Series: The Mind Duology #1
Published by Independently Published on February 2020
Genres: Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, New Adult
Pages: 220
Format: eBook
Source: ARC
Secrets are dangerous, but in this story, the mind that harbors them is more dangerous.
When twenty-year-old Adrienne Adams pictured her life after high school, she didn’t anticipate her grandmother’s strange revelation that she comes from a long line of people with supernatural abilities. She is a mind reader.
Adrienne’s life—complete with a surprise engagement she doesn’t want, a crappy job, and looming life decisions—is turned upside down by this revelation, but she doesn’t have time to contemplate what being a mind reader means for her future before she’s sucked into a perilous game of cat-and-mouse. She dives headfirst into developing and controlling her abilities, but she’s having trouble finding her footing in a whole new world that was kept from her since childhood.
Rocked by more revelations and faced with a sudden loss, Adrienne is tired of waiting for answers. So she decides to go after the bad guy herself. The trouble is, she isn’t certain who the bad guy is.
Will she be able to awaken her telepathic abilities? Will she get the answers she’s seeking?
Adrienne’s Awakening is a fascinating exploration into metaphysical fiction filled to the brim with psychic abilities and a shadow organization with a hidden agenda. Schoeneman penned an intriguing mystery with beautifully detailed settings that complemented the slow world-building carefully revealed to readers as Adrienne discoveries buried truths.
I struggled a bit with Adrienne from the start. The drama with her boyfriend Calvin felt completely out of place especially since it was never brought up once Adrienne’s abilities are revealed. She certainly wasn’t the strong female lead that I was expecting. Seemingly out of nowhere, Adrienne is thrust into a complicated shadow world of psychic abilities after being told she has exceptional abilities. Why didn’t she have even the tiniest of lightbulbs when told? There was no revealed history of her inadvertently using the psychic abilities beyond reading facial expressions. Additionally, I wish more time had been spent easing her into these abilities. We went from zero to 60 with her suddenly able to shield thoughts among her other capabilities. Ultimately, I think there was a missed opportunity to keep with the slow building that ended up skewing the pacing for this reader.
Overall, I didn’t connect with any of the characters beyond Grandma and that makes rating this debut difficult. The plot on its own was compelling enough to keep reading and find it enjoyable. I’m still on the fence as to whether or not I will finish the duology. If you are a fan of young adult and new adult fiction then I suspect Adrienne’s story would be right up your alley. Just because I don’t want to have a pint with Adrienne doesn’t mean you won’t.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
