Thursday, October 13, 2016

Book Review: Reawakened by Colleen Houck

Reawakened (Reawakened #1) by Colleen Houck
Blurb:
When seventeen-year-old Lilliana Young enters the Metropolitan Museum of Art one morning during spring break, the last thing she expects to find is a live Egyptian prince with godlike powers, who has been reawakened after a thousand years of mummification. And she really can’t imagine being chosen to aid him in an epic quest that will lead them across the globe. But fate has taken hold of Lily, and she, along with her sun prince, Amon, must travel to the Valley of the Kings, raise his brothers, and stop an evil, shape-shifting god named Seth from taking over the world. 

My Review: 
17-year-old Lilliana "Lily" Young's well-controlled life is about to implode. Seeking a break from the decision her parents insist she must make during her spring break - pick a college and a major, starting college undecided is absolutely out of the question - she finds refuge in her favorite place, The Met. 

As she sits in the closed off Egyptian exhibit (a perk of her family being rich: not only does she have a lifetime pass, she also can hang out anywhere in the museum) she hears something in the curtained off area. Thinking it's a tourist lost in the exhibit Lily goes to investigate. 

What she doesn't expect to find is a gorgeous guy in a white pleated skirt looking for "his" canopic jars. When he can't find them he insists that Lily help him. Thinking he's a crazy person Lily attempts to leave but not before the guy has a chance to cast a spell on her binding them together. Lily manages to lose the guy, who calls himself Amon, for a little while but when he gets hit by a car Lily feels compelled to help him. 

At first, Lily thinks Amon is crazy or possibly sick, but soon what he's telling her and what he's able to do confirm what he is saying is true. Amon is a 1000+-year-old Egyptian demigod that is tasked with stopping the god of chaos, Seth from destroying the world. Amon needs Lily's energy because his canopic jars containing his organs have been stolen so she must travel with him to Egypt to reawaken his brothers so they can perform a ritual to stop Seth. 

As Lily reluctantly goes down the figurative rabbit hole with Amon, she finds herself changing. Prim, controlled Lilliana would have never accompanied Amon to Egypt but the person she's becoming is someone she likes a whole lot better. "Lily" is up for adventure and is embracing things as they happen. Not only that but her feelings for Amon are growing into something she never expected. Could a relationship between a mortal and a mummy/sun god ever really work out? Does Amon care for Lily the way she cares for him, and if so why does he keep pushing her away? 

Will Amon be able to reawaken his brothers and stop Seth? Will he drain too much of Lily's energy? Or will Seth finally succeed? 

Reawakened is an action-packed Egyptian adventure. At first, I wasn't sure I liked Lily because she reminded me a little of the uptight Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl, too concerned by what other people thought of her. But by the time Amon finally convinced Lily he wasn't crazy, sick, or lying I was hooked on the story. I needed to see what happened next. Amon's discovery of every new modern thing was hilarious.

When they reach Egypt the reader is swept into a place that is both the past and the present, filled with rich history and exciting Egyptian mythology. The story kept me riveted but the only thing I didn't like was that as Lily and Amon encountered new complications, woke his brothers, and their feelings for one another began to alter and grow, Amon became less and less of his cheerful self and more like a man that had the world resting on his shoulders. At that time Asten became the goofball of the group. I know it probably had to be that way for the plot to work but I loved seeing Amon's cheerful side. The end left me tearful and sad, but also hopeful that things will change in the next book. 

Overall, the characters and the story were easy to fall in love with, I thought the book was very well researched, and I can't wait to see if Amon and Lily will meet again in Recreated. 

Quotes I Loved From Reawakened:

"I do not understand. Then who will wash me?" - Amon, pg. 59

Amon rose immediately. "Yes. We will take a flying chariot to Egypt." - pg. 78

"I will not bend my body to fit into a chariot so small. My sarcophagus was more spacious." - Amon, pg. 102

My Rating: 
4.5 of 5 Stars

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