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.
Release Date: August 7, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Edition: Hardcover, 309 pages (read: ARC)
Genre: Paranormal
Interest: Author
Source: Publisher (Raincoast Books)
Wake was a really entertaining paranormal read. While I’ve definitely noticed an increase of mermaids in paranormal YA, this is one of the few books I’ve read featuring sirens–the more dangerous, more deadly relatives of the mer-people. Can I just say that the mythology behind the sirens in this book was fascinating? I wish Hocking would have expanded a lot more on it because it was kinda brilliant.
Wake’s weakest point is probably the writing. It’s pretty basic and serves to push the story along but isn’t something you admire or are jealous of. There was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing, and the writing focuses a lot more on action than words. However, Wake is written in third-person, which was really nice. It’s so nice to have a story told to you rather than experience it through a character’s eyes sometimes, and Hocking pulls it off.
Gemma and Harper, the two main characters, were alright. Gemma was sort of entitled and didn’t realize all the amazing things she had going for her. She does toughen up a bit when she has to make some big decisions, but I liked Harper a lot more. Harper’s a bit of a stock character–taking on a lot of responsibility after her mom can’t do it anymore, overworking herself, etc. etc. And her love interest is also a cliche, the opposite of her, encouraging her to chill out and ya know. Again, the characters are almost just a way to push the plot forward.
Wake is an interesting start to a new four book series by Amanda Hocking. I will be reading the sequels and if you’ve liked any of her previous books you should definitely check this one out!
i think wake was one of my favourite books. At first i was worried that it wouldn’t live up to the standerds of her other books in the trylle trilogy which were amazing but actually it was just as good if not better. cant wait untill lullaby comes out in November. I liked the relationship between Alex and Gemma it added a nice romantic touch to the story. It’s very good and worth reading.
I’m glad you liked it!