Review: Depth of Characters with an Intriguing storyline ! A must read !
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 21, 2011
The Last Awakening is the second book in Rachael Firasek's  Curse of the Phoenix series and certainly a wonderful addition.In The Last Awakening we have Arabella * Ari* who has been sent to save her Marks life. Here Ari finds Greyson Meadows and ex - solider who is a tortured soul, carrying hurt, and guilt like no other. She finds him in a convenience store and this is where Ari will meet her death again. Ari has been doing this for over 300 years,loosing herself to the phonenix time and time again but after seeing Greysons eyes, hurt and damaged soul she decides he needs her. In her plight with Osiris , she is sent back to Earth to save Greysons soul but this may just cost her , her own ?Wow !!Rachel has woven her magic throughout this read, two characters with a connection like no other. Deep and dark yet intertwined, both needing someone to heal the hurt and move on with life.Both Ari and Greyson have Damaged souls inflicting more guilt upon themselves than one could possibly carry. The connection between Ari and Greyson was magnetic; at times you could feel your heart aching for them both and other moments I had the reader in frenzy just to get to the next page. The love was scorching, yet filled with something more than just the loving, it was all wonderfully portrayed with such depth and not just on the physical level. They both needed each other to heal and Rachel has put forth the emotions well in this story.The storyline is short, but don't let this deter you, it's not rushed, very well paced, and everything one could want in this story is present. No gaps, no rushed scenes, it has all been well placed and delivered as if the book was over 500 pages long. !! The depth and connection involved between the characters was well delivered and envisaged, heartfelt moments where you could feel the characters pain and other moments I'm sure you will be grinning from ear to ear. ** wink **Hot love scenes that will scorch your eyelashes, but also have you sheepishly grinning feeling kind of happy for the characters. This will make more sense when you read the story. Other scenes you will be gripping at your reader - and holding your breath!!I enjoyed the fact that Rachel has also brought forth characters from her first book - I liked seeing them surface and provide depth also into this story. Friendships and past history bonds Ari and Ice, Turner, Mike and Greyson. A wonderful selection of characters I'm sure you will enjoy. !I'm sure you will even see a different side to Osiris in this story !! I enjoyed his placement in this story; it gave us more feeling to his character and more depth. It showed us that he did what he did for a reason and really because he cared!! You must read book one then this one to get this!Rachel balances her stories well with equal amounts of romance, storyline and twists and turns you won't see coming.I eagerly await book 3 in this series and recommend this book to all who love romance, heartfelt moments, a little action and smexy scenes! And even maybe a happily ever after!