Awaken - Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

                                     Awaken
                                                                By G.R. Thomas
​                                                        Genre: Urban Fantasy, YA

Average. Normal. Boring. These are the words Sophia Woodville would use to describe herself, and the past twenty years of her life. But with her best friend by her side, a successful career as a nurse to lean on, and a doting Nan at home, that's all right with her.

There is only one thing standing in the way of Sophia's regular existence.  

Destiny.

It is Sophia's destiny that will take her into an ancient world hidden in plain sight, filled with Angels, Daemons, and power beyond her wildest imagination. But Sophia cannot simply visit this strange, mysterious world. 

She must save it.    

Awaken takes the reader along on Sophia's wild, globe-spanning journey of self-discovery, unravelling a compelling history of servitude, original sin, and forbidden love.

You think you know the story.

But are you ready for what happens when the Saviour will Awaken?

                                     
                                                  Amazon / Goodreads

​I lay there for a while longer, allowing the ball of fire that was building in my gut to grow. Where
sadness had enveloped me, a new strength began to rise. I calmed my breathing to a slow and deep
rhythm, letting this feeling unfurl its tendrils and spread. I rose onto my hands and knees, barely
aware of someone calling my name. With my head bowed to the floor and eyes shut, I ceased to resist.
I no longer bit back against the turmoil. I relaxed with a deep, calming breath. Deep breath in, deep
breath out, repeat.
“Don’t be scared my sweet girl, I’m here, you are safe,” I could feel Enl’iel’s presence, her
soothing energy, yet my body screamed from within.
“I -, help -, please -,” I couldn’t catch a breath as Enl’iel called out.
“Kea, call for Koi, we will need him as soon as he can get here.” I thought I heard Ben call my
name. Enl’iel reminded me with that she was right by my side, but Brennan’s alarming comment was
the clearest in my mind.
“She’s Quickening—give her some space. It’s okay, Soph, let it happen. Let go. You’ll be okay, I
promise. ” His voice seemed distant, yet comforting.
I drew my breath in again, impossibly deep. I opened my eyes wide and without warning let out a
primal scream. Light seemed to pour out of my mouth, illuminating the room. The force thrust me
back on my heels, my arms flung wide. My scream seemed to go on forever. I felt a connection to
something in the air surrounding me, like plugging myself into a socket. Something crackled across
my skin. A million energies passed through me. Countless ghostly faces came in flashes. They were
strangers, and yet they were also somehow familiar. And then I saw Him. His eyes were a swirling
galaxy of every colour, and they looked deep into mine. An indescribable beauty, yet not of flesh, but
of love. I knew Him, and He knew me. I tried to call out His name, to beg for help but I was mute, and
He was gone.
The pain took over. I screamed like a trapped animal as my entire body lit up seemingly from
within. Acid poured through every artery and vein. My spine cracked and crunched as it changed and
contorted into a new design. My will to resist this change was long since dead, my understanding of
normality no longer in my repertoire. My chest heaved forward as an immense thrust of energy burst
from within. It was like electrocution in reverse. I was sending out the impulses. Each beat of my heart
thundered in my head. Heat poured from my spine as a bright light enveloped me, forcing me to fall
forward to the floor again—spent. The thud of my weight on the boards seemed to echo. I looked
down at my arms; the bloody scratches flickered on my skin. I forced myself to sit back up and watch
my hands so I could see the miracle. I gazed at them, looking for answers. Pulsing veins glowed and
dulled rapidly across my palms in tune with my heartbeat. Each thrum lit up the vessels so that they
shone through my skin, like rivers of white light. My limbs were heavy. These strange hands
shimmered in and out of focus as I noticed the drying blood that crusted in the grooves was glowing
iridescently. Specks of light swirled within the crimson detritus. I bent my head to the side, squinting,
trying to make sense of what I was seeing. Broken fingernails nails and torn skin healed before my
eyes.
The pain was slowly dissipating, being replaced by something else. The skin on my back now
tingled in a more pleasant way, like having a warm blanket thrown across cool skin. My body started
to feel light and weightless. My head was no longer aching, and the sting seemed gone from my eyes.
A new sensation dawned upon me, and it felt like I now had an extra set of arms. I could feel myself
waving these things, but they weren’t exactly arms. I wanted to move them, but they felt stiff, as
though they’d not been used for a long time. I waved them about. My entire body shifted along the
floor. Surprised, I moved them harder. I travelled further along the floor. I had no idea what I was
doing or why, but I knew in my bones that I needed to do this. I put as much effort into the movement
as I could muster. Suddenly, I noticed that my legs were no longer dragging along the ground. I
looked down at my feet as I felt myself rise up into the air.
I was hovering above the floor. I could feel the light pulsing behind me in tune with my heartbeat,
keeping me steady and aloft. My new arms were wings of light that I seemed to have control of. I
could make them move back and forth at will. I realised in that moment that I felt right, and that before
this, I had actually never been normal, in a very surreal sense of the definition. All the pain was
replaced by warmth and strength. My body was telling me who and what I was.
On that day I was reborn.

  Powerfully enchanting! I was completely blown away by this enthralling book! From the very first page, I was completely captivated until the very end and found it extremely hard to put down. The writing was just superbly excellent with intricate attention to details. The characters were well thought out with palpable emotions that made me actually feel in touch with them. With a completely unique storyline, Awaken brings an all new take on the classic Angels vs Demons theme. This book has a little bit of everything mixed in. Angels, Demons, magic, sci-fi, a splash of romance and even a few zombies! With tons of intrigue and plenty of plot twists that stunned me, there's not a single dull moment in this book, I was gripping my tablet with sweaty hands- eagerly devouring the pages to find out what would happen next! The attention to details and the complex world-building and thought that the author put into this book was just amazing! There is quite a cliffhanger at the end that both had me clawing up the wall in anticipation and then clapping for joy that there will be a sequel to this amazing book! This is a seriously really amazingly good book that will soon be a chart-topper!

Grace Rose Thomas grew up in Melbourne, Australia in the 1970's when entertainment came in the form of sport or a good book. She chose both. An avid love affair with her pinto horse ensued as well as a healthy diet of any book she could get her hands on. English and history were always her favourite subjects so logically she studied to become a Critical Care Nurse! Books, particularly historical fantasy, have remained her number one go to for a healthy retreat from the craziness of the real world. After having a beautiful family and bringing a wonderful nursing career to a close, she finally took the time to write down one of the many stories that have been swirling around in her dreams for years. Her dreamscape is rich with fantasy that both inspires and frightens her at the same time. She is pulling out those threads and spinning them into the type of stories she loves to read. She's finally letting out all her angels and demons.

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