BOOK REVIEW: Awake by Natasha Preston

This is a book review for Awake by Natasha Preston. I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The scheduled publication date for this book is August 4, 2015.

Scarlett doesn’t remember anything before the age of four. Her parents say it’s from the trauma of seeing her house burn down, and she accepts the life they’ve created for her without question—until a car accident causes Scarlett to start remembering pieces of an unfamiliar past. When a new guy moves into town, Scarlett feels an instant spark. But Noah knows the truth of Scarlett’s past, and he’s determined to shield her from it...because Scarlett grew up in a cult called Eternal Light, controlled by her biological parents. And they want her back.

When I am finding myself either bored or irritated throughout most of the book, that is not a good sign. It's really not a good sign when I am irritated starting at page three. First of all, it bugged me that everyone made such a big deal about the fact that Scarlett could not remember anything before the age of four. I mean, who cares? I really don't remember much about that time period, if anything. Actually, I think the first eight or nine years of my life passed in a blur. Not only does everyone think it's weird, but Scarlett feels the need to announce it to Noah approximately five minutes after they met. And she kept thinking she was different or weird for it. I swear, I rolled my eyes every time that was mentioned. I know there was a traumatic event that happened to her before the age of four, but I feel there was a better way the author could have handled that. Amnesia before the age of four was not the way to go.

Let's talk about the characters. Scarlett was a whiny, boring character. And seriously, couldn't they do something together besides watch movies? Sorry, but their description of a movie night at every other page almost put me to sleep. I like watching movies as much as the next person, but it's like she had no interests and no hobbies. That's how boring she was. Her relationship with Noah was just as boring. Somehow they started hanging out all the time after a day, they were so in love with each other, but they didn't even kiss for three weeks. Annoying and boring. There was zero chemistry there. The author also showed Noah's POV, but I couldn't even tell the voices apart. The only difference between his POV and Scarlett's was which pronoun they used about the person they were with. Scarlett had a friend, Imogen, for the first two chapters of the book. After some pouting because she didn't have a boyfriend and Scarlett did, she was basically forgotten about in favor of Noah. Sigh. Could I get one decent female friendship in a YA novel? Please? Is that too much to ask?

I will say that the book had a bit more action at about the halfway mark. That is when I became more interested in what was happening. That was when they revealed to Scarlett the truth about Eternal Light. Now when it became clear what their plan was with Scarlett, I hated Noah. Seriously hated him. Not to give too much away, but I really don't understand how any decent human being could have fallen for their plan. I know leaders of cults are good at brainwashing people, but this was so far out there. And there was never any explanation for why these people fell for it or why they believed it to begin with. So there is a point when Scarlett was in danger and there was some fast paced action. I enjoyed this part of the book a lot more than all the buildup. But the ending was just a little too wrapped up for me. The author did have kind of an open ending in one respect so there could be a sequel in the future. If there is, I have zero interest in reading it. 

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Just skip it. Really, don't bother.