Awakening the Essence: Book One of The Siren Chronicles

The car accident that killed her best friend left Rory Forsythe unconscious for three days, and she awoke with heightened senses and the impression that nothing would ever be the same again. In the aftermath, Rory decides to seek out the lost family of her father. Soon she finds herself drawn into a world she never knew existed, one of secret histories, family legacies, and vast fortunes. With the aid of her newfound family and a handsome man named Kelsey, Rory embarks on a quest to locate the inheritance her mother left behind and discover the truth of her family’s past.

With Awakening the Essence, Kate Sexton explores a fascinating alternate universe with a radical past that isn’t entirely unbelievable, thanks to strategic interweaving of known historical fact. Rory is an exquisitely three-dimensional character: the relevant parts of her past are explained, and her present situation and the new abilities she seems to have developed are rendered flawlessly, allowing readers to experience each new sensation as Rory does. Her thought process and emotional reactions help her rise above the “beauty with brains” cliché. Rory’s relatives cover the spectrum, from immature and selfish to mysterious and suave. The only area where Sexton’s writing falls slightly flat is character interaction: the romance between Rory and Kelsey is frustratingly two dimensional, and some of the relationships between other characters are not defined in a satisfying manner.

That aside, this novel provides the introduction to a series that readers will surely find themselves drawn into. Sexton’s premise, that of an ancient feminist culture decimated by male sociopaths, a history remembered only by the last remaining members of an ancient race, will surely appeal to many new age, modern-thinking women. Readers will find themselves eagerly anticipating the next volume in this stirring new series.