Originally reviewed at Hooked on Books 
 There are so many beautiful things about this novel. Not Hollywood beautiful, i.e overdone with glitz and glam. A real authentic, gritty sort of beautiful. A diamond in the rough kind of novel. 
 This novel takes place in Europe, Sicily, to be exact. Right off the bat, this was a major plus for Arcadia Awakens. It gave it an exotic and gritty feel, that just can't be replicated in a North American setting. Since the story centers strongly around the mob, it could have easily taken in place in New York or New Jersey but benefited greatly from a setting that could tie the story directly with ancient history. The history was also something unique and exciting. Instead of focusing on more commonly known mythology like the Greek gods, Kai Meyers brings us into the world of Arcadians. It was something I had never read about before and something I definitely wanted to research further upon finishing. 
 The characters that make up this story were all very interesting. My initial fear, was that because they were all mobsters they would fall into some of the more typical, comical stereotypes. Thankfully, this was not the case. There was a lot of depth to the main cast of characters and I found them quite realistic. Despite the fact that I enjoyed almost all the characters in this book, I still have some reservations about Rosa. I don't dislike her but I never reached the point where I really warmed up to her. At times she was incredibly irrational and at other times I found her motivations really unclear. But it could just be me. 
 Overall, Arcadia Awakens is a really unique book. It brings something new and unexpected to the YA landscape. Mixing an interesting setting, with an unusual cast of characters (the mob) and adding a dash of mythology was just the right recipe for this stunning novel. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.