Review of Awakening
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Manuella Pungwe
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Review of Awakening
[Following is a volunteer review of "Awakening" by Tayma Tameem.]
Awakening by Tayma Tameem is a fantasy novel. It is the first book of a series and portrays the story of two princesses of a powerful kingdom. The novel follows the lives of two sisters, Katja and Amara and their impenetrable bond. Amara is born with a gift and therefore is expected to be queen of the kingdom even though she is the youngest daughter. Every chapter, the story jumps between past and present time, to show the growth of each sister as well as the memory loss of one. A tragic event leads to one of the sisters waking up in the woods with no recollection of her previous life and her identity. As you progress in the story, you follow one of the princesses as she tries to remember who she is and rescue the kingdom of Hale from it’s evil queen, her sister, Lady Snow. The story poses the question of whether there is a choice between good and evil, or if some people were destined to destroy.
Awakening deals with themes of family ties, identity and responsibility. It has strong royalty and political elements to it. The love shared by the two sisters is palpable. The reader can feel Katja’s desire to protect her sister, even though Amara possesses magic and is more powerful than her. I genuinely appreciate how Awakening is one of the few books I’ve read that tells the story of the bad guy. The reader is given a very vivid description of the events leading up to the reign of the evil queen.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Tayma Tameem is very generous with her descriptions, creating beautiful imagery throughout the book. Along with the characters, the reader is kept in a shroud of mystery for the better part of the book as the princess struggles to remember who she is. Perhaps what I found most enjoyable about the book is the fact that every chapter is a different tense to the last. This provides context and background, answering so many questions at the same time as posing even more. This element makes it an exceedingly difficult book to put down, especially with a plot twist that I could have never seen coming. The character development of Amara is admirable and is probably the pivot point of the novel.
The only thing I disliked about the novel was the slow pace in the beginning. There is a lack of action in the present surrounding the two sisters. Three quarters of the book is building up to the climax which is only towards the end of the novel. Most of the book centered around the retelling of Katja and Amara’s past while the present surrounded the princess’ experience with Solange and Dakkart on the farm. I was looking forward to more action surrounding the two sisters in the present time. Awakening takes its time building up to a climax which makes the reader prone to losing interest quickly.
There are very few grammatical errors that hardly affect the rhythm of the book. For this reason, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars . I recommend it to fans of royal fantasy and drama. If you have ever wanted to learn more about the villain, this book is for you. This book is most suitable for young adults.
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Awakening
View: on Bookshelves
Awakening by Tayma Tameem is a fantasy novel. It is the first book of a series and portrays the story of two princesses of a powerful kingdom. The novel follows the lives of two sisters, Katja and Amara and their impenetrable bond. Amara is born with a gift and therefore is expected to be queen of the kingdom even though she is the youngest daughter. Every chapter, the story jumps between past and present time, to show the growth of each sister as well as the memory loss of one. A tragic event leads to one of the sisters waking up in the woods with no recollection of her previous life and her identity. As you progress in the story, you follow one of the princesses as she tries to remember who she is and rescue the kingdom of Hale from it’s evil queen, her sister, Lady Snow. The story poses the question of whether there is a choice between good and evil, or if some people were destined to destroy.
Awakening deals with themes of family ties, identity and responsibility. It has strong royalty and political elements to it. The love shared by the two sisters is palpable. The reader can feel Katja’s desire to protect her sister, even though Amara possesses magic and is more powerful than her. I genuinely appreciate how Awakening is one of the few books I’ve read that tells the story of the bad guy. The reader is given a very vivid description of the events leading up to the reign of the evil queen.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Tayma Tameem is very generous with her descriptions, creating beautiful imagery throughout the book. Along with the characters, the reader is kept in a shroud of mystery for the better part of the book as the princess struggles to remember who she is. Perhaps what I found most enjoyable about the book is the fact that every chapter is a different tense to the last. This provides context and background, answering so many questions at the same time as posing even more. This element makes it an exceedingly difficult book to put down, especially with a plot twist that I could have never seen coming. The character development of Amara is admirable and is probably the pivot point of the novel.
The only thing I disliked about the novel was the slow pace in the beginning. There is a lack of action in the present surrounding the two sisters. Three quarters of the book is building up to the climax which is only towards the end of the novel. Most of the book centered around the retelling of Katja and Amara’s past while the present surrounded the princess’ experience with Solange and Dakkart on the farm. I was looking forward to more action surrounding the two sisters in the present time. Awakening takes its time building up to a climax which makes the reader prone to losing interest quickly.
There are very few grammatical errors that hardly affect the rhythm of the book. For this reason, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars . I recommend it to fans of royal fantasy and drama. If you have ever wanted to learn more about the villain, this book is for you. This book is most suitable for young adults.
******
Awakening
View: on Bookshelves
Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
