Callie Bates

'Jump on the wagon now, because I think Bates is an author well worth watching' Robin Hobb It's been fourteen years, since King Antoine took Elanna hostage. Fourteen years since her father's rebellion failed. Fourteen years spent being raised by the man who condemned her people to misery. A man she's come to love as a father. Now 20, Elanna is about to be taken prisoner once again... but this time by her father's mysterious righthand man. Her father wants to reignite his rebellion, this time using Elanna as figurehead. He will tell his followers she is the legendary Wildegarde reborn, a sorceress who could make the very earth tremble. But what no one knows is that magic really does flow through Elanna's veins. Now she must decide which side she's on, and whether she'll use her powers for mercy... or revenge. A bold and gorgeous fantasy featuring a brilliant heroine on the cusp of womanhood, The Waking Land is the first of a trilogy that will delight fans of The Red Queen, Six of Crows, and Court of Thorns and Roses. ~*~*~Wildegarde came bearing a flame in her heart and her hair crowned with the pale light of stars. Where she placed her feet, the earth trembled. Where she raised her hand, mountains moved.~*~*~

The Waking Land

"A young girl is kidnapped by the king to punish her father's rebellion against him. Years later, she returns home a fugitive, while grappling with a repressed magic that could, if mastered, make her the most powerful person in two kingdoms"--

The waking land

It's an enjoyable book. Nothing extraordinary but a good story and I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the same series.

Moa Mattbäck

Laura Kehoe

Original review posted on The Book Unicorn

Actual rating 3.5

The Waking Land tells the story of Elanna, a young woman who is taken from her family at a young age and held hostage in an enemy country. There are so many great things about this book: an interesting magic, plenty of strong and developed characters, a rich history...the list goes on and on. And for the most part, I really enjoyed all of it. But there were a few parts that didn't quite mesh with me, so I felt like I couldn't give it a full 4 or 5 star rating. As much as I liked parts of it, I just didn't love it. 

That beginning was fantastic. Right from the prologue I was completely drawn in. I couldn't wait to learn more. Then the story got going and I started to lose a bit of interest. Things just began to seem a little too cliché and stereotypical of young adult fantasy. I love many of the young adult tropes, but sometimes they just don't work well. Towards the end I warmed back up though and began to really enjoy myself. In the end, even though I felt like the last few chapters were kind of rushed, I was left feeling pretty good about what I'd read. I definitely needed more closure and explanation at the end though. 

As you all know, characters are the biggest thing for me. No matter how interesting a world is, if there aren't equally interesting characters, it's really hard to stay engaged. And I think that for the most part, the characters in this book were pretty solid. I would have liked a little more back story for a few of them, but overall I was satisfied. Elanna was especially good in my opinion. So despite some of my misgivings about the plot, I feel like the characters often saved the book for me.

So basically, this was a good book. Not great, but good. There were a fair amount of common tropes, which kind of worked, although sometimes got on my nerves. And sometimes I feel like the plot didn't quite work. But, overall, I'm glad I read this book. There were some truly good parts that made me smile and tugged on my heartstrings. So would I recommend it? Probably, if you know you like young adult fantasy and are okay with a relatively stereotypical plot. It's worth checking out for yourself.

Imie Kent-Muller

The Waking Land was an enjoyable read; it had some really cool elements of mythology and discussion. This, however, is sometimes lost due to the pacing of the book and the multitude of information Bates tries to fit into one small book – including the lack of connection with characters because there were so many! I do recommend it as a good fantasy read, just make sure you keep paying attention otherwise you will lose your place!

Full Review: https://mythicreader.wordpress.com/20...

Sheila Goicea

The full review can be viewed on my blog along with others at: Shesgoingbookcrazy.com

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.


  
    All plants are ordinary, until I touch them. All my life, I've had to hid what happens when I touch anything that comes from the earth--plants, stones, trees, soil, orchids.
  


Elanna Valtai, the daughter of a wealthy Caerisian family, doesn't know much of her homeland. She hasn't lived there for many years. Taken from her home and family at a young age, she was raised in the enemy's courts as "insurance" that her father wouldn't head up an uprising again. 

Contrary to what she wants to believe, Elanna has an uncanny connection to the land. She feels the soil beneath her feet, the whispers of growth around her. When she touches a flower, it thrives in health. But magic is forbidden in the realm in which she is prisoner---but has also come to love as her rightful home. She was treated well, cared for, and allowed to study botany. 

Nothing was amiss until the king, her surrogate father, suddenly falls ill and dies. Come to find out, he had been poisoned. Because of her association to botany, she suddenly finds herself being blamed for the King's murder, and sets to escape her impending punishment.

Fleeing back to her homeland, she realizes that she must face the truth, along with the magic connecting her to the land. 

-----------------------------

The plot pacing resembled a valley between two hills. 



(Did you like the metaphor? I thought it was rather clever.)

The beginning was so enticingly gorgeous, but then it just fell off from there and plateaued for the entire bulk of the body. The end ramped up again so fast, that I wanted for it to last for much longer than it had! I feel like if the end was paced out over the rest of the book, it would have been a full star's worth (or more) of an improvement.

This world has a lot of history. One also can't deny that this world was well deeply considered and thought out. However, as stated before, it needed more time to be processed and divulged.  

Elanna, frankly, drove me nuts. She was so back and forth with wanting, or not wanting her magic, meeting her parents again, and just about everything else. 

  
    I'm supposed to be safe here, safe to taunt myself with a magic I am not supposed to possess. A magic I still don't understand.
  

In a way, if she didn't want to become the Steward of the Land, then I might sympathize because she didn't really have a choice. However, she needed to just deal with her lot in life because she clearly desired to use her magic. 

Speaking of being the Steward (which was basically taking the title of "queen") and "wedding the land" was odd. Basically, she made love with a guy in the dirt and became attached to it. I just really didn't care for that entire portrayal. It reminded me a lot of Tamlin's Spring "mating" in  A Court of Thorns and Roses. No thank you. It was almost like the author was trying include fornication into the book somewhere and landed on that. 

In regards to characters; there were many of them. I kept getting a few of them mixed up, and never really understood their roles because of this happening. 

Bates is clearly a talented author. The book is beautifully written, and was unique in it's ideas. The premise of the story was so enticing, but it just didn't meet my expectations. I think if the text had somehow been rearranged, it would have been a more engaging read throughout its entirety. 

Vulgarity: I believe there is some, but it is minute.
Sexual content: Yes - the odd "wedding the land" scene. 
Violence: Some. There is a war between nations, and lots of palm slashing for ritualistic behaviors and summonings.

3 stars. 

A big thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!

Naomi Verkleij

Nickie Mohler

Elanna was taken from her family when she was a small child. She has grown up as the king's ward. He is like a father to her. When the king is murdered, she is the one accused. She must flee or die. She must go home to the family she hasn't seen in years. She must learn to use magic forbidden by the king. She must free her homeland. I liked this book, some of the characters, and the magic. It was just a bit slow in spots. I received a copy from Net Galley.

Lottie oliver

Hey Guys!

Happy January! I hope you all had a great Christmas and a brilliant New Year. How do you spend your New Years Eve? What about your reading goal for the next year?

Mine had increased. Going to focus mainly on books and get my posts like this out there. So to start it off this year I have been reading this lovely little book. The Waking Land by Callie Bates. What a treat.

Here's a brief synopsis.

Lady Elanna Valtai is fiercely devoted to the King who raised her like a daughter. But when he dies under mysterious circumstances, Elanna is accused of his murder and must flee for her life.

Returning to the homeland of magical legends she has forsaken, Elanna is forced to reckon with her despised, estranged father, branded a traitor long ago. Feeling a strange, deep connection to the natural world, she also must face the truth about the forces she has always denied or disdained as superstition powers that suddenly stir within her.

But an all-too-human threat is drawing near, determined to exact vengeance. Now Elanna has no choice but to lead a rebellion against the kingdom to which she once gave her allegiance. Trapped between divided loyalties, she must summon the courage to confront a destiny that could tear her apart.

Now, I always endeavour to be honest in my reviews as I feel there would be no point to them otherwise. I loved this book. Well, the last 200 pages or so. The pace of the first 10 chapters was so incredibly slow. Also with the fact that I found Elanna very naive. I understand that she is supposed to be but put that with a plot that is moving at a pace of a snail.

On the good notes though, after the first 100 pages the pace really picks up and you can blitz through it. I'm not kidding, I read 219 pages in 4 hours... I finished that night. I can't say I got any chores done but what a way to finish a book.

Though the plot is a little obvious this is a good thing in this regard. You want her to be right and to win the war. I would have never thought that she does this so spectacularly but I think I would surrender if I came up against her in battle. Though the plot is obvious, there were a few things that I wasn't expecting. Though there are things that I feel shouldn't have happened, not that they weren't necessary but that it was unfair on the character, this also gives you hope. The whole story has this hope and urgency to succeed. There are sections where you can only watch to devastation happen. There is nothing you can do about this and its almost like watching all of this happen from the outside of a glass box.

After everything she goes through, she becomes a very likeable person and someone you know you can trust. She grows up and is almost forces to grow up and command an army. You also start to sympathise with her and hope that things don't get any worse for her. You want one thing to go right, for her to have that little bit of happiness.

The next bit of great news that we have is that the second one will be out in May 2018!! Memory of Fire is the second book in the series so keep your eyes peeled and make sure you give this a read. As far as a rating I'm going to give it 4 stars! I loved it but there is room for improvement.

Jolie

The Waking Land is one of those books that pull you in from the explosive first page and will not let you up for air until the intense end. A book with vivid writing, memorable characters and a storyline that will stir your imagination.


I was very impressed with the world building that this author did. It was fantastic and it definitely brought more to the story. In any other book, it might have come across as heavy but in The Waking Land, it worked. The author took her time with the back story, which honestly, a lot of authors don’t do. She took the time to explain the history of Elanna’s people and the people who raised her. She also took the time to explain, but not in-depth, how the countries across the ocean operated. Everything was explained and had a back story, which again might but some people off but I loved it. I need to know everything about everyone in a book and when stuff is left unexplained, it turns me off the book.

The character building in this book was just as good as the world building. Every character was like an onion (and yes, I know I have used this term before) and when one layer came off, another was revealed. Again, like I said above, a flushed out, relatable character is what makes the book. Personally, if I read a book where the character is one-dimensional and lacks in personality, then I will not give that book a high rating. Even if the storyline is great. Because the characters make the book and I won’t be lying when I say that these characters absolutely make the book.

Elanna was such a complex character. She had been taken from her parents by the king and was held hostage to make sure her father and his cohorts would not attempt another attempt to overthrow the throne. So, it was believable that she became completely loyal to the king in the 14 years that she had been away from her parents. Completely believable because she was indoctrinated against the country that she came from. Which was sad, considering what she was to that country. She was totally against them, thanks to being told that they were beneath her for years. But, I liked reading her gradual change of heart towards her countrymen. Starting with being helped by Hugh, Finn, and Alistair while on the run, her change of heart was gradual but after events that had her mother imprisoned and herself scheduled for death, it was complete.

The magic she wielded was insanely powerful. I really didn’t understand how powerful until the end of the book. To be perfectly honest, I really thought that she would be more of a figurehead in the revolution than to actually wield powerful magic and basically win the war against Loyce. So seeing Elanna wield her magic after awakening it was powerful.

The relationship between Jahan and Elanna did keep me guessing for a bit. I couldn’t tell if he was into her or if he was using her to get information. It really bugged me too because they were so similar. He was a sorcerer and she had magic that I can’t even begin to explain.

Elanna’s relationship with her parents was very complex and I can’t even begin to describe it. All I can say is that relationship is the catalyst for the last half of the book. You have to read the book to actually find out how complex it is.

The end of the book was great. All of the storylines were wrapped up but I did detect an opening for a 2nd book? I do hope that there is a 2nd book. There are some questions about the kingdoms over the sea that I would like answered.

How many stars will I give The Waking Land: 4

Why: Awesome storyline with great characters.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Older Teen

Why: Sex and violence

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Wren Hardwick

ARC in exchange for an honest review

I was skeptical about this book when I read the synopsis. There’s a girl who has it all and then all of a sudden she doesn’t and then she has to lead the rebellion. To me, it kind of seems done, but I also kind of love a broken person rising above it all and becoming the reason the world changes. So I requested, I got, and... I didn’t love it. 

Don’t get me wrong, it was unique in some of its concepts and it was written with beautiful lyrical words. But some of it was... I’m not sure; I just wasn’t on board for it. And some I never quite grasped the concept on what in the world was going on. 

Half the time I was retracting because there were just a lot of things to remember. There were a ton of kingdoms and characters and I didn’t fall in love with any of them. There’s a line between giving a ton of information to grow the world you want the reader to explore and just information explosion.

And, as I said, I just didn’t fall in love with any of the characters. Actually, the main character kind of annoyed me with her bipolar feelings (and I read that a lot of other people felt the same way so I know I am not just crazy). And her, like “super power” was never really explained and it was kind of weird. 

The author has a way with words, but I feel this world could have been explained better. I will read other books by this author as she grows as a writer because I can feel the potential in her words.

The Waking Land

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