"Awakened" by Morgan L. Busse

About this book:

  “The monster has awakened.
    After her escape from the Tower and from her father's experiments, Kat Bloodmayne wakes up to discover the dark power inside of her has grown stronger. Now more than ever she needs to find the doctor who holds the key to healing her, but the only one who can help her find him is Stephen Grey, the very man who betrayed her.
    Stephen Grey cannot change the past or what he did to Kat, but he will do everything he can to help her now. But will Kat let him? Or will his transgression be too much to overcome?
    Time races against them as they travel with sky pirates through harrowing storms and across the war-torn country of Austrium in search of the doctor who can cure Kat. But can he cure what is broken inside of her? Or will the monster inside of Kat consume her soul?”


Series: Book #2 in the “Soul Chronicles” duology. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures read, thought over, remembered, & mentioned (multiple times); Prayers & Thanking God; Thinking about God; 'H's are not capital when referring to God; Kat isn’t sure if God cares about “monsters like her”, but asks for Him to help her, if He’s real; Stephen hasn’t talked to God in two years due to an upsetting event, but recalls the story of the prodigal and turns back to God again; Stephen isn’t sure how Kat’s condition fit into his understanding of the world, or of God, but he knows that God could do anything, including curing Kat; Stephen has a feeling that Kat’s knowledge of God was limited or even non-existent based on her father, but wonders if his aunt shared with her about God; A scientist says that “souls are God’s province” and that only God can bring someone back to life; *Major Spoiler* When unconscious and on the brick of death, Kat hears God talking to her and He also quotes a Scripture; After this and accepting His light, she no longer feels any darkness inside of her *End of Major Spoiler*; Mentions of God; Mentions of the Bible & the story of the prodigal son; Mentions of a doctor writing down bits of Scriptures and posting them around a war camp & that it comforts those who are dying (another doctor says that the words “sound like there is more to death than just the end of existence”); A few mentions of talking to & knowing God; A few mentions of a man not putting much stock into religion, but believing he witnessed a miracle & someone else asking why his “angel” didn’t save anyone else (he thinks God healed him, *Spoiler* but it was actually Kat through her powers *End of Spoiler*); A couple mentions of prayers & praying; A couple mentions of Heaven (in regards to Kat recalling Ms. Stuart telling her that God lived in Heaven and that Heaven in somewhere in the sky); A couple mentions of a family Bible; A mention of God dying and coming back to life; A mention of a man not being religious but finding some of Scriptures shared interesting; A mention of a cathedral; A mention of a doctor doing miracles for soldiers in a war; A mention of someone asking forgiveness for the evil he committed;
             *Note: A scientist wants to be able to bring the dead back to life & straying from science to get answers (he wants to unlock the power around death); Mentions of scientists trying to harness the power of life and death; Mentions of a scientist saying that after he learned more about God, he realized that there are powers humans should never temper with because “of the destruction they could cause” and that they were “past the physical and into the spiritual, a place where we could potentially sever our souls”; Mentions of souls & Kat wondering if her soul is dying due to her powers; Mention of a scientist using pagan rituals, “dark arts”, incantations, and symbols on the floor in his experiments; A mention of a couple people who have passed away being said to have “gone to that dark place where science could not reach”(thought by Kat); A mention that if Kat’s father had a god, it would be knowledge; A mention of a scientist saying “we call ourselves enlightened, but we often deny the fact that there is more to us than our physical bodies”; A mention of someone calling Kat’s powers “black magic”. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘dumb’, a ‘gah!’, a ‘get the blazes out of here’, a ‘like blazes’, two forms of ‘how the blazes’/’how in the blazes’, two ‘what the—‘s, five forms of ‘what the blazes’/’what in the blazes’s, and eleven ‘blazes’s; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Fires, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, Being injected by a needle, & Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Being under attack (on an airship), Gunfire/Shootouts, Shooting at others (self-defense), Seeing others shot, Explosions, Bombs, A Head Concussion, Pain, & Blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Being tied-up, gagged, tested on, being attacked by rodents, & killing the rodents (which Kat didn’t want to do, up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone fall out of an airship (up to semi-detailed); Kat has a power that when she gets very emotional, she can cause fires from her hands, control and objects or people, & freeze time (After it happens, she passes out and is then numb around her heart once awakening (she has to calm down a few times, is unsuccessful a couple times, and also tries to control it (which causes her pain); when uncontrolled, it’s said to releases “another side of her” and that scares both herself and Stephen)); Kat cuts herself to show Stephen that she can’t feel pain in that area (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Kat thinks that she could crush a man’s throat with even touching him, but cuts off that thought & later has to cut off other thoughts of harming or causing harm; Kat thinks that if she dies, “the world would be rid of a monster”; Kat thinks she is a monster due to her powers & wonders if she is dying; Kat feels like she’s drowning in an unconscious state/dream (a few times), Nightmares, & Recalling past events that were like nightmares (including fires and being choked, up to semi-detailed); When unconscious and struggling in a dream of drowning, Kat has a voice in her head telling her to just let go and stop fighting (which Kat doesn’t want to die, so she fights against the voice); *Spoiler* Kat is able to close-up someone’s major injury and their skin with her power (barely-above-not-detailed) *End of Spoiler*; *Major Spoilers* Kat loses control towards the end due to experiments/harsh testing and ends up creating a fire that kills a room full of people, which after waking up, she feels terrible about but knows that it wasn’t her fault because she couldn’t control it (up to semi-detailed); Someone says that no one deserves to die that way, but Stephen wasn’t agree with that since those people poked and prodded Kat like she wasn’t human and that caused the monster inside of her to be released; A scientist (a good guy) believes that Kat wasn’t supposed to exist outside of life and that’s why every time she uses her ability, it kills a part of her soul; His theory is that they reset her life, then everything might realign; When they do it, a machine similar to an AED is used and the scientist says that “souls are God’s province, not mine. If her soul is truly dead, than only God can bring her back to life. My only hope is to reset her physical body back into the world.”; This works and while she’s in an unconscious state, God talks to her and she accepts His light, which removes the darkness from her and therefore heals her *End of Major Spoiler*; Kat longs for her father’s approval & attention, but he just sees her as an experiment; All about many, many mentions of ill people disappearing, grave robbers, dead bodies, testing on humans, seeing it happen, dissecting humans, the smell of decay and dead bodies, screams/moans of pain, & scientists trying to bring the dead back to life (*Spoiler* Kat’s father froze her late mother’s body, hoping to use Kat’s powers to bring her back from the dead; He tells Kat that he never wanted her and that she took away is wife from him *End of Spoiler*, up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of wars, fighting, creating human weapons, & deaths; Many mentions of fires, smoke, screams, others in pain, & injuries/burns (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of injuries, pain, stitches, blood/bleeding, someone being injected with a needle, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of bounty hunters, murders/murderers, criminals, crimes, & arrests Mentions of weapons (guns, cannons, and people like Kat), gunfire/shootouts, shooting at others (self-defense), seeing others shot, being shot at, explosions, fighting, fights, & an airship attack (up to semi-detailed): Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & taverns; Mentions of smoking, cigars, & pipes; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of throwing up (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of tattoos; A few mentions of a murder (Book #1); A few mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of rumors; A couple mentions of animal testing; A mention of threats; A mention of poison; A mention of a man saying that men aren’t interested in intelligent women (Book #1); A mention of someone looking at another like a raven might look at a carcass. 
 
 
Sexual Content- Two semi-detailed kisses; Recalling a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Dancing, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (including a “revolting” touch by a young man to Kat, border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (including Kat’s curves while in a thin dress (which leaves little to the imagination and Stephen tries not to look at her), barely-above-not-detailed); Stephen goes to undress an unconscious Kat due to her wet clothing, but only takes off her boots because he doesn’t have a clue on how to take a corset off; Kat unbuttons part of her blouse to tell Stephen that she can’t feel her heart/chest area anymore (they both blush and he looks away, but she is determined to show him and cuts herself to show that she doesn’t feel pain there); Stephen is shirtless (when injured) and pulls up the covers, thinking that Kat has never seen a man without his shirt on (she blushes and looks away); Mentions of kisses & kissing (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of an affair, seeing the couple in bed together, & betrayal (Book #1); A couple mentions of a female friend being assaulted by young men (& also recalling his comment about kissing a smart girl) (Book #1); A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of a man carefully bandaging an injured young woman (being a gentleman); Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Kat’s blouse is torn open for a test, but it’s done by another female and she tried to keep Kat as modest as possible (Stephen keeps his eyes elsewhere); Mentions of a mother who died giving birth & the husband resenting their child because of it (*Spoiler* Kat’s father, who says he never wanted her *End of Spoiler*); A mention of a woman’s neckline being lower than any lady would wear; A mention of women from a dancing hall and their short skirts. 
 
-Kathryn “Kat” Bloodmayne, around age 20
-Stephen Grey
                                P.O.V. switches between them, Jake (x5), & Dr. Bloodmayne (x1)
                                                        256 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{Ratings are based on content}

That felt very short. Which is a positive, I suppose, meaning it kept my attention as I read it fast, but at the same time, I wish that last chapter had been longer.

After reading the first book in this duology, I really wasn’t a fan of Stephen because of a huge mess-up he did and wasn’t thrilled about the idea of a relationship between him and Kat. I’m still not completely sold on that idea after reading this final book, but I do appreciate that communication happened between the two of them pretty quickly and we were able to somewhat move on from that part. 

Another maybe slightly odd thing to note, but something I want to comment on was a…commonality between this duology and the “Skyworld” duology. Both that series and this one has villain-like characters that are serious burn victims, which has obviously altered their appearances, but also their personalities getting worse. Both characters are described in blunt…not gruesome or crude ways, but in a way that implies that’s part of their evil character. Which I might be totally sensitive to this element as I’ve known people that are burn and major burn victims, but after seeing it in both series I’ve read by this author, it didn’t settle well with me. I definitely don’t think the author had any ill-intent, but I would warn readers with burns that the characters with burns in these two series aren’t good-character representation. 

You’ll see above in the Spiritual Content section that I gave a lot of details about the faith content that’s in this book. Personally, I’m not sure how I feel about certain elements of the theology found in this story.
I think, though, that this duology just isn’t for me. The human experimenting and Kat’s father being the basic villain father that dislikes his kid because his wife died giving birth. I can see why other readers may enjoy this book with it’s fast-paced and unique plot, but this duology had different elements that made it not for me, personally. 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"Tainted" by Morgan L. Busse

About this book:

  “What Happens When Your Soul Dies?
   Kat Bloodmayne is one of the first women chosen to attend the Tower Academy of Sciences. But she carries a secret: she can twist the natural laws of science. She has no idea where this ability came from, only that every time she loses control and unleashes this power, it kills a part of her soul. If she doesn't find a cure soon, her soul will die and she will become something else entirely.
    After a devastating personal loss, Stephen Grey leaves the World City Police Force to become a bounty hunter. He believes in justice and will stop at nothing to ensure criminals are caught and locked up. However, when Kat Bloodmayne shows up in his office seeking his help, his world is turned upside down.
    Together they search World City and beyond for a doctor who can cure Kat. But what they discover on the way goes beyond science and into the dark sphere of magic.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Soul Chronicles” duology. 


Spiritual Content- Prayers & Thanking God; 'H's are not capital when referring to God; Kat recalls that her father never put stock in religion or anything spiritual (when the housekeeper tried to tell Kat stories about God, her father was very upset about it and Kat hasn’t been told anything else since then); Kat knows very little about God except He “lived in churches or something” and was powerful (she tries praying, saying that if He is real, to please help her); Stephen has a faith in the first couple chapters, but after an upsetting event, it’s said that he walked away from God (but he still believes in God and later prays); Stephen wonders if God will help him and Kat (describing themselves as “a heathen woman scientist and a broken man who had walked away a long time ago”); Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of church going, church bells, & a minister; A few mentions of thanking God; A mention of Bible reading; A mention of a man looking like a vicar; A mention of a man having a grudge at religion & baiting Stephen whenever possible; 
             *Note: During one of the times Kat releases her powers, it’s described as “darkness spread across her eyes, and she heard laughter—high-pitched and eerie. It was her but not her. As if she had split in two and the other Kat was in control.” (Stephen thinks of her a demon or a monster or a witch from an old fairytale (though he says there’s no such there as magic) and that she is dangerous); Kat thinks there’s an evil dwelling inside of her; Stephen thinks that his line of work has taught him that everyone has “a core of darkness inside” of them; A scientist wants to be able to bring the dead back to life; A handful of mentions of souls & a scientist saying there is “no disconnect between the physical and spiritual”; A couple mentions of ghost stories; A mention of imagining a ghost; A mention of hell freezing over (because something happened); A mention of a lie that’s “from the pit of hell”; A mention of a man’s facial hair making him look devilish; A mention of Kat’s powers being described as “witchcraft” by someone who saw it happen; A mention of a scientist using “pagan rituals of old” in his experiments; A mention of a dark and evil place. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘how in the—‘, an ‘idiot’, a ‘shut up’, two ‘cogglesfoot’s, three ‘blast it’s, five ‘what the—‘s, eight ‘what the blazes’s, and nine ‘blazes’s; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Some eye rolling & sarcasm; Fires, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, Being injected by a needle, & Passing out (up to semi-detailed); Knocking someone out, Kicking someone, Fighting, Being hit/punched, Gunfire/Shootouts, Shooting at others (self-defense and at a runaway criminal), Being Shot, Seeing others shot, Pain, & Blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Being tied up & tested on (up to semi-detailed); Nightmares & Recalling past events that were like nightmares (in regards to Kat activating her powers and Stephen with something Kat told him about, up to semi-detailed); Stephen aims his gun at someone who has betrayed him, thinking of killing that person (he is talked out of it and knows they aren’t worth the prison time); To forget upsetting events, Kat gets drunk on wine (semi-detailed); Kat has a power that when she gets very emotional, she can cause fires from her hands, attract objects, throw people or objects hard, & freeze time (After it happens, she passes out and is then numb once awakening (she has to calm down a few times & is unsuccessful a couple times; it’s said to releases “another side of her” and that scares both herself and Stephen)); After an upsetting event, Kat thinks it would be best to go to a bridge and end it all (her housekeeper tells her that she won’t lose her and to stop talking about ending her life); Kat thinks she is a monster due to her powers & should have died instead of someone else (she wonders if she’s even human or possibly a lab mistake); Kat longs for her father’s approval & attention; There are comments from men and women that are not happy about the first group of women (which includes Kat) being accepted to a university; All about many, many mentions of ill people disappearing (a scientist says that they were going to die anyway), grave robbers, dead bodies, testing on humans, dissecting humans, the smell of decay, seeing it happen, & scientists trying to bring the dead back to life (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of wars; Mentions of fires, smoke, screams, others in pain, & injuries/burns (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of bounty hunters (including ones that inflict a lot of pain on the people they are capturing), murderers, criminals, crimes, thugs, mob bosses, & gangs; Mentions of weapons (guns, truncheons, tasers), gunfire/shootouts, shooting at others (self-defense), seeing others shot, being shot, being shot at, fighting, fights, & a murder/death (up to semi-detailed): Mentions of injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of riots & someone throwing excrement at Kat; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, hang overs, & taverns/bars (side characters drink, Kat gets drunk to forget about an event, & Stephen refuses to drink alcohol because he doesn’t want to be addicted); Mentions of smoking & cigars; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of rumors; Mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of memories that are like nightmares (up to semi-detailed); A few mentions of card games (implied betting/gambling based on Kat’s distaste of it); A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of tattoos; A couple mentions of jars of human body parts; A couple mentions of animal carcasses; A couple mentions of animal testing; A mention of someone looking like a puppy that was kicked over and over;           

             *Note: Stephen fights a young man who was badly burned & different comments such as the man barely looking human and thinking that he was an experiment are thought (up to semi-detailed on his looks).
 
 
Sexual Content- A fingers-to-lips touch, an almost cheek kiss, and a detailed kiss (in both point of views, happens when Kat is drunk, Stephen feels desire for her and later thinks that he took advantage of her); Recalling a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to kiss & desiring someone; Touches, Dancing, Hand holding, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (including Kat’s curves and breasts (which Stephen tries not to look at), barely-above-not-detailed); A fiancée is caught in bed with another man (mentions him being shirtless and her pulling the covers up) *Slight Spoiler* Stephen finds her fiancée in bed with his work partner and kissing; This guts him and he vows to never trust a woman again *End of Spoiler*; A young man tries to corner Kat and her friend into giving him a kiss (her friend is very upset, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of kisses & kissing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a misunderstanding of Stephen thinking Kat has a lover & is pregnant (she does not & is not); Mentions of the affair, seeing the couple in bed together, & betrayal; Mentions of a dance hall (with mentions of the sign outside that promises a good time, Kat being horrified to go in there, the women in there selling more than just alcohol, & the women showing skin); Mentions of flirting, flirts, winks, & blushes; A few mentions of a man’s son who is called a cad and a scoundrel & scandals he’s had with maids; A couple mentions of men whistling, winking, & roving their eyes at Kat; A couple mentions of couples embracing; A mention of a conniving woman with a wandering heart; A mention of a guy looking at Kat’s face then his gaze traveling down; A mention of how an unmarried couple shouldn’t be alone together at night without a chaperone; A mention of Kat saying that it’s better to have an education than a husband because “at least you know what you’re getting with an education”; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Kat is stripped down into a thin nightgown that shows her curves and breasts; Mentions of women’s curves; A few mentions of a mother who died giving birth & the husband resenting their child because of it (*Spoiler* Kat’s father *End of Spoiler*); A few mentions of the women in a dancing hall showing a lot of their legs (Kat gasps in shock); A mention of a saloon/dance hall woman taking money into her cleavage; A mention of a woman’s low-cut gown (Stephen notices it).
 
-Kathryn “Kat” Bloodmayne
-Stephen Grey
                                P.O.V. switches between them & Dr. Bloodmayne (x2)
                                                        292 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{Trigger warning for a couple mentions of Kat wanting to end it all after an upsetting event}

{Ratings are based on content}

Note to self: This author likes ending her books on a cliffhanger with a main character passed out. (Example 1)

I’ve had this book on my TBR for quite a while and it was definitely not what I expected it would be at all. I enjoyed the “Skyworld” duology by this author, but I’m not sure about my feelings for this book. I was very interested in this story at the beginning and the steampunk setting, but as the story continued, I became less and less excited about where the plot was heading. Particularly in the terms of human experiments and the romance. Even before Stephen royally messed up, I thought the romance elements between him and Kat happened very fast and was more physically attracted based. After his big mess up? I definitely don’t like the idea of a relationship between the two of them, personally. 

I’m really bummed about not enjoying this one as much I hoped I would. I think I’ll still read the second book for answers, but I don’t have the highest expectations now. 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.