Review: Awakened - Ednah Walters

Most teens turn sixteen and get the license to drive, but Lil Falcon gets the license to kill demons.

Orphaned as a child and raised by an eccentric grandfather, Lil is concerned with surviving high school and is unaware that she is a Guardian - a being with super powers charged with killing demons and protecting humanity.  When she meets Bran, a mysterious boy with amazing abilities, his psi energy unlocks her latent powers.

But Bran has a secret that can ruin their growing relationship, and the truth she discovers may destroy everything she believes in unless she finds the right balance between love and sacrifice.

Guardian Legacy Series:
Awakened
Betrayed (Release date TBC)

Visit Ednah Walters' website for more information

Review:
Lil has spent her life moving from town to town with her gypsy grandfather and is pleased when he tells her they are finally going to settle down.  She is looking forward to staying in one school for longer than a few months and hoping to finally make some friends.  Everything changes when she meets Bran, he has abilities that she doesn't understand and is telling her crazy things about herself and her family - but they can't be true can they?  When Lil confronts her grandfather and discovers her heritage as a demon hunter she will have to learn how to juggle her social life with her new normal friends and the training she needs to do alongside the other guardian trainees.  Where does Bran fit into the picture?  It's clear he has secrets but is he really as dangerous as everyone is telling her that he is?

Awakened is a great start to what I'm hoping will turn into a fantastic series and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel Betrayed (even though it hasn't been released yet!).  I have to confess I was a little worried when I first opened the book and found several pages of information about the different terminology used in the book - I was worried that I was going to find it a confusing read but thankfully I was proved wrong.  As we are introduced to the rules alongside Lil I found it easy enough to learn about the world Ednah Walters has created although I quite liked having the glossary to turn to when I had questions.

Lil is a really likable main character, her life is turned upside down as she learns about the secrets her grandfather has been keeping from her but she deals with things well and becomes determined to learn to use her powers to help the other guardians.  I liked the fact that she doesn't drop her new "normal" friends in favor of the other trainee guardians although she does develop friendships with them too.  It wasn't always easy for her to juggle the 2 different groups of friends but she tries hard to make the best of things.  Bran is a great character too although I would have liked to see more of him - hopefully that will happen in future books in the series.  The attraction between Bran and Lil is instant but I felt it was believable and I was routing for the pair of them in spite of the warnings Lil was getting from her grandfather & friends.  I have to say one of my favorite things about the story was the relationship between Lil and her grandfather - I'm looking forward to reading more about them both.

The action in the story was well written and kept me turning the pages late into the night because I didn't want to put it down.  The world is detailed and interesting and I'm looking forward to discovering more about both the guardians and the demons they protect us from.  Ednah threw in some great plot twists and although we have answers to quite a few of the questions raised I'm very intrigued to see where the story will take us in the rest of the series.  I'm actually impressed that this is a debut novel and am looking forward to seeing what the author will come up with in the future.  This is a book I'd definitely recommend to fans of the YA urban fantasy / paranormal romance genre.

Source: Received as part of a book tour arranged by UK Book Tours, this book has already been sent on to it's next destination.

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