Awakenings

Europa #1

by P.R. Garcia

ISBN-10: 1530368049 Alternate Cover Edition

When the Oonocks sank their golden city of Atlantis beneath the ocean, only the words of Plato gave testimony of its existence. Now learn a new thought of who the Atlantians were and why they had to sink their city that eventful night. Find out why 6000 years ago, the race known as the Oonocks left their beautiful lilac waters of Jupiter's ice moon Europa to begin a new life on Earth. Discover the real Atlantians. Europa is a twenty year old human female who has never heard of the Oonocks. And although she's heard of the legend of Atlantis, she's never giving the story much thought. Her life has been fairly normal, as normal as any royal child's can be. The secret of who she really is has been kept from her, but she does know that she is of royal birth, the next leader of her people, that her great-great-great grandparents had to flee their country, which no longer exists, and that their enemy's descendants may still be hunting them. Therefore, she follows a strict set of security rules. Safe and happy, she lives on an isolated estate along the coast line in northern California. But her safety is an illusion, for their enemy has returned and is stalking the future queen, waiting for his chance to end her life. The day after her birthday, Europa's perfect word is destroyed when JeffRa assassinates her mother, thinking she was Europa. As she struggles to deal with her mother's death, Europa's world is turned upside down when she discovers a secret attic above her mother's bedroom. There, she finds picture of her parents hundreds of years old. But most terrifying of all is her mother's diary. Inside, Queen Medaron wrote that Europa would be born human and never know who she really was. Europa desperately searches for the answers as to who she is, as she flees before the assassin. Along the way, Europa will lose almost everyone and everything she loves. In order to survive she must find the queen inside her. She must learn and accept the true story of Atlantis and the Oonock race

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction

488 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 2013

About the author

P.R. Garcia grew up in rural Michigan and is the youngest of three. She became a lover of Science Fiction at an early age when her parents took her to the movies. She was hooked the moment she heard Patricia Neal tell the robot Gort in The Day the Earth Stood Still “Klaatu barada nikto”. Inspired by what was possible, she and her dog spent many days in the fields behind her home fighting aliens and investigating unexplored planets. Her love continued to grow, and while in high school, the series Star Trek hit television, boosting her fascination with what might be out there. Her friends still comment on how she skipped the football games to stay home and watch each episode. When in her thirties, she became an award-winning basket weaver and continued in this craft for three decades. Upon retiring from her job of thirty years, she moved to San Diego, California. She volunteered for five years as a guide on the Whale Watching Boats, teaching people from around the world about the Pacific Ocean’s aquatic life.

At sixty-two, Ms. Garcia began to write her Europa Saga, a tantalizing, ten-part sci-fi series of intrigue, suspense, and mystery. Her saga is a fresh retelling of the story of Atlantis and its inhabitants. The books span six thousand years and four generations. Her story launched her into the world of a best-selling author.

Global warming, deforestation, pollution of our air and water, species loss, and the devastation of Earth itself are all subjects dear to Ms. Garcia’s heart. She has incorporated those themes into her later books, including books seven through nine of the Europa Saga and Extinction 2038. Her upcoming book Guardians of Earth and the sequel Guardians of Earth II, which should be released in early 2021, also deals with these subjects. If you’d like information on ways you can help stop global warming and other green topics, sign up for her newsletter.

Ms. Garcia also writes children’s books. A Cat for William is based on an authentic story about how a stray cat helps a man cope with a disabling disease. She is working on two more children’s books: The Story of Sudan: The Last Northern White Male Rhino and The Christmas Crayons, a story about a homeless boy who finds happiness in a box of crayons on Christmas Day. For more information, go to her web page: http://www.prgarcia1.com.


For a free copy of book 1 EUROPA Awakenings, go to: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

Reviews

[Sherry Fundin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am AMAZED and BLOWN AWAY by the epic saga, Europa Awakenings by P R Garcia!

I was hooked from the beginning and putting down this almost 500 page novel was done with much reluctance, but my hands hurt from holding the book and my eyes are blurring, making the words almost unreadable. I read the book slower than normal, savoring the story unfolding page by page, experience by experience, good and bad, life and death and above all, love and sacrifice.

Atlantis was born from a need to hide…hide not just from their enemies, but us…humans. If aliens are watching us, walking among us, it would behoove them to be wary, secretive. I agree with P R Garcia’s writing, we humans kill what we fear.

Mermaids? No. Underwater creatures? Yes. Humans? Yes.

Europa has no idea she comes from Atlantis, from a alien race forced to leave their planet.

This is her journey of discovery.

The first threat comes from a source I figured out pretty quick. I pride myself on that. It also creates a great twist to the story.

I knew there would be a romance and I wondered where her boyfriend, Terrance would come from. Would he be alien or human? Does love conquer all? We shall see.

The characters are so much more than they seem, changing forms, sacrificing, always loving, doing their duty to protect…her. The characters and world building are complex and developed to such a point, I feel I am there, interacting with them. I feel their paralyzing terror, their need to protect at the cost of their own lives. I weep with those who mourn their fallen soldiers.

Of course, I love Europa and her soulmate, Terrance, a naive human that has no idea what he has stepped into, but goes all out just to be at her side. I don’t know if I can choose just one hero, but I love Jeanip. Loyalty and duty could be his middle name. With a protector such as Jeanip, I cannot help but feel they will survive, but will he?

As P R Garcia explains what happens when they return to the water to die, it makes me think of spreading a loved ones ashes on the water, allowing them to travel on.

Europa Awakenings contains so much action and adventure, the suspense and pacing so intense, the book is unputdownable. Everywhere I look, there is another hint of danger. The sense of impending doom follows me through the pages. I know something is coming, I just don’t know when. More than once, P R Garcia caught me by surprise and I love that.

Europa Awakenings is a wonderful combination of the paranormal and supernatural, myth and folklore, fantasy and romance. P R Garcia took me to the depths of hell and brought me up to the light of the sun. I am at a loss for words to describe the elaborate and imaginative world and characters, on land and in water, that Pam has created. I am entranced, enthralled, amazed and astounded.

There will be much more of their story, but…for now…they are safe.

I am so happy that Book II is on its way!

I received a copy of Europa Awakenings by P R Garcia in return for an honest review.

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[Boundless Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Europa is a young woman celebrating her twentieth birthday, and getting ready to go off to college. Her life is good; she and her mother live by the ocean with a private beach, she has her friends, her servants are like family, and to top it off, she has developed a friendship with dolphins she gets to play with all the time! She is royalty, but her land no longer exists, so all the perks with no responsibility.

She’s on the beach with her personal guard and two best friends, playing with her dolphins, enjoying time with friends before she has to go off to college, when a handsome young stranger walks onto their beach looking for help. He has fallen off his bike and hurt himself, and luckily, he didn’t get shot for trespassing, and they help him. This is where everything starts changing.

Her life is turned upside down, she loses her Mom, her home, and so much more happens. Talk about ‘when it rains, it pours!” Europa handles everything as well as to be expected; as she discovers more, her life as she knew, it changes more. She is not what she thought she was; her family, her servants, her dog! Nothing is as it seems.

Europa: Awakenings is extremely intense, has non-stop suspense, mystery, action, sci-fi, romance, and there’s twists at every turn. I was brought into it so deep; it was a struggle to stop reading and sleep. There are a few errors in the editing, but the story made up for that. I absolutely loved it! This is a HUGE 5 Boundless stars. By the way, I have already gotten book two, Europa: Quanundocii grab it now while it’s free on Kindle unlimited. You WILL want to continue with this series. I know I am!...Beth


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[Laura Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you one of those who wonders about Atlantis? Do you fantasize that it’s a thriving city hidden somewhere beneath the ocean? P. R. Garcia’s Europa: Awakenings, the first book in her epic series, gives you a fantastical world with beings from another world. The Oonocks. They hide in their city at the bottom of the sea, but also hide on dry land.

A young woman, Europa, heir to the throne of a lost country, has no idea she’s actually from another planet. Kept in the dark about her real origins, she’s raised as human to protect her and all of her kind from an ancient enemy, JeffRa.

Now, the enemy that led to their flight from their world to our ocean’s depths has found them, and will not stop until he kills them all.

There are so many characters you come to know, human and other. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Jeanip. I know. You’re thinking, shouldn’t it be Europa? Let me explain. Jeanip has something he must overcome from his past. This keeps him focused. And he’s been tasked with protecting Europa at all costs. He’s so loyal and fierce in his duties and larger than life. I’d be glad to have him as a protector and a friend.

The romance between Europa and Terrance is so sweet. He falls head over heels for her and she for him. Neither knows she’s not of this world. When Terrance finds out, he doesn’t hesitate to put himself between her and danger. I loved how, even though he couldn’t swim, he braved the seas to save her.

Being a lover of the ocean and all it’s inhabitants, this story was a must read for me. Adding in water beings from another planet fascinated me even more. Trying to visualize these beings in my mind, I drew from movies such as The Abyss and Europa Report. Such stunningly beautiful and mystical creatures filled me head.

Danger and action fill the pages. You hardly have to time catch your breath as the characters face insurmountable odds to combat those who would destroy them.

This is one of those books I went into with high expectations. And I got everything I could have hoped for and more. I’m now driven to read more. Find out what happens to beloved characters and where the author takes me next.

I received this book for my honest review.

[Shawn MacKenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

EUROPA: Awakenings by P.R. Garcia
For YA fantasy fans with an interest in mythic realms, eternal vendettas, and a young heroine coming into her own, EUROPA: Awakenings is an entertaining read.
It is the tale of the Oonock, an ancient species of fantastic water dwellers from Jupiter’s moon, Europa. When a war between princely brothers creates an existential threat to the Oonock civilization, they flee across the solar system, their persistent enemies in their wake.
We catch up with the remnants of the Oonock race on Earth where, splitting their time between sea and land, they’ve been hiding in plain sight for millenia. To humans, they are cloaked in the mystical mantle of Atlanteans. But, as anyone who knows their Plato knows, all did not go well for Atlantis; and so it is for the Oonocks. Ancient enemies resurface, danger looms, and young Europa, Oonock royalty unaware of her heritage, must not only run for her life, but grow into the powerful leader she is destined to be. The fate of her people – and of Earth, itself – depends on it.
P.R. Garcia has built a narrative that criss-crosses between fantasy and science fiction with a splash of Romeo-&-Juliet romance tossed in for good measure. There are losses, joys, and surprises along the way. Her characters have big stories to tell, as evidenced by the ensuing books in the EUROPA series, and they are told with conviction, affection, and an awareness of the fragility of the planet – land and sea – we need yet too often take for granted. If you have ever been drawn to tales of lost civilizations and alien influence on the ancient human world, you will find an adventure here.

[Suneth Gunarathna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine science fiction writer has emerged. I have read the book in to long hours at night and enjoyed immensely. I am a fan of science fiction from my childhood and have read hundreds of books. I prefer long books because I can live with the characters for a long time. This book will take you to a world you know and yet you don't know.
Science fiction writers can call miracles as required, like Europa healing Jeenip from death, without stopping to prove the theory behind. But they must not violate the human values since all sentient beings must abide by such values. Giving good reasons for jefra's hate author has shown her respect for such values.
I am looking forward to read authors other books as well.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I have to say that this has to be one of my all time favorite young adult SciFi style books in a long time. I loved it so much I want my dad to read it next. I thought it was well written with an excellent story and amazing characters. It is about a young women finding out the life she lived was so much more then she ever imagined. I laughed, I cried, I loved every second of it. I had a hard time putting it down. It was hard living my every day life and not spending every moment reading this story. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

[Beatrice Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot of this book sounded fantastic and interesting, but the poor writing ruined it. This novel needed to meet the hard hammer of editing before being published. Basic beginning writer mistakes mar this book's potential - the repetition of dialog and narrative, flat faceless character, forced plot points, weak side characters, and the long-winded info-dump in the beginning made this difficult to read and even more difficult to enjoy.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

EUROPA Book 1
Awakenings
By P.R. Garcia

A good sci-fi book for the YA genre

The book drags in the beginning because it is introducing three older teenage girls and for the older crowd, the problems of the teens are not very interesting. But then as the story progresses, it quickens and has many twists and turns. Basically it is about a young woman, Europa, age 20, a human, who loses her mother through murder, and she is at a loss as to why. She has been told her father is dead and she lives in a household with several servants, whom she doesn’t realize are her protectors and that all of these people in the household are from another planet and/or are individuals who adapted thousands of years ago to the water world of the oceans, and who had come from the planet Europa, and who now realize that they need to spend more time on the surface of the earth, and so the daughter Europa is the first born human to these individuals.

Europa meets are young man, Terrance, from Australia. They are immediately attracted to each other and fall in love. Both Europa is unaware of her unnatural background and Terrance becomes aware that his father, whom he sees little, is involved in something clandestine. Bit by bit, the story unfolds into a mystery for Europa and Terrance after the different individuals in her life are identified to her plus why her life is so important to this race of people. The story is quite extended as it goes from one dangerous event to another, and gradually she learns the story of her family’s lives and how she fits in.

It is well written, especially after the first chapters like the author was finally getting her teeth into it, but there are many wrong words or misspelled words and it needs some heavy editing. But it is an enjoyable story for adults also as it develops, and although it borders on sci-fi, it has an intensity of reality about it.

I was given a complimentary copy for an honest review.

[P.R. Garcia]

Reviewed by Chris Fischer for Readers' Favorite

In a very promising start to an eight-volume series, Europa: Awakenings
by author P.R. Garcia will treat lovers of science fiction to a great new
read in the genre. Follow the story of Europa, a nineteen-year-old girl
who has been raised as a human. What she doesn't know is that she is
actually a princess from the ancient world, from the city of Atlantis. She is
one of the Oonocks, who were forced to sink their beautiful golden city in
order to save it. Her parents, the king and queen, had to place her on
Earth as a human in order to ensure her survival. When Europa's human
mother is murdered by one who thought she was Europa, and Europa
finds a secret room with documents that show that neither she nor her
human parents were who she thought, this amazing story of adventure
and discovery really begins.

Wow! That's what I thought when I finished reading this fantastic new
book! Author P.R. Garcia has done an amazing job in creating a storyline
for the history of Atlantis that I've never heard before, as well as
characters that her readers will truly relate with, connect to, and care
about. If those aren't hallmarks of a great author, I don't know what are.
Europa: Awakenings is both exciting and creative, and simply a great
work of science fiction. I highly recommend this book, and am looking
forward to reading more in what promises to be an excellent new series
by the very promising author, P.R. Garcia, as soon as I can!

[Roberto Mattos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author did an amazing job producing a masterpiece of fantasy, science fiction, adventure, romance, thriller, all combined in this wonderful novel.
Europa is a young girl that has no clue about where his family came from. She was always told that her family was royal, living in exile because of a war that broke in their original land. Although she lives with a very restricted protocol of security measures, nothing seems to be strange for the situation. But suddenly, when her mother is assassinated, her world goes upside down and nothing is as it looks like. She finds out she has an older brother she did not know about and all people around her were there with the sole purpose to protect her. Even her new boyfriend is indirectly part of this incredible tale.
The book is so full of twists and adventures that you will enjoy it from the first page and it will be very hard to put it down. Kudos to the author, who produced a strong set of characters that you will easily learn to love and respect. The scenes are richly described and the persecution sequences are intense.
I highly recommend this book to the permanent library of all readers that appreciate a very well written novel. You will not be disappointed.

I received this book from the author and I was not requested to provide o positive review. Opinion expressed here is my own.

[Chris Eells · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was provided a free copy of Europa: Awakenings for an honest review.

The world that Garcia has created is big... very, very big. The Foreword alone could be several books in and of itself! The premise and history for Garcia's Europa has real potential, but I struggled greatly with her writing technique. Specifically, I have great difficulty reading books where the narrator continuously says what they are doing/going to do. Please, don't tell me what you are doing... just do it! Also, everyone does not have to know what everyone else is doing and why they are doing it. There is no need to explain, let the readers draw their own conclusions. Part of the joy of reading is seeing if you were able to tease out the direction of a story arc.

Anyhow, I put the book down several times not expecting to finish it, but then I kept coming back to it. The story still has my interest despite my concerns on technique, but for now I think I will set it aside. Hopefully I will come back to it later.

[Keri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start by saying do not let the cover fool you. When I received this book in the mail, my first initial thought was that is was an older novel, as in wrote in the 1980's. After finishing reading this book it is another "don't judge a book by its cover". It is the first book in the Europa series and much to my surprise it was a very nice read. Europa Awakenings turns out to be a Young Adult Science Fiction novel that is about a young exiled girl from the royals. Life changes for this girl in her early twenties and things are about to become a mystery. For an independent author, P.R. Garcia has done a fantastic job writing this novel. The only thing I would change is the cover, I would definitely make it more enticing for the Young Adult crowd.

[Carleene Hibbs Reeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just had a hard time really getting into this book. I love the concept. I think it is different than anything I have read but the writing style was too dramatic for me. I did not connect with there characters. As I was reading it felt like watching a good movie with bad acting. I purchased this book and promised to give an honest review. I wanted to like it more but it was just okay for me.

[C.L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting ideas, worlds

The author has created an interesting world and presents a science fiction piece that is original. While the book could have benefited from some editing, the characters are intriguing

[Debi Tomlinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting

Slow beginning but once you get into the book it was wonderful. felt the desperation and the need to know where Europa came from I was spellbound by all the tragedy and the love that came from mother and father desperately wanting to protect their family.