Monday, February 20, 2017

BOOK REVIEW | Reawakened by Colleen Houck

Title: Reawakened
Series: Reawakened Trilogy
Author: Colleen Houck
Publication Date: August 11, 2015
Pages: 400
Source: I checked this out from my local library!
When seventeen-year-old Lilliana Young enters the Metropolitan Museum of Art one morning during spring break, the last thing she expects to find is a live Egyptian prince with godlike powers, who has been reawakened after a thousand years of mummification.

And she really can't imagine being chosen to aid him in an epic quest that will lead them across the globe to find his brothers and complete a grand ceremony that will save mankind.

But fate has taken hold of Lily, and she, along with her sun prince, Amon, must travel to the Valley of the Kings, raise his brothers, and stop an evil, shape-shifting god named Seth from taking over the world.

From New York Times bestselling author Colleen Houck comes an epic adventure about two star-crossed teens who must battle mythical forces and ancient curses on a journey with more twists and turns than the Nile itself.

I have had the epitome of a love-hate relationship with Colleen Houck. You have probably heard of Houck from her Tiger's Curse series. Back in the day, I loved the first two books, but when I read the last two, I really didn't like them. At the time, it was one of the first big name books that I didn't enjoy, and I was masively disappointed. When Reawakened was released in 2015, I was wary. The last two books written by Houck were dragged on and I fell out of the characters. Plus, Reawakened has a very similar plot. So time went on, and I finally decided to see what I thought for myself after my friend Erika reviewed (and loved!) the series on her blog

I was pretty happy with Reawakened. Lily was a solid protagonist. She got on my nerves every now and again, but overall I liked her. I think she would be they type of girl I'm friends with at school but not great friends with. Lily hasn't every experienced adventure, and at times she was very naive. She wouldn't be able to make conclusions that I thought were apparent, and I just wanted her to see what I knew. Her naivete did get on my nerves, but she had a good heart and I understood her decision making. 

So, let's get to talking about the romance. It fell right down the middle for me. At first, I really liked the will they won't they. Eventually, it was just dragged on for way to long (though with good reason!) that I got exasperated and bored. I know what the romance is like with the second book (talk about a messy love square!) and I'm intrigued to see how Houck will handle it. I have an inkling I'll like the romance in the sequel more than this one, though I didn't mind what little romance there was in Reawakened. 

My favorite thing about this book has to be Ahmose and Asten. They are the two brothers of Amon, the main male protagonist. These brothers will play a bigger role in the sequels, and I'm eagerly looking forward to them! I loved the interactions among the three brothers. Plus, Asten is my favorite brother of the three, and I can't wait to see more of him. 

I don't really have any big complaints about Reawakened. There just wasn't anything that made this novel stand out to me. I felt as if I was reading an Egyptian (and better) version of the Tiger's Curse. While I'm not mad about it, I'm not necessarily impressed either.

At the end of the day, Reawakened was fun, but there was nothing pushing me to read it. I could have easily read this book in 2 days, but it took me more than two weeks because I just didn't have the motivation to continue on. I've come to realize that this series is for enjoyment. If I analyze it too much, I know I'll find issues left and right. I am going to be continuing on with the series, but I'll try to do it with a fresher outlook and be less critical while doing it. 

With that, I give this book 
3.25 out of 5 Stars!
 

Have you read Reawakened? If so, what did you think?

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

8 comments:

  1. Great review! I've not heard of this before but it sounds like a really interesting read!

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  2. I'm glad you enjoyed this one. I couldn't get into this one - I actually dnf'd it after the first couple of chapters...

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    1. Thanks Lauren! I completely understand. I was struggling for a bit to push through at times. :D Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. When I first read this book, I was in the middle of an Egyptian mythology craze, so I rather enjoyed it. But looking back...there are a lot of issues I can pick out with it that prevents it from being one of those great books. But I agree that it was a fun read, with some unique concepts!

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    1. Are you planning on reading the last book in the trilogy still? Even though you can see the faults now, your reviews did push me to pick up the book. :D Thanks for stopping by Erika!

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  4. I have this book sitting on my shelf because anything to do with Egyptian Gods and Goddesses and just Ancient Egypt in general is like my thing. I'm in love with that time period. I still need to read this one. I hope it pulls me.
    Great review!

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    1. I used to be obsessed with Ancient Egypt when I was younger. I even checked out textbooks about mummifying methods once! I hope you love it and it doesn't disappoint! :)

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