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jaclynder's review against another edition
3.0
The Waking Land started off very promising; there was so much potential! But, the kind of character complexity that I was looking for was ultimately missing.
Lady Elanna Valtai was taken hostage as a young girl when her father tried to launch a rebellion. Over the past 14 years, Elanna has adopted the attitudes of her captors, to the point that she views the king - the man that held a gun to her head - as a father figure. Obviously, Elanna has some issues with her parents. So, when Elanna is accused of murdering the king and reunited with her parents and their people, she is resistant to being part of their movement to crown a new king.
I liked the fact that Elanna had to deal with her own notions about her people and the lies that she has been told over the years. This personal journey was great and I think it was an important part of the story. However, with the amount of time indicating the issues Elanna had with both of her parents, I was left surprised and disappointed that there wasn't more time spent on their relationship. I think The Waking Land would have been a much strong read had more time been given to exploring Elanna's conflicted emotions to her parents. As it stood, I felt that there was very little reason for Elanna to feel as strongly compelled to help her parents as she did. The core issues of their familial relationship were essentially left unresolved.
A more elaborate approach to the relationships between Elanna and other characters would have been beneficial to creating a more interesting main character and fleshed out some of Elanna's internal conflict. That being said, the world created by the author was interesting, especially due to it's environmental connection.
The Waking Land was a promising fantasy debut. Those who value a stronger sense of character development may be somewhat disappointed, but, there's a lot here that will interest fantasy readers.
*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Lady Elanna Valtai was taken hostage as a young girl when her father tried to launch a rebellion. Over the past 14 years, Elanna has adopted the attitudes of her captors, to the point that she views the king - the man that held a gun to her head - as a father figure. Obviously, Elanna has some issues with her parents. So, when Elanna is accused of murdering the king and reunited with her parents and their people, she is resistant to being part of their movement to crown a new king.
I liked the fact that Elanna had to deal with her own notions about her people and the lies that she has been told over the years. This personal journey was great and I think it was an important part of the story. However, with the amount of time indicating the issues Elanna had with both of her parents, I was left surprised and disappointed that there wasn't more time spent on their relationship. I think The Waking Land would have been a much strong read had more time been given to exploring Elanna's conflicted emotions to her parents. As it stood, I felt that there was very little reason for Elanna to feel as strongly compelled to help her parents as she did. The core issues of their familial relationship were essentially left unresolved.
A more elaborate approach to the relationships between Elanna and other characters would have been beneficial to creating a more interesting main character and fleshed out some of Elanna's internal conflict. That being said, the world created by the author was interesting, especially due to it's environmental connection.
The Waking Land was a promising fantasy debut. Those who value a stronger sense of character development may be somewhat disappointed, but, there's a lot here that will interest fantasy readers.
*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
gunnlaugr's review
4.0
I liked the book. But while the story is good and enjoyable, I still found myself frustrated with El and her unwillingness to do things. I guess maybe I couldn’t put myself in that place but I found some of her struggles frustrating because they seemed easily avoidable.
Outside of that it was a good story and interesting take on magic.
Outside of that it was a good story and interesting take on magic.
mat882's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
bonniehoyt1's review against another edition
I forgot I was listening to this book and started another. Now I’m not sure I even remember the 3-4 hours of audio I listened to.
frankenbookie's review against another edition
1.0
So much potential, but I just couldn't get attached to the characters or the story.
rhiareads's review against another edition
4.0
See more reviews on my blog rhiareads.
I actually received an arc of this in May's illumicrate box, then promptly dropped it down the side of my bed and forgot about it (by accident, obviously) so it's taken me until now to read it!
Now I've finally got around to reading it, I really enjoyed this book! Elanna is a really strong character and I really liked her voice in the narrative. I also liked the writing and I thought the plot was really interesting - although I'm starting to get a little sick of fantasy novels where the monarchy is awful and there's a big revolution.
I especially like the magic system - even though the magic doesn't come to very many people in the story, it's so important to the plot, and I love the way the author has written it. I also liked that although this is apparently going to have a sequel, it's tied up well enough that it could stand alone instead.
I actually received an arc of this in May's illumicrate box, then promptly dropped it down the side of my bed and forgot about it (by accident, obviously) so it's taken me until now to read it!
Now I've finally got around to reading it, I really enjoyed this book! Elanna is a really strong character and I really liked her voice in the narrative. I also liked the writing and I thought the plot was really interesting - although I'm starting to get a little sick of fantasy novels where the monarchy is awful and there's a big revolution.
I especially like the magic system - even though the magic doesn't come to very many people in the story, it's so important to the plot, and I love the way the author has written it. I also liked that although this is apparently going to have a sequel, it's tied up well enough that it could stand alone instead.
alisylvi's review against another edition
3.0
I bet I would have adored this book if I read it two years ago, but reading it now, no. The book wasn’t bad or anything, it just felt like I had read it before. I think I liked it actually.
+ totally a cover buy
+ totally a cover buy
zeef33's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
lualilfaris's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75