Review: Thrilling and Seductive
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 7, 2012
Awakened is the classic vampire-meets-human love story, modernized, with an unexpected (and gratifying) twist ending. Sandra Ross' voice is clear and passionate from the start, and she does an excellent job of weaving a story that is enthralling and downright addictive. Ross manages to craft a story that is at times thrilling and suspenseful, while maintaining a tone that is sexy and sensual throughout.From the beginning of Awakened, Sandra Ross does a great job of getting the reader instantly on Chandler (the main protagonist)'s side. She receives a phone call from her friend, Lisette (a bit pushy and bossy for my liking), who tries to get Chandler to come out with her to a "vampire" nightclub. In the course of this conversation, we learn very quickly that Chandler is a no-nonsense, sensible woman who is still gun-shy coming off of a breakup that occurred over a year ago. Right away, I found myself liking Chandler. In this type of story, her strength and lack of silliness (compared to her foil, Lisette) is refreshing. Also, as trivial a detail as it might seem, I enjoyed that Ross named her heroine Chandler instead of saddling her with a typical vampire-heroine name (ie; Bella, Mina, Victoria, etc.). Throughout the rest of the story, I found it easy to relate to Chandler in almost every circumstance, which is a huge credit to Ross' ability to write a protagonist who has depth and real character.Later on, when Chandler and Lisette arrive at the vampire club (the cleverly-named "Lilith's Lair"), Ross does a good job of giving the reader a false sense of security, in spite of an earlier appearance of a truly frightening golden-eyed lurker outside of Chandler's home) by making the vampire club slightly cheesy and innocuous-seeming. So, it comes as a surprise to the reader, later in the night at the vampire club, when Chandler comes face to face with a gorgeous, golden-eyed stranger named Lucien. Ross describes Lucien's beauty as other-wordly, and I believe her, as an otherwise sensible and level-headed Chandler suddenly becomes a gaping and stammering pool of lust upon meeting our vampire paramour. The chemistry between Lucien and Chandler is a bit of a slow-starter, but it quickly picks up as soon as they exit Lilith's Lair and are on the street together. Lucien, fittingly, seems to awaken something hungry and primal in Chandler, and what transpires between them in an alleyway just a few steps from the club is profoundly sensual, and sexy, and leaves the reader (namely me) aching for more. When their profoundly erotic encounter is cut short by a call to Lucien, I found myself feeling just as frustrated and robbed as Chandler.As the story continues, the reader is treated to two more of these titillating, erotic scenes - one of which has an edge of danger to it that is both disturbing and thrilling. When the story finally reaches its climax (no pun intended), Ross gives the classic vampire-human model a delicious twist which only left me wanting more. While the end of Awakened is all kinds of satisfying, I found myself eager for the story to continue. Awakened is everything a vampire romance should be - dark and dangerous and intoxicatingly seductive, and I cannot wait for continuing stories about Lucian and Chandler.