Review: The Last Awakening (Curse of the Phoenix) by Rachel Firasek

The Last Awakening (Curse of the Phoenix) by Rachel Firasek

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Published: December 6, 2011

Pages: 118

Received: for book tour from Bewitching Book Tours

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ADULT CONTENT

For three hundred years, Arabella’s life has been one meaningless death after another. In a cruel twist of fate, Osiris–god of the Underworld–gifts the phoenix her mortality and returns her voodoo magic. If she fails to harness her wayward magic and save a man worthy of a second chance, she’ll forfeit her power and her soul–forever.

Ex-soldier Greyson Meadows desperately wants to be freed from the nightmares and guilt that haunt him after the tragedy that brought him and Ari together. Confronted by the waif of a woman who forces him to face his worst fears, he resists, fighting the need to keep his personal demons hidden instead of setting them free.

When Ari becomes the target of her own magical blunder, it’s not just her life in danger, but now the one of the man she loves.

This was perfect to read right after The Last Rising, as I had the storyline fresh in my mind. This story centers around some supporting characters from book one, Ari and Grey and it is so different from the first novella, but just as wonderful. You just see glimpses of them both in the first book and now you get their full story. I love that Ice and Turner make appearances throughout this story. You also get to see a different side to Osiris and learn more about him and his choices - I'm curious about him now.

Ari, is a phoenix trying to redeem herself by saving the souls of others. She crosses paths with Grey during one of her missions and just can't get him or his lost looking eyes out of her head. I love how much she is drawn to Grey and wants nothing more than to save him from more than just death - she wants to save him from himself. 

Grey is a man who has seen much death and has yet to get over some heart wrenching feelings that he has been holding onto for too long. Grey sounds like such a sexy man, yet he seems so broken. The relationship between Ari and Grey is filled with ups and downs and would test even the strongest of couples. But they both know that: Failure is not an option! They need each other. 

I loved that Ari speaks French here and there throughout the story as she is from New Orleans. She also has magical powers - like voodoo, that intrigued me. With this in mind there were a few twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I think so far she is my favourite character of the series.

I am really looking forward to the next novella and I even have a guess for who the next one will be about, but I'll keep that a secret so I don't spoil anything for anyone. 

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