Blog Tour & Review: S.M. Knowles' "Unusual Awakening"

Title: Unusual Awakening

Author: S.M. Knowles        

Genre: Young Adult
Tour Host: Lady Amber's Tours

 

 

Blurb:

 

With tears and a tight hug, Rylee Everley’s dad left for Afghanistan with the Army Reserve. Since his deployment, her mom has been distant, her sisters are constantly fighting, and Rylee, at only thirteen years old, has to be the glue to keep them together. While her mother stays locked in her room, Rylee has been forced into the role of parent.

Now, two years later, a freak accident involving a bus at school promises to restore some normality to her family. In spite of not knowing how their father is, her mother is happy and her sisters don’t seem to fight as much as they used to. Rylee herself is seeing more of her friends and is even trying to sort out her own feelings about Brock Parker. However, something dark threatens to disrupt that normality for personal gain, and that darkness is willing to break every rule to get what it wants.



 

 

 

Book Trailer

 

 

My Review:

Rylee Everley's has had to grow up over night, her father is in the Army Reserve and has been shipped off to Afghanistan.  Her mother unable to handle the stress now lives in her bedroom, this leaves Rylee with her to parent over her fighting sisters. Thank God for her bestie Lyla and close guy friend Brock who has become her most valued protector.  With the support of her friends, Rylee is able to develop her independence and juggle her messy life all while discovering the possibility that Brock could be more than a friend.  Then all hell breaks loose thanks to Adysin........

 

There's just something not right about her that Rylee can't quite put her finger on, but when you get to her chapter, you'll see Rylee should be concerned.  Oh and everything you THOUGHT you knew about this story...... it's about to blow up in your face!!

 

 

What I Thought:

 

I think what I loved most about this book was the hurricane of dram Adysin brought with her!!  Ok, ok, I don't want to be the girl's bestie ( or even her friend) but she twists the story into something you never saw coming!!  I really loved Rylee for several reasons.  Her life was horrible!!  I mean who wants to become a mom at a young age because your mom suddenly can't handle the job?? But I think she needed that because it really forced her to become the person she developed into by the end of the book.  Oh and her and Brock?? So cute, you'll love them!! This is a MUST read y'all!!!

 

 

Excerpt:

 



Getting up, I walk over to the tree line. I don’t see anything around, so I grab a rock and throw it to scare off any animals. Walking in further, I call out, “Hello?” Everything is quiet. I wait a few more seconds. Something feels off. Walking in a little further, I hear a branch break. I know I didn’t step on anything, so something’s unquestionably out there. “Who’s out here?” I yell. A big oak tree stands directly in front of me, right next to him. “No, no, no, no,” I beg.

 

 

 

 

About the Author:

 

S.M. Knowles was born in Elmira, New York where she was swept away in a whirlwind to the Land of Oz—Independence, Kansas. Her parents were relocating for working opportunities and decided that this would be the perfect place to start new roots. Little did she know that this place would contribute to the inspiration for the first book she wrote in her Rylee Everley Series.

While growing up, S.M. would travel the roads around her house while imagining she was somewhere else. Her imagination would take her everywhere, making the long hot summer days seem shorter throughout her fantasies.

At the age of twelve, she decided to write her first book. Filled mostly with dialog, she filled up one-hundred pages, front and back. After taking the book downstairs to show her mom, and persuading her to buy her more paper, she excitedly ran back to her room. As she barreled through the door, S.M. tripped over items left on her floor, and her papers came raining down in her room. Discouraged, she stood there in tears, picking up her papers and throwing them in the trash. Her work had no organization, no numbers on her pages, just a child fulfilling a joy that she would put down and not pick up again.

When she became older, she joined the military for something different. In that time, she was able to explore many places and even met her husband in Iraq. After coming home, she started her family in Arizona and went back to school, earning a Master’s degree in Adult Education and Training.