Book Tour Review/Giveaway: Wake by Amanda Hocking

Wake (Watersong #1)

  by Amanda Hocking

Expected Pub: Aug 7, 2012 by St. Martin’s Press

Beautiful. 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, Thea, and Lexi have caught everyone’s attention, including the eye of practical Harper. But it’s her sister, Gemma, they’ve chosen to be part of their group.

Sixteen-year-old Gemma seems to have it all – carefree, pretty, and falling in love with the boy next door. But her greatest passion has always been the water. She craves late night swims under the stars, where she can be alone yet belong to the sea. Lately she’s had company. Penn, Thea, and Lexi spend their nights dancing, singing, and partying on the cove–and one night Gemma joins them. When she wakes up groggy on the beach the next morning, she knows something has changed.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. As she uncovers the truth about her new mythical powers, Gemma is forced to choose between staying with those she loves or entering a dark world brimming with unimaginable secrets.

Excerpt:

“Watch out!” Gemma screamed, and Harper slammed on the breaks just in time to stop herself from driving over Penn and Thea.

For a minute, neither Harper or Gemma said anything, not that Harper could hear anything over the pounding of her own heart. Penn and Thea just stood directly in front of the Sable, staring through the windshield at them.

When Lexi knocked on window next to Gemma, they yelped in surprise. Gemma glanced back at Harper, as if unsure what to do.

“Roll down the window,” Harper said hurriedly, and Gemma complied. She leaned forward and forced a smile at Lexi. “Sorry about that. We didn’t see you there.”

“It’s no problem.” Lexi smiled broadly, oblivious to the rain pouring down her blond hair. “We were just looking for directions.”

“Directions?” Harper asked.

“Yeah, we got a little lost, and we wanted to go back to the Bay.” Lexi leaned her slender arms on the car and looked down at Gemma. “You know how to get down the Bay, don’t you? We always see you there.”

“Uh, yeah.” Gemma pointed straight ahead of them. “Just go three blocks down, then make a right onto Seaside Avenue. That’ll take you right there.”

“Thanks,” Lexi said. “Will you be down at the Bay tonight?”

“No,” Gemma and Harper said in unison, and Gemma shot her sister a look before going on, “It’s no fun to swim in all this rain.”

“Why not? The water’s still wet.” Lexi laughed at her own joke, but Gemma didn’t say anything. “Oh well. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you around anyway. We’ll keep any eye out for you.”

Lullaby (Watersong, #2) - the second book in the Watersong series follows Harper and  Gemma as they go even deeper into a dark new world.

Coming November 27, 2012

Amanda Hocking : I live in Minnesota with my dog, two cats, two fish, and my roommate/assistant/platonic lifemate, Eric. I actually live in Austin, a.k.a. SPAMTown, USA. They invented SPAM here, and the town is quite proud of it. (Here’s a vlog with a fun tour of the SPAM museum: here.)
I do many things, most of them lame and boring, but the thing I get paid to do is write young adult books.

All three books in my Trylle Trilogy - Switched,Torn, and Ascend - were originally self-published, but were re-released with St. Martin’s and Pan Macmillan internationally with new bonus content in early 2012. The trilogy has also made the USA Today Bestseller list, the New York Times Bestseller list, and was recently optioned for a film by Media Rights Capital with District 9 screenwriter Terri Tatchell adapting the books for screen.
St. Martin’s and Pan Macmillan recently acquired my new young adult four-book series Watersong, with the first book Wake coming out in August 2012. My zombie series, The Hollows, is being adapted into a graphic novel by Dynamite.
I also enjoy Red Bull, Jim Henson, Batman, Jane Austen, Star Wars legos, and I absolutely hate long walks on the beach out of my intense fear/hatred of wet sand.

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Review:


So, at first I was super excited to read this book, and see what kind of excitement Amanda Hocking would put into a mermaid story, but I was mistaken, because although they are similar to mermaids, this book is actually about Sirens- the kind from Greek Mythology, which for me was an even better concept. Greek Myth. is a favorite of mine and the Sirens, have always been an interesting part of Greek Myth.


We start this book with a pretty basic normal start. Two teenage sisters living with their dad, in a seemingly normal life. Although, their mother is in a group home, due to an accident, everything else about them seems normal.


Sister#1 Gemma- is an amazing swimmer, and is basically a fish out of water. She loves to train and swim on a daily basis. Her training and hard work is a way to maybe someday get into the Olympics

Sister#2-Harper- is the older of the two, who will be heading off to college after the summer. She works at the library, and she basically has the mom duties at home, cooking, cleaning, and watching over her younger sister. Even though Gemma is old enough to take care of herself. Harper plays the over protection card with Gemma, and although we know why, she acts up

They live in a ocean front town, that becomes overpopulated with tourist during the summer, and this summer three beautiful girls show up. These girls come across as mysterious and overwhelming at times. Overwhelming in the sense that they basically walk around like they are "it". Of course, they basically are "it" but I'll get into that later...


Gemma is our lead girl and she is all about swimming day and night. She loves the freedom and escape she feels from it, she especially loves night swimming, although most people don't agree of her going out at night, she can't resit. We also see the dynamics of this family and how Harper basically gives up her enjoyment, working hard on household chores, she actually seemed to me, alot older for her age, and barely has a social scene this summer, although there is a semi-love interest, with Daniel, a free spirit of sorts, who is funny and caring. Daniel, who was a funny an enjoyable part of the book. I just wish Harper sees it before it's too late.
They have great banter, together, but deep down inside we know why Harper doesn't want to pursue him, yet.... (hopefully) 



The first part of the story we learn about Gemma, her relationship with her sister(the good and bad) and her sister's bff Alex, he seems like a pretty good guy for Gemma.
Gemma goes out one night and sees the three beautiful girls  dancing around on shore, laughing, singing, and more. Gemma seems a little curious about them, but her sister Harper's words ring off in her head as a reminder to stay away from them but sometimes curiosity will get the better of you and eventually, Gemma is lured into the sirens circle, not fully understanding them, or the ramifications of not listening to what they request from her. Soon, Gemma goes thru changes and must now make choices, and those choices are not always her own. The second part of the story was so much better than the first half of the book, we learn more of the mystery behind what's really going on in this sleepy, oceanfront town, and how frightening Sirens can actually be!



Ok, I'll stop there because I really don't want to spoil it for you. 
Although I enjoyed  Wake, I felt at times the story dragged out a little, in the beginning  and middle, but I did love the ending, the best, because of the action. I mean don't get me wrong, I did enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more from this series.  This book is left with a cliffhanger, but it's not too bad. I look forward to continue on with the series. 
4/5 stars

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