Wake

Title: Wake

Author: Amanda Hocking

Genre: YA/Paranormal/Fantasy

Release Date: August 7, 2012

My Rating:

♥♥♥♡

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.

Via Goodreads

Wake is the first novel in the Watersong series by Amanda Hocking.

Truthfully, I only bought the book because I thought the cover was awesome; the holographic effect is a nice touch.  I had passed this book many times in my local bookstore, but the summary just didn't seem that intriguing.  I recently snatched it up online because of all the buzz online about the series, what with Tidal currently being released.

There seems to be such a plethora of mermaid/siren books out on the shelves (Of Poseidon being my favorite) that Wake seemed pale in comparison.

This book was okay, definitely not head-banging-amazing, but not terrible.  I personally do not like books told from 3rd person omniscient or 3rd person anything; I like to warm up to one character and stay in that character's mind.  Hopping around from person to person results in me becoming very discombobulated and chafed.  It's just not my cup of tea.

With that said, I'd like to explain my other reasons for not loving Wake:

The relationships were not fluid enough for me and felt too superficial.  For example, Harper and Daniel.  Harper was just a stubborn donkey-butt in general and Daniel was too much of a sweetie-pie for her.  Seriously, I felt absolutely no connection between them...I only felt the need to knock some sense into a certain someones head.

Penn, Lexi, and Thea.  Every interaction involving them suggested a bad Lifetime movie, sort of like "Bad Girls Club" meets "Mean Girls."  Totally wrong.

Although, I didn't enjoy the story, I felt empathy for Gemma and *sigh*, yes, Harper.  Their mother's mental condition was a realistic element and it served well in the story.

Overall, I'm giving Wake a 3.5/5 because the story was too trite for my taste, the relationship's were only skin-deep, and everything was just too cheesy.  But this would serve as a 'Meh' quick read.