Awakened: The Power Trilogy Book 1

by Dot Caffrey

POWER AND PROPHECY!
Seventeen-year-old Regnaryn grew up among mythical beings believing that she is the last surviving human.

Her world shatters when Evil invades her dreams , demanding she relinquish powers she didn’t know she had.

The arrival of another human, a male, shakes the foundation of everything she thought she knew.
Emotions in chaos, she flees the only home she’s ever known, only to be captured by the all too real Evil from her dreams. An evil determined to ensure her prophesized powers never come to be.
Regnaryn is about to discover that protecting the ones you love sometimes means blurring the lines between good and evil.

Genres: Fantasy

326 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2014

About the author

Born and raised in New York, mostly on Long Island not "The City", Dot Caffrey moved to California after high school and now describes herself as a ‘Californian by choice not chance’. She did a three-year stint in the Navy before going to college and getting a Microbiology/Medical Technologist degree.

Her father told her she was a storyteller from the time she began talking (which was at a very young age). But, it wasn't until a few years ago that she decided to take her passion for writing and her love for all things magical or mythical seriously and start writing fantasy novels.

Now retired from her day job, she hopes to fill her time with more writing as well as her hobbies of creating and wearing costumes (cosplay), playing video games (though, she admits she is not very good at it), watching NHL hockey and, of course, hanging out with her friends and many cats.

Reviews

[Nancy (The Avid Reader)]

One girl, Seventeen-year-old Regnaryn grows up in a land full of magical beings. Regnaryn believes that she is the last human. She is adopted and raised by a wonderful Yekcal couple who care for her as if she is one of their own. Regnaryn is having some awful nightmares where an evil being enters her dreams demanding that she give up her magical powers. These nightmares are very unsettling for Regnaryn and her family.

When a young man, Graeden another human arrives in her home land, Regnaryn falls hopelessly in love until something happens that puts her emotions in turmoil and she sends her beloved away believing that is ashamed of her. After Graeden’s departure Regnaryn is heartbroken and runs away right into the hands of some very evil people from her nightmares.

Regnaryn and Graeden are so in love that being apart hurts more than either one can handle. Regnaryn has no idea where Graeden lives or how to find him. Can two people that are so much in love survive being so far apart? Can two broken hearts find their way back to each other before it is too late?

Awakened is filled with lots of magic and magical creatures that will keep a fantasy fan hanging on from beginning to end. If you like a good fantasy story with a good romance thrown in then Awakened is the book for you.

[P.J. Colando]

Fantasy is not my usual genre, but this book cover's iridescent orb drew my eye, like the newest of new moons.

Then I began to read... I became absolutely absorbed. The author's imagination deserves applause. She's created a magical world that is thoroughly mesmerizing and richly detailed. Though wholly invented, the places and characters resonate as real. Travel is my 'thing' and I was transported - with depth and immediacy - in the author's idealized world.

I am into the melody of language and Ms. Caffrey's character and place names are among the best I've ever read: Reissem Grove and Regnaryn... wow-wow, power and more power.

I highly recommend.

[Anna]

This story felt very familiar as I was reading. I couldn’t put my finger on it but after I finished I realized this is a rerelease and I think I actually read it when it first came out. It was just as good this time as the first and Dot Caffrey really pulls the reader in from the very beginning. I loved how each character was developed. This is obviously the first book in the series so I know we will learn more about each character in the future books but for a first book we learned a lot about each character. And it didn’t feel forced. Sometimes it feels like an author describes the characters almost like bullet points. Caffrey explained the important parts of each character and gave each of them a different personality which really distinguished how the characters would react.

This story felt so fresh and unique and I absolutely loved it! Regnaryn grows up in an area that is completely separate from the rest of the world. She believes she is the only human left. When she starts having nightmares about some unknown evil taking her powers, she’s not only confused but also scared. When Graeden gets into a fight with his brother he leaves home and when he decides to turn back he finds an unknown force calling him to keep going forward. When he’s captured and tortured he feels a presence in his mind that is giving him the courage to go on. Graeden and Regnaryn find each other and while Regnaryn feels confused and hurt (since she spent her whole life thinking she was the lone human) Graeden feels drawn to Regnaryn like he’s known her his whole life. We learn of an ancient force that has tied the two of them together since before they were born.

The romance in this book felt really forced however, I understand why that would be the case. After Regnaryn and Graeden knew what was happening it didn’t feel as forced. I actually really enjoyed this plot line because it felt different than a “normal” romance in a typical YA book. Instead of boy meets girl they fall in love end of story it was destiny or fate that lead them to each other. I will say I hope Graeden gets a little “tougher” (for lack of a better word). Regnaryn is strong and knows what she wants and he does anything to make her happy, which sounds nice but he doesn’t have much of a personality when she’s involved.

Thank you Ms. Caffrey for not ending this in a cliffhanger! I could see how easy it would have been easy to do so but she was able to pull everything together while creating excitement for the future of the series. As I said above I absolutely love each character and cannot wait to see what happens with each of them in the sequel. I highly recommend this book and I will be counting down the days till the next book comes out.

[Anastasia ｼ]

Full Review on my blog!

Oooo. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d like it but, this was something alright. Definitely an Interesting start to a series.The story is well-paced, and keeps the reader’s interest as the protagonist embarks on a quest to uncover the central mystery.

This is the first book in The Power Trilogy, it follows Regnaryn who grows up in an area that is completely separate from the rest of the world and she believes she’s the only human left. When she starts having nightmares about some unknown evil taking her powers, she’s not only confused but also scared. When Graeden gets into a fight with his brother he leaves home and when he decides to turn back he finds an unknown force calling him to keep going forward. When he’s captured and tortured he feels a presence in his mind that is giving him the courage to go on. Graeden and Regnaryn find each other and while Regnaryn feels confused and hurt (since she spent her whole life thinking she was the lone human) Graeden feels drawn to Regnaryn like he’s known her his whole life. We learn of an ancient force that has tied the two of them together since before they were born.

I absolutely love each character and cannot wait to see what happens with each of them in the next book. I highly recommend reading this one!

[Energy Rae]

While Awakened started off slow to me, as soon as I grew comfortable with the large cast of characters, the book rapidly picked up. Caffrey has created an imaginative world with great creatures and a world filled with magic and possibility. At the heart of our story is Regnaryn, a lone human living in a world with anything but, who is raising her as their own. Her destiny lies in another human, Graden, who might as well live on the other end of the earth if distance and his knowledge of anything magic have anything to do with it. They are destined to come together for the betterment of their world, to fulfill the long-lived prophecy pre-ordained for their lives.
As I said, once you get a handle on the numerous characters, whose names are hard to get through, the story rapidly picks up and becomes exciting and engaging. The main thing that threw me off was Graeden's constant insistence that his family thought he was less than, yet when he returns to his family after a year away, the reader sees none of this. In fact, they are aware of the magic that is out there in the world and is wildly encouraging of him. It was a blaring discrepancy that seemed out of place. Aside from that, I really enjoyed the world and the story Caffrey tells her readers.

[Kirstian]

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Awakened is a wonderful story that will pull you into a magical realm and not let go.

Fantasy genres have always been my go-to reading material because they transport me into such amazing worlds and Awakened did just that. Regnaryn believes herself to be the last human in the magical world see lives in but soon learns that to be untrue. I really enjoyed following this story because I do not come across many like it and Caffrey constructed it with such great skill.

The transitions between the different points of view were easy to follow and did not leave me confused as to who's thoughts I was currently reading. There are many characters that get introduced to you throughout the story, but I found them easy enough to keep up with. Their names were a bit difficult to figure out but after reading fantasy for so long I am used to this and tend to say it in my head however I can.

All-in-all I greatly enjoyed this story and look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. I cannot wait to see what Caffrey bring to the table in book 2.

[Chrissie]

Review copy provided by Xpresso Book Tours in return for an honest review!

This was a bit of a difficult plot to get into at first because there is a hint at something, but you don't find out what till later.  It kept me at the edge of my seat, as I wanted to find out where this was going.

We see the story from two points of view, Regnaryn, and Graeden.  Both have very distinguishable voices, which made the transition easy to follow.

The only thing that I struggled with was the names in this one, they weren't the 'roll-of-the-tongue' type of names...  Also, the number of characters introduced in some scenes were a bit much, but that wasn't such a big issue.

The creatures in this story were so well thought out and introduced in such a way that you want more of a description, but also have free reign for your imagination to take over in this part.

Overall, a great fantasy to sink your teeth into!!  Action-packed and unique in its concept!

[Ashley]

Awakened is book 1 in an amazing new trilogy series. In this first installment we are immediately introduced to two parallel timelines featuring Graeden and Regnaryn.

We quickly learn that Graeden is a noble born human that is not very happy being a middle born son that has no claim to his father's throne.

At the same time, we are meeting Regnaryn who lives in Reissem Grove and is the last remaining human who lives with intelligent, mythical creatures that use magic and mind talking.

Both Graeden and Regnaryn start to feel a change within as they are inexplicably drawn to one another. Over the course of this story, their fates and missions are revelead.

You'll be introduced to lots of amazing and caring characters as you delve into the new world of this trilogy that captivates your senses, challengea your understanding of relationships and soul mates, and ultimately draws you into their journey as they awaken.

Highly recommend this book!

[Valerie]

It has been a while since I read a YA fantasy novel, so I have to admit it took me a couple of chapters to really get into the story and learn the characters involved in this imagined world. But when I did, the read was worth it and I was hooked.

Regnaryn and Graeden, both humans who believed they were the last and when they meet, you realize that both of them, while remarkable in their own right, are better and stronger together. There is a lot of story compacted in this first book, but once Regnaryn and Graeden met, I couldn't put the book down. It's a complex fantasy and while it does end of a cliffhanger, I can honestly say I can't wait for the next one! A great book!

[The Library of Belle]

voto 3.5
Ammetto che leggere un fantasy in lingua inglese all’inizio non è stato semplicissimo e per i primi due capitoli ho dovuto davvero prestare attenzione ad ogni parola, ogni virgola per poi, piano piano, farmi trascinare all’interno della storia.
Protagonisti della storia sono Regnaryn e Graeden; la ragazza è sempre stata da sola, cresciuta in questo mondo particolare, credendo di essere l’unico essere umano rimasto, con incubi sempre più frequenti su un male sempre più incombente e sconosciuto. Graeden invece, dopo un litigio con il fratello e la successiva fuga, sulla via del ritorno viene “catturato” da una forza sconosciuta e nella cattura e tormento che seguiranno, una presenza nella sua mente lo incita a non lasciarsi andare ma continuare a lottare. L’incontro tra i due ragazzi provoca reazioni completamente diverse, come potete immaginare: se la prima è sconvolta dal fatto di non essere la sola umana, e non si fida del tutto, il ragazzo rimane subito affascinato e attratto da lei, convinto che il destino li ha fatti incontrare per un motivo perché uniti sono più forti di quello che sta per incombere.
I due protagonisti sono ben caratterizzati e sviluppati: Regnaryn è una giovane donna forte, che è sopravvissuta e che sa cosa vuole, mentre Graeden secondo me è ancora un ragazzo al suo confronto ma sono certa che entrambi cresceranno durante la trilogia e mi sapranno stupire. Ho trovato, per i miei gusti, un po’ forzata la storia d’amore, sembrava quasi imposta; con questo non voglio dire che non mi piacciono insieme ed essendo uno young adult è calzante, ma credo che avrebbe potuto essere sviluppata più lentamente.
Il romanzo è piacevole, sicuramente dopo i primi momenti di conoscenza, traina il lettore all’interno della storia e i due protagonisti sono convincenti e hanno margine per migliorare ancora; la storia ha davvero un gran potenziale e sono curiosa di leggere come proseguirà e come il cattivo di turno, che qui abbiamo modo di conoscere meglio solo verso la fine creando suspanse, interverrà nella vita dei ragazzi nel secondo volume.

[Leilani Squire]

Dot Caffrey’s novel Awakened: The Power Trilogy, Book 1 is an intricate web of good and evil, harmony and discord, dreams and reality, humans and other-worldly creatures, but perhaps most of all, a love story like none other. This coming of age story set in a world of fantasy will not disappoint the young reader, or any reader of any age, who enjoys a novel filled with excitement, intrigue and yearning to find the truth about oneself. Regnaryn lives in a world of cat-like and other fantastic creatures, thinking she is the last human left in her world. Everything is good. She is loved and embraced by her adopted family. But then Evil invades her dreams, setting in motion her destiny and her need to discover the truth about a prophecy told by her late mother. In another land, Graedan, a young man from the upper class, is driven by his own unknown prophecy to find the answers to questions suddenly appearing before him. He sets off and arrives in the town where Regnaryn lives. Suddenly, Regnaryn is face to face with another human. But as their fates intertwine around åeach other, Regnaryn becomes aware of the prophecy, and they begin another journey—together. A word of caution of the parent with young adults: There is some graphic violence and some sensual scenes in the book. If you like fantasy novels, you will want to read Awakened: The Power Trilogy, Book 1.

[Rachel Fuente]

I don’t typically read fantasy, but apparently this sounded interesting when I received the email about its blog tour, because I signed up. I’m grateful that I did. Awakened is fantastic. The world is well and richly built. The characters are solidly three-dimensional, and the plot is phenomenal.

I love the various non-human species, and the way outsiders react to new things. I fell right into the story and was sucked through to the end. The roller coaster of emotions, surprisingly, wasn’t exhausting, which is typically my issue with them. Instead, the good was interwoven with the bad in such a way that you were able to recover from the negatives before they became overbearing.

The relationships between the characters were believable, although I do wish sometimes we’d gotten a better look at was was going on inside their heads. On particular negative interaction between characters left me scratching my head, because I couldn’t understand what was going on. It seemed very out of character for those involved.

Overall, whether or not you like fantasy, you’re likely to enjoy Awakened. I enjoyed it so much that I tried to buy the next book and keep reading, only to find myself disappointed that I’ll have to wait until October. Anyone have a working time machine?