Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Review: Wake by Amanda Hocking


 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.

Source: Publisher (Thanks PanMacmillan!)

My Thoughts:

Let me be blunt I'm not a huge fan of this novel.

I'm going to write a different review for this one because I feel like it ...



The Positives


  1. Harper :  I loved Harper! She's Gemma's sister and some chapters are from her point of view. She's a practical and responsible character that I could connect  to easily.My main problem is the fact that she wasn't the main character! Harper had so much more spark than Gemma that I was waiting to read her point of view (POV)
  2. Harper and Daniel's relationship: I loved their friendship or should I call it a flirtation? Gemma and Alex's relationship was awkward but Harper and Daniel's relationship had spark and I wanted more!
  3. Mythology: In my opinion the mythology was interesting and engaging. I wanted to know more about the history and the mythology.
  4. Keeps you interested:There were a lot of times that I was seriously considering just abandoning this book and marking it as  DNF(Did Not Finish) but the author managed to maintain my interest somehow.I'm still surprised I managed to finish this book.
The Negatives


Gemma: I did not like the main character. Gemma irritated me.The fact that she figured out a lot of stuff so quickly really surprised me because I thought she was too dumb .One thing I couldn't get over is the fact that Gemma took a LIFE CHANGING decision after taking advice from her MENTALLY unstable mother.
Image source

Gemma and Alex's relationship: Their relationship was just plain WEIRD. I can think of no better explanation.I felt no spark.The romance was so flat.
They had a conversation which went like this:

Boy:You're pretty
Girl:Did you just call me pretty?
Boy:It kind of slipped out
Girl:...I think you're pretty too!
(*Excuse me for not swooning in delight over the romance *) 

At first I thought that maybe the author is not able to write a proper romance but she is very capable of it. Harper and Daniel barely had a relationship but their friendship/flirtation had spark.I wanted Harper and Daniel to be the main  characters and not Gemma and Alex.

Pace/Story is so slow....: It felt as if for almost 75% of the novel NOTHING was happening and if anything did happen it didn't hold my interest for more than 10 pages..Half the time I was thinking to myself "When will the good part start??" By the time the good part started I was just glad that there was a good part (I hope I'm making sense!)

Voice:I had a little bit of difficulty in understanding whose point of view the story was told from for the first few chapters.I thought it was from Gemma's POV and then there would be two paragraphs from Alex's point of view. Then the next chapter was from Harper's POV and so on. This really confused me.

Overall,I don't think I will be picking up the sequel but if I do pick it up it will be for Harper and Daniel.If you're dying to read this my advice would be to borrow it from the library or a friend.

My Rating:

2/5







10 comments:

  1. A lot of people seem to have mixed feelings on this one. I haven't read it yet, and I honestly don't think I ever will. All of the things you mentioned as negatives, romance, pacing, they're just too important to me while reading. I don't think Wake is the book for me. Thanks for the honest review :)

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  2. BAHAHA That little dialogue quote has me in tears. How romantic and chemistry filled! Lol. I don't think I would like this at all. All the reviews I've read have put me off of it. Plus, I'm not a fan of mermaid books to begin with, and Gemma sounds like a turd. Yep... staying away.

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  3. Hmmmmm. I'm thinking this might not be the book for me. I was so excited about it given all the good things I've heard about Amanda Hocking and that stunning cover, but characters are vital for me. The fact that Gemma is a challenge to like and her relationship with Alex falls flat tells me I can pass on this one. Thanks so much for your thoughts!

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  4. I have had zero interest in reading this book and this review confirms it for me. I know I've read reviews and apparently nothing was said that got me excited about it. Sorry it was kind of a sucky experience for you though!

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  5. After reading Switched, it would take a ton of glowing reviews to make me even consider reading Wake. Not one single review has made me waver at all. If the main character is flat, what's the point?
    Great review!

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  6. This review just confirms my impression of the author.I read Switched by the same author earlier this year and let me pur it this way: It is going to take some very persuasive reviews for me to evner pick up one of her books again. The idea behind the novel was great, sadly the story was badly executed

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  7. It's so hard to enjoy a story where you don't like the main character. I can see why the romance was flat if that quote is anything to go by. I think I'll pass on this one. There are too many amazing books out there to occupy my time without picking this one up. Thanks for the informative and helpful review. :)

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  8. I haven't read this or any other books by Amanda Hocking. Thanks for your thoughts. I've seen mixed reviews on this book so it isn't at the top of my list.

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  9. This was my first Amanda Hocking book. Heard great things about her and all of her books. Gave Wake a chance. Not a fan. At all. It was boring, the characters with the exception of Harper and Daniel, were bland. It just wasn't my thing at all. I might check out the next book and see if it gets better. I might not. We shall see

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  10. I would like to thank you for another really interesting book review, that was most enlightning and interesting to read. Your honest opinions are useful to all who have not (like myself) read the book but are thinking about it, as well as those readers who have and yet would still like to know the opinion of others. Thank you x

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