August 8, 2012

Review: Wake

Wake Book One of the Watersong series
By Amanda Hocking
Available now from St. Martin's Griffin
Review copy

Gemma loves to swim.  She's at swim practice everyday, swimming in the bay at night, and a potential Olympian.   Her older sister, Harper, worries about her midnight swims.  She's been watching out for Gemma since their mother had a traumatic brain injury.  In a few months she'll be at college and no longer able to keep an eye out.  And there is reason to worry since several local boys have gone missing.

Penn, Thea, and Lexi are three incredibly beautiful girls who have come to the tourist town for the summer.  But there's something creepy about them.  Gemma always stays away when they're partying on the beach during one of her swims.  Until one day something happens and she gives in, waking up the next day hungover and bruised.  Something happened to her that night, and now she's changing.

WAKE is the first book by Amanda Hocking to be traditionally published since her phenomenal success with self-publishing.  It's also the first book I've read by Hocking, despite downloading a few of her earlier books.  I enjoyed it and can see why she's become so popular.  WAKE is a fast read that incorporates many young adult urban fantasy tropes while cleverly twisting a few.

I particularly liked that all of the main characters - Gemma, Harper, and their love interests - weren't drawn to Penn's group despite thinking they were dangerous.  They do their best to stay away because they know something isn't right with those girls and they have a sense of self-preservation.  I also liked that Gemma never denies something supernatural is happening to her.  She might not know what it is, but she tries to figure out more about her transformation immediately instead of denying the obvious.

I wished the love interests, Alex and Daniel, got a little more pagetime.  They seem like decent guys and they had chemistry with Gemma and Harper, respectively, but I wanted WAKE to delve deeper into who they were behind the flirtatious banter.  (Daniel does do this, a little.)  Both male love interests being human was also refreshing.

I think WAKE was a good start to the Watersong series, even if it ended a bit abruptly.  Book Two, LULLABY, should be out November 27, so it's not like there's going to be a long wait.  I am looking forward to reading it because I want to know how everything turns out!

In addition to urban fantasy fans, I think WAKE might appeal to all the girls watching the Olympics this summer.  Considering fifteen-year-old Katie Ledecky went to the Olympics in the 800-meter freestyle after breaking the previous trial record and then took home the gold, it's an exciting time for young women who love swimming.

10 comments:

  1. I was a very serious swimmer as a teen, and I can say with all honesty that this book would have appealed to me then... but it does nothing for me now. I sacrificed a lot of my life to the pool, and I don't know that I would enjoy going back to that, even in a book. Very interesting premise though, and I think you're right in that it will appeal to teens.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can understand that. Obviously not my situation, but makes sense to me.

      Delete
  2. Like you, I downloaded Hocking's earlier self-pubbed work. She wrote with abandon then, very earnest and passionate, and I wondered what she would do with a traditional pub and editor. Would they tone her down, water her down? (No pun intended re: swimming...!) This definitely sounds intriguing, still in her wheelhouse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will have to read the earlier work to compare. I did enjoy how WAKE was written, which implicitly means I approve of the editing.

      Delete
  3. I haven't read anything by this author, but I'm glad you enjoyed this one. That's cool it fits into the Olympics...I'm a fan of watching the swimming myself (that and gymnastics).

    =Lauren

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The swimming is one of my favorite events to watch, especially when they use the underwater camera. (Dolphin kick, yes.) I like watching gymnastics too, as well as track and field, and fencing. Oh, and the indoor cycling, because that stuff is insane.

      Delete
  4. Whoa, that is quick for the second book! I'm glad you like the characters but boo about the love interests falling a bit flat. I love the theme of water though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is. It seems like St. Martin's is playing with shorter release schedules lately. They're doing something similar for Alyson Noel's new series and the Capital Girls series.

      Delete
  5. I really want to read this!

    www.beautyandthearmageddon.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting! To reduce spam I moderate all posts older than 14 days.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...