Guest Review: Awaken the Curse – Alexa Egan

One very passionate and very scandalous kiss separated university student Justin McKeegan and professor’s daughter Kate Lacey. Now five years later, Justin, the new Lord Duncallan, receives an unexpected summons from Kate’s father begging him to come to Wales. When Justin arrives, he finds Professor Lacey has vanished while studying a mysterious ancient obelisk, and everyone blames the nightwalkers, sinister creatures said to haunt the surrounding remote Welsh mountains. Do these legends point to the existence of the Imnada, a race of shape-shifters said to have died off a thousand years ago? Or is the professor’s disappearance the result of a very human villain? Justin and Kate are determined to find out the truth, knowing it may be the only way to find her father.

Even as they work to unravel the mystery, they find that they’re not the only ones interested in the obelisk and the lost race of Imnada. Treasure hunter Gilles d’Espe believes the ancient dolmen is the focal point of the shape-shifters’ power and would do anything to lay his hands on the last of four silver disks he needs to unlock the dolmen. A disk that hangs around the neck of Justin McKeegan. While Cade, a local villager, is determined to refute both the claims of nightwalker sightings and the power of the dolmen as superstitious nonsense.

Justin and Kate soon find themselves fighting for their lives. Yet every hour they spend together makes it harder to lay aside the bitterness of the past and a very new and very real temptation…

Series:  Imnada Brotherhood .5
Release Date:  November 20, 2012
Publisher:  Pocket Books
Source:  Edelweiss
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Reviewer’s Thoughts:

Katherine is the daughter of an ex-professor who has been trying to solve the mystery behind ancient runes found on an obelisk.  He sends out a letter requesting the help of a former colleague, James.  Before James is able to arrive, however, the professor has vanished.  James and Katherine must then push their past aside and set out together to solve the mystery of the runes and her missing father.

I must admit, I struggled to get through the first part of this book.   There were just too many unanswered questions that left me feeling… confused.  Determined to solve the mysteries myself, I kept reading.  And I’m glad that I did.

The adventure they take, unfolds a beautifully painted world that captivates your imagination.  When you’re first introduced to this world and the supernatural characters, the Fae (Others) and Shifters (Imnada), the story gets far more exciting.  They help to create a deeper, more interesting story, which I welcomed whole-heartedly.  It was here, that I began to dislike the heroine of this novella.  

At first, Katherine was likeable.  She seemed vulnerable and scorned, which generally always makes for an entertaining heroine.  As the story went on, however, she became cold.  It was as if she was incapable of feeling much of anything, especially remorse.  James, on the other hand, was a great character.  A sexy smart-ass with intelligence to boot, I enjoyed his witty banter.  Their past creates an unmistakable tension between them that I actually liked.

As a prequel, this novella has everything you need to set up the next chapter in the series.  A rekindled romance, plenty of mystery and intrigue, fascinating characters, and a perfectly placed cliffhanger, you’ll enjoy getting lost in this uniquely created world.

 

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