Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! Unfortunately, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

I don’t really know what it was about this book, but it was not my cup of tea. Unfortunately I ended up DNF’ing but might give it another try one of these days

This was a stunning horror set in Europe, which I honestly dong get to see that often. The setting and scenes are a fever dream fog, magical and haunting, and the characters are so realistic. This made for a fantastic YA horror, and definitely an author I'm going to keep my eye on!

YA fantasy novel with some horror, a mystery and some thrills. Four children disappear during the Winter Solstice and years later, the children are now teenagers have mysteriously return. With no recollection of had transpired during their absence. One child is still missing and with no help from the townspeople the small group are on their own to find the missing child. The horror aspect of this story is too scary and is suitable for the age range that it was written for. The suspense and the mystery part of the story is wonderfully written. The author has great world building skills and a talented storyteller.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Publisher Spotlight, Albatros Media for this copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I overall enjoyed this, but I felt that something was off or missing nearly the entire time.

None of the characters had much of a personality besides "evil", and the main characters didn't really have one at all. It was hard to feel for them or really connect in any way, possibly because they were missing for twelve years.

The time period is never mentioned, but sometimes the word "gonna" is used, but older characters say "ye" instead of you. It makes for an awkward mash-up, though it may be the fault of the translation.

There is a lot of casual abuse from nearly every adult character and some of the younger ones, both to other adults and children. There is also a mention of animal abuse.

The synopsis is off. It focuses on Sonya, who is hardly in the book at all, and completely ignores Dora, who is one of the main characters.

The Astrid and Tom went missing when they were six and came back at eighteen, but don't remember anything from after they went missing. They shouldn't be as emotionally mature as they are and the hint of romance between them was awkward.

It's great that this had some Czech folklore in it. I love that this was translated, and I'd love to see more translations like this. I'll probably read from Kateřina Šardická again if more of her work gets published in English.

I was excited to read this YA horror novel because it’s “spooky season” and the right time of year for it; Katerina Sardicka is described as the Czech Stephen King; and it involves Slavic mythology, which intrigues me, though I know little about it.

This book began slowly. It was not gripping and it held my attention, but just. It’s plot driven rather than character driven, so when the plot is sluggish, there isn’t much to engage with. But I stuck with it, and it picked up nicely in the second half.

There were some things I truly enjoyed about I Shall Awaken. There was an unsettling sense of wrongness to the setting. It takes place in an unnamed village, presumably in Czechoslovakia. Ostensibly, this is a modern book, because the characters sometimes commute to the city, call for an ambulance at one point, and use flashlights. But there are no cell phones. And the entire village is superstitious, isolated, and adheres to customs that harken back to evil spirits and mysticism. The adults are harsh and there’s lots of casual physical abuse. The juxtaposition of modern and archaic lends a stifling tone where there’s no escape because everything’s just weird.

I learned about Slavic mythology! I did some research on the gods mentioned in the book. The antagonist spirit was Nocnitsa in this story, but there were frequent mentions of other mythological creatures and gods. I also enjoyed learning about some of the yearly holidays and customs. It makes me curious how much those customs are practised today in Slavic countries. The mythology played well with the horror elements.

Unfortunately, I had to rate it down for a couple of reasons. I found that character development was lacking, even for a more plot-driven novel. To be compared to Stephen King, there must be a deeper understanding of inner motivation and interpersonal interactions, and honestly, a richer description of setting. Secondly, the writing was clunky at times, with many awkward turns of phrase. It was jarring. I’m wondering if this is Sardicka’s prose or the translation. It’s impossible to know, but I suspect translation.

In summary, then, this book was a solid three star read after a shaky start, because it got better as it progressed. It had cool Slavic mythology and an eerie setting, making the reading worthwhile and giving it an extra half star. I actually think this would make an excellent film in good hands! Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher Spotlight for a digital copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

I read forty or fifty pages of this before deciding it wasn't going to work for me. I wasn't connecting with the story, and so I kept drifting in and out of focus a I pushed through. It wasn't the writing that was the problem, necessarily -- I think the author can write just fine -- but the way they were presenting the story and its characters left me disconnected from the experience. Marking this DNF around 10%. I may try it again down the road since I'm a mood reader and this just might not have been the right book for me at this moment. And if I do try it again later I will of course update my review to reflect that experience instead.

I loved this novel. It's a twisted tale of loss, friendship and guilt but the narrative and story will keep you hooked.

Four children disappear from their kindergarten class while taking a nap. Twelve years later they reappear out of the blue with no memory of what took place.

This story is set in an unknown location in an unknown time period and that keeps us on our toes. This town believes strongly in curses, magic, and gods, and the sudden reappearance of these children (now adults) causes some to believe the town is cursed .

If these young people can't figure out what's happened to them, the consequences could be dire.

This is a mystery of sorts, wrapped in the supernatural and sucks you right in from the beginning. I highly recommend it! My review will be coming soon to my Horror Reads YouTube channel.

An interesting and unique horror story that has a bit of a Midsommar vibe to it. Definitely good for fans of horror movies or folk horror.

This premise held a fair amount of promise. Missing kids who suddenly reappear, remembering nothing. Spooky and mysterious, to be sure. But its pretty strange. It leans hard on "old beliefs", on a belief in fairly monstrous spirits. It's interesting that when we first meet these people they are a society on the verge of leaving those beliefs behind. THey continue to follow their spiritual calendar, hold to old rituals and festivals but one gets the sense that this is more habit and mild superstition than any true belief. It's quite long and dense, though, and may not be compelling enough to keep the reader engaged.

I will give this book 3 stars but I DNF’d it. I found it drawn out (I mean to be fair if the author is the “Czech Stephen King” then it would be o early descriptive.) I just couldn’t get hooked. I did love the descriptions of the town, but it was not as chilling as I thought it would be.

3.5 stars
I expected this to be creepier... It was a little strange and dark and involved things that scare me or that I've dealt with (like sleep paralysis), but it never really wowed me. It had some interesting moments and details that kept me reading and had a solid, decently fast pace. I liked the, sort of, lesson to the story, but don't think it was strongly represented throughout. There wasn't a lot of description of the characters or the setting. I didn't have a strong connection to any of the characters and honestly hated most of the minor characters. I have an overall feeling of being underwhelmed. I feel like the parts of the story meant to be creepy just fell flat and needed an extra push to make it truly stand out. I guessed two twists in the story, although it didn't completely ruin it for me. The premise of the book is really cool, I just expected more (especially when the author is compared to Stephen King). Also not sure I liked the open-ended-ness at the end of the book. To conclude, not my favorite, but was still good and wouldn't mind reading more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I Shall Awaken is an atmospheric and intense YA horror novel that had me hooked from page 1! It is both an intriguing mystery steeped in Slavic folklore and a social exploration of what happens to families and a close community as it is repetitively shaken to its core. Though the old traditions and superstition remain strong in the community, true belief has waned over time and there is constant tension between the real and the paranormal. All of these layers weave together in brilliant fashion and I would recommend this to anyone interested in a dark read.

Twelve years ago, four children went missing. The fifth child of the group, Dora Lautner, was the only one that remained and has since been ostracized over her inability to remember what happened to the others and claims of paranormal involvement in their disappearance. Now, on the night of the winter solstice, three of the missing children have returned with no recollection of the years after their disappearance. As Astrid, Tom, and Sonja try to piece together their missing memories, they must also race against time to find the last missing child; Astrid’s brother Max. The deeper they search into their past, the more they realize that perhaps Dora’s claims of the paranormal might be true after all.

From the very beginning, this atmospheric book gave me chills. The book is set in a small, isolated Czech village during the winter. We are introduced to the town through Dora’s perspective. Dora’s past not only makes her sensitive to the uncanny, but also means she herself is physically and socially isolated from an already remote community. Both the environment and people around her are mysterious, cold, and unforgiving. Things only become more tense as the perspectives of the missing children are added in and the mystery deepens.

Though the mystery of what has happened to the missing children is at the heart of this novel, Šardická’s unforgiving depiction of the impact the children’s disappearance had on the community and how it struggles to adapt to their reappearance is what makes it stand out for me. In addition to intense family dynamics, the story explores the struggle between embracing traditional beliefs and trusting in more modern processes to explain the unexplainable. It adds a level of complexity that is accessible but often rare in YA reads.

Content Warnings: Abuse, Harm to Minors, Harm to Animals, Depictions of Trauma, Mental Health

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC!

I Shall Awaken by Katerina Sardicka is a YA mystery/horror/folklore book that I just finished last night. It is easily one of my favorites I’ve read so far this year.

Synopsis:
Four six-year-olds go missing from their school classroom during nap time never to be found. Twelve years later, three of the missing stumble back into their village on the winter solstice unable to remember what happened to them or where they have been. The now teenagers, Astrid, Tom and Sonja, have to work together to figure out the mystery of what happened to them and where the remaining missing child - Astrid’s younger brother, Max - is. They are aided by their friend, Dora who had been there that day in the classroom when the others went missing. All of her life, Dora has been ostracized for having claimed that the missing children had been taken by ghosts. As they begin to unravel the mystery, they begin to find that what Dora saw all those years ago may have been real.

I loved this story that is steeped in Slavic pagan gods and folklore. The setting is a small Eastern European village during a time that isn’t clearly defined. The manner of speaking is more modern, but yet the villagers’ beliefs and customs seem to be from a time long ago. The characters are all well developed. As a reader, you are rooting for them to solve the mystery of their disappearance and find Max, but also to find where they fit back into lives after having been gone so long. The family drama and the ramifications of their return is every bit as interesting as the actual mystery surrounding their disappearance. If you love folklore and a mystery with supernatural elements, this book is a must read!

Also, there are wonderful illustrations by Stepanka Coufalova that makes me want to buy a copy of the physical book to add to my collection.

From “the Czech Stephen King”, Kateřina Šardická’s YA horror novel I Shall Awaken is firmly rooted in folklore, and fear of the old gods. Following their mysterious disappearance as children, Astrid, Tom, and Sonya return 12 years later, with no memory of the incident. However, Astrid’s brother Max did not return with them, and Astrid desperately tries to figure out his rescue, while dealing with the abusive family to whom she has returned.

The unnamed village in which the novel is set is full of secrets, from weird witch-like characters, to forbidden forests, and a myriad of ghosts. I love the world Šardická has created; it just drips with dread from the first page.

The central female characters in this book are particularly strong. Astrid’s defiance in the face of authority, and the literal unknown, is incredible. This girl faces potential death in order to rescue her brother.

The story takes a while to build; Šardická builds a sense of foreboding that really pays off when things speed into the break-neck final chapters. The horror is incredibly disturbing, and I experienced the rare phenomenon of a “jump scare” in a book.

I love that this is a YA book, and if young readers embrace this level of terror, I think there is an incredible amount of hope for the future.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dora's four friends went missing 12 years ago during nap time at kindergarten. No one has believed what she saw, blaming the disappearances on the local loony man. A few days after he is released from his sentence, three of the four return; aged normally and unaware of how they got there or where they had been. Why did only three return and where have they been this whole time? And are they to blame for the sudden stroke of bad luck the village now faces?

I Shall Awaken was a great quick read. While told from many points of view it didn't jar the reader and helped propel the story forward. Mythical/wise women of the village help our main characters navigate lost memories and myths that should have never been forgotten. While the ending left a little to be lacking, it was nice to be able to allow the reader their own take on what happens after the epilogue. I really enjoyed this story but the reread value is what brings it down to 4 stars.

Recommended for readers 10+ who love a good mystery along with a bit of magic.

There are so few YA horror novels out there and I am so happy that I stumbled upon this one. The author used such a unique storyline and included Slavic gods which I was completely new to, didn’t have any previous knowledge of, but absolutely loved it. I definitely will be adding this to my physical bookshelf on release day.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher Spotlight for the digital ARC of 'I Shall Awaken' by Kateřina Šardická.

I stumbled across this book while looking for a new book to read that tied in tales of the gods. I loved that this brought in the Slavic gods - I haven't found a lot of stories that do.

It also was YA horror, which was a huge bonus! The disappearances of children, and reappearance hinted to something more sinister lurking out there.

I can't wait to be able to share this book with my students that love horror, and the old tales! I don't have enough in my classroom library that crossover.

But first, my priority is adding this book to my personal library.
A fantastic book with equally gorgeous art. 5/5.