Darlene's Book Nook: Book Review: Blood Awakening by Wenona Hulsey

Friday, December 28, 2012

Book Review: Blood Awakening by Wenona Hulsey

SERIES: Blood Burden, Book #0.5
AUTHOR: Wenona Hulsey

PUBLISHER: Wenona Hulsey
PUBLICATION DATE: July 7, 2011

FORMAT: Kindle Book, 33 pages
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
ASIN: B005BQY68A

Nicole, a small town Alabama girl, and her best friend Kat take a weekend trip to Panama City, Florida. Kat looking to have a good time and Nicole hoping to escape the pain of losing her mother for a little while. Little did Nicole know, the escape would awaken a ancient power that is hidden in her blood. A power that evil wants for its own and will do whatever it takes to have it.

This short story is a look into best friends', Nicole and Kat, life before a centuries old grudge and Nicole's emerging powers rips them apart. A power that Nicole wants no part of as it brings her to her knees and forces her to walk away from her small town life and everyone she loves.

MY REVIEW:

Nicole Keenan is best friends with Kat. The girls are getting away from Alabama for a weekend of fun in Panama City, Florida. On their first night, they meet Nick Read and his friend, Matt, at a beach bar. Nicole becomes filled with a sense of fear, and her eyes scan the room to find what is causing her to feel this way. She sees a man sitting at a table in a dimly-lit corner. That night, Nicole has a dream about a castle. She sees a woman on a balcony who warns her telepathically that, "They are coming for you!" As Nicole turns from the castle to run, she slams right into the stranger from the bar. She wakes from her nightmare just as he reaches for her.

Kat and Nicole score VIP passes to the hottest club in Panama City, La Vela. They run into Nick and Matt in an upscale section of the club, and Nick gives Nicole a tour of the club and then invites her to go for a walk on the beach. Just as Nick and Nicole pull apart from a romantic kiss, Nicole spots the stranger over Nick's shoulder. All of a sudden, Nick puts his hands over his ears and contorts his face in pain. After he passes out, Nicole hears a loud ringing in her head and a voice telling her that he has awakened her and will come back one day to take her and all the power that she holds.

Nicole awakens in a hospital, and Kat tells her that she and Nick were found passed out on the beach and someone called 911. Police were concerned that Nick might have done something to Nicole, but she assures Kat that Nick did nothing to hurt her. As she is talking to Kat, she is distracted by whispering outside of her room yet Kat cannot hear a thing. It seems that she can hear other people's thoughts.

Nicole saves the day when a nurse tries to kidnap an infant from the hospital. She has no idea why she could hear the nurse's thoughts, but she senses that she should keep her "gift" a secret.

Wenona Hulsey is a new-to-me author, and I really enjoyed this novella which is a prequel to the Blood Burden series. Nicole and Kat make a fun pair, and I liked getting to know them. I am intrigued by the dark stranger who keeps turning up and wonder about his connection to Nicole.

Hulsey has piqued my interest, and I want to read the next book in the series, Burden of Blood.

MY RATING: