The beginning of an epic fantasy by Author Helen Garraway. A beautifully written adventure, bursting with intrigue, colour and energy. I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the rest of the series. (Book Tour Reviewer Andrew Bell)
The book begins with what seems like a petty feud between a king’s ranger, a chancellor and a power hungry prince. However, we soon find out there are much darker happenings occurring in the background. The stakes of the plot are set early on with the king imparting the oath to Jerrol. We follow his journey as he struggles to uphold the oath to the Lady and fulfill her wish: awaken the Sentinals. The plot moves fairly quickly and smoothly, with events soon spiraling out of control. The ancillary characters cast is quite large, especially as more Sentinals are added to the mix. Jennery, Lady Alyssa, Taelia and Birlerion are a few of the standouts and my favorites. Their struggles and motives stand out clearly as well as their dialogue for the most part. Some of the others were harder to keep track of. Jerrol gets to shine as the star of the intrigue; he is solving a troubling mystery in the kingdom and he discovers interesting powers and lore throughout the way. All the scenes felt necessary and added intrigue. I am excited to read more in this series! (Book Tour Reviewer Sophie Jupillat Posey)
A tale of the supernatural, with magical and mystical moments of the adventure. Main character Jerrol’s fate in the heat of his battle will keep the reader interested throughout the story. (Book Tour Reviewer Yvonne Marrs)
Helen Garraway has produced a wonderful, fantasy world which rings true with every description of its countryside and architecture. Though set thousands of years in the future, Remargaren is a world totally devoid of technology, where horses are the primary form of transport, weapons are knives and swords, and the magic and myths are slowly unveiled as we accompany Jerrol on his quest. I found the lore a little confusing at first, and some of the pace slightly disjointed, but despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to continuing the series. (Book Tour Reviewer Eleanor Dixon)
In this magical and mystical fantasy novel, Helen Garraway creates a world that the reader is at once drawn into. The premise of the story is beautifully crafted and has a fairy tale feel. I love the idea of people being asleep within the trees! It definitely appealed to my sense of childlike wonder. I could picture the imagery clearly and the characters are interesting, in particular for me, The Lady, who possesses such power over the world, both in the past and present settings. (Book Tour Reviewer Michelle Marshall)
This was a slow starting story, and at the outset I found it confusing. Jerrol and Jennery are similar names and I wondered why the horse was not named. I also found myself wondering why the people did not believe in the Lady, when it’s clearly true. The pace did pick up and there is evidence of solid world building going on. I like the idea of the Sentinals being put into trees to protect the land. The whole propaganda and the dystopian element of the government taking over was good. I found it refreshing for a fantasy. I didn’t pick up much sense of what the world looked like as there was not much description, most information was given in the form of dialogue. This was tough for me personally, as I’m not a very visual person. (Book Tour Reviewer Eryn McConnell)
Fans of the Witcher series will certainly enjoy Sentinals Awaken. The plot is highly engaging and moves forward at a good pace, although some readers may find it a little slow to start with. This is not a negative critique, as with books of a similar ilk such as The Witcher, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, the reader does need to spend some time familiarising themselves with the world the author has created, its systems and history. Therefore a level of detail needs to be provided in the first few opening chapters to enable this to happen. This ensures that the reader is fully grounded into the story as opposed to immediately thrusting a reader straight into the thick of the action which only leaves them feeling confused and dissatisfied by the end of the book. The author, I feel, manages this well, and it did not take long for me to settle into the story and remain gripped within its pages. I thoroughly enjoyed Book One and loved its cast of mythical characters. This has all the promise of a great epic fantasy series and I am genuinely looking forward to reading the next book. (Book Tour Reviewer Kirsty McKay)
We award 4 stars.