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Title: The Awakening (Immortals | Book 3) |
Review of The Awakening (Immortals, Book 3)
- Created at the dawn of time to protect humanity, the ancient warriors have been nearly forgotten, though magic lives on--in vampires, werewolves, the Celtic Sidhe, and other beings. But now one of their own has turned rogue, and the world is again in desperate need of the IMMORTALS
She came to him in a dream: her creamy skin delectably cool, silky raven hair smelling of the sea and ocean-blue eyes reflecting the depths of her passion. She was everything Kalen had been desperate to capture in his art--and in his bed. In reality, when Christine found his remote Scottish castle, it was to persuade the Immortal warrior to help repel the darkness spreading around the world. But Kalen had a vindictive Sidhe trying to steal his powers and a dark secret of his own to battle before he and Christine could give in to...THE AWAKENING
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Comments for The Awakening (Immortals | Book 3)
- Posted on 2008-10-27
Horrible Writing
I liked the two previous books in this series written by other authors and I have never read anything by this author before and I don't plan to. I thought the characterization was horrible and shallow. The hero (Kalen) was week...allowing a woman he was using for 10 years in order to paint paintings while knowing she is stealing his immortality for herself and killing humans by stealing there life through sex. Hmmmm, this is suppose to be a protector of mankind?
When they meet in person, Christine finds him at a sex show where Kalen was agreeing to having public sex with same life stealing muse, promising to impregnate her. (Ooookaaaay, so he's an idiot, too?) As Christine watches she fights off a selkie who won't take no for an answer. How dare he! Yet when Kalen wisk her away and attempts same tactics with her, she gives in. This is only the beginning, it gets worse. The author describes a few sex scenes in which Kalen uses Christine in the same way he used the sex muse, then the author has Kalen announce to Christine he loves her. Huh? What? Where? How? Why?! It doesn't even make sense. There is no reason for it. The author does not even explain where the romance took place.
Overall, it was horribly done and I felt as though I wasted my time.
Score: 1
- Posted on 2008-08-26
Book 3 of The Immortal Saga takes us to Scotland for more romance, suspense and a little humor
THE AWAKENING is the third book in the multi-author Immortals series. Each author has laid their own personal stamp on this series. Unlike book 2 where Tain and the demon constantly interrupted Darius and Lexi's attempts to get together, Christine and Kalen's romance gels as soon as they meet and though the demon is wreaking havoc throughout their story, Tain doesn't make a significant appearance until the book has nearly ended. Once again however, it seems to work. Each installment just makes you want to read the next. THE AWAKENING is no exception.
A balance of life and death magic must be maintained, for if one became more powerful than the other, the world would be unmade. The Immortals, five sons each born of an aspect of the Mother Goddess and a mortal man, were charged with maintaining that balance at a time when human kind was new and struggling to take their hold on the world. The fragile creatures had been given the words to call the Immortals forth in times when that balance was disturbed. Over the years however, mankind had grown more self sufficient and the words to the Calling had been lost.
But now in the modern world death magic was growing stronger thanks to a demonic "Old One" and its captive, the youngest Immortal Tain, who had gone rogue after seven centuries of the demon's sadistic brand of torture. Tain wanted to end his pain, to die and to take the world with him. The demon had promised it would be so.
Amber Silverthorne is a hereditary witch whose sister had been killed by the demon starting a chain of events that had brought Tain's eldest brother Adrian to her side. Amber and Adrian alone could not defeat the demon or rescue Tain. But there was hope if only they could somehow recover the words of the ancient Calling before Beltane and bring all the Immortals together. Amber had put out a call to the world wide Coven of Light.
In Rome a solitary water witch and artist, Christine Lachlan, had finally found what was necessary. The Calling had taken place on that night of power, but the demon was strong and the summoning had been disrupted before Adrian's brothers could answer the Call.
The following night a sky-clad Christine implores the Etruscan Mother Goddess Uni to help her find her son, the immortal Kalen. The scrying shows her Kalen who is currently making love to his beautiful half-Sidhe muse Leanna. For just a moment Christine finds herself in his lover's place giving her such bliss that she becomes even more determined to find him. The clues from the vision send her packing to Scotland. She must convince Kalen to join with the others in Seattle to defeat the demon.
Meanwhile over in Inverness: Kalen wasn't Leanna's only lover. A leannan-sidhe muse, she inspired many a human musician, absorbing their life essence in return for her gifts. Kalen however was Immortal and couldn't die in this manner. Leanna, was a child of infidelity, denied by her royal mother (Queen of the Sidhe) and forbidden to enter her realm of Annwyn. She envied Kalen's immortality and wanted it for herself. The "Old One" had shown her the way, if only she could convince Kalen to allow her to bear his child.
Christine has reached the UK but she is not exactly sure where to find Kalen. Fortunately, she runs into Mac a young demigod (legitimate son of the Sidhe Queen and the Celtic Sea God, Lir) who points her in the right direction. (Mac as we learn later is practically Kalen's ward). When she reaches Inverness she finds that the local Coven of Light members there had all been killed by a "paranormal disturbance". She knows what this means.
Leanna makes a living conducting sex tours and has convinced Kalen to participate and during the revelry to give her his child. Christine had seen her flyer and had recognized her as Kalen's lover. Hoping to learn something of Kalen she buys a ticket for the tour. Imagine her shock when Kalen is there and is about to participate in what she recognizes from experience as a fertility ritual. She recognizes something else too, an act of betrayal exactly like the one committed by the man she herself had loved. Leanna was a demon-whore! In an effort to save Kalen, Christine disrupts the ritual.
Kalen recognizes Christine from the dream he'd shared with her. She relates her tale and is shocked when he refuses to go to Seattle and join the cause. He tells her that he had never been subject to the Calling. Instead Uni had charged him with protecting his own Etruscan people. But one by one they had died off until only one had remained. What he doesn't tell her is his shameful secret, that he'd tried to manipulate the man and he in turn had betrayed Kalen. In his rage Kalen had destroyed the last remnant of his people. In her fury Uni had sentenced her son to a hundred years of sensory deprivation. It had nearly driven him mad. He'd been freed on the condition that he learn from his mistake and was forbidden to kill a living being for the next thousand years or he would return to that state for eternity. His sentence had not yet passed and he was helpless to assist Christine even had he been so inclined.
However he finds Christine so very beautiful and somehow the two cannot resist each other. When they make love it is even more splendid than in their waking dream. It is then that Adrian discovers that Christine is also a muse, and unlike Leanna she inspires him to greatness. But this is another secret he chooses to keep from her. Leanna is soon forgotten, but like they say hell has no fury like that of a woman scorned, especially one controlled by a demon!
Mac is a definite bonus. With him comes all kind of new complications. There is much humor as he contends with his overprotective mother who has doomed him to appear perpetually sixteen due to her vanity and who calls him day and night on his cell phone to check up on him. Naturally this drives him crazy but he has also seen what her neglect has done to his half sister Leanna. He pities Leanna and will try to divert her from her path if he can. But if he cannot he will do what his has to do. His role aside from helping Christine find Kalen and creating beautiful music is to gather all the Celtic magical creatures and shepherd them into Annwyn before all the life magic is sucked out of the world. Of course he isn't about to follow them, much to his mother's dismay. And yes, he does get his own story in Book 6: THE CROSSING. Meanwhile enjoy Kalen's adventure. The resolution of his romance is sure to warm the reader's hearts.
As with the other books there is a good bit of angst. The world is going to hell in a hand basket. There is the relational obstacle. Christine is now on the evil being's radar and they will stop at nothing to destroy her. Will Kalen break his pact with Uni for the woman he loves? And of course the big question, will the Immortals finally assemble and can Tain be saved? All will be revealed in Book 4, aptly named THE GATHERING. It is also Hunter and Leda's story. ~ for PNR Reviews
Score: 4
- Posted on 2008-01-28
Great Series
: Immortals: The Awakening is the third book of the Immortals series and Joy Nash takes the building drama across the sea to Scotland bringing the Immortal Kalen into the unfolding plot. Kalen is the son of the goddess Uni and was created to protect the Etruscans people. Now that they don't exist anymore, he's secluded himself in an old Scottish castle and hasn't concerned himself with the problems of humanity. He's heard the tales of the death magic spreading across the land but he has his own dark reasons for not getting involved. Christine has come to Scotland to find Kalen never dreaming that she would find herself held prisoner in Kalen castle when he plucks her from the middle of a Sidhe ceremony gone bad. His intentions to protect her from a ticked off Sidhe become more personal when he realizes Christine is a witch with the power of a muse. Now that Christine's found him she must convince him to join his brothers in the ongoing battle against an Old One demon bent on destroying all life magic. Can Christine reach the heart of this warrior and bring him into the upcoming battle without losing her own soul in the process?
Joy Nash has done an excellent job continuing the building plot as Kalen and Christine become embroiled in the latest demon battle. The impending gloom runs thick in the streets with mayhem and death. The intensity will have you enthralled as page after page of this riveting drama develops. You have extraordinary characters in extraordinary situations and a romance that will leave your heart branded with burning emotions. This series concludes with Jennifer Ashley's Immortals: The Gathering which I have in my hands now. I'm hanging on the edge of my seat waiting to find out how Ms Ashley pulls this series together and delivers the climatic ending to this ongoing story that has held me spellbound. Immortals: The Awakening is a great read and goes on my shelf as a keeper.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2008-01-25
Kalen is a very unique character. His witch is powerful, but still kind hearted. Far more enjoyable than book 2 was.
The Immortals Series:
The Calling (Jennifer Ashley)
The Darkening (Robin T. Popp)
The Awakening (Joy Nash)
The Gathering (Jennifer Ashley)
The Redeeming (Jennifer Ashley) Due for release in Sept. 2008
The Crossing (Joy Nash) Due for release in Sept/ Oct 2008
This series needs to be read in order. Start from the beginning to follow the unfolding story. Personally, I've enjoyed books 1 and 3 far more than book 2. But 2 does have a role in the series, so it's worth reading.
The authors of books 1 and 3 are continuing the series for the next few books. I'm looking forward to reading them.
Christine is a powerful witch with gifts she has yet to discover. After helping to perform The Calling spell with her coven, she is heading to Scotland to find the one brother whom they completely failed to reach. Kalen has not been seen or heard from in over 700 years. Christine finds him with a sex muse who has talked him into giving her a child. Kalen doesn't recognize that the spells the muse is performing are death magic. Christine has seen the spells before. Risking her own life, Christine attacks the muse to save Kalen.
Kalen is shocked when a witch interrupts the spell that his lover is performing. He saw Christine in a vision days before. He doesn't know who she is, or why she is here, but he knows he can't let the muse harm her. Kalen grabs the witch and transports her to his castle where she will be safe behind his magically protected walls.
Kalen and Christine share a love of art. Kalen has been trying for centuries to create beautiful pieces. Something is leashing his abilities. After one night with Christine, his talent is astonishing. Realizing that it is Christine's magic that has freed his talent, he resolves to keep her forever.
Christine can't convince Kalen to join Adrian's army in Seattle. She will spend some days with him trying to change his mind, but she knows she has to leave soon to join the army of light magic. Death magic beings are multiplying at an alarming rate. Humans and light magic creatures are being slaughtered. If the death magic leader is not stopped soon, earth will become the new hell.
It has been centuries since Kalen last fought in his role as a protector of innocent beings. A spell holds his fate in limbo. If he takes a life, he will be imprisoned in silent darkness for eternity. He has made a new life as an art dealer, forcing himself to become a man of peace. When Christine's life is threatened, he has to make a choice. Allow her to be enslaved and slowly tortured to death by a demon, or kill the beast and spend eternity imprisoned in torment himself.
Why 4 stars instead of 5? The story took a bit too long to get moving. Once it caught fire, the action was great.
Here are the links for the rest of the series so far:
The Calling (Immortals, Book 1)
The Darkening (Immortals, Book 2)
The Gathering (Immortals, Book 4)
Book 5: The Redeeming is due for release in Sept 2008
Book 6: The Crossing is due for release in Sept/ Oct 2008
Score: 4 - Posted on 2007-09-17
Building to a major climax!
The first in this series, The Calling, was a lukewarm entry for me, but it introduced us to the premise and characters of what was clearly a larger story, so I was intrigued enough to get another. I am glad I did!
This story is a much stronger entry than the first. The writing style is fluid and a pleasure to read - the author carries you along effortlessly. The characters are well developed and interesting, you quickly find yourself rooting for the main characters and disliking the antagonists, just as you should.
One of the extremely well executed aspects of this book is how the author integrated her love scenes into the story. Even in a very good book, a steamy sex scene will often sort of pause the story. Usually, we enjoy them enough to allow the intrusion into the main story without complaint. But this author managed to make her love scenes actually progress the story itself, not just provide some entertainment on the side (for us and the characters!).
I didn't realize this until I had finished the book, then realized that the entire story flows seamlessly from beginning to end. No uncomfortable laggy parts, no pointless scenes and no side trips into the bedroom. Instead, when entering the bedroom, the story followed along - characters continued to change and evolve even during, and sometimes because of, those scenes.
Brava! An excellent entry in this series that makes me much more interested in seeing where the finale will take me.
Score: 4
