Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Bookish Thoughts: Awakened

 


"Some things were meant to be blasted to pieces. Just as others were

meant to be pieced together, into a mosaic of breathtaking beauty."


 Description:

Where sea and land meet, two worlds clash in a fury of waves and wind.

Arden Bleu has always known that her stepsister, Jade, was destined for great things. In a world where beauty follows magic, she has no doubt that their upcoming Awakening ceremony will reveal that gorgeous, kind, compelling Jade is far more than a mere mortal. But when Jade is kidnapped by a mysterious sect of mer on the eve of the newly-returned king’s ball, Arden will do anything to save her sister. Even face down the man she’s always dreaded meeting because of the power he holds over her family, the man to whom her father swore loyalty long before she was born. The Sea King.

Seidon, the Sea King of Daryatla, has grown only more powerful as the centuries have gone by, but lifetime after lifetime have failed to give him what he most yearns for: a family. He knows that it will take a woman of extraordinary power to match him enough to create a child, and no such woman seems to exist…until he feels her magic calling to his one day in the water. And when Arden Bleu, daughter of his most trusted official, arrives to tell him about her missing stepsister, he knows this Jade, with a new magic so coveted that the Mer would risk war with his kingdom to steal her away, may be the one he’s waited centuries for. But how can he and the determined Arden ever hope to find one young woman trapped beneath the waves? Perhaps the Great Golden Sea Hawk who has guarded the sisters all their lives holds the key.

In a world on the brink of war between the mer and the land-dwellers, friendship, faith, and love demand the ultimate sacrifice as both kingdoms seek to unlock the prophesied magic waiting to spring forth: the magic of wind and sky. To the mer, it would mean the freedom to return to the land. To Seidon’s court, it would mean safety from every storm. But how can any human hand wield the wind?

Get your copy here! Or a signed copy here!


About the Author:

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.



My Thoughts:

Oh, my word!  This book was fabulous!  Quite possibly my favorite book of the year!  (How many exclamation points are too many for a review??)


When one of my very favorite authors announced that she was writing and then publishing a Fantasy novel, I thought “I’ll give it a try!  I love her other books, so what’s the worst that could happen?  She finally writes something that I’m not a huge fan of?”  Ha.  Any hesitation that I might have had was gone within the first chapter.  I adored this book!  I loved Arden, Seidon, Jade, Storm, Jericho, Sapphire, and Ora.  I even really liked a couple of the mer-people.  I loved the combination of water “magic” and sky “magic.”  I loved how the world felt so familiar, but also so fun and unique with magic and technology so different from ours.


I made a terrible mistake when I started this book, though.  I started it right before bed, which means that when I was immediately pulled into the story, I stayed up WAY too late and missed more sleep than was wise.  But do I regret my choices?  Maybe a tiny bit.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely.  Will I do it again when the next book releases?  Almost without a doubt. 


"What I know is that love is never a gift

the Triada gives to break us. It is how he gives us wings.

It is how he takes us to new heights, new depths.

Love, real love makes us better."


I tried to narrow down my favorite thing about this book, but there are far too many things and too many spoilers if I listed them all.  So I will say that I adored the romance.  It made me smile so big when the characters got to their first kiss and ah . . . I can’t say anything else!  But I have reread those parts several times because their relationship just makes me happy.  I confess, I also loved that I was partially right!  Haha!  Because if I had been wrong, I was going to be super confused about what was going to happen next.  And the ending!  I loved that there wasn’t a huge cliffhanger, as is so common to the other Fantasy novels I’ve read.  


The lack of cliffhanger definitely hasn’t dimmed my anticipation for the next story!  I can’t wait to meet some new characters to love and learn more about this fun world Ms. White has created!

Overall, if you enjoy fantasy with delightful characters and a beautiful romance then I would highly recommend darting off to find/buy a copy of this book!


*My thanks to the author for my copy of this book!  I was not required to write a positive review and have not been compensated for it in any way.  All opinions expressed are my own.


What about you? Do you enjoy Fantasy novels? If so, which book or author is your favorite? I'm always on the lookout for recommendations!

As always, thank you so much for stopping by and have a delightful day!

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