Customer Reviews

Awaken Me Darkly (Alien Huntress, Book 1)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

AWAKEN ME DARKLY by Gena Showalter confused me as to what kind of book it is. Since I've read two other Showalter novels, both paranormal romances, I had assumed this book was also a romance. However, the book was written in first person (a no-no for romances), and it took more than 100 pages for the hero, Kyrin, and heroine, Mia, to have a substantial scene together. In fact, I stopped reading the book at that point to look at the cover and make sure I didn't make a mistake. The cover shows a woman in slinky black leather holding a knife. The publisher logo also depicts handcuffs and talks about "Naughty Girls." Okay, so maybe it's supposed to be erotica ... but with no erotica to be found. So I went back to reading, wondering what was going on.

The whole story is actually more of a cop murder mystery (a la "Men in Black") in which Mia tries to figure out who is killing human men, with Kyrin the alien (and her love interest) being a possible suspect. There are a couple sex scenes, but as for love scenes ... well, let's just say it was lacking in that department. This book didn't come across as romantic at all. Mia was not a heroine I could (or would) want to relate to: she's crass and violent, and the actions she takes to feel "empowered" as a woman and/or cop are what I consider low class and tasteless. She's also constantly wanting to "kick ass" every five seconds. Kicking ass can get very annoying very fast in this book. I especially got tired of her punching the hero every other scene. A real man would not put up with that. Neither should an alien hero, in my opinion.

Plot-wise, I thought the story was interesting and I finished reading the book cover-to-cover in a matter of hours. Granted, I also thought there were way too many "easy outs" for Mia in this story, especially in relation to her alien hunter buddies and what they let her get away with. I also thought it strange that although Mia is an alien hunter and there were something like 80 species of aliens running around on Earth, there was very little discussion of the aliens themselves or their culture. Kyrin's super-brief description of his home planet just left me with more questions, like why he abandoned it for Earth, etc.

So, all in all, what does this mean? I think I can safely say that AWAKEN ME DARKLY is a lower-end sci-fi cop thriller for women. It has a couple of sex scenes, neither erotic nor romantic, just descriptive. The heroine has violent tendencies and a potty mouth, and the biggest mystery of the novel is how in the world the hero can possibly love her. Still ... I was entertained, I won't deny it. I just don't think I'd ever read the book again, or whatever sequels that might follow.

***Now, if you are interested in reading a paranormal romance with a compelling hero and heroine who are secret agents on a mission to protect humanity from monsters, read the Goblin Town series by Melanie Jackson. In TRAVELER, which is the first book, Jack and Io are both part fairy and travel to Goblin Town to foil a plot by flesh-eating goblins to take over the U.S. The romance is sizzling, the characters are likable and realistic, and the action is nonstop and entertaining. Plus, the author goes into fascinating (if gory) detail about a modern-day world populated with goblins, fairies, and humans. I loved TRAVELER. ***

In general, I do enjoy Gena Showalter's books. But this book left a bad taste in my mouth from page one.

The main character, Mia Snow, is extremely unlikable. No, not because she's a tough chick. I like tough chick leads in books. It's because she is brutal, egotistical, narrow-minded, and self-righteous. How am I supposed to like our heroine, who, in one scene, was disappointed she couldn't kill some thugs because of all the paperwork such action would create? She really wanted to kill those men, because a little killing would have helped work of some of her tension. Yikes.

Mia leads a team of agents that pretty much work outside of normal law. She can target and murder any alien being on the planet who is even just suspected of having harmed a human. No proof necessary. Just a suspicion is enough for an execution. Bear in mind these aliens are supposed to be in large populations and acting as members of our society. This isn't just a few random aliens hiding out on the planet, like Predator, The Thing, or Alien. Think more like Star Trek or Alien Nation. All I could think of to compare Mia's agency to were the SS from Nazi Germany. How are these folks to be viewed as heroic?

And then I was confounded by the whole history of the aliens on this planet. Apparently when aliens came to our planet, the human race went ballistic and started a war with the aliens. The aliens managed to slap the human rebellion down, so in an attempt to salvage what was left, humans agreed with the alien powers to allow them to stay on the planet. Really? The losers agreed to let the winners get what they want and stay on the planet?..... How gracious of those losers to allow the winners to claim their winnings. So now we have aliens on the planet. Many different species. I guess Earth was invaded by some alien coalition. Anyway, some of these aliens cause problems among the humans, and so the leaders of the aliens have agreed that the humans can form this SS-like task force to go around and kill, without any kind of due process, such evil aliens. What government would allow that? What people would allow their government to allow that? And, as these aliens were the apparent winners of the war, how are the humans able to make such a demand and take such liberties?

Well, since I don't like the main character, I don't like the idea of the team she works for, and I'm not keen on the flimsy core backstory of this particular universe, I have to give this book just one star. And there is no way I'm jumping back into this world. No more Alien Huntress books for me. Ever.

Although there are certain similarities between the heroine Mia Snow, and the above, but this story is unique enough to stand well on it's own. Mia Snow is a Hunter. She hunts predatory aliens in the city of New Chicago, in an alternate reality. She and her partner Dallas, are assigned to a homicide in an area called Whore's Corner. The victim is male, naked, drained of blood, and has his hand tied to his penis with a blue ribbon. Mia smells Onadyn in the air, a drug used by the alien Arcadians to process oxygen. Her hunt for the alien responsible, leads her to the Club Extasy and Lilla, an Arcadian with strong mind control powers. She escapes. They find her at the house of another A.I.R. agent, and take them all in. The agent's daughter, her mind controlled by an Arcadian, shoots Dallas and leaves him close to death.

Kyrin was present at the club and has been speaking to Mia in her mind. He apparently has the power to save Dallas, but will only help in exchange for the release of his sister Lilla. Mia will do anything to help her friend, but is unwilling to release a supposedly predatory alien without finding the real killer. People are disappearing at an alarming rate, and the only link seems to be a fertility clinic and another Arcadian named Atlanna. Atlanna seems very familiar to Mia.

This was a really good book, though not at all like Showalter's other works. The characters are very realistic and well developed. The relationship between Mia and Kyrin is gripping. Once I started this book, I didn't put it down until it was finished.

Awaken Me Darkly is not a horrible book, but one that happens to be readable but highly distasteful at the same time. It was interesting enough that I finished it in less than a day, but I just didn't really like what I read.
The main problem with this book is the Alien Huntress Mia Snow. Mia belongs to the AIR, a government agency created several decades into the future to punish alien criminals. The A.I.R. has no legal restraints on the conduct of their agents which basically allows them to do anything they want from illegal entry of a private residence to killing people without legal hearings. This situation gives Mia Snow free reign to act as brutally as she can, which does to basically any poor sap she meets. I think there is maybe one character in the novel that she does not assault at some point. Given that this is written in first person and the reader is given constant access to the raging hatred she has for aliens, it creates a picture of a woman who is borderline psychotic, not traits any sane person wants in a government agent with a license to kill.
At first the novel reads like a police proceedural, but quickly degenerates into something else. What that is I'm not sure exactly. Mia does not crack the kidnapping case because of her superior sluething, but because Kyrin En Arr, her alien love interest, tells her what is going on. The only reason that the story was not over quicker is because Kyrin is irritatingly tightlipped.
I see absolutely no where for the Alien Huntress series to go in the future. The heroine is unlikable and scary, and the mystery was weak. Not good foundations for a follow-up novel.

This is definitely Gena Showalter's best work yet! Awaken Me Darkly has a very Anita Blake or Lily Yu (Eileen Wilks) feel to it. Our heroine kicks ass and asks questions later. You'll be halfway through before you realize you haven't put this book down once!

Our heroine, Mia, and her partner Dallas are the Men in Black police and executioners of a very Laurell K. Hamilton version of modern Earth. And not a huge amount is known about the other races and creatures who have begun to inhabit the country. While on a case Mia finds out more details about Arcadians, whom she believes are the bad guys, than she ever hoped or wanted...and she must eventually face the fact that she may be one of the enemy.

This has series written all over it and I for one am waiting eagerly for the next installment!

I bought this book with good expectations based on the reviews and the fact that I love a good paranormal romance. I was disappointed. The Mia Snow character is really irritating. She's extremely violent, bad-tempered, undisciplined and would be a disgrace to any law enforcement agency (even a futuristic one). Her alien love interest is a classy guy and it's beyond me what he sees in her, since she tries to beat him to a pulp repeatedly. The romance isn't convincing at all. I also thought the primary storyline (alien babies) was hard to follow.

Futuristic cop Mia Snow, has all the charm of waking up to find a scorpion in your boot. She's a mean, foul-mouthed brat, who lives for killing aliens. She supposedly is "the job". There's just enough of an abusive childhood thrown in to explain her temper tantrums and all-encompassing anger. The book opens when she's on a new murder case.

Kyrin is an alien alpha male, and a suspect for a short time. He's way too into his own sister, but that doesn't stop him from falling in "twuu wuvv" with Mia, even as she's kicking the snot out of him. He has his revenge though, when he takes her captive and seduces her in a way that's only endearing to serial killers.

Mia and Kyrin get over their differences after a hot alien romp in the hay, and decide to take out the evil Alien Queen Mum (for lack of a better term). AQM, is the most powerful alien around. No one's ever been able to take her, until now!

Step up Mary Sue/Mia, who just happens to be as powerful or moreso than AQM! Whoa!

Replace alien, with vampire, werewolf, elf, or any assortment of paranormal romance cliches, and there'd be no difference in how this book reads.

Eve Dallas would eat Mia Snow for breakfast.


Pass on this one.

Alien huntress, Mia Snow, works for the New Chicago Police Department as the head of a unit of Alien Investigation and Removal agents. They search for the alien enemies that live among the humans on earth. And Mia and her agents have the authority to kill, even if they just suspect wrongdoing on the part of any alien.

Mia is a strong, tough agent who is well equipped for her job. And she has some grudges against the aliens who inhabit earth. They killed her beloved brother.

A series of murders sends Mia and her partner Dallas tracking an identified alien species. During her investigation she meets an erotic, alien, Kyrin en Arr. He has the ability to save someone close to Mia, but not without a price. That price will require Mia to surrender to the forbidden but attractive Kyrin.

During the course of her investigation into the murders, she discovers secrets about herself, her family and dangerous scientific experiments.

Gena Showalter's Awaken Me Darkly is a well-written, well-plotted and enjoyable science fiction novel. The writing is dark and gritty but will keep you turning the pages. Be aware, there are erotic sexual scenes throughout.

First, the cover design rocks. I was one of the people who thought this was a paranormal romance, but it's more of a science fiction mystery. It's a darker story about an alien hunter, Mia, who has to work with a dangerously attractive -- and plain dangerous -- alien because her partner will die if she doesn't. It's one of those who-do-you-trust? stories and I liked it a lot once I got into it. I was reminded of the politics of non-humans vs. humans in Charlaine Harris's novels.

It appears that publishers and imprints have finally realized that badass heroines sell books. Having read the Anita Blake series and other similar books with strong, independent heroines, I wondered why we weren't getting more novels centered on girl power. Then imprints like Silhouette Bombshell and Downtown Press Naughty Girls come out with fresh new voices and new crops of tough women who shoot first and ask questions later. Awaken Me Darkly is a fun, entertaining, action-packed, futuristic novel about Mia Snow, an alien huntress for a special Chicago Police Department known as Alien Investigation and Removal (A.I.R.). Mia does not hesitate to execute rogue aliens on the prowl. But she has now faced her most challenging assignment yet. Dead human men with similar physical descriptions have been found all over the city. It appears that an Acardian alien is responsible for the crimes. She suspects that mind-controlling beauty named Lilla and her gorgeous, seductive brother Kyrin are somehow involved. But when her partner is in danger of losing his life, Kyrin is the only one who can save him. The catch is that she has to do the investigation on his terms, but following orders, especially from aliens, has never been Mia's style. What follows is a fast-paced, action-packed scene after another with various interesting twists and turns.

As said earlier, books with strong, independent heroines are becoming all the more popular. Awaken Me Darkly proves that the aforementioned heroines are here to stay. I enjoyed this book. I am not a big fan of futuristic novels, but the premise of this one sounded interesting. And it was! I liked Mia and how she handled everyone around her. I noticed that most of the people around her were men, yet her confidence never faltered. I know these books are fantasies for women, but they sure are fun to read! I also enjoyed the futuristic references and how aliens and humans cohabit on earth. Aliens aren't trusted or accepted on earth in this book, but there are several things that are pointing to a more tolerant coexistence between them. The secondary characters are great. I liked Dallas, Jaxon and Ghost and their loyalty with Mia. Kyrin sounded scrumptious and seemed to be the perfect complement for someone like Mia in the action scenes. I read that this is the first installment of a series. I sure hope so, for there are a few loose ends here that I'd like to read more on. All in all, I look forward to reading more of Mia's adventures.