arielavalon

Read this and other reviews at my blog.

Weeks after the tragic death of her father, Dawn's life is coming back together. While she is still dealing with the pain, her and her team of misfits have been officially inducted as Guardians and a new President sits in the Scarlet House. When Sebastian and a beautiful vampire from his past disappear on a rescue mission and Born are being abducted and the President won't do a thing to help, Dawn knows she must act. Teaming up with Razor, a smooth talking rebel, and her team, Dawn sets out to solve the mystery of the missing Born before anymore can be taken. But it soon becomes clear that everything is coming back to her. Someone wants her dead and will do anything to make it happen.

I love when Sophomore novels are better than their predecessors. Just when you think a series couldn't possibly get better, it does and then you have to curse the limiting five star rating system. I did notice that this novel wasn't written as linear as the first one, and that might not even be the right word. ReVamped was written in a fairly straight-forward fashion. It like like walking down a straight road. Now, this road might have had hills, valleys, random roadside explosions, and gone from perfectly paved to rocky in a heartbeat and made you wish you were wearing hiking boots instead of wedges, but it was straight-forward all the same. ReAwakened was not like that. You know when your GPS starts recalculating? That was ReAwakened. Now before you run off screaming into the night, that isn't a bad thing. The writing was frustrating. It was frustrating to the characters and to the reader. Just when you thought they had a real solid clue about what was going on, it became apparent that they knew nothing. Each time you thought you knew where the story was going, it proved you wrong. This works out perfectly with the story. There are questions of health and sanity in this novel and the writing just accented those issues. It made it better. I can't get into detail without spoilers, but it works. It really does.

The characters are still fabulous. You get to really learn a lot about Hunter, Brooke, Sebastian, and especially Dawn. I loved getting to discover more about these side characters and watch their relationships change and grow. Sophie really gets her chance to shine as well, which I loved. She deserves that chance. Then there was Razor. I had seen a bit about Razor thanks to a teaser that Ada Adams had posted on her website which piqued my interest in him, but he was nothing that I expected. His relationship to another character was surprising when it should've been so obvious. Although it will get me shot, I actually found myself liking him more than Sebastian. I know!! Blasphemy! He was a perfect addition to the series and I am so happy he was there. He added the right touch of humor and mischief that was needed to keep the darker tones stable. ReAwakened would not have been as good if not for Razor. He was a necessary balance.

The story was intense and enlightening. I found myself focusing more on the darker tones and background story than I did on the immediate story. The immediate story is the Born kidnappings. I barely paid attention. They weren't exactly a Red Herring, but they were the gentle foundation for a much larger and intense story. The ending revelations were insane. Just as I started to suspect them they twisted by being much worse than I thought they would be. Books that make me scare me cat by yelling out "OMG really?!" are always good ones in my eyes. That is until they end on a cliffhanger. I can name one other series who used such an unfair cliffhanger (*cough*Archers of Avalon*cough*). Cliffhangers are evil. They hook you and force you to read the next installment. Bah, as if Angel Creek needed it! I was addicted already!

This series is proving itself to have more twists and turns than many I have found in a while and I am ensnared into it. If you haven't yet given it a chance, you are being foolish. This series is amazing and Ada Adams is brilliant for writing it. Recommended to all.