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A review by nineinchnails
The Awakening: As Told by the Boys by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i don't think i've ever read this kind of retelling before (where i've already read 90% of the story) but i was just desperate to hold off on whatever agony and anguish is coming for my favs in book 7. there isn't much to say about the book since it's pretty much a 1:1 retelling of the first book in the series but there were a few scenes that gave a lot more insight into the guys' motivations and how conflicted they were. seth just came off as cruel and petty here so even though i know he improves eventually it was still a little disappointing to see how much he was revelling in the opportunity to humble darcy as payment for something she had nothing to do with (directly). she didn't even know he was mad at her never mind why he was mad. the foreshadowing was strong here so i'm glad i read this when i did or it probably would've spoiled some of it for me. it took me a lot longer to read because i obviously knew almost everything that was going to happen so it wasn't the most interesting read - i can definitely see myself enjoying it a lot more as a tandem read with the awakening on a reread though!
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Blood, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Attempted murder, Student/teacher relationship, Dubcon (biting), Noncon (biting)