Analiese Rising is an all-new story from Brenda Drake who brought us the Library Jumpers series and The mated series. Analiese Rising follows the authors signature suspense mystery pattern and is an original unique storyline. The title fits the book which I’m always a fan of! Brownie points 🐰

Analiese lives with her cousin and his family. Her mom and dad passed when she was very little. She’s close with her cousin Dalton, but life is about to become a whole lot more complicated. She is told to deliver a bag to the man's grandson. It’s the mans dying wish and somehow he knows her name. In the bag is a list, which includes Analiese’s name as well as other members of her family. Some names are crossed out and the list holds the secrets to a world she doesn’t know exists. The dying man also told her she was in danger. The only way to find out the truth is to follow the clues. Analiese meets the grandson, Marek and starts a quest to find out who she really is. She meets some new friends, new enemies and a dark world.

Analiese Rising is a fantasy, Greek mythology romance that kept me guessing until the end. It has action, adventure and a spooky feel. I enjoyed it. It’s a full-length story with a happy ending. There is a possibility for more but I was happy with the closing chapter.

As you may/may not know about me I’m a big fan of reading the acknowledgements. Brenda Drake talks about how she connects with the main character, expressing her own struggles with panic disorder. It’s nice to see a glimpse of the author in story and dynamic characters with flaws and all.

4 star out of 5. *I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really surprised with this book. At first, I thought the atmosphere of the story was more of a creepy, ‘we’re watching you‘ idea because, really, throughout the entire book, we find that the main character, Analiese, appears to be stalked by these random people around every turn.

But through it all, there is a ton of action scenes, journeys across oceans, and a quest to figure out why her name, and the name of her deceased relatives, are on a single piece of paper. But this is just the beginning of all the people that seem to know everything about her..

After the crazy discovery of an older man struck on his death bed from a hit-and-run, we follow her as this orphan is thrown into a new light of death versus life. Starting with the first scenes with the frog in science class. From that moment on, I could tell that there was something special surrounding Analiese as more and more events occur similar to what happened.

Then, we find out that she isn’t just an ordinary human: she’s a Riser.

If you are a fan of mythology, this book will not disappoint. There are so many different gods and goddesses that track Analiese in the entire plot. Since I have very little knowledge of all the different entities, it was very interesting to see who they all were and their roles set by their tales.

And, I won’t forget about the slow burning romance between two characters. I could tell that something may happen between them, but it was still fun to watch it all unfold.

The ending was satisfactory, but I could tell that there may be room for a possible sequel?

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. There are a lot of characters thrown into the mix which was a little bit hard to follow all of their roles, but I can say that it was still a quick, fun read.

Especially if you like real-world quests set in a fantasy setting with tons of mythology thrown in, this is a book you will want to try on your TBR!

Analiese Rising is the story of a girl who finds her name on a mysterious list. This list is given to her by an old man who has been following her just before he dies. At the old man’s request, Ana takes the list to his grandson, Marek. Marek agrees to work with Ana to find out why her name is on the list and what it all means. While on their journey, Ana and Marek are thrust into a world they know nothing about.

Their quest reveals that Ana is a descendant of the God of Death. Thus making her a Riser, which means she has the power to raise the dead. Throughout the book, Ana learns more about who she is along with her power while death follows her.

I admit, it took a little while for me to get into the story. Once I did, I found Analiese Rising to be a captivating and adventurous read. Brenda Drake has written realistic and likeable characters. Ana, like many teens, is finding who she is. As the reader, you can put yourself in her shoes and learn more about yourself just like she does. Marek is the best partner you could ever want. While fighting and helping Ana, Marek is right by her side, even when he is faced with life and death. Throughout the book, Ana and Marek grow close. The scenes are described perfectly. It’s easy to close your eyes and see everything happening before you. Analiese Rising is perfect for anyone looking to read a romantic adventure book.

Analiese Rising is the first book I have read by Brenda Drake and I was really impressed. The writing was excellent and the characters were fun. There's a lot of mythology in this book and I really enjoyed that. I was consumed from the very first page and didn't want the book to end. I am eager to see what happens to these characters next.

Analiese Rising by Brenda Drake is an intense fantasy read with a titter of romance. If you are looking for a unique read that incorporates many types of mythology and gives it a wonderful spin, then this is the read for you. Captivating!

Please note that an ARC was generously provided in exchange for an honest review of which this is both honest and completely voluntary.

Analiese Rising by Brenda Drake is hard to rate, as FROM ONE SIDE I really ENJOYED the ADVENTURE AND CLUE HUNTING but FROM OTHER SIDE AT TIMES ANALIESE DID ANNOY ME A LOT, because of her immaturity. I can't say much about Marek because I didn't get enough chance to really get to know him, also the romance was not that well written.

The STORY WAS INTRIGUING and had a cool concept with many different gods and goddesses from different cultures, however, there could have been more of mythology and magic. Also WRITING WAS QUITE SIMPLISTIC with a lot of SHORT SENTENCES, which at times had some NEGATIVE IMPACT TO ENJOYMENT of reading but IT DID ADD a FEELING OF FAST PASE, which is something that I APPRECIATED.

The beginning of the books was exciting, a bit mysterious and promising, by the middle it became a bit stale, afterwards it improved again. Due to one thing, which Analiese was told about close to the end of the book, all the story was underwhelmed because it made it kind of unfinished, so this should have been a first book in a series. I would read a second book if there was one.

Overall, this book was ENTERTAINING, so I'm giving it 3.5 STARS.
(Full review coming on my website soon)

This is a love story centered around mythology. And it all started when Analiese was a good samaritan and helped an elderly man with a task she promised him during his last breaths. The man was carrying a bag to his grandson that Analiese was now tasked with doing. After opening the bag to figure out the old man’s grandson’s address, she finds what looks to be a hit list. After a closer look, she realizes that her name is also on this list.

Initially, I was really excited for this novel. For me, there was not enough focus on the plot and too much focus on the romantic element. There was so much potential, but I don’t feel like the novel was executed to its full extent! I found it hard to connect to the characters.

The reason I was most disappointed was because there was a lost opportunity with the clues Analiese and Marek were left to figure out. It would’ve made the book if the audience was able to see examples in the novel and try to figure it out themselves. I remember Chasing Vermeer did that when it came out during my dreaded middle school days. That would’ve been an awesome incorporation!

There was a lot of potential, but this novel just fell short for me.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Whew. This is one of those books that leaves me feeling soooo exhausted after reading it. In an incredibly good way, of course. Brenda Drake has written a rich, intriguing adventure in Analiese Rising that will surely make readers exhilarated with every flip of a page.

Our main character, Analiese, together with the strangely charming Marek, goes on the hunt for whatever the heck Marek's grandfather wanted them to find. With the cryptic clues and no one to trust but each other, would they survive the they find themselves smack right in the middle of?

This book revolves around mythology, and once I saw that on the synopsis, I couldn't have hit the request button fast enough! And as if that's not good enough, this wasn't focused or set on one particular culture or time period, but it involves different mythologies around the world instead. It was so much fun to read about the gods and goddesses from different cultures, and to see them in the light of the author's story. (Oh, and also, I may or may not have screamed at the mention of Philippine mythology. Sue me, I just don't know any other books like this. *wink wink*)

With regards to the plot, I was not disappointed at all! Their excursion was full of surprises which always keeps me on my toes, especially since all of it leads to back-to-back discoveries. And the main character was one I've come to feel for. Analiese wasn't the most ideal protagonist for this but that's exactly why I liked her. It must be so hard to have been plunged in this quest without having an inkling of what it holds. And it wasn't even her own quest to begin with, for Pete's sake! But I admire Analiese as she never gave up despite the constant panic attacks, despite the uncertainty of what lies ahead, despite the danger she knows will inevitably catch up to them. And although I do think that the book could have done with a little less romance (i.e. Analiese checking Marek out), I understand that they are scared out of their wits and need each other to hold onto.

The only downside for me was the ending. It left me quite... unsettled. I certainly wasn't expecting that and I feel like I needed something more. And there was the writing style too; halting and dull sometimes but I didn't really mind as the plot won me over. Overall, I really did enjoy this book. I recommend this one if you're looking for an adventure!

Drake writes in these halting, choppy sentences that are so annoying I gave up after two chapters. The premise seems interesting enough, but I couldn't get past the writing style. Very disappointing.

4/5 stars - Thoroughly enjoyed this! Any hope for a sequel?

Full review will be posted on my blog at the link below on my day for the blog tour, 17 January.

Analiese Rising by Brenda Drake is a young adult romantic fantasy read that is heavily based on mythology. This one is not set on any one specific era of mythology but instead pulls in characters from all of the different areas with the story centered around all of the Gods.

When Analiese Jordon witnesses and accident she goes to try to help the old man as he lie waiting for an ambulance to arrive. As Analiese approaches though he asks that she not touch him and instead take his bag he’d been carrying to his grandson. Analiese thought it was a strange request but wanted to help however she could so she gathered up his things.

After opening the bag to find out where to return it Analiese finds a list of names within it’s contents and is shocked to not only find her own name but those of her parents and uncle who all died in accidents. Tracking down Marek, the grandson, Analiese is determined that they both get the answers they need with his grandfather’s death leaving so many questions for them both.

Having loved the Library Jumpers series from Brenda Drake I had high hopes for this new novel so I was extremely excited to find it did live up to my hopes. This new series has that unique storytelling that I’ve come to expect from the author that doesn’t leave me thinking of every other YA novel out there. I’m a huge fan of stories using mythology and this one pulling in Gods from all areas was certainly new to me and it had plenty of action and adventure to keep the pages turning along as the story went on. I would be all for this one turning into a longer series and spending more time following the characters in the world that was created.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This YA fantasy has a lot of good things: beautiful locales in Italy and Paris, unusual story, quirky characters. What it also has is too much of everything else: too many characters, too many unbelievable plot twists and turns, just, too much.

The main héros of the story, Analiese and Marek, meet after Mareks' Uncle Adam dies in front of Analeise. With his dying words, he tells her to find his nephew Marek, and give him his bag of clues. She does, and they immediately embark on a journey to Italy (really? they both happen to have passports and enough money to buy airline tickets, and she has no problem flying to another country with a boy she just met?) to find and interpret the many clues. Seems Marek is descended from a long line of Keepers. They hide, then move and hide again, the broken pieces of a talisman that would give the gods back their powers (if they were to find them). This is not a good thing. Analiese is descended from a long line of Death Risers, folks who can bring back the dead, but with zombie-like consequences. The gods are also after her, to take her power, or control it, was never really sure which.

Oh yes, there are gods in the story. Many, MANY gods. Here they are (in no particular order): Kumiho, Bastet, Ares, Gaea, Pazuzu, Sid, Horus, Bjorn, Inanna, Lugh, Oya, Janus, Pixiu, Bixie, Yue Lao, the Lares and the Keres. I would tell you what each's power is, but who can remember all that? You also need to know about the Parzalis, the Risen, the Divinty's Soul, the Divinity's Keep. You need to know the Keepers, and the Death Risers of course. Then there are the mortal characters: Dalton, Jane, Analeise, Marek, Shona, Cain, Uncle Eli (who Analiese calls Dad), Alea (Analiese's deceased Mom), Jake (Analeise's deceased real Dad), and Safta and Saba (Analiese's Grandparents). Is your head spinning yet?

So, Analiese and Marek fly to Italy and embark on their quest to find the clues that will tell them where their piece of the, oh, I don't know. After so many clues and so many different places, I've forgotten what it is the piece they are looking for is called. They go to many, MANY places in Italy. Finally they decide they should go to Paris because the final clue is in the Mona Lisa. They go to Paris. They decide the final clue is back in Italy, at a convent. They go back to Italy. It's all very exhausting.

The writing is fine, the descriptions of the many, MANY places they visit are ok. But there is way too much going on, and way too many people to keep straight. I pushed thru to the end so I could write an honest review, but honestly, if I was reading for pleasure I would've quit about half way thru.

Thank you so much for an advance copy of this book.
I love the dramatic concept of this book title and blurb, but I really found it difficult to get into. The characters all seemed rather two dimensional and I didn't really find the lead duo very interesting at all. I'd have loved some more world-building; the narrative was quite pacy but the creation of the world suffered for this. I was hoping for more mythology but this was only skimmed over and there seemed to be some plot holes? The sentence structures were very short and I think this hindered the flow of the story-telling for me.
I am in my forties, so maybe a younger reader would enjoy it more. Sorry to leave a low review, but sadly though not for me.

Brenda Drake's Analiese Rising is a magical realism action novel that follows 17-year old Analiese Jordan. When she was younger, Analiese lost her parents. She was taken in by her uncle, who has also since passed, and her aunt who Analiese doesn't get along with all that well. The only one she does get along with, is her cousin Dalton who is more like a brother than her cousin. Strange things happen almost immediately in this book.

A frog comes to life, Analiese sees death moths, and a man, Adam Conte, ends up dying in front of her. But, before he dies, he tells her by name that he needs to take his belongings to his grandson Marek. Analiese learns that some names have been crossed out and the list holds the secrets to a world she doesn’t know exists. The dying man also told her she was in grave danger. Even more strangeness? Analiese's name is among others in this strange mans book that haven't been crossed out. Why? What does it all mean?

Putting aside all rationality and fear for her aunt's wrath when she discovers she has taken off to places unknown, Analiese meets Marek Conte, Adam's grandson who is up to his ears in secrets. As Analiese and Marek dig deeper into Adam's past, and the Easter Eggs that he has apparently left behind for Marek to follow. the two end up flying from Philadelphia, to Rome, and later to a few other stops as they try to uncover & solve the ciphers left by his grandfather that forever change their perceptions of the world while also hiding from people who seem to be following them where ever they go.

Analiese is surprised to learn that there is a war ongoing between Gods, and she is stuck right in the middle of it all since she is a descendant of people call Risers who are able to bring back the dead. In the time of before, people actually worshiped other gods and goddesses. A select few families rose up to protect the world from immortals wrath. Analiese and Marek's descendants kept a balance between mortals and immortals, but a whole lot of people have been turning up dead.

This book reminds me, in part, to Dan Brown's The Di Vinci Code. Here are two people are running around various cities of the world uncovering secrets, and solving ciphers to get to the next part of the puzzle hoping to stop some world event from destroying the world. To be honest, I was expecting more from the ending of this book. I felt as though things wrapped up way too quickly. I absolutely believe the author and publisher should work together to put out another installment from the point where Ana, Marek, and their allies face off against Gods like Ares. I think wrapping up this story and not allowing for any further extension of the series, would be a huge mistake. After all, there's a whole undertow to the story that was left dangling like chads during the 2000 election in Florida.

Drake is also the author of such series as Library Jumpers and The Fated.

Analiese Rising follows Analiese or Ana for short who unknowingly has the powers to raise the dead and turn them into evil killers. In the story, she finds herself traveling through Europe with Marek, the grandson of a man that died in front of her eyes and mysteriously knew her, in search of answers. Little does she know, she’s about to find herself in the center of a war between gods.

Analiese Rising was a page-turner from the start. Drake did not wait at all for the action to start with a frog coming back to life in biology class, which I absolutely loved. There’s a lot that goes down in this story, as Ana and Marek try to find his grandfather’s clues. To make things worse, at every turn, Ana and Marek did not know if they were encountering someone wanting to help them, use them, or simply want them dead. It all made for quite the page-turning story.

The story also has a lot of references to mythology. I’m not a mythology buff at all, and I think most of the references were surface level. However, I enjoyed the mythology aspect, and I particularly enjoyed the fact that Drake didn’t focus only on Greek or Norse mythology. There was quite the blend in Analiese Rising. As an Asian American, I appreciated the nod to the red thread of fate, which is a story I remember hearing about as a child.

The main issue I had with Analiese Rising was that it didn’t flow as well as I hoped it would. However, it did not take away from my enjoyment of the overall plot. Also, it’s quite possible that my minor issues with the flow will be fixed before the final print. I just thought that a couple of scenes didn’t flow as well as they could have when transitioning.

All in all, I really enjoyed Analiese Rising. I found it to be a fun, page-turning read with a lot of action and some fantasy and mythology thrown in. I hope you try reading Analiese Rising by Brenda Drake when it releases on January 8, 2019. & Hopefully, there will be news about a sequel soon. Analiese Rising definitely needs a sequel.

I was interested in reading this book because of the mythology aspect, and let's be honest, it's the only thing I liked about this story. I couldn't like Ana, the main character, what she did versus said didn't make sense (example: saying "I haven't been on my phone" or something like that when she was just texting her brother earlier? And making a little snob comment about how she knew a lot about mythology, more than what was just on tv, and yes she did know what every god.ess or deity was by their names but when she saw a sculpture or something of Remus and Romulus and the wolf she didn't know what it was? This may simply be me being petty because I don't like her but it's a pretty famous thing she should know if she's such a big expert on mythology....). And I got tired pretty early of her saying every boy she meets was "hot", "gorgeous", "muscular" like???? Please don't that's precisely the kind of thing that makes me hate a book...

For the plot I also enjoyed the "treasure hunt" but it didn't really make sense? They kept giving us reasons why but it still didn't really make sense with everything that was happening. I felt like a lot of parts of this story were just people making nonlogical actions just so something could happen. AND we were given informations from the summary but it actually happens (or Ana learns about it) like more than a third into the book. I had read half of it and was "so when is she going to learn that thing I learned before even reading the book itself??"

I feel like this is more of a rant than anything else but this book really frustrated me, it definitely wasn't for me.

First off, thank you so much for approving me for Analiese Rising. I'm sorry to say that this book wasn't for me, and that I had to stop reading after about 70 pages.

I liked nearly everything about this book:
- Swift pace
- Intriguing mystery
- Strong-willed heroine
- Unique take on mythological gods and goddesses (at least from what I saw so far)

The one thing I did not like, that I couldn't overlook, was the writing style. It just didn't work for me. Most of the sentences were short, stiff, and blunt. Example: "I'm looking forward to it. I'm just tired. I was on the phone late with a friend. His grandfather died recently. He's not really a friend. We just met."

Since it's a style preference, I'm sure plenty of other readers out there will enjoy this book. It has a lot going for it.

I truly wanted to love this book with all my heart since the premise is amazing, I love mythology to the moon and back (and this story features so many gods and goddesses from not so popular mythologies) and the main character has panic disorder. But there was something in the story that just didn't feel right to me. but I had a few issues with the dialogue. It just didn’t seem fluid. Also, even thought I didn’t mind how naïve Analiese was since she was unveiling secrets about her past and about who she was, I was not fond of how she and Marek would change their minds about doing something so quickly – they would flip from “no” to “yes” in mere seconds without reasoning.

Analiese Rising by Brenda Drake is an interesting and unique book.

The book follows Analiese, a teenage girl who lives with her aunt (that seems to hate her) and her cousin, since she lost both of her parents. Her uncle died too and she feels kind of lost without him.
One day, when she is out with her cousin, she saw a stranger dying in front of her, before that he gave her a bag to deliver to his grandson, Marek.

From the moment Analiese and Marek meet their lives change. She discovers to be the descendant of a God and with the boy starts to unravel all the secrets behind her past and the people who wants to kill her.

This fantasy book collects Gods from different mithologies, some of them are well known, others are some of the not-so-famous Gods. It was nice to learn new Myths and rediscover stories I had learnt in school. Sometimes I felt like there was too much going on, but at the end I felt a deep connection with the story and the characters.
At the beginning the book seems something we have already read many times, but after a few chapters the story really begins and it's so original that you can't stop reading.
I've loved the traveling part, it was nice to see Analiese and Marek here in Italy. I'm always sceptical when I read books set in Italy and written by foreign authors, but Brenda Drake did a great job portraing the magic and history of this country.
I appreciate the fact that we discover everything on step at the time, there is an entire world to understand and I feel like that this was just the surface and there is more to discover.
I recommend this book and I hope to read the sequel as soon as it comes out.

Analiese Rising follows Analiese, whose parents died when she was young. She was then raised by her uncle and aunt, but then her uncle also died four months ago. Then a random old man dies in front of her, and gives her a bag that she has to bring to his grandson. The grandson is Marek, and together they travel to Europe to follow the leads his grandfather left behind. They are also hunted, by gods.

This book could have been great, it has a lot of my favorite aspects in a fantasy novel. There is a mystery, a journey and mythology thrown into the pile. But it just not work for me, at all. I’m so glad this book is over, because I did not enjoy reading it. Luckily for me it, it was an easy read and the pages flew by when I was reading. Cudos for that.

Analiese is such a.. boring character? I have no idea why is the main character, because she has nothing to contribute with. Seriously. I just, urgh, I don’t even know what to write about her because it feels like there is nothing to write. She has anxiety disorder, which the author also acknowledges she has herself. I don’t know how well this was portrayed, but it really feels like that was the only trait Analiese had as a character.
The love interest was boring as well, it was too obvious to begin with. I don’t have an thing against them being together, they just didn’t make me feel anything at all. It really felt it was thrown in there like everything else.

The plot and the writing itself was so .. weird? They go to Europe on this hunt, this should have been fun and interesting, but it was all rushed over and odd? Sometimes the scenes are described and used a long time on, but there are several parts of the story when we just suddenly cut to the next scene. Like when they were going to Europe, they were just suddenly there. So things happens too abruptly. Also, when they solve the clues Marek’s grandfather left behind, they use such a short time on them? And right afterwards they are like: omg, that was so hard?
They literally just stare at the paper and the answers come to them. Marek himself say that his grandad would make the clues so no one but him could get them, but there are literal gods after them, surely they can’t be this stupid?
That brings me to the next part. Gods are after them, and then I’m not talking about one god, but several. Like from all mythologies in the whole world. The author has included all of it, and we get about one sentence for each of them when they decide to pop up, for who they are and what they can do. And we are supposed to remember that? It wasn’t even fun to have the gods there, they just popped in and out when it was convenient and they never felt really there or inserted into the story well at all.

Now the reason behind all if, the hunt and such. I am mildly interested, I liked the thought of the story behind it all. But it was badly explained, if explained at all, that it has just left me confused. The books gives a lot of questions it does not answer, I guess since this is the series. However, there was a point of the story where they went a place to “get all the answers”, but that didn’t really happen. So.

I give this book 1.5 stars. Really disappointed, and not something it would recommend.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with this eArc.