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factandfables's review
3.0
I liked the plot of this book a lot, but it took me forever to get into it. Overall, it was a good book, and I certainly want to read the rest of the trilogy, but I found much of Elanna's internal conflicts and personal interactions to be forced and uncomfortable.
suleika's review
3.0
*ecopy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Ok, where do I start... it wasn't horrible but definitely not the best. I think mainly my main problem with the book was that I did not like the main character like at all. I kept thinking I would eventually like her but unfortunately it never happened. It also didn't help that the love interest (Jahan) was not very swoon worthy. I didn't fall in love with him as I usually do in all the books I read, he just wasn't book boyfriend material in my opinion. He was kinda shady for a lot of the book and then they are together like super fast. One second she isn't trusting him and thinking he betrayed her and the next everything is A OKAY. The story does have a lot of potential but I was a bit bored a few times, felt like it was too long I guess.
***** Also and this is very important***** I thought this book was YA but there is a graphic scene and I would suggest caution if you have a teen that wants to read it. My teens are definitely not reading this one.
The story did have a few cool elements that involved the magic and how it was explained.
Would I recommend this book? I think many will actually like it, it just wasn't for me.
Ok, where do I start... it wasn't horrible but definitely not the best. I think mainly my main problem with the book was that I did not like the main character like at all. I kept thinking I would eventually like her but unfortunately it never happened. It also didn't help that the love interest (Jahan) was not very swoon worthy. I didn't fall in love with him as I usually do in all the books I read, he just wasn't book boyfriend material in my opinion. He was kinda shady for a lot of the book and then they are together like super fast. One second she isn't trusting him and thinking he betrayed her and the next everything is A OKAY. The story does have a lot of potential but I was a bit bored a few times, felt like it was too long I guess.
***** Also and this is very important***** I thought this book was YA but there is a graphic scene and I would suggest caution if you have a teen that wants to read it. My teens are definitely not reading this one.
The story did have a few cool elements that involved the magic and how it was explained.
Would I recommend this book? I think many will actually like it, it just wasn't for me.
themily394's review
2.0
I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not sure where to start with The Waking Land. There is so, so, so much potential here and I wish I could sit and rave about how great it is... but there are just a few things that ruined it for me. I'll start with the good first because there are good things despite my rating.
First, Bates is a good writer. I loved the idea of the plot, the pacing was well done, and I liked the style. All of those things kept me interested and I honestly found it hard to put the book down. Once I got about halfway into the book, I just couldn't wait to know what was going to happen next. I was invested in the story - not the characters, though, which is disappointing. I'd definitely be willing to pick up another Bates novel based on those things alone.
I also really liked how Elanna's manipulation was portrayed in the beginning. I'm not glad she was manipulated, but instead of instantly being ready to fight for Caeris when she was out of the court, she was confused. I mean, she was taken hostage when she was five! She spent fourteen years being manipulated by the court of Eren and believing she was abandoned by her parents - who wouldn't be confused as hell when she learned that everything was a lie? I actually expected her to kind of go, "I've spent fourteen years waiting for my rescue/revenge/being a spy" because that's what I've gotten from books in the past, so I liked that it wasn't what I got.
Here's where things went wrong - the politics were so confusing and, honestly, a bit of a mess. It took me half the novel to figure out what the hell was going on politically. I think the story would have benefited from being only about Eren and Caeris - I mean, what was the point of having the Empire and Tinan in the story aside from trying to create political conflict and depth that didn't go over well.
And aside from Elanna's manipulation and conflict in the beginning, everything about the characters felt so... thin. Bates barely scratched the surface and I think she did herself a disservice by - as far as I know - making this a standalone. This story revolves around the magic and the characters which didn't get as much page time and depth as they should have. It should have been two books or twice the length because, unfortunately, I wasn't satisfied - I was left wanting more.
And - though this is smaller and may have been personal preference - the use of the terms "double agent" and "lawyer" completely took me out of the story. They felt totally out of place and weird in this story - there weren't any other terms to use?!
To make sense of it all - there's a lot of potential here and I love where Bates attempted to go with the story. She has talent and I will read another of her novels, but the characters in this story needed a chance to grow and the politics straightened out so they're not such a mess. I expected a lot from this and didn't get it.
I'm not sure where to start with The Waking Land. There is so, so, so much potential here and I wish I could sit and rave about how great it is... but there are just a few things that ruined it for me. I'll start with the good first because there are good things despite my rating.
First, Bates is a good writer. I loved the idea of the plot, the pacing was well done, and I liked the style. All of those things kept me interested and I honestly found it hard to put the book down. Once I got about halfway into the book, I just couldn't wait to know what was going to happen next. I was invested in the story - not the characters, though, which is disappointing. I'd definitely be willing to pick up another Bates novel based on those things alone.
I also really liked how Elanna's manipulation was portrayed in the beginning. I'm not glad she was manipulated, but instead of instantly being ready to fight for Caeris when she was out of the court, she was confused. I mean, she was taken hostage when she was five! She spent fourteen years being manipulated by the court of Eren and believing she was abandoned by her parents - who wouldn't be confused as hell when she learned that everything was a lie? I actually expected her to kind of go, "I've spent fourteen years waiting for my rescue/revenge/being a spy" because that's what I've gotten from books in the past, so I liked that it wasn't what I got.
Here's where things went wrong - the politics were so confusing and, honestly, a bit of a mess. It took me half the novel to figure out what the hell was going on politically. I think the story would have benefited from being only about Eren and Caeris - I mean, what was the point of having the Empire and Tinan in the story aside from trying to create political conflict and depth that didn't go over well.
And aside from Elanna's manipulation and conflict in the beginning, everything about the characters felt so... thin. Bates barely scratched the surface and I think she did herself a disservice by - as far as I know - making this a standalone. This story revolves around the magic and the characters which didn't get as much page time and depth as they should have. It should have been two books or twice the length because, unfortunately, I wasn't satisfied - I was left wanting more.
And - though this is smaller and may have been personal preference - the use of the terms "double agent" and "lawyer" completely took me out of the story. They felt totally out of place and weird in this story - there weren't any other terms to use?!
To make sense of it all - there's a lot of potential here and I love where Bates attempted to go with the story. She has talent and I will read another of her novels, but the characters in this story needed a chance to grow and the politics straightened out so they're not such a mess. I expected a lot from this and didn't get it.
fulltimefiction's review
1.0
I decided to read this book during finals period. You know the book is no good when you find yourself preferring to study instead of reading it.
I don't have much to say about The Waking Land. It had potential, lots of it. A girl with magical powers that can wake the land, returning to her homeland to lead a rebellion? As much as cliche this sounds, I actually enjoy these stuff. However, I ended up bored most of the time because this book dragged a lot. Now I know this is a debut and I shouldn't be harsh so I'll keep this review short.
The characters:
We had many characters in this book. Some were okay, others totally forgettable. The main character, Elena, irritated me. She's always lost and no I shouldn't do this, no I shouldn't go there.. all of this was very repetitive and annoyed the hell out of me. The characters were flat and I couldn't connect with any of them. I only liked Sophie but still, not much. The villains were the typical stereotypes, I'm bad because I want power and I'll do anything to get it with no personality whatsoever beyond evil.
The romance:
Oh, the romance... It made me cringe. This is supposed to be a YA fantasy, right? Don't be fooled. It has some graphics.
Now I don't know about you, but I don't like the girl to "propose" especially if she doesn’t know the guy. I didn't feel any chemistry between Elena and Jahan. I didn't hate him but I wasn't swooning. She also wed the land? Sorry, what??
Story and plot:
It would've been better if it was shorter. It stretched a lot and the pacing was off. The real action only started toward the end and by then, I had already lost all interest. If you skipped to the end, you would still understand everything. A bad sign. The plot didn't offer any surprises and I would've said predictable, however, I couldn't even bring myself to guess what will happen. It was just tiring. Others might enjoy this book but it wasn't for me.
There are many plot holes and things that don't make sense. The book was also confusing sometimes. For example, when they escape, they don't cover their trail or do anything to misguide their pursuers. Her friend was able to track them but the royal guard couldn't. Wow.
Writing and world building:
The writing was nothing impressive. There's a lot of skin touching *eye roll*. The same thoughts are repeated all the time. While we read too much about the history, we still barely know anything about the world. The world building was lacking. So much information dropping. I couldn't keep track of all the names and I didn't even try to because I had 0 interest in the story.
The best thing about this book is that pretty cover.
Now I'll be quoting a part of the book's descriptions I found on GR (different editions).
"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."
Now if by the comparison to Red Queen they mean both are bad... then I agree. Oh, the revolution! Silly me.
Common points with ACOTAR? Annoying heroine? (Feyre annoyed me in ACOTAR but now she's alright). Oh.. You mean the spring court and the whole plants and shit like this! But they are not similar in any way.
I haven't read Six of Crows yet but I know they have nothing in common.
"In the lush and magical tradition of Naomi Novik s award-winning Uprooted comes this riveting debut from brilliant young writer Callie Bates whose boundless imagination places her among the finest authors of fantasy fiction, including Sarah J. Maas and Sabaa Tahir."
AM I SERIOUSLY READING THIS??????????????????
Uprooted certainly isn't fast-paced but I enjoyed EVERY minute of it. I loved the characters, the world, the story, everything.
Even though I'm not her biggest fan, SJM nails the world building. Something that was very lacking here.
And Sabaa? You mean AEITA?? I loved it, yes one of my favorite YA fantasy.
This book has nothing to do with these POPULAR books/authors.
I guess this is the new way to promote every new book. I can't guarantee that everyone won't be fooled, though.
arc received via NetGalley
I don't have much to say about The Waking Land. It had potential, lots of it. A girl with magical powers that can wake the land, returning to her homeland to lead a rebellion? As much as cliche this sounds, I actually enjoy these stuff. However, I ended up bored most of the time because this book dragged a lot. Now I know this is a debut and I shouldn't be harsh so I'll keep this review short.
The characters:
We had many characters in this book. Some were okay, others totally forgettable. The main character, Elena, irritated me. She's always lost and no I shouldn't do this, no I shouldn't go there.. all of this was very repetitive and annoyed the hell out of me. The characters were flat and I couldn't connect with any of them. I only liked Sophie but still, not much. The villains were the typical stereotypes, I'm bad because I want power and I'll do anything to get it with no personality whatsoever beyond evil.
The romance:
Oh, the romance... It made me cringe. This is supposed to be a YA fantasy, right? Don't be fooled. It has some graphics.
Now I don't know about you, but I don't like the girl to "propose" especially if she doesn’t know the guy. I didn't feel any chemistry between Elena and Jahan. I didn't hate him but I wasn't swooning. She also wed the land? Sorry, what??
Story and plot:
It would've been better if it was shorter. It stretched a lot and the pacing was off. The real action only started toward the end and by then, I had already lost all interest. If you skipped to the end, you would still understand everything. A bad sign. The plot didn't offer any surprises and I would've said predictable, however, I couldn't even bring myself to guess what will happen. It was just tiring. Others might enjoy this book but it wasn't for me.
There are many plot holes and things that don't make sense. The book was also confusing sometimes. For example, when they escape, they don't cover their trail or do anything to misguide their pursuers. Her friend was able to track them but the royal guard couldn't. Wow.
Writing and world building:
The writing was nothing impressive. There's a lot of skin touching *eye roll*. The same thoughts are repeated all the time. While we read too much about the history, we still barely know anything about the world. The world building was lacking. So much information dropping. I couldn't keep track of all the names and I didn't even try to because I had 0 interest in the story.
The best thing about this book is that pretty cover.
Now I'll be quoting a part of the book's descriptions I found on GR (different editions).
"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."
Now if by the comparison to Red Queen they mean both are bad... then I agree. Oh, the revolution! Silly me.
Common points with ACOTAR? Annoying heroine? (Feyre annoyed me in ACOTAR but now she's alright). Oh.. You mean the spring court and the whole plants and shit like this! But they are not similar in any way.
I haven't read Six of Crows yet but I know they have nothing in common.
AM I SERIOUSLY READING THIS??????????????????
Uprooted certainly isn't fast-paced but I enjoyed EVERY minute of it. I loved the characters, the world, the story, everything.
Even though I'm not her biggest fan, SJM nails the world building. Something that was very lacking here.
And Sabaa? You mean AEITA?? I loved it, yes one of my favorite YA fantasy.
This book has nothing to do with these POPULAR books/authors.
I guess this is the new way to promote every new book. I can't guarantee that everyone won't be fooled, though.
arc received via NetGalley
theespressoedition's review
4.0
This review comes with a bit of a story.
Once upon a time, there was a reader who delighted in fantasy novels and gobbled them up as quickly and ferociously as she could. She had no method to her madness and never documented which books she read. She borrowed them all from the library and rarely purchased new ones. Then she read The Waking Land. It was an excellent book and she loved how unique it was. It was new at the time. A few years later, this same reader wanted to see if there were any more books in the series (because it had quite an open ending). She realized with a start that she couldn't remember the name of the book. She couldn't remember the character names. She couldn't remember the author, either! She could only remember vague portions of the plot and that the cover had a silhouette of a girl filled in with green plants. She felt ridiculous and scoured the internet, searching for every combination of "books with green covers" + "fantasy novel" + "girl who could make the earth come alive." After a fruitless search, she gave up entirely on finding the series. A month later, the reader happened upon an old Pinterest board where she had saved books she wanted to read. Sure enough, there was a photo of The Waking Land! She screeched in delight and was even more excited to find that not only was there a sequel, but there was also a full trilogy! She decided to reread the initial book to remind herself of the plot before moving on to the next book.
That reader is me. It was a lot of work to find this book again and I was really happy that when I reread it, I wasn't disappointed. I've read a lot of great fantasy novels since The Waking Land debuted, but it's still just as excellent as I recalled. I'm looking forward to completing this series, now that I've rediscovered it!
Once upon a time, there was a reader who delighted in fantasy novels and gobbled them up as quickly and ferociously as she could. She had no method to her madness and never documented which books she read. She borrowed them all from the library and rarely purchased new ones. Then she read The Waking Land. It was an excellent book and she loved how unique it was. It was new at the time. A few years later, this same reader wanted to see if there were any more books in the series (because it had quite an open ending). She realized with a start that she couldn't remember the name of the book. She couldn't remember the character names. She couldn't remember the author, either! She could only remember vague portions of the plot and that the cover had a silhouette of a girl filled in with green plants. She felt ridiculous and scoured the internet, searching for every combination of "books with green covers" + "fantasy novel" + "girl who could make the earth come alive." After a fruitless search, she gave up entirely on finding the series. A month later, the reader happened upon an old Pinterest board where she had saved books she wanted to read. Sure enough, there was a photo of The Waking Land! She screeched in delight and was even more excited to find that not only was there a sequel, but there was also a full trilogy! She decided to reread the initial book to remind herself of the plot before moving on to the next book.
That reader is me. It was a lot of work to find this book again and I was really happy that when I reread it, I wasn't disappointed. I've read a lot of great fantasy novels since The Waking Land debuted, but it's still just as excellent as I recalled. I'm looking forward to completing this series, now that I've rediscovered it!
edgoff's review
4.0
Callie Bates awakens readers with her wit and creativity in her debut books The Waking Land.
The complexity of her characters and imagery of her world is what kept me reading.
For me, it was a slow start, but once the main character was betrayed and magic revealed, I became hooked.
After that point I felt the book moved fairly quick.
I enjoyed the read and cannot wait for the next edition to the series, because there has to be another book. I'll be following Callie Bates. She's just getting started!
I received this book from NetGallery in exchange for a free honest opinion.
The complexity of her characters and imagery of her world is what kept me reading.
For me, it was a slow start, but once the main character was betrayed and magic revealed, I became hooked.
After that point I felt the book moved fairly quick.
I enjoyed the read and cannot wait for the next edition to the series, because there has to be another book. I'll be following Callie Bates. She's just getting started!
I received this book from NetGallery in exchange for a free honest opinion.
bigskynavygirl's review against another edition
The main character was extremely mercurial and could never make up her mind about anything and on top of that you knew within maybe 20 pages who the love interest was because of her constant “I hate him but he makes my body feel things” schtick. It’s a really awesome idea for a magic system but the character was annoying as hell.
wolfyreader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
bloodredrache's review
4.0
THE WAKING LAND is a lovely fantasy novel that deftly merges familiar motifs in innovative ways. Elanna, daughter of the head of the rebel forces, has been raised by the king ever since she was kidnapped at a young age. Now that the king has been poisoned, all eyes turn to her as she tries to piece together what is true and what are lies. Bates portrays Elanna's struggle to find where she belongs very carefully--what could have easily been overdramatic teenage angst is instead a seemingly effortless examination of the grief of losing everything.