Review: Wake by Amanda Hocking

Wake

By: Amanda Hocking

Series: Watersong Series

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, Mythology

Length: 309 pages

Synopsis From Goodreads:

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.

My Review:

Rating:

Truthfully, I have had this series sitting on my shelf for a couple of years now just begging to be read, however I have always pushed it aside. The main reason being I am not a big fan of tails about mermaids, but when I saw this series just sitting on a shelf at a used book store the gorgeous covers just drew me in and I figured why not, let's give it a try. Now that we have moved into a new house, I'm having to do a bit of down sizing on my "library" and since then I rediscovered these magnificent books. 

Wake is told in third person from the points-of-view of two sisters; Harper and Gemma. Harper the studious bookworm setting off to college in the fall has watched over her sister Gemma ever since their mother was in a terrible accident. She acts as mother to Gemma and at times I found her character to be a bit annoying and stuck up, especially during her interactions with Daniel the handsome boatsman. 

Gemma on the other hand is a bit of a wild spirit, drawn to the water and always wanting to push the limits. Also, she finds herself having a bit of a thing for the dorky boy nextdoor; Alex. Who also happens to be Harper's best friend. 

At the start of summer three strange girls wash into town; Penn, Lexi and Thea. They captive the men in town and have their eyes set on Gemma. Strange things are happening in the bay, young men are going missing and after one night of hanging out with these three girls Gemma starts to feel strange herself. Little did she know that these girls have cursed her to a life in the ocean. At first Gemma doesn't find the concept to be that bad but she soon finds out that there is so much more to these girls and they enjoy hiding their secrets. 

Now to be honest I was not all that impressed when I first started this book, I found it slow and difficult to get into. But as I stated before mermaid stories have never been my favorite, I have always found them difficult to read. I could never understand why. However, I must say that as the story went on the book became more engaging and I just had to know what happened to Gemma and Harper. The last several chapters really got me hooked. 

Now onto the next chapter, Lullaby!! We shall see how this series ends and if it can change my mind on books about mermaids. 

What are everyone else's thoughts on stories about mermaids? If you have a recommendation please drop it below!! 

Published by: K