Review: Wake

Wake

Amanda Hocking

Published by: St. Martin's Press

Released: August 7, 2012

Description from Goodreads:

Fall under the spell of Wake—the first book in an achingly beautiful new series by celebrated author Amanda Hocking—and lose yourself to the Watersong.

Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.

Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

If you are a fan of Amanda Hocking's other novels, then you will definitely love this one. To be honest, I love this book even more than the Trylle novels. It's different from most other YA book out there today. Is there vampires? Nope. Werewolves? Natta. Sirens. Finally a book on sirens!

There are no cons to this book. I flat out loved it. The pacing was good. The characters are amazing. The whole story did not fail to impress me and kept me wanting more. I could have easily read another hundred to two hundred pages.

What I loved:

Sirens. I have always been a huge fan of sirens. I just love them as a monster. I have not read anything about sirens as the main creature in a YA book. And this one is just amazing because it connects to actual facts from Greek Mythology (I'm obsessed with Greek Mythology by the way). You sort of feel sorry for the sirens, but not really. You know they are monsters. You know they are killers. And yet, you just feel terrible for them.

The Characters. I love Gemma. And Alex. And Harper. And Daniel. Okay. I just listed the major characters. I love them all. They are just amazing characters. Gemma tries so hard to stay with her family and make them happy. Alex is willing to do anything for Gemma and Harper. Harper has taken on so much resposiblity and practically raised Gemma. Daniel is just amazing and sweet and oh so caring. They all really compliment each other. I guess what I'm trying to get at is that you can't be whole without all four of them together. Does that make any sense? They all lean on each other and balance one another out. I like that.

Penn. Did anybody else want to strangle that girl/monster/siren? Okay. Did anybody just want to strangle all of the sirens? Even though I feel sorry for them, man I wished Gemma could have done something to them. They just irk me. And it irks me when I feel sorry for them. Why must I have this conflict inside of me?

I can totally relate to Harper. She is the embodiment of me. We could be the same person (Anybody need an actress for Harper? CALL ME!). All of her goals, feelings, well...life, is me. I have finally found myself in a story that I didn't write myself. Holy crap. That is just amazing! :D

The cover. Isn't it just pretty? I love covers and this one is definitely one of my favorites. A little girl at my aunt's daycare even loved it (She's 3 and really jealous of the model's hair. She wants hair like that she told me. She also wonders why the girl is swimming in a dress. That's silly). And the cover also turns into a handy dandy poster. Even more gorgeousness.

Can I just say that there was no love triangle? Yes? NO LOVE TRIANGLE! *Throws confetti into the air and dances* WOO HOO!

The ending. Cliffhanger. Why? Amanda Hocking, you left me hanging like Rick Riordan.

The Watersong Series Continues with

Lullaby

Coming Winter 2013

I seriously hope that means January, February, or March. It better not be November or December. I might what little sanity I am holding onto if I have to wait longer. I think all authors have a secret meeting where they get together, drink coffee, and discuss how they plan on making their fans lose their minds. I believe it. How else can we explain the precious hold of sanity I have left?

So this book is definitely worth the 5 stars. If you want something new, something exciting, something totally flipping amazing, pick this book up. It's pretty and you won't regret it. Seriously I mean it. Pick it up. Jump into the world of the Watersong. This book will call to you like the sirens.

Review by Calypso