Winter's Awakening: The Metahumans Emerge (Winter's Saga #1) [Kindle Edition]

Karen Luellen (Author)

Book Description

Created for evil.
Raised to protect.
Searching for truth.

******

Extraordinary teen Meg Winter and her brothers Alik and Evan are shoved into a new reality when they discover life is not what they thought it was: there is evil hunting them, they are not normal teens, and their mother's captor wants them back to continue his plans for the perfect race.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Karen Luellen is a former press release writer and radio advertising copywriter. She has been an elementary school teacher since 2003 and currently lives in North Texas with her husband and their combined four children. Winter's Awakening is the first novel in the planned Winter's Saga.

Product Details

• File Size: 424 KB
• Print Length: 220 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Karen Luellen (September 27, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005Q4B1DA
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,880 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A YA Page-Turner November 25, 2011

By Annie

Format:Kindle Edition

"Winter's Awakening: The Metahumans Emerge" starts with a bang and doesn't let up. 12 years ago, Dr. Margo Pullman began a promising career at The Neurobiological Institute ("The Institute") and quickly discovered a nightmare world where children are acquired and experimented on. Only three of the original group of children who've been genetically manipulated have survived - and they are on the brink of death. Margo realizes she must do something.

We jump to 12 years later, and the three children are sequestered on a remote ranch in Texas. Margo has brought them up as her own, home schooled them and taught them survival techniques. The domestic scenes are rich in detail and full of great banter that pulls you into the story. You care about these kids - now 15, 14 and 12 - and their adopted coyote, Maze.

Margo is not just a mother, a scientist and a fugitive from "The Institute," but she was once a special ops soldier in the past, and therefore knows how to train for any emergency. She is very aware that Dr. Williams, the villainous head of the Institute, is looking for them, and has prepared her children to be ready to fight and survive.
When Margo is suddenly kidnapped, the kids leap into action and contact the only man their mother trusted - Dr. Andrews from Margo's old Institute days. He not only supported Margo's actions long ago, but he's still secretly in love with her.

The experimentation has left Meg, Evan and Alik Winter - well, not entirely human, but their special powers haven't awakened yet. When they take off on a journey to rescue their mother from the clutches of Dr. Williams, their special gifts and talents begin to emerge.

The fish-out-of-water elements of the story are delightful, and the action is relentless.... Luellen is a talented writer, and many of the descriptions contain a poetic resonance: "Their eyes lit up like stars shooting across the night sky." "Every shrub and tree was trimmed perfectly into neat little cubes or spheres."

The domestic scenes are full of funny, touching moments: Meg says, "It must be tough living with a walking emotional superconductor all the time." The kids' easy banter is in sharp contrast to the danger lurking close by. And the poignancy of Margo's memory of rescuing the children from the horror of their captivity is not to be missed.

There's lots of action and heart-pounding suspense, but most of all I truly cared about these characters and look forward to reading the sequel. Highly recommended. Read more ›

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars couldn't put it down! October 14, 2011

By Tammi Dell

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Meg and her two brothers are happy with the secluded little life their mother has created for them. That is until one day when Mom goes missing. Suddenly Meg and her brothers are thrown into the real world-- where they learn that not all kids are as strong/fast/smart/sensitive as they are.

Margo Winters rescued three babies from a lab a dozen years ago. Now after twelve years of loving, nurturing, and training her children she can only hope it will be enough to keep them safe. Because things are about to get very dangerous. Ride along with the Winters family as they find friends, make enemies, and discover hard truths in a quest to find their Mom.

I was immediately drawn in to Ms. Luellen's world. I cheered for Meg, Alik, and Evan every step along their journey. Each child is so likeable that you can't help but wish you were a part of the family.

The story line is a fast paced witty adventure that hooks you over and over again with quirky chapter titles that inspire you to keep reading 'just a little longer'. There is exactly enough action and intrigue all strung together with hilarius typical teenage banter from very atypical teenagers. I found myself awake long after my bed time despite knowing I had to be up with my 6 month old at 5:30-- I was that desperate to know how things turned out. I will be counting the minutes until the sequel hits the shelves.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting story line -- looking forward to reading more about the Metahumans. May 6, 2012

By W. Stines

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Very interesting read. I loved the plot, enjoyed getting to know the characters and look forward to reading more about the Metahumans. There was enough action to keep me reading and I found that I was hesitant to put the book down.

Unfortunately I was unable to give 5 stars due to a few minor annoyances that a little editing would be able to take care of. There was a grammatical error that was found throughout the book. The word passed was used where the word past should have been used. Ex. "I hopped down the stairs and flew passed Dr. Andrews heading out the back door." The word in this sentence should have been past-- " I hopped down the stairs and flew past Dr. Andrews heading out the back door." This mistake was repeated several times throughout the book.

Another problem for me was that the story kept switching POV at inappropriate times. I would be reading along and all of the sudden in the middle of a sentence we would switch POV and I found that a bit disconcerting.

Overall though I did enjoy this freebie that I picked up for my Kindle at Amazon and I do intend to continue reading this series. I will purchase the next in the series and recommend them to friends.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Winter's Awakening: The Metahumans Emerge November 7, 2011

By Dana Moore

Format:Kindle Edition

I am half way through this book and can not put it down. So thrilled the sequal just came out because I don't want to wait!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Quick moving, straight forward story with lovable characters April 6, 2012

By Catherine Trieu

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I originally downloaded this for free and it has been sitting on my Kindle for a little while. Then I got a message from the author saying that she hoped I enjoyed the book :). Super nice and coincidently I was about to choose a new book to read.

Definitely glad I read this, though it's probably more geared towards people slightly (wink wink) younger than me. The book is broken up into lots of very short chapters. POV alternate between Meg and Dr. Williams. It can be a little confusing at times because it is mostly told from first person, sometimes breaking the "wall" between readers and characters, and sometimes told from what seems like third person.

Characters are likable; LOVED the relationship between the siblings (my heart holds a soft spot for good sibling relationships!). Oh, and I can't forget about Maze (did he perhaps he picked up on some of the kids' specialness?)! Plot is very straightforward, you always know who the villain is, and the storyline is easy to follow (meaning you can connect the dots without too much strain). Premise is very interesting and I like the subtle psychology behind the characters. Great set up for the rest of the series; I'm looking forward to reading me (evident by the fact that I read the book in a few hours).

More About the Author

I grew up the only girl in the middle of two brothers. I adored both in their own ways, but never really fit into their worlds. Like my characters Alik and Evan, the boys were very different.

If I wanted a playmate, I had to gear up to go dirt-clod fighting, be the losing team of (broken) green army guys or brave the flimsy bicycle ramp my older brother was focused on.

Either that, or plan to help erect intricate Lego architecture while hearing the mathematical algorithms and possible big-bang theories of what happened to dinosaurs from my little brother.

Needless to say, I suffered a lot of skinned-up knees, elbows and even scraped off an eyebrow or two trying to keep up with the older brother and probably still have a Lego embeded into my thigh from sitting on the floor surrounded by the teeny-tiny pieces in my little brother's realm. (Oh, and did I mention I hate math?)

Often by myself, recuperating from my brothers' attentions, I created entire worlds of make-believe and adventure with my stuffed animals and books in my bedroom. Hours of storytelling, personally made sound effects and character voices entertained me to the point of utter happy distraction. Hindsight shows me, I've been a storyteller all my life.

Thanks to my brothers, I have a lot of stories to tell. I love you Jeremy and Field. You're the best brothers a girl could have--even if you did scar me for life more than once.

I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to visit me!
Facebook www.facebook.com/karen.luellen.author.fan.page

Thanks for reading!

Hugs,
Karen Luellen


PS: Winter's Scars: The Forsaken, the fifth book in Winter's Saga, was just launched! I truly hope you enjoy it! Winter's Legacy, the sixth and final book in the series, is scheduled for release October 2013.