Publication Date: August 7 2012
Publishing House: Tor
ISBN: 9781447205722
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked
Summary:
Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, The and Lexi have caught everyone's attention, including the eye of practical Harper. But it's her sister, Gemma, they've chosen. Sixteen-year-old Gemma seems to have it all - carefree, pretty and falling in love with the boy next door. But her greatest passion is the water. She craves solitary late-night swims under the stars, were she can belong to the sea. But lately she's had company.
Penn, Thea and Lexi spend their nights dancing and partying on the cove, and one night Gemma joins them. She wakes, groggy on the beach the next morning and knows something has changed. Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster and more beautiful than ever. And as she discovers her new mythical powers, Gemma is forced to choose between staying with those she loves- or entering a dark world brimming with unimaginable secrets.
Review:
Seeing as how I liked the Trylle series, I thought I would give Amanda Hocking's Wake a try although I think I was mostly persuaded by the fact that it had sirens in it.
There are three new girls in town, unnaturally beautiful and persuasive and they have their eyes set on Gemma. When Gemma joins them one night on the beach, she finds herself alone and confused the next morning, stranded on the beach. Soon she finds herself more than she once was and is forced to make a choice, one that will take her away from everyone she loves.
I know Gemma is the main protagonist but I couldn't form any connections with her at all. She kind of lacked personality for me and what managed to vex me was how Gemma managed to figure some things out so quick because to me, she was a bit slow and spoiled, incapable of doing nothing but swimming and worrying her poor sister Her relationship with Alex was unreal and I didn't like how it progressed although they were meant for each other - they were both bland and boring.
Surprisingly, I did like her sister Harper. I would constantly skim through the parts in Gemma's point of view in search for Harper. She's like a mother hen, constantly worried about her sister and her father, not taking any time out for herself and then here comes Daniel, a pretty boy who does odd jobs and lives on a boat, who takes an interest in her. It was adorable reading Harper dance around Daniel's obvious advances. Now Harper's the smart one, the responsible one. the interesting one. And this was a problem for me because Gemma was supposed to be the protagonist. Why is she not interesting?
What's even worse for me are the Sirens, they were supposed to be beautiful, seductive, ethereal. Sure they're powerful, but they came off as hundred-plus-year-old spoiled brats. They were like...Mean Girls except they had powers and ate people for fun.
As for the story itself it wasn't exactly anything special - a girl turning into something supernatural and now has to figure out what to do with herself. There wasn't exactly much to keep me interested, aside from Harper and Daniel's moments. The mythology was decent enough but with the number of books out there incorporating Greek mythology into their storylines, it's just hard to find one that actually stands out. Wake sadly, did not because while Sirens are interesting and all there wasn't any new take on their myth aside from them having to stick together or they die and finding new victims to turn into sirens and living forever. Not to mention I didn't like the Sirens.
If you're a fan of easy, paranormal reads that won't tax your brain much then maybe give Wake a try. Sirens, Greek Mythology and life changing decisions abound in Amanda Hocking's Watersong series.
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked
Summary:
Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, The and Lexi have caught everyone's attention, including the eye of practical Harper. But it's her sister, Gemma, they've chosen. Sixteen-year-old Gemma seems to have it all - carefree, pretty and falling in love with the boy next door. But her greatest passion is the water. She craves solitary late-night swims under the stars, were she can belong to the sea. But lately she's had company.
Penn, Thea and Lexi spend their nights dancing and partying on the cove, and one night Gemma joins them. She wakes, groggy on the beach the next morning and knows something has changed. Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster and more beautiful than ever. And as she discovers her new mythical powers, Gemma is forced to choose between staying with those she loves- or entering a dark world brimming with unimaginable secrets.
Review:
Seeing as how I liked the Trylle series, I thought I would give Amanda Hocking's Wake a try although I think I was mostly persuaded by the fact that it had sirens in it.
There are three new girls in town, unnaturally beautiful and persuasive and they have their eyes set on Gemma. When Gemma joins them one night on the beach, she finds herself alone and confused the next morning, stranded on the beach. Soon she finds herself more than she once was and is forced to make a choice, one that will take her away from everyone she loves.
I know Gemma is the main protagonist but I couldn't form any connections with her at all. She kind of lacked personality for me and what managed to vex me was how Gemma managed to figure some things out so quick because to me, she was a bit slow and spoiled, incapable of doing nothing but swimming and worrying her poor sister Her relationship with Alex was unreal and I didn't like how it progressed although they were meant for each other - they were both bland and boring.
Surprisingly, I did like her sister Harper. I would constantly skim through the parts in Gemma's point of view in search for Harper. She's like a mother hen, constantly worried about her sister and her father, not taking any time out for herself and then here comes Daniel, a pretty boy who does odd jobs and lives on a boat, who takes an interest in her. It was adorable reading Harper dance around Daniel's obvious advances. Now Harper's the smart one, the responsible one. the interesting one. And this was a problem for me because Gemma was supposed to be the protagonist. Why is she not interesting?
What's even worse for me are the Sirens, they were supposed to be beautiful, seductive, ethereal. Sure they're powerful, but they came off as hundred-plus-year-old spoiled brats. They were like...Mean Girls except they had powers and ate people for fun.
As for the story itself it wasn't exactly anything special - a girl turning into something supernatural and now has to figure out what to do with herself. There wasn't exactly much to keep me interested, aside from Harper and Daniel's moments. The mythology was decent enough but with the number of books out there incorporating Greek mythology into their storylines, it's just hard to find one that actually stands out. Wake sadly, did not because while Sirens are interesting and all there wasn't any new take on their myth aside from them having to stick together or they die and finding new victims to turn into sirens and living forever. Not to mention I didn't like the Sirens.
If you're a fan of easy, paranormal reads that won't tax your brain much then maybe give Wake a try. Sirens, Greek Mythology and life changing decisions abound in Amanda Hocking's Watersong series.
Rating:
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