Book Review: REAWAKENED by Colleen Houck
Title: REAWAKENED
Series: Reawakened #1
Author: Colleen Houck
Sale Date: August 11, 2015
Age: 14 And Up
Genre: Legends, Myths, & Fables
Pages: 400
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: ARC from Publishers
My Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads
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 to find his brothers and complete a grand ceremony that will save mankind.
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.
From New York Times bestselling author Colleen Houck comes an epic adventure about two star-crossed teens who must battle mythical forces and ancient curses on a journey with more twists and turns than the Nile itself.
Get ready to go on an epic adventure as Colleen Houck takes her readers, with her newest series opener REAWAKENED, to the golden sands of Egypt where action, danger, magic, and romance meet in a fantastic new YA fantasy. Perfect for those readers who love Egyptian myth and looking for some swoon in their newest book boyfriend.
The story opens with seventeen-year-old Lilliana Young (Lily) taking a much-needed break at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when she discovers an ancient, and very much alive Egyptian prince with magical powers who has risen from a millennia sleep. Little did she know that Spring Break would take on a whole new meaning as she joins Amon on a quest that takes her to the Valley of Kings and the tomb of King Tut to stop the deadly, shape-shifting god Seth from taking over the world. Now canopic jars, curses, and mummies seem all too real for Lily.
REAWAKENED is one of those books that as soon as I read its summary, I knew I wanted to read it with its mythic Egyptian theme and star-crossed romance. I was hoping for some vivid descriptions to take me away to Egypt, with daring acts of bravery, magic and a new book couple to love. REAWAKENED did all that for me.
There's something about Colleen Houck's writing the makes it so easy to imagine a magical land of gods and goddesses. The beginning, I say the first 15%, felt slow for me which may be in part because I was so anxious to get to Egypt, but I was completely hooked as there's some great myth building. I'm fascinated by Egyptian mythology and I loved early on how Houck recounted some of them, one of them being the famous love story of Isis and Osiris. I laughed at a couple parts as Lily voiced some teenage verbal tongue and cheek about certain aspects (those many body parts Isis must magically reassemble) of the ancient story. The setting of The Valley of the Kings and the tomb of King Tut are vivid, and readers will feel like they are dodging booby traps as well.
Lily, as a heroine is smart, strong-willed and not afraid to face a challenge. From a very driven family, she's feeling the pressure from her parents about colleges and academic performance. When she crosses path with Amon, suddenly there's this snappy and willful girl who starts to reveal herself. I love the chemistry and banter between these two. Amon, naive to modern day New York and its customs, has some fun moments of discovery with Lily. But it is when these two arrive in Egypt that I really started to fall for this couple and REAWAKENED. Amon endeared himself to me early on when he first meets Lily in New York. Once he is back in his native land of Egypt, I enjoyed the heroic and magical abilities he displays - yet never is there moment that he does not try to protect Lily. As the danger mounts, so does the chemistry increase between these two. Amon is very sweet and romantic and the things he says to Lily is sure to make some hearts swoon.
REAWAKENED is filled with an exciting quest littered with deadly traps and double crossings, terrific Egyptian myth and magic and a romance that crosses the sands of time - an exciting new fantasy by Colleen Houck that will sweep readers away. I can't wait to read more from the author and I hope each brother gets his own story.
