening Series and it is written by USA Today bestselling author Brenda K. Davies. This is a book where a guy meets a girl. Girl has a secret and tells it on their first date. Boy is a vampire, but we are 80% in the book until it’s mentioned (even though title clearly states it, and you keep expecting it to happen). When the secret is told - boy gives girl a choice to escape. Girls chooses to stay, and boy becomes possessive because he wants her too much. Then he does something to her, kind of against her will. And then they live happily ever after.
If I was a few years younger, I would have loved this book, probably because I wouldn’t have noticed all the glitches in it. But right here, right now - I didn’t enjoy it as much I wanted too.
Strong, sexual language and sex scenes can be found throughout the book. This was a book from my sister Tea’s Wishlist Challenge - and I was embarrassed to tell her I am reading this book - because I knew what kind of scenes she has read…
Apart from that - the characters were unrealistic and unlikable. I liked their friends and their enemies more than I liked the main characters.
Sera - a girl that doesn’t talk to men, and has her own opinion on things, suddenly meets this guy, and he becomes possessive of her, and her character development stops right here. She keeps nodding at him, and obeys his every command. Not much of a heroine, is she?
Liam - a guy that is actually a vampire, but doesn’t tell Sera until things get really serious. He lies to her, is possessive, wants to kill everyone that touches her, and loves her and wants her so much that he has to turn her into a vampire, otherwise he’ll kill her. Really?
Now, if we take the fact that this is a vampire book - firstly, we don’t get to read about vampires until the book is almost finished. And when we do, it is unfinished, and barely even described. I don’t know anything about the way they become vampires, how they survive in the world, how they feed, how they die, but apparently, they can have children, so I guess the author covered everything. Oh, and, also - vampires can walk into the sun, but the more they kill, the more the sun hurts them. So believable - and FAIR.
The only thing that I liked was the ending - the point about how children are possible seemed to have worked out well. Not believable, but it was nice to see that as a theory. And it was also a great layout for the next story to come - which I will be reading, just to see if this writing will improve.
What is your favorite vampire book?
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September 12, 2012
This was literally a book I stumbled across on accident. I was looking through the free books offered for the iPad and came across this one. Now, I have always been one of those people who tended to stay away from ebooks just because I like the stability and concrete feeling of holding an actual book in my hands. I am proud to say that Awakened is my first book that I have read on an electronic device. If anything, being able to read something electronically has only increased my love of books. Now, some of the reviews that I read about this book were negative and the ones I read most were about the grammatical errors. Yes, I noticed a few myself a long the way but when you have a story that is hard to put down, such mistakes are easily overlooked, at least for me. There was constant excitement about this book and was pleased that the author didn't make the events predictable, meaning things happened that I didn't even consider. At least not when I expected them to. I was relieved because when that happens the story loses the appeal and becomes boring. This was not boring. Liam, was every college girl's dream come true although there was constantly some internal struggle going on. Sera, was what most girls are while in college, insecure and unsure. The question of, "why would the hottest guy on campus want me?" probably crossed Sera's mind so it was nice to see that at least one girl got the guy, even if it's only fiction. Being a hardcore Twihard, I did notice some similarities between the two stories but they were slight and I felt this one may have had a little more action and gore than Twilight. So, while some of the dialogue may come across as corny and the fact that there are some missing words, this was a good book and a delight to read. I definitely recommend it to those who love vampire stories and as a warning, regardless of whether you read it on your iPad or from an actual book, be prepared to find it hard to put down.
March 8, 2021
Vampire Frat House!
The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration/Audio: 🎧🎧🎧
Romance: ❤️💙💜💛
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📙📕📗📙
World building: 🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 👤👤👤👤
The setting: College
The Hero(s): Liam – Liam is a Vampire in college. He, his friend Mike and other vampires are in a Frat and are the most handsome guys at the school and the biggest players.
The heroine: Sera - shy and reserved, college senior, she rarely parties but decides to go out to a frat party with much more outgoing and boisterous roommate and best friend Kathleen.
The Love Story: Liam falls for Sera at first sight. Sera is surprised in his interest in her, but likes him too.
I am not sure if it was the voices used in the narration or the writing of the book, but this seemed to me to be almost a parody of traditional vampire books and movies. The best friend Kathleen is a traditional college rah-rah party girl. The frenemy, Michelle is all “I think I am so much better than you”. Liam’s friend Mike is the regular college boy wingman that wants to get with as many girls as he can.
The scenes where Sera finds out Liam is a vampire and finds out how (and on whom) he has been feeding are about as corny as can be. However, I didn’t completely hate the book. It didn’t have anything really original, but as a mix between a new adult bully romance and a vampire romance it was just fine. Liam was not a bully to Sera, but Michelle certainly was.
The intimate scenes were chalk full of sexy adjectives, flowery language and the main characters calling each other by name. Though Sera and Liam fell for each other right away, there were obstacles so the story flowed well and got much better in the second half. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.
I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.
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The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration/Audio: 🎧🎧🎧
Romance: ❤️💙💜💛
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📙📕📗📙
World building: 🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 👤👤👤👤
The setting: College
The Hero(s): Liam – Liam is a Vampire in college. He, his friend Mike and other vampires are in a Frat and are the most handsome guys at the school and the biggest players.
The heroine: Sera - shy and reserved, college senior, she rarely parties but decides to go out to a frat party with much more outgoing and boisterous roommate and best friend Kathleen.
The Love Story: Liam falls for Sera at first sight. Sera is surprised in his interest in her, but likes him too.
I am not sure if it was the voices used in the narration or the writing of the book, but this seemed to me to be almost a parody of traditional vampire books and movies. The best friend Kathleen is a traditional college rah-rah party girl. The frenemy, Michelle is all “I think I am so much better than you”. Liam’s friend Mike is the regular college boy wingman that wants to get with as many girls as he can.
The scenes where Sera finds out Liam is a vampire and finds out how (and on whom) he has been feeding are about as corny as can be. However, I didn’t completely hate the book. It didn’t have anything really original, but as a mix between a new adult bully romance and a vampire romance it was just fine. Liam was not a bully to Sera, but Michelle certainly was.
The intimate scenes were chalk full of sexy adjectives, flowery language and the main characters calling each other by name. Though Sera and Liam fell for each other right away, there were obstacles so the story flowed well and got much better in the second half. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.
I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.
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December 17, 2012
Given two stars for the simple reason that I have read worse. However, this book was awful. I think that the story itself may have been decent, but it was executed very poorly. The characters were very dry and flat and lacked conviction in basically every aspect. I felt so disconnected throughout the entire book, that I failed to even feel compassion for the main character when she revealed her troubling past. There was far too much 'sex', and even if I enjoyed reading about it every other page, it would still have been drab for the simple fact that every single time was just a repeat of the previous experience. Every sex scene was 'she had never felt this way before' and 'he never knew he could feel this way' which is wonderful once or twice, but 36 times (exaggeration...maybe?), I think gets a bit old. Come up with a different way to express their feelings for one another. Also, the story was not composed very well in the sense that it often jumped from her point of view to his point of view from one paragraph to the next. Sometimes it would even happen within the same paragraph which caused me to re-read sections several times just to be sure that I wasn't stupid and unable to comprehend what was going on. I hate to write such a negative review, as I have never done so before, but I think this author would benefit a great deal by getting a few HONEST proof readers for her.
July 18, 2025
DNF at 50%
I am shocked this book was published. It is a mountain of clichés.
Normally, I avoid giving 1 star ratings, but here I couldn't help myself. It is bad and I would recommend to stay away from it, far far away. I don't like being this harsh, but I am kind of offended by what I have read.
It is categorized as paranormal romance, however, based on what I have read, I wouldn't even go as far as to call it new-adult fantasy. The characters act and speak like teenagers in a high-school drama. Yes, the events evolve around university and there is some sexual content, but except that, this story is a 101 high-school drama. The vampire aspect of it is not even relevant at all, at least for the first 50% of the book. That was my goal, reaching that mark, 50%. Now, I wish I had quit at 10%. What a waste of time. Then there is the undying instant love the two main characters have going on which is unswallowable (I just made a word up, but you know what I mean). The whole thing is incredibly superfluous and unrealistic. It seems opportunistic and brain dumbing.
Hard NO.
P.S: The audiobook narrator is pretty great. She is the only reason I managed to get through 50% of this torturous book.
I am shocked this book was published. It is a mountain of clichés.
Normally, I avoid giving 1 star ratings, but here I couldn't help myself. It is bad and I would recommend to stay away from it, far far away. I don't like being this harsh, but I am kind of offended by what I have read.
It is categorized as paranormal romance, however, based on what I have read, I wouldn't even go as far as to call it new-adult fantasy. The characters act and speak like teenagers in a high-school drama. Yes, the events evolve around university and there is some sexual content, but except that, this story is a 101 high-school drama. The vampire aspect of it is not even relevant at all, at least for the first 50% of the book. That was my goal, reaching that mark, 50%. Now, I wish I had quit at 10%. What a waste of time. Then there is the undying instant love the two main characters have going on which is unswallowable (I just made a word up, but you know what I mean). The whole thing is incredibly superfluous and unrealistic. It seems opportunistic and brain dumbing.
Hard NO.
P.S: The audiobook narrator is pretty great. She is the only reason I managed to get through 50% of this torturous book.
August 9, 2015
1.5 STARS
Well, that was disappointing. I should have known better considering this author writes under another name, Erica Stevens, and I couldn't even get past her second book in her vampire series, The Captive.
some people liked this, but for me? it was not good. This is categorized as PNR, but it read like a new adult college romance with some vampiric flare. Why?
**Little to no world building** There was very little explanation about this vampire world. I couldn't tell you anything past the standard stuff like they drink blood and are faster/have heightened senses.
**Two dimensional characters** There needed to be more time spent on fleshing out the hero, heroine...hell, everyone.
**Inconsistencies** Things happened that were never explained or accounted for. There were so many examples that I lost track counting, but I was often left scratching my head and wondering, " did that girl know??" " I thought they said they couldn't do that??" or, " Is this really a PNR??"
**The whole vampire thing** No, really. Were these guys vamps? seemed like regular hot-blooded college students to me who enjoyed a little blood with their sex. Things did not add up; Eating--where does it go? Procreating--I thought that wasn't possible, like, AT ALL. I assumed this was an agreed upon rule in the world of vampirism. One minute I'd read about their supernatural abilities, the next minute they'd react as regular people. I don't know, but I expect a hell of a lot more from my PNR.
And there was way too much sex. The only redeeming factor was at some points this book was engrossing, hence rounding up my rating. But that's all. No memorable characters, no great writing, inconsistent story...I almost DNF'd this more than once, but at least it was free. Yeah, I'm done here, not continuing with this series.
Well, that was disappointing. I should have known better considering this author writes under another name, Erica Stevens, and I couldn't even get past her second book in her vampire series, The Captive.
some people liked this, but for me? it was not good. This is categorized as PNR, but it read like a new adult college romance with some vampiric flare. Why?
**Little to no world building** There was very little explanation about this vampire world. I couldn't tell you anything past the standard stuff like they drink blood and are faster/have heightened senses.
**Two dimensional characters** There needed to be more time spent on fleshing out the hero, heroine...hell, everyone.
**Inconsistencies** Things happened that were never explained or accounted for. There were so many examples that I lost track counting, but I was often left scratching my head and wondering, " did that girl know??" " I thought they said they couldn't do that??" or, " Is this really a PNR??"
**The whole vampire thing** No, really. Were these guys vamps? seemed like regular hot-blooded college students to me who enjoyed a little blood with their sex. Things did not add up; Eating--where does it go? Procreating--I thought that wasn't possible, like, AT ALL. I assumed this was an agreed upon rule in the world of vampirism. One minute I'd read about their supernatural abilities, the next minute they'd react as regular people. I don't know, but I expect a hell of a lot more from my PNR.
And there was way too much sex. The only redeeming factor was at some points this book was engrossing, hence rounding up my rating. But that's all. No memorable characters, no great writing, inconsistent story...I almost DNF'd this more than once, but at least it was free. Yeah, I'm done here, not continuing with this series.
January 21, 2020
I love the journey that Liam and Sera go on emotionally throughout this book. Without adding spoilers expect a lot of romance, tension and action throughout this book. It doesn't lack anything for me. I was gripped from begging to the very end.
Sera is a wonderful character who has had something awful happen to her.
Liam is the sexy, mysterious new guy on campus who can't stay away.
This is book one in a series that I have listened to again and again. I love the writing of Brenda K Davies (If you have read any work by Erica Stevens then you are likely to enjoy this. They are the same, wonderful, author)
So the basics. Real world. Supernatural story. Packed full of romance, danger, heroes and villains. This is a 5 star introduction to the series.
I have this on audiobook and ebook and the audiobook is outstanding and Tavia Gilbert does an amazing job of bringing Brenda K Davies books to life.
I should include an assault trigger warning.
Sera is a wonderful character who has had something awful happen to her.
Liam is the sexy, mysterious new guy on campus who can't stay away.
This is book one in a series that I have listened to again and again. I love the writing of Brenda K Davies (If you have read any work by Erica Stevens then you are likely to enjoy this. They are the same, wonderful, author)
So the basics. Real world. Supernatural story. Packed full of romance, danger, heroes and villains. This is a 5 star introduction to the series.
I have this on audiobook and ebook and the audiobook is outstanding and Tavia Gilbert does an amazing job of bringing Brenda K Davies books to life.
I should include an assault trigger warning.
December 15, 2025
I can't blame anyone but myself...
Who was the idiot that said to read a Vampire book? Oh, right...
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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Who was the idiot that said to read a Vampire book? Oh, right...
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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April 21, 2013
This book needs editing. In a way it's just a few minor things, but it got really annoying: to/too, apostrophes, etc.
I thought Sera had a lot of potential as a heroine, with her background and all, but once she meets the 'hero' of this book, she really stops developing as a character. Also, it really bugs me that the author didn't explain how/why vampires exist, what their powers are, or even how they function (i.e. apparently in this world, vampires can still have kids - say what?!). I also thought the sex scenes were repetitive (lots of nipple references), though I didn't pay much attention to them as it just seemed so overly done. Sera, to me, seems way more modest yet with Liam everything is perfectly fine. I also thought it was odd that Sera would choose to live in the dorms as a senior. Dorms tend to be crappier (less privacy, less space, etc), but more expensive (in my experience, anyway). I also didn't really find it believable that Liam and his friends were in a frat - yes definitely a good cover story, and if the frat has multiple chapters you can transfer to different schools, but how do you explain that you don't age? Unless everyone in the frat is a vampire, this is a huge pitfall.
In essence, I think the author had a story line and just inserted things to make the plot work without thinking them through. I really enjoy it when authors think of everything, so this was a bit disappointing. Clearly others enjoyed this book very much, but unfortunately I wasn't in that boat :(.
I thought Sera had a lot of potential as a heroine, with her background and all, but once she meets the 'hero' of this book, she really stops developing as a character. Also, it really bugs me that the author didn't explain how/why vampires exist, what their powers are, or even how they function (i.e. apparently in this world, vampires can still have kids - say what?!). I also thought the sex scenes were repetitive (lots of nipple references), though I didn't pay much attention to them as it just seemed so overly done. Sera, to me, seems way more modest yet with Liam everything is perfectly fine. I also thought it was odd that Sera would choose to live in the dorms as a senior. Dorms tend to be crappier (less privacy, less space, etc), but more expensive (in my experience, anyway). I also didn't really find it believable that Liam and his friends were in a frat - yes definitely a good cover story, and if the frat has multiple chapters you can transfer to different schools, but how do you explain that you don't age? Unless everyone in the frat is a vampire, this is a huge pitfall.
In essence, I think the author had a story line and just inserted things to make the plot work without thinking them through. I really enjoy it when authors think of everything, so this was a bit disappointing. Clearly others enjoyed this book very much, but unfortunately I wasn't in that boat :(.
November 13, 2012
I was shocked how much I love this story!! The story takes place on a college campus with college students. Sera is in her senior year and is very timid around men. Sera was brutally attacked but NOT RAPED by her boyfriend Jacob after leaving their Senior year homecoming party. This incident has left Sera emotionally scared and afraid because her friends and family did not believe her. Liam is a newly created vampire and meets Sera at his house's frat party. They are immediately attracted to each, but don't know why (Soul Mates). Sera immediately feels she can trust Liam with the truth of her attack by Jacob. She has never told anyone, not even her roommate and best friend Kathleen or any of her new friends about what happen to her.
This is a very romantic, sensual, but NOT erotic story. Like some reviewers have lead you to believe. Liam loves Sera and once they make love and he takes her virginity he become very possessive of her. He loves Sera so much he protects her an provides emotional support for her lack of self confidence. He is always their for her. Once Sera finds out that Liam is a Vampire she too is very supported of him. The love they show each other just shines throughout the story. Their are some wonderful characters in the book like Kathleen and Danielle Sera's two best friends. Liam has four best friends in the story Doug, Jack, Mike and David. These guys were childhood friends and finding out how they all became vampires was diffidently a new twist for paranormal stories. We have villains too Beth who was the maker of Liam and his friends, Jacob, and Michelle who was suppose to be a friend to Sera. The story is very balanced from beginning to end beautifully written with depth of characters, believable conversations, even the environment; you could picture yourself their in the story with these people. It's fast paced, romantic,very sensual, and suspenseful. all the things you want to read in a PR. some reviewers are complaining that Ms.Davies needs a editor, but let me tell you unless you are and English Major it won't bother you. I have read books published my major publishing house that had more editing problems. Plus this book is free!! I really loved this story and you will too!! Give it a try whiles it is free. I would have paid to read this book. I have already bought and started reading bk2 "Destined". I am looking forward to more books in this series by this author. this book will go on my "All Time Favorite Romance Book List". Very Well Done Brenda K. Davies!! Keep up the good writing.
This is a very romantic, sensual, but NOT erotic story. Like some reviewers have lead you to believe. Liam loves Sera and once they make love and he takes her virginity he become very possessive of her. He loves Sera so much he protects her an provides emotional support for her lack of self confidence. He is always their for her. Once Sera finds out that Liam is a Vampire she too is very supported of him. The love they show each other just shines throughout the story. Their are some wonderful characters in the book like Kathleen and Danielle Sera's two best friends. Liam has four best friends in the story Doug, Jack, Mike and David. These guys were childhood friends and finding out how they all became vampires was diffidently a new twist for paranormal stories. We have villains too Beth who was the maker of Liam and his friends, Jacob, and Michelle who was suppose to be a friend to Sera. The story is very balanced from beginning to end beautifully written with depth of characters, believable conversations, even the environment; you could picture yourself their in the story with these people. It's fast paced, romantic,very sensual, and suspenseful. all the things you want to read in a PR. some reviewers are complaining that Ms.Davies needs a editor, but let me tell you unless you are and English Major it won't bother you. I have read books published my major publishing house that had more editing problems. Plus this book is free!! I really loved this story and you will too!! Give it a try whiles it is free. I would have paid to read this book. I have already bought and started reading bk2 "Destined". I am looking forward to more books in this series by this author. this book will go on my "All Time Favorite Romance Book List". Very Well Done Brenda K. Davies!! Keep up the good writing.
November 2, 2018
4 Stars
Wow what a new cover it makes right? I would have never picked up this bookif it wasn’t for the new cover.
So this book was 100% cheesy but what can I say, I love cheese.
If you want the damsel in distress, the virgin, the vampire Hero, the Twilight like read, then this book is 100% for you.
This is the kind of book where you know the angst will be low, the steam will be high and the overly dramatic gestures are what you need to bring a smile on your face.
I would say the first 75% of the book was fairly good. I liked the insta-lust, I liked the fast pace movement of the book and the romance between Sera and Liam was typical, but in a good way. Sera is the damaged college girl that no one can get near. Liam is the hot boy on campus that everyone wants to be and be with.
Makes for a good couple right?
Things don’t go according to plan because Liam is gasp a Vampire.
I could care less for the last 25% of the book. I think my drama meter was a bit on overload, but overall the read was good. I would stick to the series, only when I’m in the cheese mood. Yum.
Wow what a new cover it makes right? I would have never picked up this bookif it wasn’t for the new cover.
So this book was 100% cheesy but what can I say, I love cheese.
If you want the damsel in distress, the virgin, the vampire Hero, the Twilight like read, then this book is 100% for you.
This is the kind of book where you know the angst will be low, the steam will be high and the overly dramatic gestures are what you need to bring a smile on your face.
I would say the first 75% of the book was fairly good. I liked the insta-lust, I liked the fast pace movement of the book and the romance between Sera and Liam was typical, but in a good way. Sera is the damaged college girl that no one can get near. Liam is the hot boy on campus that everyone wants to be and be with.
Makes for a good couple right?
Things don’t go according to plan because Liam is gasp a Vampire.
I could care less for the last 25% of the book. I think my drama meter was a bit on overload, but overall the read was good. I would stick to the series, only when I’m in the cheese mood. Yum.
April 16, 2020
Spoilers ahead
This book made my brain tired and made me feel old lol
So the h is a college student who left home after accusing a boy of attempted rape and no one believes her. She meets the young heartthrob H at a party
The H is a huge manwhore who uses women for food and sex as he's a vampire
The actual expectations of a typical vampire don't exist here after all they attend college
Anyways the h is attacked, her loyal defender kills the boy and he confesses what he is
Lame ass sex scenes
They escape OW drama on campus and head to a cabin with friends only to meet badder OW drama as the female who turned the H shows up and wants to kill, maim and destroy
Bit of vampire action, the h is turned, badda bing badda boom lets all fly off into the sunset together
In the end they have kids.....how is this possible?? David's friends said it's normal and has been done before. Just as their mating was explained by David's absentee friends
On the plus side he was a completely loyal, possessive Alpha hero just as I like em
OW drama
h was attacked and almost raped which she tells us about and is attacked again
H was a manwhore but was loyal to the h
Him feeding from others wasn't my cuppa
Innocent naive h
No cheating
While I didn't quite enjoy this as it felt immature to me I'll try something from this author again
This book made my brain tired and made me feel old lol
So the h is a college student who left home after accusing a boy of attempted rape and no one believes her. She meets the young heartthrob H at a party
The H is a huge manwhore who uses women for food and sex as he's a vampire
The actual expectations of a typical vampire don't exist here after all they attend college
Anyways the h is attacked, her loyal defender kills the boy and he confesses what he is
Lame ass sex scenes
They escape OW drama on campus and head to a cabin with friends only to meet badder OW drama as the female who turned the H shows up and wants to kill, maim and destroy
Bit of vampire action, the h is turned, badda bing badda boom lets all fly off into the sunset together
In the end they have kids.....how is this possible?? David's friends said it's normal and has been done before. Just as their mating was explained by David's absentee friends
On the plus side he was a completely loyal, possessive Alpha hero just as I like em
OW drama
h was attacked and almost raped which she tells us about and is attacked again
H was a manwhore but was loyal to the h
Him feeding from others wasn't my cuppa
Innocent naive h
No cheating
While I didn't quite enjoy this as it felt immature to me I'll try something from this author again
dnf
January 18, 2020DNF At 2 hours 44 minutes (Audio Book)
I'll start off by saying that the narrator is awesome! She also narrated Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress Series, so this wasn't my first go-round with her. The story, on the other hand, could have been so much better. This was supposed to be set in college with a group of people who were in their fourth year there. Realistically this read more high school than college. The characters were so petty, childish and conniving for no other reason than they could. I've done the college thing and, at least for me, that was far from my experience, therefore, I find it strange and it takes away from the story for me.
The romance was insta-love. They were already thinking of I-love-you's after the second time they saw each other. The heroine opened up about her traumatic past to this random guy who was still a stranger (at the time) before telling her so-called best friend of 3 years. Maybe it's me but there's something wrong with that scenario.
After the main characters got together (up until the point I read) it's like life stopped. There wasn't a mention of going to classes, studying or having a test on a certain day. There were only parties and it was always a Saturday or Sunday. What kind of college is that because I, too, would be very interested in getting a degree without actually having to do any of the work. So in conclusion, this novel wasn't for me.
I'll start off by saying that the narrator is awesome! She also narrated Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress Series, so this wasn't my first go-round with her. The story, on the other hand, could have been so much better. This was supposed to be set in college with a group of people who were in their fourth year there. Realistically this read more high school than college. The characters were so petty, childish and conniving for no other reason than they could. I've done the college thing and, at least for me, that was far from my experience, therefore, I find it strange and it takes away from the story for me.
The romance was insta-love. They were already thinking of I-love-you's after the second time they saw each other. The heroine opened up about her traumatic past to this random guy who was still a stranger (at the time) before telling her so-called best friend of 3 years. Maybe it's me but there's something wrong with that scenario.
After the main characters got together (up until the point I read) it's like life stopped. There wasn't a mention of going to classes, studying or having a test on a certain day. There were only parties and it was always a Saturday or Sunday. What kind of college is that because I, too, would be very interested in getting a degree without actually having to do any of the work. So in conclusion, this novel wasn't for me.
January 28, 2016
2 Stars
I failed to fully connect with this story. Granted, I snaffled this book as an Amazon freebie a while back, so one probably shouldn’t complain. What I did do was recently purchase the audio edition (for a reduced price), which turned out to be wildly disappointing.
In my opinion, the story itself suffered from poor character development. I felt nothing for the heroine, Sera, who I assume was meant to elicit sympathy and compassion from the reader, what with her shy and insecure nature. In actuality, she came across as whiny and weak-minded, and often induced some pretty intense eye-rolls from me. She allowed too many people to walk over her and treat her like shit – people who were apparently her closest friends!? This alone was ridiculous. I get that some people have cruddy taste when it comes to who they classify as friends and who they date, but Christ, many of the people in Sera’s life were atrocious individuals. . The characters, especially the females, were inane and overly dramatic – this is where I wonder how much the audio edition impacted my experience.
The audio – narrated by Tavia Gilbert – just did not work for me. The voices were grating. Sera’s voice was delivered in such a timid and scared manner that it began to annoy the shit out of me instead of eliciting the level of emotion I can only assume was the general intention. All the other females were extremely grating and over-dramatic in their delivery, and the male characters all sounded like Keanu Reeves in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. I couldn't work out why the narrator made this particular choice. Just because the characters were a bunch of young college students, doesn't mean they all have to sound like a bunch of whiny morons. Simply put - I didn't like this narration.
Where many reviewers have commented on the lack of development to the whole vampire storyline, I actually liked the fact that the vampirism wasn’t the sole focus of the story. At its core, this was a new adult love story, which just happened to have a side order of paranormal elements. Being the start of a series, I’m sure more will be shared about vampire lore as the stories progress. The waiting doesn’t bother me.
What I did like about the story:
#1 // I enjoyed the camaraderie between Liam and his four friends – I particularly liked David and Mike as characters.
#2 // I found myself enjoying the college setting – the “vampires on campus” thing worked for me.
#3 // Aspects of the love story were intriguing -
#4 // I liked the epilogue and the consequent set-up for further stories in the series.
I feel like my low rating was severely impacted by the audio edition I listened to. As such, I’ve decided I will probably attempt to continue with the series but I will most certainly be reading them – then we’ll see if there is any change to my overall enjoyment.
I failed to fully connect with this story. Granted, I snaffled this book as an Amazon freebie a while back, so one probably shouldn’t complain. What I did do was recently purchase the audio edition (for a reduced price), which turned out to be wildly disappointing.
In my opinion, the story itself suffered from poor character development. I felt nothing for the heroine, Sera, who I assume was meant to elicit sympathy and compassion from the reader, what with her shy and insecure nature. In actuality, she came across as whiny and weak-minded, and often induced some pretty intense eye-rolls from me. She allowed too many people to walk over her and treat her like shit – people who were apparently her closest friends!? This alone was ridiculous. I get that some people have cruddy taste when it comes to who they classify as friends and who they date, but Christ, many of the people in Sera’s life were atrocious individuals. . The characters, especially the females, were inane and overly dramatic – this is where I wonder how much the audio edition impacted my experience.
The audio – narrated by Tavia Gilbert – just did not work for me. The voices were grating. Sera’s voice was delivered in such a timid and scared manner that it began to annoy the shit out of me instead of eliciting the level of emotion I can only assume was the general intention. All the other females were extremely grating and over-dramatic in their delivery, and the male characters all sounded like Keanu Reeves in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. I couldn't work out why the narrator made this particular choice. Just because the characters were a bunch of young college students, doesn't mean they all have to sound like a bunch of whiny morons. Simply put - I didn't like this narration.
Where many reviewers have commented on the lack of development to the whole vampire storyline, I actually liked the fact that the vampirism wasn’t the sole focus of the story. At its core, this was a new adult love story, which just happened to have a side order of paranormal elements. Being the start of a series, I’m sure more will be shared about vampire lore as the stories progress. The waiting doesn’t bother me.
What I did like about the story:
#1 // I enjoyed the camaraderie between Liam and his four friends – I particularly liked David and Mike as characters.
#2 // I found myself enjoying the college setting – the “vampires on campus” thing worked for me.
#3 // Aspects of the love story were intriguing -
#4 // I liked the epilogue and the consequent set-up for further stories in the series.
I feel like my low rating was severely impacted by the audio edition I listened to. As such, I’ve decided I will probably attempt to continue with the series but I will most certainly be reading them – then we’ll see if there is any change to my overall enjoyment.
October 4, 2018
2,5 STARS
First off, I got this book since the plot sounded interesting and also because it's currently free on Amazon. Now, I should have known something was not right when I saw that it was for free, but I somehow convinced myself to give this story a chance. Well...I should've listened to my gut feeling.
But first let me tell you the tings that I did like about this book. I trully loved how Liam's feelings for Sara started to grow and their love was just so OTT. And I'm glad there was no break-up between them. That would've sucked, since this is a PNR story, where everything is allowed in love and war. If you like to read about a hot, possessive, totally OTT hero that would kill to protect his love, then Liam is the one for you. I wished there were more books with heroes like him. Beside him, I also liked his friends. They were cool and just what you'd expect from a frat boy.
Sadly, the last two books that I've read were by Nalini Singh and Suzanne Wright. So that means my expectations were high for this author and her writing style. Sadly they were too high...
And let me tell you why...
As good as the plot sounded, the execution of it was just not that great. It all happened either too fast (the beginning and the ending) or too slow (the whole vampire thing and how to solve the BIG problem). Also, at times the characters were really immature, especially with the bitter exes, and I often wondered, if maybe it was just me being too old to read a book like this one. But whatever the reason, one thing is for sure, I did not like the characters as much as I wanted them to. Another thing that bothered me was that the whole pace of the story was just off. I felt like sometimes we skipped from one scene to another, so the natural flow of the story felt too disconnected to me. I wished the author had taken her time to include more details about what was happening in general. The saving grace was David and his knowledge of vampires. I'm sure I would be completely lost without him explaining things. He was like Yoda from Star wars.
Overall, would I re-read this book? No.
Would I recommend it? Maybe. If you have time on your hands and don't know what to read next, then this one might be for you. It's just the right amount of fluffy, stupid and interesting. I know, a killer combination, lol. But if nothing else, it will make your evening slightly better.
First off, I got this book since the plot sounded interesting and also because it's currently free on Amazon. Now, I should have known something was not right when I saw that it was for free, but I somehow convinced myself to give this story a chance. Well...I should've listened to my gut feeling.
But first let me tell you the tings that I did like about this book. I trully loved how Liam's feelings for Sara started to grow and their love was just so OTT. And I'm glad there was no break-up between them. That would've sucked, since this is a PNR story, where everything is allowed in love and war. If you like to read about a hot, possessive, totally OTT hero that would kill to protect his love, then Liam is the one for you. I wished there were more books with heroes like him. Beside him, I also liked his friends. They were cool and just what you'd expect from a frat boy.
Sadly, the last two books that I've read were by Nalini Singh and Suzanne Wright. So that means my expectations were high for this author and her writing style. Sadly they were too high...
And let me tell you why...
As good as the plot sounded, the execution of it was just not that great. It all happened either too fast (the beginning and the ending) or too slow (the whole vampire thing and how to solve the BIG problem). Also, at times the characters were really immature, especially with the bitter exes, and I often wondered, if maybe it was just me being too old to read a book like this one. But whatever the reason, one thing is for sure, I did not like the characters as much as I wanted them to. Another thing that bothered me was that the whole pace of the story was just off. I felt like sometimes we skipped from one scene to another, so the natural flow of the story felt too disconnected to me. I wished the author had taken her time to include more details about what was happening in general. The saving grace was David and his knowledge of vampires. I'm sure I would be completely lost without him explaining things. He was like Yoda from Star wars.
Overall, would I re-read this book? No.
Would I recommend it? Maybe. If you have time on your hands and don't know what to read next, then this one might be for you. It's just the right amount of fluffy, stupid and interesting. I know, a killer combination, lol. But if nothing else, it will make your evening slightly better.
January 27, 2013
I had much higher hopes for this book. I made it about twenty percent of the way through it only to decide I was wasting my time. When there are so many grammatical errors that I am too distracted to get into the story, there's a problem. Notice my spelling of "to" ("...distraced to get into the story")... it is spelled with only ONE o and NOT two. I stopped counting the number of times the author made an error with this simple word ("I have to finish. I have too."... and "...but suddenly I wasn't so sure that I wanted too."). Sometimes she spelled it correctly, sometimes she didn't. Sometimes she used it both correctly and incorrectly in the SAME sentence- as evidenced above. It just became TOO distracting. I know it doesn't sound like it, but I can overlook a lot. I've read books previously that had some errors throughout but I could overlook them if the story pulled me in. Some of those books I really enjoyed and gave a great review because the story was so good. But it wasn't just the grammar in this book that did me in- the characters grated on my nerves as well. The girl (Sera) is supposed to come across as someone who illicits sympathy from the reader. She only seemed to me to be a whiny victim with low self esteem. I understand she's been through a traumatic experience, but the way she is written makes me wonder why anyone would like her at all- especially the super hot lead guy in the story. All the two of them have done so far is make out and wallow in their strong feelings for each other. I'm puzzled as to why they are even together. And after knowing him for less than a day, Sera is divulging her big, shameful secret to Liam. She doesn't even know him and she's telling him something she hasn't even told her best friend of three years. I don't understand it. What had Liam done to win her trust? And I'm sorry, but I don't find it realistic for a girl in her early twenties to speak like this: "He bellowed with rage..." as she's describing something that someone did to her. It just doesn't sound natural. A word of advice- either get an editor or get a proofreader that will actually tell you the truth. These things can be cleaned up BEFORE you publish. You could have a wonderful, original, interesting book but you'll lose a lot of your audience if they can't see past all the errors and inconsistencies. I could go on, but I think you get the point. Sorry.
May 6, 2017
After the shadow that the Twilight series cast on vampire stories, I wasn't expecting this to be a great book. Most of the vampire-based novels and novellas coming out these days, have obvious influences from Stephanie Meyers' books. The synopsis sounded interesting, so I figured I'd give it a try. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised.
While I could definitely see some similarities between this book and the entire Twilight series, it was only in certain areas, and only when I consciously looked for it. It's still original enough to be interesting and exciting, and no one sparkled...
The depth of the characters was surprising and enjoyable- not something I had been expecting. Sera's struggles and past pain are things I think a lot of young women can relate to, and her character draws you in from the first page. Her personal growth, and the relationship she develops with Liam, are both simply wonderful. Liam is a perfect example of a vampire-version dream hunk in most young women's day-dreams. He's confident and strong, but also has a softer side, much like a sparkly guy with great hair we're all familiar with...
The side characters are awesome as well, and all do a fantastic job of shaping the story and helping the events go from interesting to exciting. You couldn't ask for better friends than the ones Sera and Liam have, and the relationships we see with them give the story added depth.
The surprising twist in the last quarter of the book was simply fantastic, and added a sense of danger and suspense to the story. While I personally didn't care for the ending itself, I know most people would, and it was a decent ending for the story. It's sure to satisfy most readers.
The writing was very good, flowed easily and quickly. The author does a fantastic job of capturing all the emotions of the story, without being too dramatic or getting lost in dialogue. I took off a star for grammatical/spelling errors that, while they might not bother some people, pull me out of the story.
With humor, fun, adventure, mystery and romance, this is a wonderfully well-rounded book, sure to appeal to any vampire, romance, or YA/NA fan.
September 19, 2018
This paranormal vampire book had a different feel to it from the other vampire books I've read. I liked it. I really didn't know what to expect from this book, since the hero and heroine had an instant connection and got together pretty quickly, but was pleasantly surprised with how the story went.. It slowed down a little in the middle but then picked back up again.
There are some intense love scenes in the book.
The entire book did have a New Adult feel to it as well with some paranormal on the side. You actually wouldn't know it is a book about vampires if you hadn't seen the series name. It isn't straightforward when we first meet the hero. We find out, basically when the heroine does.
I'm definitely keen to read more of this series.
There are some intense love scenes in the book.
The entire book did have a New Adult feel to it as well with some paranormal on the side. You actually wouldn't know it is a book about vampires if you hadn't seen the series name. It isn't straightforward when we first meet the hero. We find out, basically when the heroine does.
I'm definitely keen to read more of this series.
July 18, 2014
I don't think I have ever given a 1 star rating but I could not muster up a 2 here, I did try please believe me.
The editing on this book was skipped completely and the errors were just too much, words were completely missing in some sentences. I don't know how many times you can say he hissed, he grated (whatever that means), his hands tightened around her, her bottom lip trembled, he bellowed, his eyes snapped towards this person or that person, his jaw clenched, her jaw clenched, her eyes widened, his eyes widened and so on - these phrases were used way too much, sometimes 2 or 3 times in one paragraph. Not to mention the word upon also used so many times and incorrectly I couldn’t count. The Jacob character went from having brown eyes to blue on the same page or maybe the very next page I am not sure; character development was non-existent besides a wimpy trembling fool of a girl.
A woman's nipples are now reduced to being called nubs? Really??! NO! They are nipples!
I truly believe the story may have been a good one if executed properly and edited, perhaps even a little bit of sex research - I found a lot of awkwardness with "hands".
The editing on this book was skipped completely and the errors were just too much, words were completely missing in some sentences. I don't know how many times you can say he hissed, he grated (whatever that means), his hands tightened around her, her bottom lip trembled, he bellowed, his eyes snapped towards this person or that person, his jaw clenched, her jaw clenched, her eyes widened, his eyes widened and so on - these phrases were used way too much, sometimes 2 or 3 times in one paragraph. Not to mention the word upon also used so many times and incorrectly I couldn’t count. The Jacob character went from having brown eyes to blue on the same page or maybe the very next page I am not sure; character development was non-existent besides a wimpy trembling fool of a girl.
A woman's nipples are now reduced to being called nubs? Really??! NO! They are nipples!
I truly believe the story may have been a good one if executed properly and edited, perhaps even a little bit of sex research - I found a lot of awkwardness with "hands".
December 17, 2018
Very fast pace
September 1, 2017
What a pleasant surprise this was. I loved Sera and Liam. They were great together. This was a little slow for me for maybe the first chapter. But then I was quickly swept away with this story. I thought this was YA but I was seriously mistaken. Since it take place at collage I would say NA to Adult for sure. There was a lot of sex going on.
Sera a great character. She was strong in what she believed in. Even when things were tough and it would have been easier to walk away and she had her moment where she almost would. But then it was like a switch was flipped and she thought it through before actually doing it. I think her only flaws were not being able to say no to her best friend Kathleen and she cried a lot. The crying for me wasn't annoying though. Sera has also been struggling for the past few years and struggles to get close to men because she was sexually assaulted when she was in high school. Liam is the first guy that she feels safe with. Of course there is an instant connection, which by the end of the book you learn more about.
Liam oh baby! I love him.. and loved his 4 friends...Liam was a womanizer big time. But you learn later about all that as well. In fact in the beginning he decided that Sera will be his next conquest for the night. Ha! Was he ever surprised. This was one of those instant lust and then love within three weeks kinda thing. But I enjoyed this so much that I didn't care. Liam was protective to the extreme and even became possessive to becoming to most obsessive. Again there's a reason and if you hang in there you find out why. It was kind of funny because Liam is a vampire but for a while there I wasn't so sure, I kept wondering when he show what he was. I mean come on they drank a lot and they smoke. They can be in the sunlight and even eat food.
This was filled with angst, partying, sex, action, drama, obsession, mystery and undying love. I was bummed when I read that the next book is in the future. I was really hoping that one of Liam's friends would have a book.
Sera a great character. She was strong in what she believed in. Even when things were tough and it would have been easier to walk away and she had her moment where she almost would. But then it was like a switch was flipped and she thought it through before actually doing it. I think her only flaws were not being able to say no to her best friend Kathleen and she cried a lot. The crying for me wasn't annoying though. Sera has also been struggling for the past few years and struggles to get close to men because she was sexually assaulted when she was in high school. Liam is the first guy that she feels safe with. Of course there is an instant connection, which by the end of the book you learn more about.
Liam oh baby! I love him.. and loved his 4 friends...Liam was a womanizer big time. But you learn later about all that as well. In fact in the beginning he decided that Sera will be his next conquest for the night. Ha! Was he ever surprised. This was one of those instant lust and then love within three weeks kinda thing. But I enjoyed this so much that I didn't care. Liam was protective to the extreme and even became possessive to becoming to most obsessive. Again there's a reason and if you hang in there you find out why. It was kind of funny because Liam is a vampire but for a while there I wasn't so sure, I kept wondering when he show what he was. I mean come on they drank a lot and they smoke. They can be in the sunlight and even eat food.
This was filled with angst, partying, sex, action, drama, obsession, mystery and undying love. I was bummed when I read that the next book is in the future. I was really hoping that one of Liam's friends would have a book.
April 9, 2013
3.5 out of 5 Stars
Wow... another freebie that I was actually pleasantly surprised by. I didn't expect much considering this was a free book and it was about vampires, which let's face it has been a genre beat into the ground ever since Twilight.
It takes a lot to make any kind of stand out vampire novel in this day and age.
Awakened was decently different though, however it's also one of those novels that I think could have been delved into more in depth than what it was. - Liam and the gangs transformation into becoming creatures of the night was very short and succinct. I would have loved to have read a bit more about that.
Overall, the story was surprisingly good. This was one freebie that I had no problem getting through.
Also, you should all be grateful that I got through this review because a spider fell on me during it. It was traumatic. It was also one of those jumpy hoppy spiders, so I guess maybe he jumped on me, not really fell. Regardless... NOT FUN!
Upon internet research though I have discovered that he was just trying to play me the song of his people...
Go play your song somewhere else jumpy spider, I'm not interested.
December 12, 2021
I'm still not sure what Liam saw in Sera. That's why we need conversation, people!!! I know I complain about this in too many of my reviews, but it's true. Sera telling him about Jake and her traumatic past was a good start, but there should have been more of that. We don't even know much about Liam. Sera talking about Cape Cod made me want to go there lmao
It's not confirmed that Liam is a vampire till halfway through, but he and his friends do hint that something isn't totally normal with them, that Liam made rules to protect them. I did sort of like that, how it wasn't revealed. Had the title not said "Vampire Awakenings, #1", I wouldn't have known.
To be honest, most of the book just reads as a Girl Meets Boy at college romance, though. What was Sera studying? Or Liam? I never got that. I also doubted that Sera would still be living in the dorms her senior year and with the same roommate too.
And how do they have all this money that Sera never needs to study again or even work it seemed? I thought that was going to be explained, but it wasn't.
It's not confirmed that Liam is a vampire till halfway through, but he and his friends do hint that something isn't totally normal with them, that Liam made rules to protect them. I did sort of like that, how it wasn't revealed. Had the title not said "Vampire Awakenings, #1", I wouldn't have known.
To be honest, most of the book just reads as a Girl Meets Boy at college romance, though. What was Sera studying? Or Liam? I never got that. I also doubted that Sera would still be living in the dorms her senior year and with the same roommate too.
And how do they have all this money that Sera never needs to study again or even work it seemed? I thought that was going to be explained, but it wasn't.
March 31, 2013
Have you ever read a vampire novel where you forget you're reading a vampire novel? Awakened is just like that...only more so. I have never read a story where the fact that the main character is a vampire seems superfluous .
It seems to me Ms. Davies was torn between writing a young adult romance story about love giving a couple strength to cope with past trauma, and a kitschy coming if age vamp novel. I mean, the reader doesn't even really discover physical proof that Liam is a blood sucker until halfway through the novel.
In the end I believe the characters of Liam and Sera are two dimensional. The plot is weak and the writing style is immature. Ms. Davies did herself an injustice by trying to cram too many trendy genres into one piecemeal novel.
It seems to me Ms. Davies was torn between writing a young adult romance story about love giving a couple strength to cope with past trauma, and a kitschy coming if age vamp novel. I mean, the reader doesn't even really discover physical proof that Liam is a blood sucker until halfway through the novel.
In the end I believe the characters of Liam and Sera are two dimensional. The plot is weak and the writing style is immature. Ms. Davies did herself an injustice by trying to cram too many trendy genres into one piecemeal novel.
July 15, 2025
Finished Reading September 2, 2013
Finished Reading June 4, 2018
Awakened by Brenda K. Davies
Genres: Adult(ish), Paranormal, Romance
3.5 Stars
Negatives & Positives
I liked it for the most part. I only found a couple of minor editing errors. My biggest problem was the characters maturity levels seem a bit younger than their age to me. The main female and her friends should be about 21. Possibly even 22. They all have 3 years of college behind them. A lot of their actions makes me think of them like they are fresh out of high school.
The romance is mostly sweet and the sex between Liam & Sere is steamy. It is also filled with a lot of emotion.
There is a bit of suspense, angst, drama, violence and an HEA.
Although this wasn't quite up to my speed, mature adults between the ages 17 to late 20's would most likely love it.
This is my 2nd read of this story and I already have the other 2 books downloaded in a bundle. I will eventually read book 2. Hopefully that one will be more my speed.
Prch Amz August 29, 2013
Finished Reading June 4, 2018
Awakened by Brenda K. Davies
Genres: Adult(ish), Paranormal, Romance
3.5 Stars
Negatives & Positives
I liked it for the most part. I only found a couple of minor editing errors. My biggest problem was the characters maturity levels seem a bit younger than their age to me. The main female and her friends should be about 21. Possibly even 22. They all have 3 years of college behind them. A lot of their actions makes me think of them like they are fresh out of high school.
The romance is mostly sweet and the sex between Liam & Sere is steamy. It is also filled with a lot of emotion.
There is a bit of suspense, angst, drama, violence and an HEA.
Although this wasn't quite up to my speed, mature adults between the ages 17 to late 20's would most likely love it.
This is my 2nd read of this story and I already have the other 2 books downloaded in a bundle. I will eventually read book 2. Hopefully that one will be more my speed.
Prch Amz August 29, 2013
June 28, 2013
Twilight meets Fifty Shades of Grey!!!!I give it 3 1/2 stars... I got this book for free. It started off slowly, with nearly half the book read I finally get into it. Much like Fifty's Ana, Sera spent most of the book crying like a foolish child; however, I liked it enough to buy the second book. And yes like most ppl have said it does need to be edited better but I got over that.
April 29, 2013
I picked this up as a free read on apple and really didn't have high hopes for it. That said, I was ready to be proved wrong if the story turned out to actually be decent. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. There are SO many things wrong with this book and I don't want to rant, so I'll put some of the major things in to good and bad bullet points.
Good (list considerably shorter):
>Sera, the main protagonist, did actually seem to do a bit of developing. So I guess that's something that's usually in a good story.
>Also, The main characters did seemed to be fleshed out quite well and you did get a good glimpse all their personalities (although I never did understand the importance of Doug and Danielle).
>Sera's and Liam's initial attraction to each other seemed to be quite believable.
That's about it for the good points, sorry!
Bad (list considerably longer):
>First of all, the story was VERY underdeveloped and simplistic. The idea was not original at all. Yes, there are a lot of writers who decide to go for the whole vampire thing, but usually have a different take on it! The writer had no different take on it and nothing about the vampires was really explained (how the vampires evolved in the first place, what powers they have, etc) and if it was it would be the old legends that everyone knows all about anyway. They didn't even talk about vampires for the first half of the book and it seemed a little silly to bother putting it in when the main story was CLEARLY not about vampires... rather the main protagonists' sex life.
>The spelling and grammatical errors were terrible and incredibly annoying! Someone needs to edit this book! Honestly, how old if this writer? I expect I'm younger and can still tell the difference between when to use 'too' and 'to'.
>It seemed a little unbelievable that every character the main protagonist walked into was out of-this-dimension-hot or breathtakingly beautiful (herself included). Really? Every character? Are slightly less good-looking characters not allowed to go to Sera's college or something?
>I also DON'T understand how Sera, the snotty nosed biatch, had any friends at all. She didn't try to get friends, wasn't very interesting, was also very rude- but somehow Kathleen, the very friendly girl, wanted to be best friends with her. Why? Sera refused to go out with her, didn't make much conversation and constantly slagged Kathleen off in her head about the messy room. And to top it all off, she also complained once or twice that she would have to tidy it later. No, you don't have to tidy it later, you're her room mate- not her mother.
>The only remotely interesting part of this story was Sera's mystery past, and her fear of it. However it was quickly given away so my curiosity was the stubbed out. She started to overcome her fear and get better and then we find out that Liam is also a raving lunatic. What is this writer trying to get at? What is the moral of that story? Leave one abusive relationship and dive head first into another? Liam ended becoming a psycho with his jealousy, he controlled Sera and she seemed to be fine with it... all because they were "soul mates". Really?
>Then there's the sex. Do I even have to say anything? Every chapter give or take a few, had a sex scene in. What is with the recent craze in sex novels? Does every writer have to copy 50 Shades of Grey? I actually started having a game with myself while reading this, it was called: "guess how many pages till the next sex scene". Jesus! Their entire relationship seemed to be based on sex and intense jealousy and possessiveness!
>Lastly, the thing that most irritated me of all with this book was the sexism. The writer is a woman and she's being sexist to her own gender? It seemed that every girl other than our precious Sera is 'easy' and a 'slut', but Liam's boy band of friends are labelled as nothing? Sera parades and laughs with them as although she hates every other sex-crazed boy at parties because of her past, somehow these ones are totally okay. It constantly irritated me that every girl that either Jack, Doug or Mike would bring back would be described in exactly the same way every time just with varying hair colours. "Mike came forward with a little brunette under his arm, and behind him Jack had a red-head under his. Doug was behind him with another brunette". Fab, I'm so glad we had such fantastic details of these poor girls squashed under these boys arms. It's as if they're not even good enough to be given a little more detail. The writer could have just mentioned that they had girls with them. But no, every girl other than Sera is portrayed as an easy-going slut with no morals.
Also how Liam describes the girls he has previously fed off, as if they are objects that are his for the taking. Shouldn't Sera be scared of him? That boy in her past was trying to take something off of her that she didn't want to give up but she finds nothing wrong with Liam actually taking these girls' blood? I don't expect they wanted that taken off them, they didn't ask to be blood donors! She should be repulsed.
Finally it seems our heroine unfortunately turned into the typical damsel in distress. Liam or someone else saving her butt every time she's in a spot of bother.
There's loads more but I would be going on forever. The plot was pathetic, the characters were also strange and lacked common sense (e.g Sera repeatedly asking the stupidest questions going) and all the villains were crazy jealous and beautiful girls who apparently had nothing better to do than pine over Liam and try and get revenge on Sera just because she was going out with him. The only character I had slight hope for and who seemed to have a bit more common sense was Jack but they never seemed to take any of his advice.
I don't know if sequels are coming out, but if I ever see the next one in the book shop I will actually buy it to burn it.
Good (list considerably shorter):
>Sera, the main protagonist, did actually seem to do a bit of developing. So I guess that's something that's usually in a good story.
>Also, The main characters did seemed to be fleshed out quite well and you did get a good glimpse all their personalities (although I never did understand the importance of Doug and Danielle).
>Sera's and Liam's initial attraction to each other seemed to be quite believable.
That's about it for the good points, sorry!
Bad (list considerably longer):
>First of all, the story was VERY underdeveloped and simplistic. The idea was not original at all. Yes, there are a lot of writers who decide to go for the whole vampire thing, but usually have a different take on it! The writer had no different take on it and nothing about the vampires was really explained (how the vampires evolved in the first place, what powers they have, etc) and if it was it would be the old legends that everyone knows all about anyway. They didn't even talk about vampires for the first half of the book and it seemed a little silly to bother putting it in when the main story was CLEARLY not about vampires... rather the main protagonists' sex life.
>The spelling and grammatical errors were terrible and incredibly annoying! Someone needs to edit this book! Honestly, how old if this writer? I expect I'm younger and can still tell the difference between when to use 'too' and 'to'.
>It seemed a little unbelievable that every character the main protagonist walked into was out of-this-dimension-hot or breathtakingly beautiful (herself included). Really? Every character? Are slightly less good-looking characters not allowed to go to Sera's college or something?
>I also DON'T understand how Sera, the snotty nosed biatch, had any friends at all. She didn't try to get friends, wasn't very interesting, was also very rude- but somehow Kathleen, the very friendly girl, wanted to be best friends with her. Why? Sera refused to go out with her, didn't make much conversation and constantly slagged Kathleen off in her head about the messy room. And to top it all off, she also complained once or twice that she would have to tidy it later. No, you don't have to tidy it later, you're her room mate- not her mother.
>The only remotely interesting part of this story was Sera's mystery past, and her fear of it. However it was quickly given away so my curiosity was the stubbed out. She started to overcome her fear and get better and then we find out that Liam is also a raving lunatic. What is this writer trying to get at? What is the moral of that story? Leave one abusive relationship and dive head first into another? Liam ended becoming a psycho with his jealousy, he controlled Sera and she seemed to be fine with it... all because they were "soul mates". Really?
>Then there's the sex. Do I even have to say anything? Every chapter give or take a few, had a sex scene in. What is with the recent craze in sex novels? Does every writer have to copy 50 Shades of Grey? I actually started having a game with myself while reading this, it was called: "guess how many pages till the next sex scene". Jesus! Their entire relationship seemed to be based on sex and intense jealousy and possessiveness!
>Lastly, the thing that most irritated me of all with this book was the sexism. The writer is a woman and she's being sexist to her own gender? It seemed that every girl other than our precious Sera is 'easy' and a 'slut', but Liam's boy band of friends are labelled as nothing? Sera parades and laughs with them as although she hates every other sex-crazed boy at parties because of her past, somehow these ones are totally okay. It constantly irritated me that every girl that either Jack, Doug or Mike would bring back would be described in exactly the same way every time just with varying hair colours. "Mike came forward with a little brunette under his arm, and behind him Jack had a red-head under his. Doug was behind him with another brunette". Fab, I'm so glad we had such fantastic details of these poor girls squashed under these boys arms. It's as if they're not even good enough to be given a little more detail. The writer could have just mentioned that they had girls with them. But no, every girl other than Sera is portrayed as an easy-going slut with no morals.
Also how Liam describes the girls he has previously fed off, as if they are objects that are his for the taking. Shouldn't Sera be scared of him? That boy in her past was trying to take something off of her that she didn't want to give up but she finds nothing wrong with Liam actually taking these girls' blood? I don't expect they wanted that taken off them, they didn't ask to be blood donors! She should be repulsed.
Finally it seems our heroine unfortunately turned into the typical damsel in distress. Liam or someone else saving her butt every time she's in a spot of bother.
There's loads more but I would be going on forever. The plot was pathetic, the characters were also strange and lacked common sense (e.g Sera repeatedly asking the stupidest questions going) and all the villains were crazy jealous and beautiful girls who apparently had nothing better to do than pine over Liam and try and get revenge on Sera just because she was going out with him. The only character I had slight hope for and who seemed to have a bit more common sense was Jack but they never seemed to take any of his advice.
I don't know if sequels are coming out, but if I ever see the next one in the book shop I will actually buy it to burn it.
February 6, 2018
See the original review at https://thevagariesofus.com/2018/02/0...
Awakened is the first novel in the Vampire Awakenings series by USA Today bestselling author Brenda K. Davies. The story follows Sera, a young woman navigating her last year in college, while struggling with an experience that has left her uncomfortable and hesitant around men, and Liam- a young man who also attends the college with a dark and dangerous secret of his own. When Liam notices Sera at a party, he instantly decides that he needs to meet her- this chance meeting leads to a whirlwind romance that neither of them expected. Sera opens to Liam early on about a previous boyfriend who left her traumatized back in her hometown, and Liam discovers just how protective he can be with her. When the object of her nightmares makes an appearance and threatens Sera’s life, Liam makes a decision that ultimately changes the course of their relationship.
Besides Sera and Liam, the story provides a handful of other characters that help to move the plot along. Sera has two best friends that she interacts with frequently, Liam has four close friends all sharing the same secret as Liam, and then there’s a woman who used to be close friends with Sera who ultimately betrays her, and finally there’s a villain from Liam’s past that makes a deadly appearance. While many of these characters were interesting, there was a lot to keep track of. Sera mentions a strained relationship with her parents, though we never really find out if this relationship will ever be mended. I was also left wondering if Sera’s best friends would ever find out about what Liam, and eventually Sera, are. So, that part of the story is left to the imagination.
The story, overall, was fast-paced and provided excellent conditions to get to know the characters better (such as the campus frat house and the cabin in the woods where a handful of the characters were snowed in together). The woman who turned Liam and his friends into vampires seemed interesting enough and provided some suspense- though I wish she had provided a bit more wickedness to the story- for example, when she first happened upon Sera in the woods and they were alone, this meeting could have ended in a more drastic way. The chemistry was heated enough between Liam and Sera, and their feelings for one another were evident throughout the story. All-in-all, Awakened was fun, intriguing, and satisfied my need for a good read.
Four stars for Awakened!
Awakened is the first novel in the Vampire Awakenings series by USA Today bestselling author Brenda K. Davies. The story follows Sera, a young woman navigating her last year in college, while struggling with an experience that has left her uncomfortable and hesitant around men, and Liam- a young man who also attends the college with a dark and dangerous secret of his own. When Liam notices Sera at a party, he instantly decides that he needs to meet her- this chance meeting leads to a whirlwind romance that neither of them expected. Sera opens to Liam early on about a previous boyfriend who left her traumatized back in her hometown, and Liam discovers just how protective he can be with her. When the object of her nightmares makes an appearance and threatens Sera’s life, Liam makes a decision that ultimately changes the course of their relationship.
Besides Sera and Liam, the story provides a handful of other characters that help to move the plot along. Sera has two best friends that she interacts with frequently, Liam has four close friends all sharing the same secret as Liam, and then there’s a woman who used to be close friends with Sera who ultimately betrays her, and finally there’s a villain from Liam’s past that makes a deadly appearance. While many of these characters were interesting, there was a lot to keep track of. Sera mentions a strained relationship with her parents, though we never really find out if this relationship will ever be mended. I was also left wondering if Sera’s best friends would ever find out about what Liam, and eventually Sera, are. So, that part of the story is left to the imagination.
The story, overall, was fast-paced and provided excellent conditions to get to know the characters better (such as the campus frat house and the cabin in the woods where a handful of the characters were snowed in together). The woman who turned Liam and his friends into vampires seemed interesting enough and provided some suspense- though I wish she had provided a bit more wickedness to the story- for example, when she first happened upon Sera in the woods and they were alone, this meeting could have ended in a more drastic way. The chemistry was heated enough between Liam and Sera, and their feelings for one another were evident throughout the story. All-in-all, Awakened was fun, intriguing, and satisfied my need for a good read.
Four stars for Awakened!
October 18, 2016
Read this in ONE sitting. Over about 6 hours. Was FANTASTIC!
This was a great book, made even better by the fact that it is FREE on Amazon right now, lol. I love the genre that I so affectionately call Vampire Smut, lol.
Not only was the smut excellent, it was really an excellent story of past hurts, love and lies. It was great.
It probably tied up a little to neatly for most people, but an easy happy ending is good every once in a while, I say! Plus that's just what I needed with the other heavy reads I have going on right now.
Please be aware that this book is NOT for anyone under 18!!!!!!
If you are a Vampire Smut fan, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
This was a great book, made even better by the fact that it is FREE on Amazon right now, lol. I love the genre that I so affectionately call Vampire Smut, lol.
Not only was the smut excellent, it was really an excellent story of past hurts, love and lies. It was great.
It probably tied up a little to neatly for most people, but an easy happy ending is good every once in a while, I say! Plus that's just what I needed with the other heavy reads I have going on right now.
Please be aware that this book is NOT for anyone under 18!!!!!!
If you are a Vampire Smut fan, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
June 10, 2020
Sera spends her time at college with her nose in books and studying. Her roommate is bubbly, outgoing and makes her come out to a party with her where she spots Liam.
When Liam spots Sera at a party, his friend Mike tells him not to ever try with her because she doesn't date and is very standoffish. But he's intrigued by her so he goes to talk with her.
Sera never dates and is very shy and standoffish with the guys at school but she has a different reaction to Liam when he comes to talk to her. There's something about him that makes her feel sorta safe around him. It was easy for Liam and his friend, Mike to see that something must have happened to Sera in her past to make her so afraid and skittish around the opposite sex so Liam takes things really slow with her. But another girl who he had a one night stand with before he met Sera makes things hard for them and tries to break them up.
When the old boyfriend from her past shows up and hurts her, it's Liam that saves her. There's more to Liam and his friends than I first thought and when he tries to tell her his secret, it doesn't go over very well at first. Of course there has to be an element of danger and we get that when Liam's maker comes back to cause trouble for him and his friends.
I really liked this take on a vampire tale. I liked Liam and his friends. Sera was at first a shy, skittish thing that just needed time to get over what happened to her before she came out as strong female character. Liam and Sera fall hard for each other is a relatively short amount of time but I really liked watching these two get to know each other. This was a fun read.
When Liam spots Sera at a party, his friend Mike tells him not to ever try with her because she doesn't date and is very standoffish. But he's intrigued by her so he goes to talk with her.
Sera never dates and is very shy and standoffish with the guys at school but she has a different reaction to Liam when he comes to talk to her. There's something about him that makes her feel sorta safe around him. It was easy for Liam and his friend, Mike to see that something must have happened to Sera in her past to make her so afraid and skittish around the opposite sex so Liam takes things really slow with her. But another girl who he had a one night stand with before he met Sera makes things hard for them and tries to break them up.
When the old boyfriend from her past shows up and hurts her, it's Liam that saves her. There's more to Liam and his friends than I first thought and when he tries to tell her his secret, it doesn't go over very well at first. Of course there has to be an element of danger and we get that when Liam's maker comes back to cause trouble for him and his friends.
I really liked this take on a vampire tale. I liked Liam and his friends. Sera was at first a shy, skittish thing that just needed time to get over what happened to her before she came out as strong female character. Liam and Sera fall hard for each other is a relatively short amount of time but I really liked watching these two get to know each other. This was a fun read.
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