The Awakening (Emerge #1)
by Melissa A. Craven
Release Date: April 1st 2015
2015 Dante Rossetti Awards Finalist
2015 International Book Awards Finalist
2015 USA Best Book Award Finalist
Summary from Goodreads:
Allie Carmichael has always believed life is simple. You’re born. You live. You die.She has no cause to believe that equation works differently for her, but there has to be a reason the world treats her like a pariah.When an unexpected move to Kelleys Island brings Aidan McBrien crashing into her life, Allie is thrown by his reaction. He doesn’t shrink from her touch. He doesn’t stutter or make a quick exit. He smiles and welcomes her into his circle of friends, who aren’t exactly comfortable with Allie, but they seem to get her in a way most people don’t.Finally, Allie has a real shot at normal and rides that high right up to her sixteenth birthday when she wakes in agony—an experience Aidan insists they have all faced. She struggles in ignorance, uncertain of what is real and what isn’t. When she emerges, Allie is different. She has always been different, but even among her extraordinary friends, she and Aidan are special. As Allie struggles to maintain her tenuous grasp on the power that threatens to overwhelm her, she worries she will lose herself in this strange new world. A dangerous world where she will have to fight tooth and nail to defend the power and freedom that is her birthright. …only Allie hates to fight.
Emerge: The Awakening is on sale for $1.99 during the tour!
Emerge: The Edge is on sale for $0.99 during the tour!
About the Author
Melissa A. Craven (the "A" stands for Ann—in case you were wondering) was born near Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to Cleveland, Ohio at the age of seventeen. She still thinks of Cleveland as home, so it was only natural for Emerge to take place there.Today, she is back in Atlanta—for some reason she can't seem to stay away from the ungodly heat that makes her long for things like "lake effect snow" and wind that will knock you flat.
Melissa decided a long time ago that the “life checklist” everyone else was clutching so tightly in their fists, just wasn’t for her. She does everything backwards because she is weird like that, but then, she is an artist and artists are notoriously "unique" and "quirky."
She is an avid student of art and design, and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of West Georgia in 2009. She worked as an interior designer for several years, but she's always thought she might like to be a writer when she grows up.
In her spare time, if she has any, she enjoys shopping for derelict furniture she refinishes to exercise the interior design part of her brain.
Author Links:
Excerpt from Chapter Two
Allie’s feet pounded against the hard packed dirt as she ran along the
secluded trail, the sound of Saint Saeën’s Aquarium loud in her ears. It
was still the middle of the night for most people, but she didn’t sleep much
these days. She liked her new home on Kelleys Island, but the whole move to
Cleveland, Ohio reeked of unanswered questions. Questions she knew not to ask.
Today was her first day at the prestigious Cliffton Academy, and she
wasn’t looking forward to it. She’d changed schools often enough to know what
to expect, and she hadn’t suffered from new school nerves in years. She just
didn’t know if she had it in her to start over again.
Gavin would want me to try. She’d picked up the phone a dozen times over
the weekend, but never finished dialing before she chickened out. She didn’t
know what to say to him. In her mind, that door was closed. He was in the past,
and as much as she missed him, she knew they both needed to move on. Calling
him would only prolong their misery.
As the song changed to Pavane, Allie heard heavy footsteps
echoing behind her. She had company. Another runner following at a discrete
distance. He was curious and incredibly annoyed with her—if her instincts were
right—which they almost always were.
She continued along the path, increasing her pace, but the footsteps
grew louder as he left the trail to crash through the woods.
So much for my nice quiet morning.
She felt dizzy. Her head swam and her ears filled with a rush of white
noise.
Should’ve had breakfast before I left.
Allie ran faster, hoping to push through the nausea. She looked over her
shoulder expecting to catch a glimpse of him, but she crashed into something
hard instead. She toppled to the ground in a tangle of tattooed limbs.
“Dammit! Watch where you’re going!” a gruff voice sounded in her ear.
“Sorry!”
“Your knee is crushing my spine, sweetheart.”
“Crap! Sorry!” She scrambled to her feet and reached to help him up.
His hand was warm and his grip, firm and confident. Allie waited for him
to pull away with the flustered reaction she’d come to expect, but it never
happened. She was completely thrown by his lack of response to her touch.
She met his steely gaze and her breath hitched in her throat. He towered
over her—but almost everyone did. He was angry, but only one thought came to
her mind.
My review
Melissa Graven’s
story “Emerge, the Awakening” is a story that will more than satisfy the fans
of YA genre.
An original
story that includes just about everything you look for in a book: action, an original
and intricate plot, romance and young adult heartache, fantasy and character
development.
The reader follows
Allie as she evolves from the ignorant, lonely girl to a bas-ass heroine in a
way that captures imagination page by page.
What I liked
the most in this book: the perfect installments of flash-back snapshots, where
the reader follows the heroes in a surprising mix of time-travel and fantasy.
What would
make this book perfect for me: I’d love to find more action/bad-ass heroine
scenes throughout the book.
My favorite
hero: Aidan (of course!)
My favorite
scene: The fire scene
My favorite
quote: “If living in complete denial makes you happy, go for it.” Aidan
My rating:
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