In this first book in Margaret A. Daly's 'Awakening' series not only does the story’s hero, Ember, face a horrific series of attacks, she faces a worse series of revelations about her real identity. As the story is told in the first person, we learn each emerging truth as Ember does. For her and us nothing is what it seemed. This layering of violence, emotion, and a deeply compromised reality makes this a compelling dive into the supernatural.
Our engagement with Ember would have been stronger if Act 1 had been given over to her earlier normal life. We’re thrown immediately into her struggle against occult surprises at every turn. By seeing and sympathizing with her as a normal young woman we’d have felt even deeper the onslaught of occult forces.
That aside, the portrait of ruthless evil in the book is very powerful. It overwhelms, exploits, and physically and emotionally ransacks its victims. This is very convincingly and chillingly portrayed. I was very drawn into seeing how Ember would fare against such horrific treatment.
From the Book Description:
Ember Malloch has no idea her life is about to get turned upside down. Besides the fact that she sees the dead on occasion, she lives an ordinary mundane life.
Her sister warned her not to provoke the spirits, but Ember has a mind of her own and she defies Becky at every turn. Now, her life as she knows it will be changed forever, as an unbridled strength is unleashed upon her. She will have an awakening like no other as she learns her past, and discovers who she is.
