Awake by Natasha Preston

June 22, 2015     erinbook     Book review

Awake by Natasha Preston


Release Date: August 5, 2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
352 Pages
Received: Netgalley
Format: E-ARC


Rating:


3 Nuts












Description: Scarlett doesn’t remember anything before the age of five. Her parents say it’s from the trauma of seeing her house burn down, and she accepts the life they’ve created for her without question—until a car accident causes Scarlett to start remembering pieces of an unfamiliar past.

When a new guy moves into town, Scarlett feels an instant spark. But Noah knows the truth of Scarlett’s past, and he’s determined to shield her from it…because Scarlett grew up in a cult called Eternal Light, controlled by her biological parents.

And they want her back.

Review: OiMy feelings about this book are almost as contradictory as the book itself. It was almost like reading two different books instead of one, something I wouldn’t necessarily call good. On one hand I read the whole book in about 2 and a half hours, on the other there were parts I just had to skip through because they were so dull. Let me explain….

The first 40% of the book made me almost DNF right there. The main character is insipid and shallow, the love interest is bland, and there’s that little issue we call insta-love. I really hate insta-love. I don’t like seeing the story from both POVs either, which is unusual. Because you’re in his head you know that Noah’s up to something and that kind of ruins the suspense. It’s like having that guy around that always has to over-explain the joke.

There’s also a major editing issue within the story. There are a lot of inconsistencies and contradictions that needed to be fixed. For instance Scarlett supposedly does not dream, except that later on the book tells us that she has weird random dreams all the time. So which is it? You can’t have it both ways.

If the book kept on with this path I probably would have ripped my hair out and given up. As it was I skipped through the rest of the insta-love and editing oopsies til about the halfway mark when the book FINALLY started to pick up. Scarlett figures out her past and all hell breaks loose.You meet the cult and the plot finally decides to wake up and get moving.

That second half of the book makes up for a lot of the stupidity of the first. You’ve got some of the creep factor, some crazy people, and a whole lot of THEY WANT TO DO WHAT? And this is why I read the book in 2 and a half hours, I couldn’t put it down anymore.

Still, I couldn’t say the book as a whole was good. Would I read it again? Probably not. But if you’re interested in cults and why they do what they do you would probably enjoy the read at least once.

What do you think of Awake? Share in the comments.

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4 responses to “Awake by Natasha Preston

  1. I read Natasha Preston's book called The Cellar. It was spine-chilling and awesome. here's the review if you're curious: http://www.thebooksbuzz.com/2015/06/the-cellar-by-natasha-preston.html. This review has convinced me to read this one. I always thought this was the sequel to The Cellar but it's not. It's a totally different plot. You should read the Cellar if u liked this one. It's about a girl that gets kidnapped. And there are three different point of views from the captor, the captive, and the people trying to find the girls that are kidnapped. It's awsome 😀 Nice review!

    Alex @ The Book's Buzz

  2. I still have this one too review yet (I been putting it off) I hate books were you contradict yourself, I do it all the time in my reviews of those books. "I liked it but I didn't like it" kind of thing. It seems I might wait a little longer on reading this, I have no patience for instalove and slow plots. Great review!

    Amber @ The Book Bratz

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