Awakened by James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth

Title: Awakened

Authors: James S. Murray

                Darren Wearmouth

Published: June 26, 2018

Rating: 5/5 Stars

You won't look at subways the same way again after reading Awakened by James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth.  A horror, thriller book that will take you deep into the darkness of the New York City subways.  

It's been a long time in the making.  A new expansion of the Z train, connecting not only the boroughs of NYC but also Jersey for an easy commute.  The shining jewel of this state-of-the-art line is a breathtaking visitors’ pavilion beneath the river.  This is a monumental event for the city bringing in the city's Mayor and the President of the United States Major dignitaries for the opening of the subway extension.  What no one knows is that deep below the streets of NYC a creature has been awakened by the construction of the subway.  That is, until the train comes into the station and all the passengers are missing and in their place, blood.  Will anyone come out of this alive?  

In Awakened, Murray's first novel, he teamed up with Wearmouth to write this fast-paced, can't put down, horror thriller.  As someone who's lived in New York City all my life, I enjoyed reading about the places I know and visit quite frequently.  The imagery is real if you know what it's really like to be taking a New York City subway.  There's blood.  There's gore.  And most importantly, and what I enjoyed the most, the parts of the book that took you to an unexpected turn.  Just when I thought one thing was about to be solved, I was left with my jaw dropped to find out there was a twist in the story.  

Murray and Wearmouth's writing really brings not only the setting to life, but the characters as well.  As I read along, I felt that I knew them as real people and not characters in a novel.  Times when you would be upset of a death of a character were balanced off when certain characters you weren't sad to see them get what they deserved.

Since reading this book, I will admit, when I'm on the New York City subway and I hear a mysterious noise from outside in the tunnel, I almost expect to see a creature come breaking in through the windows.  Though, that definitely would add to the excitement of always getting stuck on the train while there's a "delay."  

This is the first book of a trilogy that Murray and Wearmouth are working on and I can't wait for the next two books to be written and hopefully it'll continue after that some more.  It's rare I'm upset when I finish a book because I don't want to see it end and that's what happened with this book.  I was sad when I came to the last page and anxiously wait for the next book.

I would recommend this book for anyone who loves Horror and Science Fiction.  And for anyone who lives in New York City and knows the MTA system and how it's usually run, this is a book you would definitely enjoy.

I received an galley edition of this book from the publisher through a contest they ran on Facebook.  The actual book will be released on June 26, 2018.  This is one you don't want to miss out on!