Eileen's Reviews > Wake
Wake (Watersong, #1)
by Amanda Hocking (Goodreads Author)
by Amanda Hocking (Goodreads Author)
Eileen's review
bookshelves: arc, mythology, owned, physical-book, romance, tour-stop, young-adult
Jul 08, 12
bookshelves: arc, mythology, owned, physical-book, romance, tour-stop, young-adult
Read on July 08, 2012
Check out more of my reviews at ***Singing and Reading in the Rain***!
Wake isn't your normal mermaid book. It isn't a normal mermaid book where the protagonist embraces his/her nature as a mermaid. It's much more creative than that. Wake is an internal battle against what Gemma has become, and she's trying to fight the fact that she's become a siren. I don't know why I haven't read Amanda Hocking's Trylle trilogy because after what I've seen here, I know I want to see more from Amanda Hocking in the very near future. I'm practically itching to get a hold of the next book in the Watersong series, Lullaby.
Another thing I loved about this siren idea was the fact that it was backed up with a myth. The siren concept in Wake was explained exceptionally well and you were never lost. Harper and Gemma are the main characters in Wake, and they each had their own problems. They were flawed, but strong. Harper was only trying to protect Gemma, and Gemma was just trying to do what was right. The supporting characters, mainly the love interests, were so well-developed they were just like main characters.
My favorite character was definitely Daniel. He was Gemma's sister Harper's love interest, and he was just full of snark and sarcasm that I couldn't help but love him. I relished every scene that Daniel was in, and when he wasn't in a scene, I was craving to see him again. It's almost never that I have a favorite character that I haven't gotten to know, but Daniel was so funny I was laughing every time he cracked a joke and I have heard that Amanda Hocking is hilarious, and I kind of have no choice to jump on that bus as well.
I felt the romance between Gemma and Alex was a little forced and happened too quickly, and that resulted in a very subtle form of insta-love. The romance I was really focusing on was Harper and Daniel's. Not only do I love Daniel's hilarious character, they never actually did anything other than talk to each other, but Harper liked Daniel and he was achingly sweet and a great listener. He was a fantastic match to Harper's serious attitude.
What I loved the most about Wake was the way it was written. Amanda featured the main characters' emotions and thoughts, as well as the supporting characters. You were able to really get to know the characters and you knew how they felt. It's written in that type of third person that features many points of views, not that third person that is basically like first person, only instead of "I" words, it uses "he/she" words. I'm usually really reluctant to read books told in third person because it's so hard for me to bond with the characters, but I felt like I was able to bond with the characters.
Wake is full of tension and tough decisions. Gemma has to battle with herself and make the ultimate decision: kill or be killed. Gemma wants to do what's right, especially after she's turned into a siren by Penn, Lexi, and Thea, but it's hard when the other option would be dying herself. In the end, she did the right thing, although I could tell it killed her and she always knew she needed to face it. Wake was wrapped up extremely well, leaving you more than a little anxious for the sequel.
Wake is the perfect novel for anybody who enjoys Greek mythology or mermaids. Fans of Aimée Carter's Goddess Test trilogy or Anna Banks's Of Poseidon will most likely fall in love with the premise and writing of Wake.
Wake isn't your normal mermaid book. It isn't a normal mermaid book where the protagonist embraces his/her nature as a mermaid. It's much more creative than that. Wake is an internal battle against what Gemma has become, and she's trying to fight the fact that she's become a siren. I don't know why I haven't read Amanda Hocking's Trylle trilogy because after what I've seen here, I know I want to see more from Amanda Hocking in the very near future. I'm practically itching to get a hold of the next book in the Watersong series, Lullaby.
Another thing I loved about this siren idea was the fact that it was backed up with a myth. The siren concept in Wake was explained exceptionally well and you were never lost. Harper and Gemma are the main characters in Wake, and they each had their own problems. They were flawed, but strong. Harper was only trying to protect Gemma, and Gemma was just trying to do what was right. The supporting characters, mainly the love interests, were so well-developed they were just like main characters.
My favorite character was definitely Daniel. He was Gemma's sister Harper's love interest, and he was just full of snark and sarcasm that I couldn't help but love him. I relished every scene that Daniel was in, and when he wasn't in a scene, I was craving to see him again. It's almost never that I have a favorite character that I haven't gotten to know, but Daniel was so funny I was laughing every time he cracked a joke and I have heard that Amanda Hocking is hilarious, and I kind of have no choice to jump on that bus as well.
I felt the romance between Gemma and Alex was a little forced and happened too quickly, and that resulted in a very subtle form of insta-love. The romance I was really focusing on was Harper and Daniel's. Not only do I love Daniel's hilarious character, they never actually did anything other than talk to each other, but Harper liked Daniel and he was achingly sweet and a great listener. He was a fantastic match to Harper's serious attitude.
What I loved the most about Wake was the way it was written. Amanda featured the main characters' emotions and thoughts, as well as the supporting characters. You were able to really get to know the characters and you knew how they felt. It's written in that type of third person that features many points of views, not that third person that is basically like first person, only instead of "I" words, it uses "he/she" words. I'm usually really reluctant to read books told in third person because it's so hard for me to bond with the characters, but I felt like I was able to bond with the characters.
Wake is full of tension and tough decisions. Gemma has to battle with herself and make the ultimate decision: kill or be killed. Gemma wants to do what's right, especially after she's turned into a siren by Penn, Lexi, and Thea, but it's hard when the other option would be dying herself. In the end, she did the right thing, although I could tell it killed her and she always knew she needed to face it. Wake was wrapped up extremely well, leaving you more than a little anxious for the sequel.
Wake is the perfect novel for anybody who enjoys Greek mythology or mermaids. Fans of Aimée Carter's Goddess Test trilogy or Anna Banks's Of Poseidon will most likely fall in love with the premise and writing of Wake.
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