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I don’t give 5 stars easily, but I gave them to J. P. McLean’s Awakening with no hesitation. It has everything you’re looking for in a contemporary fantasy: masterfully crafted characters, exciting plot, believable magic. I love the pace. I love the setting. I love the narrative voice… I read it in two days; I couldn’t put it down.
Awakening is a deeply moving book and it will stay with you forever.
It’s refreshingly free of cliches. It’s gentle and lyrical, and it’s dark and hard. It’s an intelligent novel, generously sprinkled with beautiful, subtle humor, and written by a natural storyteller. What a treat!

Awakening is the first novel in The Gift Legacy series and it’s followed by Revelation, Redemption and Penance.