I think the Darkest Powers trilogy is going to go down as one of my favourite YA paranormal series. 
 The Awakening picks up at the exact moment that the first book in the series, The Summoning, finishes - with Chloe stuck in the institution after a somewhat failed break out attempt from Lyle House and the heartbreaking betrayal from Chloe's aunt. 
 Now, with her every move being monitored by the staff and no escape routes visible, Chloe needs to deal with the ghosts that won't leave her alone and her anxiety over Simon's health and Derek's "condition" whilst they are on the run. Not one to sit around and pout, Chloe - with the help of Liz's ghost - needs finds a way to get out, find the boys and get to the bottom of what the sinister scientists are up to. 
 For me, this book had what The Summoning was lacking. It was exciting, fast paced and suspenseful. I picked this book up when I couldn't sleep, vowing only to read a few chapters... next thing I knew it was 3am and I'd finished it. 
 I complained about Chloe coming across as a little bland in the first book but she's completely redeemed herself in my eyes. I found that I enjoyed getting to see her embrace her ghost busting powers more and more as well as not letting anyone who was bigger and badder than her push her around. 
 Derek is a character that I adored after the first book and now I like him even more. He and the other supporting characters have issues and complicated pasts. It makes them somewhat real in an unreal and paranormal world. Tori, Simon and the others are an incredibly mismatched group but their bickering entertained me and I loved the fact that they were flawed and kept their grudges despite their current circumstances. 
 As a fan of Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series, I was thrilled to read the slight crossover that occurred in this novel (Clayton's reputation precedes him!) and makes perfect sense to the plot of this story. 
 This book is not one that can be read as a stand alone - there is a lot that is assumed knowledge from the first book in the series - but is a fantastic story that includes some of my favourite supernatural creatures, exciting plot and interesting characters. 
 I jumped online and bought the third book as soon as I finished reading....