Awaken – 4 Star Book Review

Welcome to one of the November 5th review stops on the blog tour for Awaken by B.L. Callaghan, organized by Rockstar Book Tours. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for more spotlights, reviews, guest posts by the author, and a giveaway! (More on that at the end of this post.)

Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means there is no additional cost to you if you shop using my links, but I will earn a small percentage in commission. A program-specific disclaimer is at the bottom of this post.

About the Book

Awaken
The Goddess Incarnate Book One
by B. L. Callaghan

Published: 12 August 2020
by Bianca Callaghan

Genre: Fantasy
Page: 340
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

Sapphira Dawn was told she was the new Goddess Incarnate, the most powerful being on Earth.

At nineteen, she didn’t feel powerful – she felt betrayed and angry.

Suddenly thrust into a world that she knows nothing about, a world where magic and monsters actually exist, Sapphira races to learn all she can about her magic.

And to find her place in this dangerous new world.

Some of the monsters want to use her, the others just want her dead.

But can she gain the knowledge needed to stop an impending war before it spills into the human realm she once called home.

“Sapphira has got to be one the best MC’s I have come across of late!… I cannot wait to see where the rest of this story heads!” – Jade Francis, Author of Siren Calls

“If you’re wanting to dive into an excellent example of the fantasy world, where the cruel Gods use their power over the world and its inhabitants to their advantage this book is for you. I turned the last page and the word that came to mind was…Excellent. I am looking forwarding to reading the next book in the series. I highly recommend you grab a copy for yourself.” – Stephanie B. Whitfield, Author of Hidden in Roll

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Kindle | B&N | TBD

My Review

My Rating: 4 Stars

I received a complimentary review copy of Awaken from author B.L. Callaghan in exchange for an honest review through Rockstar Book Tours as part of my participation in the book tour for this title. Thank you to B. L. Callaghan and Rockstar Book Tours for the opportunity! This has not swayed my opinion. My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

Suddenly pulled into a world full of magic and monsters, Sapphira’s life changed forever in an instant. She’s not just an ordinary 19 year old mortal human from the mundane human world like she thought. Not at all! She’s a goddess incarnate, all-powerful, and destined to change this newly discovered magical world in unimaginable ways.

I’m a sucker for fantasy novels that pull from mythology and folklore, which is exactly why I jumped at the chance to review this book when the tour with Rockstar Book Tours came up, and I was note disappointed! While Callaghan’s world is unique and beautifully detailed, there are some familiar elements used that made world building less info-dump heavy and made my mythology loving heart smile. I also appreciate that the magic system does have rules in place, and we do get some explanations of that as Sapphira learns it. The visual descriptions in this book are so vivid, too. Not once was I picturing a bunch of floating heads talking and thinking their way through the plot; the scene was always set and painted clearly.

Sapphira is such a relatable character. She’s likeable, for sure, which is important for a main character, but she’s also very real. As she struggles to find her place in this new world around her and figure out how she fits into the events unfolding, her struggles really ring true to me. I could empathize with her very easily. She’s also quite witty, and I thoroughly enjoyed her inner monologue every time she internally narrated her ordeals or kept her opinions to herself.

Since this book is written in the first-person, present tense, and since that point of view (POV) is our chosen one heroine plucked from a normal life and dropped into a magical one with no prior warning, sometimes there are sections in the book where I found myself wishing the narrative would take a step back and go third-person or introduce a second POV just so we could get some more information now and not wait for Sapphira to learn it. Is that a flaw? I don’t think so. Annoying as it may feel to be as in the dark as the character is, it certainly builds suspense and makes you want to keep reading! By the simple nature of being a single POV first-person narrative, however, it dances on the edge of presenting an unreliable narrator in some parts, and some readers are turned off by that, so I thought I’d mention it. Personally, my favourite way that I’ve seen authors get around that is to open chapters with short past-tense recollections in some form and then cut to the present for the first-person narrative.

The plot kept me guessing right to the very end. Callaghan is very skilled in the art of throwing out red herrings and plot twists that I was not expecting. This combined with the fact that the action starts pretty much right away and doesn’t let up means this book is very binge-able. I look forward to reading more in this series!

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Kindle | B&N | TBD

About the Author

B.L. Callaghan is an Australian Foster Carer and Educator with over a decade of industry experience.

She runs the Facebook page “More Than A Foster Carer”, where she shares her experience working with the foster system.

B.L. Callaghan lives in rural New South Wales with her husband, a changing number of children, a dog and some chickens.

As a self proclaimed creative soul, she has had a passion for writing fiction from an early age. When she’s not wrangling chickens, children, or dogs, B.L. Callaghan love tagging along on epic quests, and being whisked off on magical adventures.

B.L. Callaghan write children’s books for children in the foster care system, as well as YA and NA titles.

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Giveaway Alert!

3 lucky followers of the tour will win a finished copy of Awaken! This is open internationally, but if any winners are in Australia specifically they will receive signed copies. Don’t forget to check out other stops on the tour for more opportunities to enter!

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