Awakened (Book One of the Guardian Legacy) [Paperback]

Betrayed is the second in the series and after enjoying Awakened l was excited to see where Ednah would take this series. I am really glad that l read Betrayed, not only did l enjoy it more than Awakened (l did still really enjoy Awakened) but l felt it wasn't one of those books which feels like it's a bit ..pointless. Lately l feel a lot of authors just bring out a second in the series because everyone else is but Ednah made Betrayed a gripping read which did a great job of extending on Awakened but also making them both their own books.

I do have to admit, as much as I like Lil and how very real she feels she did sadly annoy me at some points in this book. Only for a small and simple reason but l found her moods and feelings to be very confused. Although she was going through a hard time l often felt for Bran because of how she was often hot and cold for no reason and l was unsure if this was done on purpose. At some points she would be all over him and then at other times be avoiding him for, what l thought, was no reason and if there was a reason it was a selfish reason.
Aside from that one negative thing this whole book, like l said above, Ednah did a great job of building on the characters from Awakened. I liked being able to get to know Bran and the rest of the gang more, this really added to Betrayed and helped me to create a `bond' with them. The bond which I created with the characters made me enjoy the book more as well as understand their actions better than before.

Overall Betrayed is a great book which is definitely worth a read! The storyline was a fast paced one which kept me guessing throughout the book and engrossed. What l love about this book is about how a lot of it is about friends coming together and caring for each other. I found it very refreshing.

I have to say I am a bit torn with this one; I really enjoyed the fundamental storyline but found that the information at the given at the beginning of the book was overwhelming and did in fact put me off a bit.

Written in first person narrative from Lil's perspective. She completely embraces her gypsy heritage on her Grandmothers side even down to the way she dresses. Although we have plenty of action throughout there is very little in the way of character development. I did not feel as if I knew any of the characters very well, viewing the action but not entirely understanding their motivation/allegiances. I found Lil naive in parts which didn't really fit with my main view of her.

There are a so many threads to the story; mystery upon mystery surrounding Lil mixed in with Bran's tumultuous family history. There was a heck of a lot going on in this book making it sometimes difficult to keep up with the nuances of the plot. The slant on the fallen angel ideology was engaging.

On the whole I do think this is going to be a great series and am really interested to find out which direction the storyline is going to take. I am hoping for more insight into the characters and their relationships in the next book.

Lil has spent her life moving from town to town with her gypsy grandfather and is pleased when he tells her they are finally going to settle down. She is looking forward to staying in one school for longer than a few months and hoping to finally make some friends. Everything changes when she meets Bran, he has abilities that she doesn't understand and is telling her crazy things about herself and her family - but they can't be true can they? When Lil confronts her grandfather and discovers her heritage as a demon hunter she will have to learn how to juggle her social life with her new normal friends and the training she needs to do alongside the other guardian trainees. Where does Bran fit into the picture? It's clear he has secrets but is he really as dangerous as everyone is telling her that he is?

Awakened is a great start to what I'm hoping will turn into a fantastic series and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel Betrayed (even though it hasn't been released yet!). I have to confess I was a little worried when I first opened the book and found several pages of information about the different terminology used in the book - I was worried that I was going to find it a confusing read but thankfully I was proved wrong. As we are introduced to the rules alongside Lil I found it easy enough to learn about the world Ednah Walters has created although I quite liked having the glossary to turn to when I had questions.

Lil is a really likable main character, her life is turned upside down as she learns about the secrets her grandfather has been keeping from her but she deals with things well and becomes determined to learn to use her powers to help the other guardians. I liked the fact that she doesn't drop her new "normal" friends in favor of the other trainee guardians although she does develop friendships with them too. It wasn't always easy for her to juggle the 2 different groups of friends but she tries hard to make the best of things. Bran is a great character too although I would have liked to see more of him - hopefully that will happen in future books in the series. The attraction between Bran and Lil is instant but I felt it was believable and I was routing for the pair of them in spite of the warnings Lil was getting from her grandfather & friends. I have to say one of my favorite things about the story was the relationship between Lil and her grandfather - I'm looking forward to reading more about them both.

The action in the story was well written and kept me turning the pages late into the night because I didn't want to put it down. The world is detailed and interesting and I'm looking forward to discovering more about both the guardians and the demons they protect us from. Ednah threw in some great plot twists and although we have answers to quite a few of the questions raised I'm very intrigued to see where the story will take us in the rest of the series. I'm actually impressed that this is a debut novel and am looking forward to seeing what the author will come up with in the future. This is a book I'd definitely recommend to fans of the YA urban fantasy / paranormal romance genre.