Reawakened

Originally posted on bluchickenninja.com.

I like ancient Egyptian mythology. I find it fascinating. So when I came across a book about Ancient Egypt I thought it would be good. I was wrong. So wrong. This book was so historically inaccurate that it pained me to read it. First you have these Egyptian princes that were buried in a place that literally did not exist during the time they were alive. The author completely ignored every single thing historians know about Hatshepsut and made up a story about how she was in some secret club (Hatshepsut being one of the only female Kings of Egypt and was forgotten by history because she was good at her job).

Worst of all, it seemed like Houck got her information about The Book of the Dead from the Mummy movies. Surprisingly The Book of the Dead is not some magic book that you should never ever read or else you will bring the 10 plagues down on Egypt. It is literally just a handbook on what to do in the afterlife. Like I have a copy of this book. I have read this book and I can tell you with complete certainty that it has exactly zero magic spells in it.

Then Lily was so annoying. She finds this guy in the Egyptian wing of a museum, sees him heal himself and then he sneaks into her bedroom and she decides to help him because she thinks he is a cancer patient. And then there was the whole thing where she is talking about how attractive this guy is after only knowing him for two hours. Then of course in just a matter of days they fall in love and decide that they can't spend the rest of their lives apart. I'm not even going to get started on Lily “not being like other girls”.

But then there was that whole thing where Lily was basically kidnapped and taken to Egypt. The insta-love was bad but then she falls in love with a guy who basically forced her to go to Egypt with him. She may have said yes but that was only because she literally couldn't say no and that's just super creepy. Stockholm syndrome isn't a cute romance and I don't understand why so many authors try to make it seem like it is.

I was really disappointed by this. I genuinely did want to enjoy it. I like Egyptian mythology and haven't read many books about it. But this was just a bad historically inaccurate typical teenage romance. In my opinion you should just watch Night At The Museum instead.

O que pensar deste livro?
Eu não sei ainda.
Claro que gostei muito, porém menos do que esperava que seria. Acredito que grande parte do problema tenha sido minha comparação constante com tiger's curse. A similaridade de algumas coisas também é evidente. Mas ainda prefiro Kelsey como heroína à Lily - Kells é muito mais esperta, inteligente, ativa e menos NY de ser.
A história foi muito bem amarrada, com uma narrativa fluida, repleta de acontecimentos, ação, aventura, perguntas intrigantes ao leitor, além daquela mágica da escrita dos livros da Collen que, pelo menos a mim, faz com que me perca na leitura com tamanha profundidade... Que deixo de perceber meu redor. É algo magnífico! Parece um filme, repleto de sensações, mas estancado em nossas cabeças. Personagens bem desenvolvidas, porém um pouco estereótipadas em alguns momentos. Não ri tanto quanto na série dos tigres com o sarcasmo e outros... Apenas os surtos foram iguais com a descrição das múmias.
Aliás, homens maravilhosos!! Os três irmãos!!!
Continuarei com a série, mas sinto que sobreviverei bem melhor a espera

Well, Colleen Houck certainly wasn't exaggerating when she said this story would be much different than her Tiger Saga series.
To start, instead of a Kelsey in quiet Oregon, we have a Lilliana, born and raised in the bustling city of New York City. And the differences don't just stop there. Unlike Kelsey, a pretty much completely independent girl, Lilliana has obeyed her pragmatic parents for her whole life. But ever since she discovered Amon, she has decided what she has dubbed an “Egyptian adventure” slash teen rebellion.
The differences between the two series don't just stop there. Oh no, this series was much gorier than Houck's Tiger Saga series. I will try not to delve too much into things, so as to not spoil too much, but I will say that there were eyeballs being gouged, crocodile bites, missing fingers, and so much more so be prepared when you read this book.
I would also like to comment that I sorely miss Asten and Ahmose, what with this deadline everyone has. I sincerely hope they show up again (hint hint Colleen Houck, if you're reading this).
And then there's the inevitable romantic relationship between Amon and Lilliana. Again, I will try not to disclose too much. Amon and Lilliana's relationship was unlike Ren and Kelsey's story. Ren kept trying to pursue Kelsey while Kelsey tried to pull away (at least in the beginning; I'm also hoping I'm not spoiling anything for people that haven't read the Tiger Saga yet). However, in this series, it is Amon that tries to push Lilliana away, though of course it is obvious he likes her as much as she likes him (this can be foreshadowed from just the summary so I do not consider this a spoiler). But yes, readers, there will be much frustration on your/our parts while you/we sit on the edge or your/our seats, waiting for that inevitable first kiss...among other things (just kidding; but you don't know I'm kidding, do you? You'll just have to finish the book to find out ;)).
And then, there's that cliffhanger. And the second book isn't out yet. And I'm just left here, waiting. Do you see my dilemma? Yeah, this is not fun, contrary to unpopular belief. GIMME MORE!

After reading the Tiger's Curse series and loving it, I was super excited to pick up Colleen Houck's new book.

While reading Reawakened, it was very similar to Tiger's Curse in the sense that a young girl is the savior for some very handsome foreign stranger that is dealing with some type of situation where they will need the help from said young girl. Some readers may not enjoy reading another series from a similar plot line, but I enjoyed it a good amount.

Reawakened is about a girl named Lily that lives in New York. While she is at an art museum that she frequents, she stumbles upon a young man that has been awakened from his mummy state. Amon is the sun god from Egypt and needs Lily's help to find his organs so he can get his powers again and be able to finish the ceremony that he and his two brothers have to do every time they awaken.

Throughout the entire book, I was very interested in the way that Colleen wrote about Egypt. I know with each series she has researched a good amount and tries really hard to be accurate with her writing. Some readers may not enjoy it as much but for the ignorant bliss that is my mind, I do not notice the complete details for specific areas the characters are in.

I really do think that this is a book that you should just enjoy and not judge every single sentence because the story is mostly about the characters when Colleen is writing. The places they are just end up being something exciting and adds to the story but I think she mainly focuses on the characters growth. If you're looking for a plotline that is very much in depth and a curse is the main focus of the book, this isn't a book for you. I wouldn't say that it is a fluffy read but it is something you can easily get through and enjoy your time reading it.

Colleen Houck's writing has improved so much since the TIger's Curse series. I even read her self published works before they got published and you can really tell the difference in her writing. It has gotten a lot more descriptive and complex. The way her main characters think are much more descriptive and I really enjoyed being in their minds.

Lily reminded me a lot of Kelsey and Amon reminded me of Ren. I couldn't really help seeing that. The main characters did remind me a lot of their counter partners from her other series. I think that is why it didn't get a complete five star rating. I just really hope in the next books, the same plot from the Tiger's Curse series does not follow over to the new Reawakened series. I would enjoy seeing something like that happen but I think having the story too similar would just make the series too predicable. I hope she spices is up next.

Overall, it was a good book and really set the mood for the series. I think the writing got better as the book went on and the plot started to get more complex. It would add some foreshadowing as you kept going in the book and it was nice to see some portions of the story unfold at the end. This is the first book in her new series and it ended very nicely. Without the epilogue, I could of seen it has a one book series but I am glad it is continuing on. I look forward to reading the next book.

DNF - Page 24

Why?

The first two dozen pages hold pretty much every bad YA trope and cliche - the only one I know they're lacking is the love triangle - including the ‘he's insufferable but intriguing'. But, worse than all that is the already obvious butchering of Egyptian culture and history. THAT right there is why trying to read more would be an exercise in futility - and anger management - for me. Maybe if I knew less of Egypt I COULD have forced myself to finish this book but as it is: nope.