Hi Lovelies
Today is my stop on the Blood Awakens blog tour. This YA Fantasy book has everything in it you want a YA fantasy book to have! But I won’t say it all here read on for my review!!
Thank you to Frasers Fun House for sending me the eARC to read and review and to Jessica Willis the author too!
Also as I am one of the first stops please stop by the other amazing blogger accounts for more reviews!
Author: Jessica Willis
Title: Blood Awakens
Publisher: Amazon
Genre: Apocalyptic Fantasy/YA/Fantasy
Pages: 328
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Blurb
People called Sean a blood guide, though he never fully understood why. As far as he knew, he could hear heartbeats and heal people. It wasn’t until he walked in on his brother’s brutal murder that he learned of the darker nature of his power: blood speaks to him, and he to it. With a simple song, he can command it to do whatever he wants, and in that moment, he showed his brother’s murderers no mercy. Now Sean must fight to keep his inner demons in check and his path to redemption begins with the establishment of sanctuary for people like him, people with powers, the Awakened.
Graciela is one of many who did not Awaken, but she’s watched as her brother’s power as an empath—the ability to sense other’s emotions—has brought him to the brink of death. Together, they set across Central America in search of a cure, or at the very least, safety. What they find is a sanctuary called Hope, the same one Sean governs.
But they soon discover that even from within the compounds of the sanctuary, no one is safe. Not when there are people in the world with unimaginable power and insatiable bloodlust.
My Thoughts
What a well thought out and executed book by Jessica Willis! With touches of magic, fantasy and a whole lot of post-apocalyptic world building and living it brought to the forefront what would happen if people “Awakened” with special gifts. But let’s be honest here people who don’t understand the new powers or them themselves haven’t got it are scared and try and mete out justice for themselves.
Willis style of writing was engaging and I loved how she described the different “Awakened” abilities and how they don’t know they have them. You follow several Awakened characters and one non-awakened and how they are trying to survive in the new world.
Sean, whose Awakened ability is to control blood flow and hear a persons heartbeat. This to some is seen as an immediate threat but his powers can be a threat AND they can heal. Graciela is the main female lead and she is un-Awakened which means she has no powers but is loyal to the Awakened as her brother Santiago is an Empath and struggling. I liked how Willis developed the characters and I mean Sean’s first scenes broke my heart and I wanted to take him home and look after him.
I liked that every character you met along the way had their own voice and story to be heard and that this was given to each of them. I felt that it allowed the characters to grow more throughout the book. You could feel their struggles, their heartbreak and the sheer frustration at times.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable debut book by Jessica Willis taking you along a suspense filled journey that kept you not only on your toes for action and drama but, for those emotionally charged parts. The new concept of a person controlling the blood of others were new and fresh and made the book more enjoyable.
A well written book that had me on my toes with the tension but wanting to keep turning the page (or swiping on my kindle). IT had strong elements of family, loyalty, camaraderie and survival. A strong debut book and looking forward to seeing where book two leads us.
Author
Jessica is a fantasy writer, with an inclination toward the paranormal, dystopian, dark, and horror sub genres.
Jessica studied social work for both her undergrad and graduate degrees and incorporates themes from her education (i.e. systems of oppression, family dynamics, mental health) into her writing. She is a self-proclaimed nerd who loves cosplay, video games, and comics. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her partner and their human- and fur-babies. She is an amateur trapeze artist (though currently, she’s on hiatus after having a baby).
Author links
Website: https://www.jessacawillis.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessacawillis
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessacaWillisAuthor/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Nerdy4Books_Jessaca
Purchase Links:
bookslovereadersblog.wordpress.com 
This sounds like a really cool book! These powers sound amazing and the plot sounds really interesting! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was pretty cool. I liked the concept of some of them being able to control others bloods. It was a good intense read!
LikeLike
I wish I would’ve known about this blog tour! The book sounds really good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was really good 😊 definitely worth a read
LikeLike