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The Awakening

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Member Reviews

"The Awakening" by Jill Sanders is a captivating read that'll draw you in with its enchanting story and well-developed characters, leaving you eager for more from this talented author.

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The first book I have ready by this author, The Awakening has some intriguing characters and an easy to follow storyline.

Synopsis:
Christina swore she’d never return to her hometown of Hidden Creek, Georgia again. Her upbringing there could only be described as torture at best. She never asked for the unusual abilities she possesses but was quite certain they would torment her the rest of her life. After spending years hiding and trying to escape the judgement and abuse of her family and the cruel people of Hidden Creek, she's finally come to terms with her gift. But with her parent’s sudden passing, it now falls on Christina to return and take care of everything. With her parents gone, she finally hopes to close this dark chapter of her life and leave Hidden Creek behind for good. That is until she finds herself mysteriously drawn to the intoxicating gentleman next door, who seems to share a strange and unusual bond with her.

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***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
An interesting paranormal mystery with a dose of family secrets and romance.

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I enjoyed reading the awakening. Kept me interested in till there was no pages left to turn. I was able to read and not let list in the events of the story. Jill is an awesome author and I love her writing. I have followed and read her for years.

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I really liked it.. The Awakening is really
A different kind of ghost story
As with all Jill Sanders mysteries there is an element of romance, mystery and always murder. This one however had a touch of the supernatural as well. It was a fun read that left you wondering until the end.

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Paranormal, mystery, romance. A few twisty turns, and a great quick read. This is a new aspect of writing from one of my favorites and I look forward to reading more like this in the future.

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Hooked from the start, super entertaining story. Loved all the twists and turns in the story, did not see the end coming!

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The Awakening, Paranormal Romance by Jill Sanders

Christina Warren ( Xtina) comes home to Hidden Creek on the news her parent have died in an accident. Michael Kincaid (Mike) a former military man and police officer of the Atlanta Police Department. moved to Hidden Creed and bought a fixer-upper Now Xtina and Mike are neighbours I really liked the Special Powers the main and secondary characters have. Very unique powers but interact with all the others. As expected by the title "something will be awakened" in this case, the numerous characters have special powers that are "awakening" or become most potent.

There should be warnings on books that you have to purchase anther book or books to get the conclusion! I have to be really intrigued otherewise out of spite I drop the series then and there. In this case I will be looking for the other 2 books of this series. I just hope the next is as compelling as this one. Great story and had me engrossed the entire way. I just have to know what happens next!

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I liked this book. It had a decent amount of suspense, the romance wasn't too much for me, and the paranormal aspects were believable and not annoying or scary. However, I wish the book was longer. The storylines wrapped up a little too quickly for me. There wasn't time to really connect with the characters and the romance was almost too immediate for me. It read like a novella instead of a full-length novel. In addition, it ended on a cliffhanger of sorts. While that did make me want to read the next book, the ending wasn't enough to make the first book a satisfying read on its own.

My hope is that when I read the other books in the series, this first story is a nice set-up to the others. If not, this read alone was a little disappointing. It is a nice, quick beach read, but certainly not a book that will end up on my permanent shelf. I don't feel that I wasted my time, and I will read the remaining books in the series, so all-in-all it's a good start. Considering that I was able to read the book for free, in return for an honest review, it was definitely worth it.

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“The Awakening” by Jill Sanders

Oh, Jill Sanders. Let me count the ways in which this book thrilled me. I received a copy of this book from my friends at NetGalley (they’re my favourite). I have not read any other works by this author, but I am truly enamoured with the series after reading the first book.

To briefly break down the plot of this book, I will start by telling you that it is a paranormal/mystery/romance book. If you aren’t into fiction that requires you to think outside the box, this book is probably not for you. However, I do think it has the power to convert you! Christina is the strong female main character and she is returning to her home town to attend her parents’ funeral after a tragic car accident. Christina isn’t exactly grieving as her parents were horrible to her throughout childhood and inflicted cruel and unusual punishments on her. At the beginning, we don’t have a clear understanding that she has this strange gift that allows her to see into the future and revise people’s memories when she touches them. Its a gift that her parents attempted to beat and pray out of her throughout her childhood.

When she returns to her family home, she notices that the neighbouring cottage has a light on, which was not typically the case since the family who resided there had moved. She decides to see what is going on over there and stumbles upon the hot and sexy ex-cop Michael. That girl got someone looking out for her, at least in the guy department.

Michael is an ex cop from the Atlantic PD who after a tragic incident whereby his partner was killed after attempting to kill him, he was forced out of the department. Since he has moved into the cottage, he sees a “ghost” every night and up until he discovers Christina being a peeping tom, figured he was the only one who could see her.

They ultimately form a friendship / romance and Christina discloses her gift to him. The odd thing is that she cannot read him with her gifts. I can’t imagine sexy time with a man when you can see all their memories and feelings. That just sounds awkward and disturbing. Christina and Mike come to share a friend in common, Jessica. Jess had a quick fling with Mike before Christina returned and things went down hill. There is some tension in the air in the beginning but Jess is a good sport about it.

Later we come to find out the meaning of the ghost’s story which lands them in some hot water. Of course there are other twists and turns along the way, such as a secret love child and some history between the main characters parents-I mean let’s keep it interesting. Ultimately, Christina is kidnapped by her crazy ass ex boyfriend who ran a cult and thinks that her powers are his to own. The guy gets shot. Well, deserved if you ask me. The guy seemed like a real douche canoe.

The book ends on cliffhanger and I don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone looking to read this masterpiece from Jill Sanders. I would highly recommend this book to those who love a good paranormal romance. I read it in one day and honestly, I’m buying the second in the series to continue with my reading adventures with the Scooby Doo team.

Hey Jill… you’ve gained one new lover of your writing. <3

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**I generously received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review**

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. Christina (who prefers to be called Xtina - frankly I, not even sure how to say that) finds herself in the uncomfortable position of going home after the unexpected death of both her parents in what seems to have been a nasty car accident. She’s very conflicted going there, because her parents were extremely abusive, but also because the majority of the townspeople think she’s some kind of freak.

Christina (sorry, I just can’t bring myself to call her Xtina, it’s just too Christina Aguilera for me) has abilities. When she touches people, she sees things - things they’re thinking about, their pasts, etc. She also has other abilities. When she meets the hot new neighbor across the street, a retired cop with demons of his own named Mike, there’s some major chemistry. A romance quickly develops.

But there are a lot more things going on in this little town than it seems. This was, unfortunately, where the book derailed a bit for me. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll just say there’s at least one murder to be solved, an unexpected connection brought in, a mystery man, another guy with some “abilities” - it’s just a LOT, particularly for a book that was only 265 pages.

Also, while I liked Christina and Mike, and we as readers are led to believe they may have some kind of soulmate connection, I just didn’t quite FEEL the chemistry between them. I also questioned how easily Christina seemed to step back into life in the small town she hates, in the house filled with bad memories, because her actions didn’t line up to her WORDS (hating the town, feeling uncomfortable there, etc). Did I mention when Christina has visions she often either pukes or passes out? At one point, Mike apologized for having left her in public by herself after she had a vision that left her passing out in a grocery store and hitting her head on something, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t like the implication that she needed a minder. How had she managed on her own all this time?

But the cardinal sin was the book ending on a cliffhanger. I absolutely hate, hate that in a book, and frankly I think it’s unfair to the reader who loyally purchased and read your book. So for that, I’ve got to downgrade my rating a little.

I did feel the story and the author’s writing had a lot of potential, it just needed refinement. And as I said, I am a huge sucker for books featuring heroines with psychic abilities and found that aspect fascinating.

I’m rating the book a 3, but feel it was closer to a 2.5.

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Absolutely a suspense filled page turner! I finished it in 5 hours I couldn't put it down! Loved the paranormal added in ,very well done even for people that may not usually read it! Romance, suspense,paranormal you will not be disappointed! Loved the main character Christina! Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange for my honest review! Can't wait to read the next ones!

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this book was brilliant. when I got to the last page I was not happy. I did not want it to end at all. I did not see many of the twists at all, and I loved that. I cannot wait to read more from this author. Thank you NetGalley.

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I loved this book and now am looking for the next two in the series. i can not turn down the "dark family secrets"books. This a very good paranormal mystery. It has mystery, ghost, family secrets, secret brother, every thing that makes this type of book great

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I couldn’t connect with this book at all, can’t pinpoint exactly why but it couldn’t hold my interest and I wasn’t interested in what happened to the characters, so a no from me


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

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