Imagine you’re a pretty, twenty-year-old woman waitressing in a ski village bar & grill. One night, you meet three people to whom you are irresistibly drawn, especially one tall, handsome guy with arresting green eyes. Eventually, they tell you the truth: they’ve been looking for you for 57 years.

Such is the situation Ana finds herself in. Up until she meets the trio–Athen (aforementioned hunk), Arie (Athen’s sister), and Cyril (Athen’s fiancee)–she’s been reasonably content with her situation. She lost her family under circumstances she can’t clearly remember, and her inheritance left her enough money for a nice condo in Whistler. She can ski, hang out with friends (though she doesn’t have many), and treasure the time she spends with her bulldog, Mathilda.

She’d also starting having horrible dreams, with dark creatures tearing people apart. It took her awhile to realize that Athen–her hunk–was one of the victims.

Ana is introduced to the world of White Demons. White Demons, as you might expect, are the counterparts to black demons, who are evil and horrible. White Demons are more powerful; black demons are more common. These demons are all over the world–you’ve probably had a black demon screw up your change at a fast food drive-thru, or cut you off in traffic without signalling.

Okay. The black demons would probably do those things, but their main function is to create new black demons, to season these “minions,” and occasionally attack the White Demons.

For Ana, it’s not a process of learning all of this, but remembering it. Fifty-seven years ago, she was killed, and Athen, Arie, and Cyril have been searching for her the whole time, through several different incarnations. As Ana remembers, she begins to regain some of her old powers. One of hers was the gift of sight. Is Athen really supposed to be in danger, as her dream showed her? Or was it just a simple dream? If it’s real, will Ana be recovered enough to save him?

This was a fun book to read, and a nice introduction to the world of The Watchers Trilogy. After the trilogy was over, author Karice Bolton went back, and wrote a prequel novella, Taken. I also liked “Taken,” which gave us a sort of in medias res glimpse of Ana at her full powers, as well as leading up to the part where her soul is driven out of her body.

I recommend reading “Taken” first. It’s a quick, satisfying book, and it gives you an idea of what their family does. You will, however,leave you with lots of questions regarding the series’s mythology. “Awakening” answers all the questions.

In fact, it’s really a nice literary device Ms Bolton uses. Because Ana has forgotten so much, the other three have to explain the whole system to her. While they do so, they’re explaining it to the reader as well.

While there are some dark moments in “Awakening,” it is mostly a tale of love, and the joy of finding people you hadn’t even known you were missing. By the end, we know Ana has found her true place in the world, and that she’ll soon be ready to kick some black demon ass.

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