Every girl has a secret she hopes the light will never find—but the demons already have.

As four high school girls are faced with life-altering decisions, their new-found faith will be tested. Although warrior angels are assigned to guard and assist the unlikely friends, they must rely on their faith to withstand the evil Duke Astaroth and the beast’s demonic horde.

Now that their spiritual eyes are open to daily battles between unseen forces of good and evil, lives are at stake.

Lifelong friends Krystal and Bryce are finally an official couple. But can their love survive the greatest trial they’ve ever faced?
Since Mackenzie’s mentally ill mother was hospitalized, she secretly worries that her deepest nightmare may come true.
While best friends Tammi and Sadie continue healing from their abusive pasts, each wrestles with temptations that threaten to undermine their recovery.

Can beauty arise from the ashes of despair and loss?

Will the girls embrace who and whose they truly are?

My thoughts: Awakened is the fourth and final book in the Beauties from Ashes series that has followed several high school friends as they deal with challenges and spiritual warfare through high school. I thought that Beckie Lindsey did a fantastic job of bringing the spiritual battle that is going on all around us to life. Sometimes it is easy to forget what is going on in the spiritual realm, and I appreciated the reminder. I also thought that she did a wonderful job of handling some difficult subjects. I highly recommend this series, though there are some trigger warnings. The books are better suited to teenagers and should be read in order, since it is an ongoing story.

I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review.

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About the Author

Beckie Lindsey is an award-winning author of the Beauties from Ashes series, poet, blogger, and the editor of Southern California Christian Voice, a division of One Christian Voice, a national news syndicating agency. She is a major coffeeholic and enjoys a good book with a cat on her lap. She also loves to hike and hang out with family and friends. Beckie and her husband, Scott have three adult children, two adorable cats, and live in California.

More from Beckie

Why I write YA and the BFA series

I believe a teenager still exists inside each of us.

We hear a familiar tune from our “glory days” and are instantly tapping our toes. Mentally, we’re back in high school —poofy bangs, scrunchie, neon off-the-shoulder sweatshirt — and all. Oh, wait. That’s me back in the ‘80s!

Ah, yes. There is something wonderfully awful about those coming-of-age years.

From the first kiss to the first breakup, there are memories we cherish and some we don’t care to ever revisit. Being a teen can be exciting, confusing, painful, joyous, or even all of those things at once!

No matter how different your teenage experience was from mine, one thing is true for us all: these years have an enormous impact on who we become as adults. We can all sympathize with the plight of puberty and the longing for independence and acceptance. Yeah, there’s still a teenager in all of us!

These are the reasons I write YA.

My hope is to use the power of storytelling to move past barriers and open hearts to accept how much God loves and desires a personal relationship with us.

At every age, we all need the grace and love of Jesus.

In the Beauties from Ashes (BFA) series, I write about relatable characters with difficult issues and traumatic pasts to enlighten readers about the unseen spiritual battle referred to in Scripture. Each character has a secret that has left them vulnerable to the battle in an invisible realm where demonic creatures fight to keep them chained to their pasts and angels of light work to free them.

The characters and their issues are complex, just like real life. In fact, some of the topics are often considered too taboo to talk about openly. But what is left in the dark, festers and grows. It is only in the light that we can be free. In the BFA series, readers experience the character’s quest for truth, love, grace, and freedom while hopefully finding the same for themselves.