The Awakening

By: Joy Nash

Narrated by: Rebecca Cook

Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

She comes to him in a dream: her creamy skin delectably cool, silky raven hair smelling of the sea, and ocean-blue eyes reflecting the depths of her passion. She is everything Kalen has been desperate to capture in his art - and in his bed. In reality, when Christine finds his remote Scottish castle, it is to persuade the immortal warrior to help repel the darkness spreading around the world. But Kalen has a vindictive Sidhe trying to steal his powers and a dark secret of his own to battle before he and Christine can give in to - the awakening.

©2007 Joy Nash (P)2010 Books In Motion

The Worst, a rant and one tiny spoiler

I am not a woman who can stand to read a “romance” with a heroine who doesn’t meet the basic definition of a woman who is a hero, someone worthy of my admiration, or “a woman noted for courageous acts and nobility of character”. This is especially true in a story with the fate of the world supposedly hanging in the balance. To read a romance without such a heroine is an awful experience. I hate it and I hated this book.

It’s ok if she’s not society’s ideal in other ways, if she’s clumsy, unattractive, forgetful, cursed, outmatched, and in all other ways a train wreck. But she needs to be smart and she needs to be driven to save the world. I don’t even care why she’s driven. She can be driven because of something in her past. She could be driven to save her loved ones or because she has great compassion for all of mankind. She could be driven because she’s competitive and she wants to beat the bad guys. It doesn’t matter, just please don’t write her as someone who lets herself be outwitted and pushed around.

The saddest part in this whole mess is that I really wanted to love this book. The premise sounded good. The other books so far in the series (1: Immortals: The Calling and 2: The Darkening) were entertaining, and I assumed that I would enjoy this one just as much. So instead of giving up in chapter 3 I kept skipping ahead through the chapters, trying to give them the benefit of the doubt: the author, the heroine, and the hero—cough-the selfish, worthless, womanizing lout-cough.

But when she still hadn’t escaped the island by chapter 22, I gave up. I mean seriously, you have a ‘save the world’ mission—not save the neighborhood or save the city, but save all of the people in the entire world—and you can’t get back to the mainland? You don’t have enough magical juice to do it? Fine. Find another way. Worst case, you just had sex with a stranger. Slut your way off the island if you have to. Whatever. Just give up on that recklessly handsome User Loser and get back to work.

I don’t mention the characters’ names in this review because I don’t remember them. They aren’t worth remembering. Just do yourself a favor. Skip this one.

Naturally, this review should not be an indictment on the narration. As always, Rebecca Cook was amazing.

Extremely Sensual

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

No. I don't have any friends who are open minded enough for the erotic contents of this VERY steamy novel.

What did you like best about this story?

I love that the author was able to add some snarkiness in parts of the story which the narrator portrayed very well.

What does Rebecca Cook bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Rebecca Cook did a wonderful job narrating. Great timing and great voices added so much to the story.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Don't take a first date to this movie.