Awake

Scarlett is a normal 16-year-old girl living in England and going to high school. Except she can’t remember the first four years of her life. All she knows is that there was a fire, and it seems to have erased all her memories of her early years. Now there’s a new boy in her class. His name is Noah, and he is gorgeous. He is immediately interested in Scarlett, and they start going out. But Noah has chosen Scarlett for a reason, and he has a mission to fulfil for Eternal Light, the sect he belongs to.

Awake is a young adult fiction for readers 16 years and older. The story is alternatively told from Scarlett and Noah’s points of view. This allows the reader to enter Noah’s conflicted mind and see the reasoning behind his actions. I have always been interested in how intelligent people could end up in a sect and believe their leader without questions, so I thought this novel was fascinating. However, the whole premise of the book was a bit shaky. Most people usually don’t remember the first 4 years of their lives. I certainly don’t. Maybe it would have been better if Scarlett was older when the fire happened, say 8 years old for example. I also thought that it was odd that Scarlett confided in Noah from day one and told him about her loss of memory. On the whole though, it was an entertaining read with a gripping subject.

Awake was sent to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

Please go to my blog, Cecile Sune - Bookobsessed, if you would like to read more reviews or discover fun facts about books and authors.

**I received an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review**

Scarlett noticed the new boy at school, whose name was Noah. Scarlett remembers nothing before the age of 4. There was a house fire and she and her brother Jeremy had smoke inhalation. When she woke up, she couldn't remember anything. Scarlett was starting to remember bits and pieces of her past and it wouldn't leave her alone.

In all the story, Scarlett grew. She had a lot happen to her, but in the end, she trusted in love. She was caring and loyal. She was definitely a good character. Noah had a role to play and tried, but feelings got involved. He was loyal, but tore as to what he should be loyal to. He had been caring, he did what he thought was right. Love showed him the answer. He was a great character.

All of the characters were great in this story, even the villains. It was a really good plot and overall story. I highly recommend.

Scarlett seems like a normal happy 16 year old with a very normal family. She finds herself falling falling for new boy Noah, who appears to just be your everyday 16 year old, except he isn't. He is in fact part of a religious group, who have come to reclaim their sacrificial lamb. In a nutshell that is the plot, which is surrounded by a lot of teenage angst and romantic anxiety.
It is definitely more on the teen side of YA. The language is simplistic, and a lot of the scenes seem to suffer from hop skip and jumps in the thinking. What could possibly have been an interesting psychological thriller with a religious cult twist is unfortunately a very placid teen story, which lacks any kind of oomph or twist.
The characters need more depth and the plot could have done with being a bit more fleshed out. Less haste and more time to develop the story.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.

This is one I've been waiting for and couldn't read it quick enough! In fact I read it in one sitting while travelling on holiday.

At first the book, I believed, was going one way. But very soon I realised it was something totally different to anything I had read before, and turned it into a definite 5 star read for me.

Think back to your earliest memory. What age were you? What were you doing? Where were you? Who else was there?
Now imagine having no memories from before the age of 4. The only things you know are what your parents have told you. And of course as loving parents they would never lie, would they?

This is a totally different read to The Cellar, a book I absolutely loved from the author, but was a good read regardless of the differing style. I really enjoyed it as it was something different. It also promises a sequel which I look forward to also.

Whilst I liked the idea behind this novel, I felt the execution was somewhat lacking. I struggled with getting into this book, since I didn't find the main character's personality to be very appealing. If I can't relate to the MC, I have a hard time relating to the rest of the story.

The author has a good imagination, and some interesting ideas and I think this is a matter of staying tuned to see what happens next, after this book.

I thought the beginning of the relationship between the main character and her love interest had promise and hoped that would be the redeeming agent for the rest of the novel, but in the end, that did not happen in my opinion either.

I didn't hate this book, but I can't recommend it as one of my favourites either.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from Netgalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I was hooked from page 1. Scarlett is an ordinary teenager -- except she can't remember anything that happened to her before age 4. Now 16 and with Noah, the new boy in town, completely into her, life is great. Or is it? A car accident changes everything as Scarlett begins to remember snippets of her early childhood.

This is a book about families, and secrets, and one very creepy cult that has been tracking Scarlett since she was a baby.

Awake makes for great beach reading. The narrative shifts back and forth between Scarlett's and Noah's perspective -- and the story leaves you wanting to know what's up, why, and what happens next. While this book may technically fall under young adult fiction, it does not read like a teeny-bopper book.

**I received an advance copy of the book via Netgalley.

Awake is a YA thriller and the first book I have read by Natasha Preston. The plot centers on unraveling the mystery of Scarlett, the main female lead character, and her ties to a cult. The story is set in England, but answers to Scarlett’s background are found in Ireland.

Scarlett is a fifteen year old high school student who, due to trauma, cannot remember anything before the age of four. Her home life is ‘normal’: she lives with two parents who love her and an older brother.

Enter Noah: the new boy at school who starts a relationship with Scarlett, but hides dangerous secrets. He encourages Scarlett to recover her memories and as fragments come through, more questions are raised.

Awake is a good tight suspense where the up close and personal horror is a real page-turner. At times, the dialogue was a bit stilted and you had to suspend belief with some of the character’s actions, but the disconnection between humanity and blind faith was a compelling read.

Not exactly sure how I feel about this one. The storyline was fascinating, a cult that will do anything to get their sacrificial victim back. Noah was a great character, I felt he had wonderful morals under misguided teachings. Scarlett was a mess, seeming to have bad taste in friends and having an immediate need to find the missing four years of her life makes her a bit out there. The story comes together well enough but it needs polishing. She can't remember the first four years, she's currently 16 but a reference of "ten years ago" was made frequently placing her at fourteen. When authors mess around with dates they need to be exact. My copy was given through Netgalley.

There's a saying "With friends like that, who needs enemies?" Scarlett's jealous BFF doesn't act like a friend. Is Scarlett's newest crush Noah truly a friend? Awake begins with two teens quibbling over who will get the new guy in school. From there, it moves into a typical high school crush, movie dates, meeting parents. After an automobile accident, Scarlett has a series of dreams. Apparently Noah and his family are part of a vegan cult on a quest. What is the quest?
my perspective: Am I too old for YA books? Or is it simply the problem with this book? I don't buy the amnesia premise at the age of four, not many of us remember details from those formative years.

I chose this book because of the synopsis and cover. I also chose it because I wanted to have some experience reading in the teen/YA genre. I struggled a bit at first, getting used to Natasha Preston's style, but once I settled in, the story began to flow well. There was a slow build up in suspense, and I would have liked the story to have moved a bit faster. There are some interesting twists and turns, and I think it might lend itself well to a book discussion group because of some of it's themes. I wish that there was a point between 3 and 4 stars, because this came so close for me.
*I received my copy through NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

Note: This review contains some minor spoilers.

In "The Cellar", Natasha Preston took a favorite subject of YA authors (abduction) and revived it with an unusual antagonist and supporting characters. With "Awake," Preston attempts to do the same thing for religious cults, with mixed results.

The cult at the heart of Awake is different enough from the FLDS type cults that typically populate YA novels to be interesting. I was hoping that this wouldn't be another story about a young girl becoming a polygamist bride, and in that respect, Awake does not disappoint. The real problem with Awake is that while the cult is interesting, the main character is not. Preston goes out of her way to remind us - with the help of the other characters - just how special and perfect Scarlett is, and it falls flat. Scarlett's relationships with her parents, her brother, and her boyfriend are perfect. It's hard to imagine a teenage girl who doesn't talk back to her parents or fight with her boyfriend. Not much attention is paid to the Scarlett's friends because once she has a boyfriend, they fade to the background and aren't heard from again. The problem with Scarlett (and Awake) is that there is very little inner conflict. She merely reacts to the actions of others around her. Conflicts that should be major points in the story are resolved quickly and neatly and don't seem to affect Scarlet very much.

The one interesting character is the mysterious Noah, who undergoes a significant, if somewhat predictable, change in the novel. Awake would have been much more interesting if it followed Noah's journey more closely, instead of using him as a foil for Scarlett. Still, as with Scarlett, everything resolves a little too neatly. A "Where are they now" feels tacked on but may satisfy readers.

Would you look at that cover? It's gorgeous. That's what suckered me in to requesting an ARC of this book, but also because I adore anything and everything in the creepy-mystery-suspense genre. AWAKE seemed like the perfect fit but unfortunately it fell so flat for me... And for many others which I realized as soon as I went on to the Goodread's page and went through some other blogger's ratings and reviews. Whew, a definite miss.

First of all, the story's plot line started really well. I got to about 32% before it all went to hell but before then I was really enjoying it! I was really intruiged, fully immersed and ready for the big answers to start revealing themselves. Unfortunately what should have been the most exciting parts of the book made me stop reading, put my kindle down and think 'what the absolute f did I just read?'

The whole story revolved around the fact that Scarlett couldn't remember the first four years of her life and she'd been told it was because of this big fire, blah blah blah. BUT who on earth can remember the first four years of their lives? I know I sure as hell can't. I mean, damn, I can barely remember what I did yesterday let alone when I was that young. Is that just me? I mean I have tiny memories of being that young but nothing substantial. Nothing to lose my s*** over. That really bugged me... But anyways, moving on.

At first it was all a mystery and I couldn't pinpoint the bad guys and I was excited for the big reveal but as soon as the story started to unravel more my dislike for the plot and the characters sky-rocketed.

Noah was ugh. That's the best word I can think of to describe him... He was a crap love interest in all honesty. Instead of swooning and wanting him for myself I found myself loathing his character altogether. He was spineless, willing to do bad things for his 'family'. He looked the devil right in the face and agreed to do his bidding because he thought it was the right thing to do. What a crazy bastard.

At 37% I genuinely but this note in my ARC: "Going to carry on due to sheer horror induced curiosity. Dear god." HA! I was so over it at this point but I powered through all the way to the end.

Now... The ending. I'm not sure if there will be a sequel but the ending suggests that there should be. If not then the ending is worse than I thought because it's not exactly a happy-everything-is-okay-now ending that made me feel satisfied. I doubt there will be a sequel either way just because the book hasn't received much praise at all.

That all being said, I'm still going to read The Cellar by Natasha Preston. Just because I didn't like this book doesn't mean I'm never going to read her work again! I read Silence a while ago and really liked it which is why I saw a familiar author's name on Netgalley and requested AWAKE. Unfortunately I just didn't feel the same about this one.

To read more of my reviews go to [...]

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I tried....I really tried but I just couldn't do it. In the first chapter alone I was like "oh hell no you didn't!". It was insta-love followed by "I have no memories before the age of 4". Who remembers their life before the age of 10?! I can't...not really. All I can remember are snapshots of my life and stories. I bet if you took a poll 95% of the people would say they have no memories before the age of 5 at the latest! Who really cares that you can't remember!? It just doesn't make any sense. I couldn't get past the third chapter and though some people really liked it the lack of common sense made me dislike this book a LOT!

I'm an adult who loves YA fiction. I absolutely LOVED The Cellar so I was excited to see another book by Natasha Preston. The writing in this is pretty dumbed down. There's a lot of chat about watching movies and movie nights. The character development was thin and several chapters in, I didn't care about any of the characters. I finally gave it up.

Also, who remembers anything before the age of 4? I certainly don't.

Based on this novel, I will likely not buy another one of her books unless the ratings are off the charts.

This book just seemed a bit flat to me......I knew before I was even 15% in, what the "big twist" was. It was rather easy to figure out. That may be the reason that I didn't enjoy it so much. When I read a mystery of psychological thriller, I want to keep guessing. I don't want to be able to figure it out in the very beginning. The characters just didn't have the depth I was looking for either. Scarlett, was quite boring as was Noah.
Overall, Awake could have been and amazing story. It had the potential of keeping me on the edge of my seat...but it just didn't.

So there’s this girl. Scarlett. New hot guy at school alert! And he’s looking at her! OMG there’s any empty seat next to her! And her bff, Imogen, is totes jealous! Like, ugly jealous! And Scarlett and Imogen are soooo lucky (well, at least Scarlett is) because they have almost all of their classes with Hottie McHotterson. Well, his name is actually Noah, but WHO CARES! HE’S SO DREAMY! And when he asks her to tell him the most interesting thing about herself, she totally brings everyone down by saying that she has no memories AT ALL before she turned 4! Weird, right? All she knows is there was a fire. Well, Noah doesn’t care, though sometimes he seems to care and tries to ask her questions and get her to remember, but TOTALLY understands when she can’t and doesn’t really want to or see the point. But he’s totally cool with that, too. He’s awesome.

Soon Scarlett and Noah are hanging out pretty exclusively. His parents and brother are so cool, but they eat so healthy and really, really trust Noah. Scarlett likes junk food every now and again (Oreos!) and almost takes offense when Noah says she might eat a salad every once in a while. Not ’cause she’s fat or anything! She’s perfect! But Noah is hiding something big (no, not that!), and though he totally believes that what he is doing is the right thing to do, he starts to have actual feelings for Scarlett. But still, he knows that he has a job to do, and he’s not going to let anything get in the way. But she’s so beautiful and perfect and sweet! It’s a head scratcher for sure.

Then Scarlett’s family is involved in a car accident. It’s like hitting her head loosened up some memories. Or maybe they’re just bad dreams. Her parents won’t really talk to her about it. But it makes her really want to know what happened and why she keeps seeing the same little girl in her dreams. Now Noah thinks it’s nothing. Though it is weird that she says in the beginning of the book that she never dreams, or at least remembers her dreams, and at the end-ish she says she dreams a lot. Hmm. Whatever, she just wants to know and once her parents level with her, she’s pretty mad. But it’s OK ’cause she’s in love with Noah, but she doesn’t really want to be around him right now OK now she does. Let’s go to Ireland for the weekend and you can see where I grew up! Cool? Cool! (It’s OK – they live in England, so they are right next door to each other.) We’ll have a great time and you’ll be so glad you came!

What could have been an intriguing and thrilling story was instead robotic and odd. Of course we know why Noah is immediately “attracted” to Scarlett; he has to get close to her. But the insta-love that happens between them is shallow and melodramatic (and, let’s face it, yawn-inducing). Scarlett pretty much drops her friends (well, friend) the minute Noah strolls in. And, in all honesty, the thoughts that Noah expressed about Scarlett were just not ones you would expect from an older teen boy. I understand that he was supposed to be sheltered and a bit naive, but seriously. He was boring and bland and other than being incredibly handsome, I have no idea why Scarlett was attracted to him. Neither character is anything exciting.

So the cult. Yeah. These people are seriously wacko. As cults tend to be. But when Scarlett meets up with them and stuff happens that would seriously make you do all you could to leave, she plays along like she’s all cool with everything, but it’s all done in a weird way. She says she’s acting in a certain manner so they won’t suspect anything, but it doesn’t read that way. And where’s her phone? And why was she the center of the cult’s universe anyway? And how could she be with her parents and brother for so long without anyone looking for her or without causing suspicion? Why didn’t they initially tell the police?

There were no ups and downs in this story; it just traveled at an even keel the entire time. Things happened, for sure, but it was like I was watching this on a TV that had been tuned to the slow motion channel (All Slow Motion; All the Time!). I was told that they needed to hurry and hide and go go go, but the book just didn’t move. And all was tied up so nicely. Seriously, I was so surprised when I saw that I was 98% finished with the book and realized that nothing was going to happen. Ever. And seriously, whose favorite holiday is Easter? It was a little too much, considering the Scarlett’s place in the cult’s story.

Well, it does have a super cool cover. A+ for that.

And now, two of my favorite quotes. This first one is when she has to take a bath before her final ritual (you go, girl!):

…using most of the bubble bath up as my own little screw you.

and this one of the most self-absorbed teen on the planet:

My feet hurt, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of possibly losing Noah.

Awake by Natasha Preston was published August 4, 2015 by Sourcebooks Fire. A free copy of this book was given to Ink and Page in return for an honest review. Big thanks to the Publisher, the Author and NetGalley.

Rating: 1

Genre: Young Adult Fiction Contemporary Thriller Romance
Ages: 13 and up

This is my review for "AWAKE" ....
Thanks to NETGALLEY and SOURCEBOOKS for the chance to read and give an honest review.
I enjoyed reading "The Cellar", so I thought that I would like this one also. I was disappointed, I had a difficult time reading the book, I really didn't enjoy the story and did not really like any of the characters. Scarlett and Noah were pretty boring, and Scarlett not having any memory before 4 , most people do not remember much before that age. Cults are pretty scary, this could have went so many different ways, I finished the book, but am not sure if I would read a sequel following this novel.
Thank you again, NETGALLEY and SOURCEBOOKS .

I received this book free from Netgalley for an honest review. I hate to do this, but I really can't recommend this book. I loved the cover and the premise. I read a lot in this particular genre and the buzz on this book and the author's previous book was big, so I was excited to read this one. It just didn't live up to the hype. I have the same problem that many reviewers have: no one can really remember much before 5 (or 4) years old, I was put off by the writing style, and the plot holes. I had to force myself to finish and I only did that so that I could leave a review.

At first I didn't hate this book, it started out ok. Then it just took a dive into being annoying!

One of my biggest pet peeves are the high school "insta-loves". Oh you're 16 and completely in love with someone? How about you live life a little more and then get back to me. 95% of the time those "insta-loves" will never work out. They are just SOOO annoying.

Once they started saying how theyd only known each other a month but were thinking of their future together, I wanted to vomit and throw my tablet out of my window.
Also, the number of texts between the 2 of them during a day really wasn't that much! Get it together!

Anyway, the memory loss thing, as so many people have said, how many people remember much before the age of 4? I can't think of a single memory at this time. Definitely should have had a different time frame for memory loss.

I wasn't connected to the main character at all. After being so annoyed with her for the first few chapters, I really didn't want to connect with her anymore. I didn't feel sadness for her or really get into it the way I wanted to.

I didn't 100% hate the book, and I actually finished it, but it was definitely rough to connect to!

When I pick out a book to read, I try to find ones that I will enjoy. I don’t ever think, I will read that one so I can pick it apart. That said, I am going to say I am sorry right now because I really had problems with this book. I received a copy of this from the publisher by way of Net Galley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Scarlet is a fifteen year old girl living in England. She can’t remember the first four years of her life due to a house fire. I can’t remember that much of mine either, for what it’s worth. She meets a new boy in her class, Noah, and falls hard for him. Inst-love and all that. Only Noah isn’t who he seems, and he doesn’t have the best intentions towards her. Scarlet starts trying to find out what happened to her when she was three(almost 4) because her parents and brother sure aren’t telling her. After a car accident, she starts having flashes of memories from that time period. Not sure why that would bring on the memories since it has nothing to do with what happened to her.

First things first. If you can, don’t read the blurb because it pretty much ruined the read for me due to hinting at the future in the book. I kept waiting for it to happen, and I didn’t enjoy that. The first part of the book was the best part (if there is a best part)of the read for me. It’s really a romance between Scarlet and Noah-even though Noah is not supposed to fall for her, he does. The story was told by both Scarlet and Noah’s point of view and that was a good thing for me-otherwise I would have dnf’d it early on. That’s because I was able to, at times, like Noah, and I am sure I wouldn’t have, had I only had Scarlet’s side of the story. And Noah does have a story-a pretty strange one, and one that I won’t go into due to spoilers.

The second part of the book is where the story really fell apart for me. The circumstances that Scarlet finds herself in were nothing short of horrific. The explanation for the circumstances fell short for me, and really should have had more of an explanation-other than, they are all crazy. When Noah is almost killed in one part, it really stopped making sense. Brainwashing? Mass hypnosis? Can a group of people all be crazy?

I liked the friendship(not romance) between Scarlett and Noah-when he wasn’t being a liar. I liked some of the periperal characters, in the first part of the book, at least. They weren’t as well realized as Scarlett and Noah were, however. So I did have parts I did enjoy.

I really wanted to like and enjoy this read. In the end, I just felt like I had read a really different, but so-so book, and wished it had been better. Don’t get me wrong, the author can write-that’s not in dispute-I just wanted the story to delve a bit deeper into some of the circumstances told about. I also think that Scarlet acted way too old for her age. I put myself into her shoes and thought no, that’s not how I would react at that age. And while we are on the subject of age, I don’t think this book is a young adult book at all. The subject matter is what nightmares are made of in my opinion. Just creepy and unrealistic, and not in a paranormal way.(PureTextuality.com)

2.5 stars Scarlett is like every other almost sixteen year old, except for one thing. She remembers nothing before the age of four? (Yes, I meant to put that question mark there. You’ll see why in a bit.) Noah is the drop dead gorgeous new kids in school and is nothing like your typical teen. Vegetarian, no junk food, no TV, and not sex-crazed. Naturally, it’s love at first sight. When Scarlett suffers a head injury her memories begin to return in dreams forcing her to question everything about her life.

I really liked the premise of this story. Religious cults, family secrets, teenage love... who wouldn’t? The problem was there is no real meat to the story (maybe it’s because Noah doesn’t eat it, IDK). The book opens with Noah entering his new class. Scarlett is assigned the position of ‘tour guide’ and it’s obsession, I mean love, at first sight. Actually, this part isn’t all that far fetched. At fifteen, if the gorgeous new boy walks in, sits next to you, and shows an interest, you’re going to be gaga. Noah wants to get to know the girl so he starts with “Tell me something about yourself”. Now you’d expect her to answer with telling him about something she’s interested in, a hobby maybe, or maybe about her family, where she’s grown up. But no, her answer is “I remember nothing before the age of four”? Why is that weird? Many people don’t remember that far back. It’s not that unusual. And even if it was, really? That’s what your entire life amounts to? Any way, this all comes out in the first 2% of the book (I checked) and that sums up the entire first half of the story. You could literally skip to the middle of the book and not miss much. Teenage love/obsession, why can’t I remember, are my parents lying, boy has secret.

Problem two: Your daughter is being searched for by a religious cult who wants to sacrifice her. You know the isolated, hippy-styled life that they lead. You move around trying to escape them, but no red flags raise when the time of the ‘four year cycle’ is about to occur, a new boy enters her life, and the family is about about as earthy-crunchy as you can get? I would have met this family and run for the hills without looking back. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against hippies, but given the history here, I think the parents would have been a bit more situationally aware.

Ok, my rant is over. Look, I finished the book. Therefore, I didn’t hate it. I actually somewhat enjoyed it. It definitely picked up after the first half with more character development and more suspense. I just think it could have been much better. It’s proof positive that you can have a great idea for a book, but it won’t write itself.

I received Awake as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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I really wanted to DNF this book, and that’s saying something. I really struggle DNFing books. I always want to give them a chance to become better. That being said, I was able to push through and finish this book. Awake follows an almost sixteen year old girl named Scarlett. Due to a traumatic event, Scarlett cannot remember anything before the age of four.

Let’s start with her memory loss. Everyone in the book, including the main character, seemed to be completely shocked by the fact that she couldn’t remember anything before the age of four. I can honestly say, I have maybe two memories from before the age of four; and they weren’t exactly great. In other words, I found their shock to be really unrealistic. Not having many memories before the age of four isn’t exactly surprising.

Now, I’m not the biggest fan of insta-love. On certain occasions, I can stand it; but most of the time it drives me absolutely nuts. This was definitely one of those occasions. I’m not sure who decided instant love was realistic, but it’s not. The writing was mediocre at best, and I was bored through the majority of the novel. Things picked up toward the end, but even then I just really wanted to be done reading this book.

Overall, I would not recommend reading this book. It was boring and just not written very well. The most interesting aspects of this story dealt with the cult, but that just couldn’t make it great for me.

This book was interesting & intense for a young adult novel. The characters were great & getting the story from Noah & Scarlett made it even better. I've always thought cults were strange & crazy, & this fictional book really brings that home. How anyone can believe the insanity that these people were preaching is beyond me. I enjoyed reading the book & think 16 & older would also enjoy the book.

*Given advanced copy through NetGalley from the publisher

This was just okay for me. When it started out, I thought Noah was big trouble for Scarlett in that he hurt females. But, it went a different way. One I did not see coming. I think there many parts of this book that just drug out TOO long.

Honestly, I couldn't wait to finish it, because I know I have better books on my TBR pile.

Thanks Sourcebooks and Net Galley for providing me with this free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

***I received this book as a gift

PROS:
The cult is creepy and delusional. The absolute belief they have in their faith is disturbing. They don’t question or doubt, they mindlessly carry on despite the horrific requests made by their leaders in the name of earning a ticket to Heaven. The preparations are ritualistic and if it weren’t for their vegetarianism and connection to living off the earth, would seem a little Satanic.

The last few chapters are adrenaline-packed and full of uncertainty. The fear is clear and haunting. The danger escalates and foreboding overtakes the story. You might want to read this with the lights on. Violence and desperation war with the fight for survival.

CONS:
It took an obsenely long time to reveal what Noah is. For more than half the book he was giving me alien vibes only to find out the truth way far in.

Scarlett and Noah don’t have strong or memorable personalities. Their interactions largely consist of sitting in bed watching movies and nothing else. It was difficult to become attached to either character because there wasn’t much to them.

Secondary characters were basically nonexistent. They show up for small moments and then vanish. Scarlett’s best friend falls in the realm of the cliché, jealous slutty friend.
Pacing in slow and it makes the story hard to commit to. The mystery compelled me to read on.

Slut-Shaming is NOT Okay…

*1 star out of 5
Awake by: Natasha Preston
Review by: Stacy Palm

I know and understand that not every book is for every reader, and so I generally take it easy on an author and give them credit for having their own point of view of their work. However, in this case I feel it is my absolute duty to recommend to our readers to avoid this book. I’m a person that enjoys books that aren’t so happy with their endings, but what I’m not a fan of is promoting behavior that has no relevance to the story and enhances people’s beliefs that it may be okay to act in this certain negative way towards other people.

The story is about a 16 year old girl who has no memory of her early youth basically falls madly in love with a strange new boy within an hour of meeting. Okay, I am raising two teens right now so I know their emotions can be strangely erratic and illogical, but to then start shunning your supposed best friends in order to spend time with this guy - not okay. What is more discouraging though, is that the main character’s best friend is consistently slut-shaming the main character and vice versa. I do not want my children ever to be in a position in their life where they would think that talking like this to another human being is okay. I feel horrible for this author because my fear is that this language and content is stemming from some experience in her past that she has brought into this book and it has no place for it in this work.

I’m going to add here too, that within a couple pages I was questioning to myself what the big deal was with not remembering anything since the age of four. Had she not been able to remember anything from the age of 10 or even 8, it would have been more believable. There are not many people who could dredge up even one memory from before the age of four due to biology and growth development, but this is again an area that shows the author’s inexperience and lacking of research for the story.

I read a post on the author’s website that she is attempting a 7-week novel (in which you write a 70,000 word novel in 7 weeks.) That’s an ambitious goal and one I would encourage to a seasoned writer, but may I sincerely recommend that Miss Preston take a more timely approach and really edit and screen the content she is putting out into the world and into the minds of some very young and impressionable people? Stories don’t have to be all rosy and cheery, but if you are going to use gritty and in many cases replusive behaviors in your work they need to have a creative relevance to the other content.

I really dislike giving negative reviews, but in this case I had no choice. My hope is that the author is open to receiving some constructive criticism, finds a better editor, and focus energy on refining her talent rather than rushing to put out another piece of work like this book.

Full Reviews Available: http://www.thebookendfamily.weebly.com

This was a great book, full of page turning suspense! I had a ton of what will happen next and I can't believe that just happened thoughts. This was the 2nd book By Ms. Preston that I've had the pleasure to read and it was a page turner just like the first! She has been added to my list of must read authors.
If you are looking for a good suspenseful, page turner.. here it is!

As soon as I read the sentence where she first sees Noah and that all his attention was on her I was already annoyed. I ended up reading 14 chapters and skimming through the rest of the book. Too boring and her getting upset because she can't remember anything after being 4 is ridiculous. I have a great memory so I remember a lot at that age but the majority of the world would say otherwise I'm sure.

I loved the cellar and was thinking of reading her other book "The Cabin" but I'm not so sure anymore.

5 stars for the cover which is why I chose to read this in the first place.

Originally reviewed for Little Birdy Book Blog.

DNF at 15%

The cover of Awake was the first thing to grab my attention, followed by the synopsis, which was intriguing. The book seemed like it had such an interesting premise to the story. Unfortunately, it was quite disappointing, and I couldn’t finish it. It was not what I expected at all, and I just could not get past the sappy insta-love on page one. I felt that the book had an abrupt start, like overhearing someone else’s conversation and only knowing half of the story. There’s no time for readers to connect with the main character/s before Scarlett is falling madly in love with Noah (again, on page one), or for readers to be invested in their relationship. The story moves way too fast, skipping past the first week of them knowing each other in the blink of an eye, leaving the romance to be not believable, and the characters to be flat and uninteresting. I would’ve liked to have seen more from that week, of Scarlett and Noah getting to know each other, rather than it being rushed. It would’ve helped me connect with the characters, if there was the slow build of romance rather than the instant love. The dialogue did seem forced, and at times, unnecessary. Awake definitely has potential to be a great story, and with improvements on these points, with more showing than telling, it could become that.

**I received an arc from the publisher through NetGalley.

This book gets the three star rating for "it's ok". Scarlett and Noah are the biggest main characters. Scarlett has a memory issue, she can't remember before the age of four. Turns out there is a really good reason for that and Noah, her new boyfriend is eager to help. To get to that reason for her memory problems, things drag out, and go, very, VERY slowly. Lots of repetition of events between characters. Lots of actions that did not add up to me. I wanted them to add up as I could see potential in the story, but that didn't work out very well. Even with the cult issue, things still didn't add up. The ending left me with unanswered questions which could lead to a potential sequel. The holes in the plot and lack of logical actions caused many of the things in this book to be unrealistic and unbelievable. This bothers me and makes me think the next book might be like this one too. I hope not! I hope it will get stronger because shallow characters and lack of over all depth don't sit well with me.

My copy came from Net Galley. I was not required to leave a review, I did so of my own free choice. My opinions are my own.

Very dissapointing book. The best friends don’t act like best friends at all. The plot is cringe-worthy. The heroine is an idiot, the love interest is just plain creepy, it has instalove, and on top of that, the book suffers from a severe case of Mary Sue syndrome. How about hell no? I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

All in all I give this book 3 stars. While I did really enjoy it, the beginning of the book seemed very deja vu and at times it was a bit cliche.

Scarlett is your average teen with the exception that she Remembers nothing before the age of 4. Noah is the new kid in school who has lived an extremely sheltered life and only has eyes for Scarlett, but also thinks she should work on regaining her memory.
After Scarlett and her family are involved in a car accident, Scarlett begins having dreams which she believes are her memories coming back to her. When she tries to speak to her parents about them, they get tense and brush it off as simply dreams. It isn't until she tells them that she sought the help of a hypnotist that she convinces them to tell her the truth, which is that her parents used to belong to a cult who ultimately wanted to sacrifice Scarlett and they realized how wrong they were and took her away.
Scarlett immediately freaks out (who wouldn't) because her parents lied to her her entire life confiding in Noah since he is the only person who hasn't betrayed her.... Yet.

Good story, but a little rough around the edges....

This book was amazing! It was not at all what I was expecting but once I started reading I couldn’t stop! Read the whole thing in one weekend! It will keep you in suspense and have plot twists you’ll never see coming! Great book, just like the Cellar. I can’t wait to read her next book!

*I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Intriguing! An interesting look into how love can change a person's beliefs and how those beliefs can damage a person's love.

I just recently started to really get into reading again, and this book kept me turning pages. I loved this book. I felt excitement, anger, sadness, and happiness all together while reading this. I would recommend this.

Awake realistically deals with the internal struggles of someone who had a serious trauma in her early childhood through Scarlet's character. I also liked that her love interest didn't throw away everything he was raised to believe once he met Scarlet. He really had to struggle and was unsure of the which world view to hold, the one he had been raised to believe or the one he was encountering as a teenager. I actually enjoyed the novel and found the internal dialogues of the characters to truly add to the story's development.

I loved this book, I literally just finished it and.. wow. It is amazing, and has you wanting more. I honestly hope and wish she will write a second one to this and about if Scarlett finally finds her sister and more on what happens with her and Noah's life together after everything that has happened. Its romantic, suspenseful, heroic, and an eye opener. I would suggest that anyone read this book.

As someone who is an avid book reader, I can say that I was genuinely and thoroughly disappointed by this book. It is rare that I DNF a book, but I got through about 70% before I gave up. Honestly, I didn't have anything else to read, so I am sure that if there were any other novels in close vicinity I would have set this down long before then.
This book was a random pick from a trip to Walmart that intrigued me because of the cover. After reading the back, I thought it might be a decent read during a boring Friday night. (Also, I really like the name Scarlett. Arbitrary, I know, but this is seriously how I make my book buying decisions.) Boy, was I wrong. The entire premise of this book confused me, because the main character's "thing" is that she can't remember anything from before the age of four. Maybe I'm reaching here, but I would venture to say that most people cannot remember anything from the age of four. And if they can, it is probably very little and vague ideas of stories rather than an actual memories. But whatever, I can get past this. Not that big of a deal...
But then you insert creepy-but-so-attractive-that-main-character-can't-tell Noah, and this book starts going downhill (that's to say, the first page...). Immediately when they see each other, it's instantaneous love, like years of emotional connection love. He's also pretty creepy, . And the plot development between these two just isn't there. I can't figure out why they even like each other, because there just felt like there was no chemistry. Kind of frustrating, if I'm being honest.
I also really did not like any of the main characters. Scarlett's best friend, Imogen, is honest to goodness terrible, and Scarlett spends the entire time slut-shaming her and talking about how she's entirely unsupportive. I found myself wondering why they were even friends. Scarlett is annoying and frustrating with how naive she is, and Noah is creepy and weird and I honestly would have run in the opposite direction if he ever approached me.
Also, I hate to do this, but the writing itself was just not good. It was something that I feel like an 8th grader could have written. Everything is just so elementary. There was very little showing, and much more telling. For instance, Scarlett and Noah falling in love. Rather than it being shown, it was just told that they were in love. They were just supposed to be together. And it really made this already not-so-great book even worse.
I am giving the book two stars because I really appreciate the idea, it's very clever and I can say that it is completely unique to any young adult novel I've read. However, this book just failed to deliver on what could have been an amazing plot.

First off, the editing in this book was awful; I have never seen so many mistakes in a book that is supposed to be finished.

First, the editing in this book was awful, and I was supposed to be reading the finished copy. This is a young adult book, but the storyline did not read as if it was for young adults. I thought right off that there was something weird about Gabe in this book. He is one of the main characters in the book, Scarlett being the second main character.

Through this book, it only consisted of them sitting in bed watching TV. There has to be more to a story then TV. This is the first book in a very long time that I did not bother to finish. For those that did more power to you.

I received an e-Book copy of this book from NetGalley for my honest opinion.