The Awakening

👻⚡️ The Awakening (Darkest Powers #2)⚡️👻

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — *Forever one of my faves!*

Another reread… and still obsessed. 🖤
This series is honestly one of the reasons I fell back into my reading addiction and spiraled happily into the supernatural rabbit hole 📚🐇✨

Chloe, Simon, Derek, and Tori are now fully caught up in the dangerous mysteries of the Edison Group — and the deeper the secrets go, the more intense and unpredictable their world becomes. 🧬🚨

The supernatural elements grow stronger, the stakes get higher, and the characters really start to come into their own powers.
It’s fast-paced, spooky in the BEST way, and loaded with tension and twists 👀💥

💖 What I Loved

✨ The show more friendships — messy, real, and growing stronger with every challenge
✨ Their powers — developing naturally, with uncertainty and excitement
✨ The mystery — layer after layer of secrets to peel back
✨ Teenage realism — they feel like *actual* teens dealing with terrifying things

One of my favorite parts?
Armstrong doesn’t force these characters to become emotionally 30-year-olds just to fight the big bad. They’re scared, frustrated, hopeful, awkward — and still incredibly brave. 💛

They’re teenagers navigating a massive, dangerous world 😱
…while never losing what makes them *teens.* 👟🎧🖤
And it works SO well.

Tropes & Vibes

* 🧟 Necromancy & supernatural powers evolving
* 👥 Found family / friendship squad goals
* 🏃‍♀️ On the run from secret organizations
* 😑 Grumpy x sunshine sparks 👀
* 🕵️‍♀️ Clues, conspiracies & big twists

🎯 Final Thoughts

If you love:
✔️ Magic & supernatural powers
✔️ Mystery mixed with danger
✔️ A secret society unfolding piece by piece
✔️ YA that still respects teen characters

Then **The Darkest Powers Trilogy** is absolutely for you. 🔥

I own the whole trilogy (plus continued right into *Darkness Rising* 🖤) and I will **always** come back for another reread. This story just has that special magic ✨📚

**Love it — and will keep loving it.** 😊💕 show less

This one took a little longer to get into than the first, but once I did, it was amazing.

The five are on the run, after a lot of betrayals and twits, they end up with a smaller group. They have to find a safe place away from the Edison group. This one had a lot more fighting. That was good.

Simon is good for Chloe. Derek is not. He is just mean and really annoying. I like Tori more than him which says a lot.

Once you get to the good part this has nonstop action, you can not put it down.

This is great for fans of supernatural anything, demons, zombies, spells, werewolves. It was really good.

My favorite part of it is when Chloe does or says something stupid, Simon is nice, Tori is sarcastic, and Derek just looks at her like being near her show more is a challenge, that is the best part of this whole thing. The way the characters talk is fun to read. show less

Chloe Saunders is a fifteen year old necromancer on the run. This book is fast paced, with good details and great characterization. To my pleasure, Armstrong complicates the classic "magic teenagers on the run from a secret organization" with touches of realism. They run into problems like being ten dollars too poor to get to their next quest point, or not having ID. They bicker and don't always make courageous choices. The werewolf has anger issues--and it's not portrayed as being a sign of what a sexy Alpha Male he is, but rather, a serious problem he needs to work on. Chloe's power is indistinguishable from mental illness to most people, and instead of it making her seem interesting and tragic, the book points out the stigma and show more mockery often attached to appearing non-neurotypical. And the relationships between the characters feel real, built by believable conversations about their interests and experiences. I look forward to the next book! show less

I'm loving this series more and more as I dig my way into the story. But if your currently reading book 1 or just about to read book 1, I would strongly advise not reading this review as even the most cursory info on what it's about will present some spoilers.

The Awakening picks up moments after The Summoning leaves off, in the hospital that isn't what it seemed as Chole's aunt Lauren was taking her. Out of the pot and into the fire, as they say! Book two starts to shed light on what Chole and the others are exactly and why there are people who want them drugged up or dead. But as she makes these discoveries it becomes increasingly clear that as impossible as it seems, escape is her only option if she wants to live to see 16.

The show more Awakening was an absorbing read, the perfect distraction to a less than stellar couple of weeks for me. I often find it hard to read when I'm in the middle of upsetting personal events, previously only Tamora Pierce or Tolken have gotten me through deaths of loved ones, but these books are continuing to be the perfect therapy for me.

Again, although there's hints at a possible romantic entanglement, Kelley Armstrong stays focused on the key story and the difficulties of being on the run when you're not even legal to drive, keeping the story far fresher than if it fell into the usual love focus. I really liked that the first book was largely about being trapped and that the second is largely about being on the run, and I appreciated the short time lapse the two books cover; it gives the story a sense of urgency completely separate from the events occurring in the books.

Two books in, I can safely say this is a strong series going somewhere super interesting and worth you're reading effort.

The Awakening, The Darkest Powers Book 2, by Kelley Armstrong
Published by Harper Collins, March 2010 show less

At the end of The Summoning , Chloe Saunders had just been recaptured by the adults running the group home to which she'd been assigned after experiencing a traumatic episode with what she was first told was schizophrenia. She and a three other teens from the group home escaped when they discovered that instead of the mental illnesses they were "diagnosed" with, each of them possessed supernatural powers - Chloe's being the power to summon and talk to the dead.

At the opening of The Awakening, Chloe is trapped in what is clearly some sort of prison/research facility, and it takes much cunning and the help of the ghost of a girl who disappeared from the group home early in Chloe's stay to escape.

Once Chloe has escaped, she has to figure show more out a way to meet back up with two others, Simon, a sorcerer, and Derek, a werewolf, and find a way to get help, either from the boys' father or a friend of their father's.

This was great - Chloe is a strong, yet believable heroine, and their troubles are not resolved through only luck, but effort, trial and error, and occasional luck. The dynamics between the characters are great, especially between Simon and Derek - foster brothers who are deeply devoted to each other - and Chloe and Derek, who are delightful (can't wait til they luuuurve each other...).

Exciting, suspenseful and thrilling - Recommended, especially if you've read and enjoyed Armstrong's adult series! (Though I found myself wanting to yell at the characters, especially Derek, "GO to Jeremy! He's Pack Alpha, and he's a good guy! He'll help you!") show less

It's a bit strange, but when I see The Awakening as a title, I always think of Kate Chopin. However, Kelly Armstrong's book entitled The Awakening has nothing to do with Chopin. It is a continuation of the most excellent novel, The Summoning. Chloe is back, along with -GUSH- Derek! The What The F-ery continues from the very opening. I would love to post a summary, but it would be unfair to those who have not read The Summoning yet.I read The Awakening in four hours, yes I am boasting. It's not because I am a particularly quick reader, but because The Awakening is akin to book-crack! There is never a dull moment, never a spot where I'm sitting there thinking, OH DEAR GOD JUST GET TO IT. Nor is characterization sacrificed in this book. I show more liked learning a bit more about Tori, even though I still hate her. There were moments when certain characters would do things, and I would legit say out loud, hands off buddy, Chloe DOES not belong with you. No, just no. GRRR arg, see Mr. Book Character, that is my scary reader face. Not that the words magically rearrange, since I'm not quite studying at Hogwarts (still awaiting my acceptance letter by Owl Post). Anyways, there is some killer tension, I would say it's sexual, but you know, teens don't do that. show less

The Awakening is definitely better than the first book of the series. There's more of a focused conflict, there's more action and adventure, and the characters are rapidly evolving. As always, Armstrong's writing is suspenseful and makes for a quick read (I don't know how she does it!)

I like that more and more is being revealed about their powers and about the Edison Group, but we're definitely still not getting the full story. In any case, Chloe is learning a bit more about her powers and is practicing more often. We get to see more of Derek, who is awesome, and Victoria, who I'm actually starting to feel bad for.

The one thing I didn't like about this novel was how stupid Victoria could be sometimes. I know she's spoiled, I know there show more should be conflict between the characters, but really? Sometimes, I just wanted to jump through the book and give her a good slap. I also got tired of Chloe continually comparing her life to the movies. I know, she's a movie buff and that's probably what a movie buff would do, but it did get overwhelming. I don't like it in general when authors use the whole "in movies/novels, it works like this, but this is real life" for when their characters are thinking. This just draws my attention to the fact that I am reading a book and it isn't real life.

However, other than those two things, The Awakening was perfect. Armstrong does not make it easy on her characters, which makes for a suspenseful, exciting read. There are also some really cool (horribly frightening?) zombie scenes when Chloe's power gets a little out of control. :) I love the weird stuff.

I am very excited to read The Reckoning. If you haven't started this series yet and you're a paranormal young adult fan, run, don't walk, to the nearest library or bookstore and pick these books up! show less