Tagged: amanda hocking
Wake by Amanda Hocking
(Cover picture courtesy of Effortlessly Reading.)
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.
After the disaster that was Hollowland I felt a little more hopeful about Wake. Zombies clearly aren’t Amanda Hocking’s strength but mythical creatures like trolls definitely are. That’s why I thought she could handle sirens a little better than Elisa Freilich. Unfortunately that was not the case.
I felt like banging my head against the wall because in the beginning nothing happened. Really, the first 200 pages of this 300 page book were spent setting up Gemma and Harper’s lives in their small town. We don’t actually get any siren action until the very last chapters of the novel and then it ends on a cliffhanger that’s just shameless. I mean, really? Ending the book just when it gets to the point of the whole Watersong series is just crass commercialism.
Despite the slow pacing I did like some of the characters. Harper, the over-protective older sister is my kind of character. (Myself being the aforementioned over-protective older sister.) I love her struggle with her attraction toward Daniel and the mind vs. heart idea behind it all. I can completely identify with that. However, Gemma’s relationship Alex is just so…awkward. It’s awkward even for teenage love, believe me. It’s like they don’t really have anything in common besides the fact that Alex is Harper’s friend and it’s awkward to have your friend dating your little sister.
Once we finally got the explanation for the sirens I was interested. Amanda Hocking did a great job with the backstory, but it was too little too late. The book was well past the hope of salvation, despite the obvious effort that was put into developing a realistic backstory for the sirens. Their cynical attitude toward men was fascinating and sort of understandable given the circumstances; I just wish we had gotten to know them on a deeper level sooner.
Basically: meh. So much potential, but I was so let down.
I give this book 2.5/5 stars.
Look What Just Arrived! (#12)
Yes, I bought more books! And I received some for my birthday, which was on Sunday. So what are some of the new books I have?
- Thirst No.3 by Christopher Pike
- Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
- Darklight by Lesley Livingston
- Wake by Amanda Hocking
- Othello by William Shakespeare
- Hidden by Sophie Jordan
The book I was most excited about out of all six of these was the one I got for my birthday: Emperor of Thorns. I actually just finished it today and there’ll be a review up soon. I don’t want to spoil anything, but Jorg is up to his usual tricks in the last book in the trilogy. Othello was a book I ordered from Amazon because I won a $20 gift card in one of The Masquerade Crew’s many contests. I used to hate Shakespeare but I find that when I read it on my own without analyzing every single line I quite enjoy it. Also: Iago is an awesome villain.
The other books I received were either second or third books in series, but Wake by Amanda Hocking is a completely new book to me. I’d seen it on bookstore shelves previously but was waiting to find a paperback version to give it a try. I’ve read it already and let’s just say I have mixed feelings about it.
Well, that’s what I’ve been reading lately. So what have you been reading? Do you see anything you like here?
Hollowland by Amanda Hocking
(Cover picture courtesy of Amanda Hocking’s Blog.)
“This is the way the world ends – not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door.”
Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way – not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.
After enjoying Amanda Hocking’s Trylle trilogy, which was admittedly light reading but still good, I decided to give Hollowland a go. I mean, it’s about zombies and it was free on Amazon at the time so why not? I had already read Amanda Hocking’s work and liked it so it seemed like it would be a winner.
Except it wasn’t. The plot was so cliché that I could pretty much predict all of the plot twists. And certain elements were so unbelievable that I have to laugh. A pet lion, really? Even if it was tame before the apocalypse, it certainly would not have stayed tame after Remy freed it from a bunch of zombies. Okay, if I suspend disbelief on that front long enough I still find the rest of the plot either trite or unbelievable.
Harlow is thirteen but is so immature you would think she’s eight years old, Remy knows how to get things done but is an unemotional robot and Lazlo is just plain annoying. I don’t want to spoil too much, but the fact that Remy’s little brother is taken by the government for immunity testing and Remy wasn’t is just a little unbelievable considering they’re siblings and therefore could share the same DNA that makes them immune.
The characters were unlikeable and the plot was, well, nonexistent. Remy and the gang do a bunch of travelling and get chased by zombies a couple of times, find the quarantine zone and just relax until the very end. Trust me, you can predict what happens at the end by chapter two. Honestly, I would have expected quite a lot more from Amanda Hocking, considering that I enjoyed her Trylle trilogy. Sure, it was a little predictable and there were a few clichés, but there was nothing on the level of Hollowland.
Moving on from the characters and the plot, I did find one good thing about Hollowland: the zombies. The zombies are more of the 28 Days Later fast zombie type than the traditional slow type. They display a lot more intelligence than zombies in some books and even lay an ambush for the characters at one point. However, there is exactly zero information on the virus/parasite/whatever that caused the zombies and virtually no backstory about how or when the apocalypse started. It’s frustrating because that’s the one element I actually enjoyed in the story.
Overall? I’d give Hollowland a solid ‘meh’. The zombies are okay, but the characters and plot are either boring or unbelievable.
I give this book 2/5 stars.
Ascend by Amanda Hocking
(Cover picture courtesy of …It’s Always Something…)
Wendy Everly is facing an impossible choice. The only way to save the Trylle from their deadliest enemy is by sacrificing herself. If she doesn’t surrender to the Vittra, her people will be thrust into a brutal war against an unbeatable foe. But how can Wendy leave all her friends behind…even if it’s the only way to save them?
The stakes have never been higher, because her kingdom isn’t the only thing she stands to lose. After falling for both Finn and Loki, she’s about to make the ultimate choice…who to love forever. One guy has finally proven to be the love of her life—and now all their lives might be coming to an end.
Everything has been leading to this moment. The future of her entire world rests in her hands—if she’s ready to fight for it.
To tell you the truth, I had very serious doubts about Ascend as I was reading. Things weren’t going the way I expected (and wanted) them to and it really looked like things were going to turn out badly. By badly, I mean it seemed like it would turn out to be the last act of Tosca. Amanda Hocking really does know how to manipulate her reader’s emotions and since I’m not usually very emotionally involved in a novel, this was a refreshing change!
Wendy surprised me constantly, but in good ways. Her temper that often flared up in Switched? Controlled. Her trying to put love before duty in Torn? Gone, for the most part. Wendy has finally matured as a character and in Ascend, she becomes the Princess everyone knows she would be. She thinks with her head, but also allows her heart to guide her. She knows that her duty to all of Trylle supersedes the own longings in her heart. Very, very few female protagonists in YA are like this and that’s why Wendy is one of my new favourite heroines.
The final battle felt a bit rushed to me, but then again, I tend to lean more toward books in the 500-600 range (the Trylle series doesn’t surpass 350). Still, what happens at the end makes sense and Amanda Hocking really did work hard on building up the suspense. You know how the climax is also called The Darkest Hour in writing circles? Well, the climax of Ascend really does deserve that title. The ending was satisfying and the best part was that it was not perfectly happy. There’s nothing I hate more than a completely happy ending.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Torn by Amanda Hocking
(Cover picture courtesy of A Beautiful Madness.)
When Wendy Everly first discovered the truth about herself—that she’s a changeling switched at birth—she knew her life would never be the same. Now she’s about to learn that there’s more to the story….
Wendy shares a closer connection to her Vittra rivals than she ever imagined—and they’ll stop at nothing to lure her to their side. With the threat of war looming, her only hope of saving the Trylle is to master her magical powers—and marry an equally powerful royal. But that means walking away from Finn, her handsome bodyguard who’s strictly off-limits…and Loki, a Vittra prince with whom she shares a growing attraction.
Torn between her heart and her people, between love and duty, Wendy must decide her fate. If she makes the wrong choice, she could lose everything—and everybody—she’s ever wanted…in both worlds.
I rarely ever get involved in the typical fangirl Boy1 vs Boy2 debates about love triangles. It’s usually obvious which boy the narrator will choose and besides, I’m not really the type to get fanatical about anything. (Except Harry Potter because I was 9 when I read it. Looking back, I laugh at my fanaticism.) However, I will take a side in the Finn vs Loki debate: Loki.
In Torn, Wendy is even stronger than before, both power-wise and character-wise and we see her moving away from Finn. Why? Finn has chosen his duty as a tracker and bodyguard over his supposed love for her. I say ‘supposed’ because I mean he’s manipulative and a jerk, the kind of guy your mother warns you about and your father threatens violence toward. Besides, Finn has no sense of humour whatsoever whereas Loki is hilarious. Another hour of reading the last book in the trilogy, Ascend will see who wins.
What I really like about Torn is that unlike a lot of second novels in trilogies, it doesn’t drag on as it sets things up for the final battle. Amanda Hocking expands on the Trylle universe and gives us some backstory about Elora and the truth about Wendy’s father. At the same time, she’s not info-dumping and keeps Torn moving along at a fast pace without the usual sagging middle. Finally, an author who knows how to properly pace a novel while having an engaging world!
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.