Book Review: Awake by Natasha Preston

Awake by Natasha Preston
Genre: Young Adult (Contemporary Romance/Suspense)
Release Date: August 4, 2015 (Pre-Order Now)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Scarlett doesn’t remember anything before the age of five. Her parents say it’s from the trauma of seeing her house burn down, and she accepts the life they’ve created for her without question—until a car accident causes Scarlett to start remembering pieces of an unfamiliar past.

When a new guy moves into town, Scarlett feels an instant spark. But Noah knows the truth of Scarlett’s past, and he’s determined to shield her from it...because Scarlett grew up in a cult called Eternal Light, controlled by her biological parents.

And they want her back.

Awake is the first book I've read by Natasha Preston, and I found it pretty entertaining. Scarlett is a girl who sticks to her goals. If she wants to do or know something, in this case remembering her memories, she's going to do it. I liked her for that. I'm not sure why she was so worried about the memories to begin with. I have memories from when I was 2 or 3, but they are few and far between. I think making her a little older than 4 when she lost her memories would be more disturbing. Noah was an okay character by himself. The thing that didn't make sense to me was his purpose. His job was to make Scarlett fall in love with him so he could gain her trust and kidnap her back to his cult to be sacrificed. Now this is just me, but I think there are many other more efficient ways to fictionally kidnap someone than to send a teenage boy to seduce a teenage girl so she'll run away with him. That seems like you're just setting him up to fail to me. Yes they had insta-love,but that didn't bother me so much as Noah's purpose. There wasn't a cliffhanger, but it's definitely left open for more. I would read the next book. I'm curious.

The ARC of Awake by Natasha Preston was kindly provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley for review. The opinions are my own.

My name is Natasha, but most people call me Tash or Tasha. I don't mind either. I was born in England and have lived in small towns and villages out in the countryside ever since.

My husband, Joseph, is the most supportive person in my life. Without his love, help and patience I wouldn't be where I am today. And this website wouldn't exist! I'm a proud mummy to an amazing little boy who is my whole world.

At school I drifted through, achieving average grades. I fell into administration and receptionist jobs, thinking that I couldn't really do anything else.

In 2010 I stumbled into writing completely by accident. I was searching the 'app store' and came across Wattpad, an amateur writing site. For the first few months I just read, but then decided to type some of the ideas I had floating around my head. I'm so glad I did because I absolutely love writing.

Writing gave me an escape, and Wattpad gave me the self-confidence I lacked.

To learn more about Natasha Preston and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.