Awaken (Patronus #1)
By Sarah M. Ross
eBook, 206 pages
Lucy Donovan was supposed to have a weekend of fun in the sun, celebrating her upcoming graduation from college. In a split second, everything changed. A drunk driver ended Lucy’s mortal life.
Lucy opens her eyes to a world she never imagined possible and a new destiny: as a Patronus, a guardian of spirits. Adjusting to her new role and abilities while negotiating this confusing realm will test her limits and push her further than she ever dreamed she would go. From wayward spirits who don’t want her help to soul stealing vampires, and even a stuck-up British royal, Lucy must brave them all to save one spirit she can’t bear to lose.
Further complicating her life is an inexplicable yet growing connection she feels to a member of her team, Max, whose mysterious behavior leaves her both confused and intrigued.
Waking up dead was just the beginning of her problems. Lucy’s death is about to become the greatest adventure of her life. --Goodreads
3 Stars
Review
If there is something about this book that struck out at me the most, it would probably be its similarity to Croak by Gina Damico. Many of the details of the world build in Awaken are either identical or very similar to the hilariously snarky Croak. Although I love Croak with a burning passion and can't dream of a single book about reapers comparing to its gory grim reaper glory, Awaken has its own quirks and charm that made it a fun read.
Awaken begins right off the bat with Lucy dead. Yup, no lag time between car accident and resurrection as angel, it's a smooth entrance to allow the story instantly grab attention, and it works. As I was reading Awaken, the fast-paced, exciting pace of this book instantly hooked me and left me dangling while I was away. It's just one of those reads that keeps a person pacing back and forth for what decisions and revelations will come out to add to the already daring plot.
Unfortunately, what also struck at me was the ridiculous love story between Lucy and Max. By now, as a YA reader, I'm used to insta-love. But this was too much! The lovebirds go on a "should we admit that we like each other" by page 40. My feeling was like, "what in the world did I miss in the past 10 minutes?" The extreme insta-love was too much for me, causing me to kind of roll my eyes over all of the so-called romantic moments and Lucy's mooning over Max.
When compared to Croak, this book isn't as satisfactory of a read. The romance is rushed at such a fast pace, the characters felt a bit unreal and unrelatable, and the book, overall, felt a tad bit immature for a book with a college student protagonist and many characters well above the 500 year old line. Perhaps if the book was longer than 206 pages, then it would be able to gradually build up intensity and emotions better. Despite my complaints, I cannot deny that I really enjoyed reading Awaken to my surprise.
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