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itabar's review against another edition
1.0
I deserve 10 fucking stars for getting 3/4 of the way in. The heroine, who starts as a whiny entitled cock-sure immature brat shows zero growth and gets even more annoying as the book progresses. I stuck with it, thinking it would get better, but sadly, no. Worse, she does some incredibly stupid, avoidable things, like, oh, start a WAR. Some of the 1 and 2 star reviews detail the flaws. I'm done thinking about this.
I listened to this book. Maybe it wouldn't have been as agonizing if I'd read it.
I listened to this book. Maybe it wouldn't have been as agonizing if I'd read it.
rmyd42's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. The first half was slow and didn't know what it wanted to be. The romance felt forced, the pacing was weird, and Elanna was an irritating POV character. And then the second half started and it became very exciting and everyone had conviction and purpose. If you can make it through the wishy-washy part, the end is worth it.
paintfairy's review against another edition
Sometimes you have to read half way through a book to realize you don’t care 🤷♀️
tigermuffin's review against another edition
1.0
The cover is attractive. I wanted to like this, of course.
shrimpybear's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 probably. I got this at the library because the cover is so amazing and enchanting! I think the pacing was a bit slow and some things and dialogue a bit too obvious-- or alternatively, the narrator takes for granted things that were not apparent to me at all-- but a lot of really interesting concepts and worldbuilding. I had to finish it and I did enjoy it!
caughtbetweenpages's review against another edition
I just couldn't get into it. While the plot may have come around to an interesting place (and in fact, seemed to be ramping up) I just couldn't get over how flat the characters were. There was little in the way of realistic emotional buildup between anyone and I didn't believe in any of the character relationships, and no amount of political intrigue or magical lore can make up for not caring about the characters.
gummifrog's review against another edition
2.0
I tried so hard to finish this book, I really did. But it's been almost 7 months and I looked at my page count and thought, "I can't do it." The Waking Land is officially my first DNF.
I am shocked at how boring this book was. It has a gripping pitch - I love magic and even political fantasy has it's appeal to me. But there were so many name drops and the MC's inner dialogue just dragged on and on. The atmosphere and descriptions of magic were beautiful, but there were so many characters and places to keep track of. I'd just rather spend my time reading something I'd be having more fun with.
I am shocked at how boring this book was. It has a gripping pitch - I love magic and even political fantasy has it's appeal to me. But there were so many name drops and the MC's inner dialogue just dragged on and on. The atmosphere and descriptions of magic were beautiful, but there were so many characters and places to keep track of. I'd just rather spend my time reading something I'd be having more fun with.
librarybookfamily's review against another edition
2.0
I'd heard good things about this book and started it quickly. But I didn't love it. Too much of the writing focused on the main character's thoughts. I get that the author wanted to showcase how her opinions of each country changed over the course of the book. But it was relentless and didn't stay consistent.
There were also a lot of characters. Some of them were important and other seemed totally random. Have I mentioned how much I hate love triangles for the sake of adding unimportant drama? Yeah. This book has one of those. Blech.
Loved the idea of elemental magic and fast transit. Didn't love the wed the land aspect. Loved the northern people. Rhia and her auntie were my favorite characters.
Interesting premise, strong start and finish. The middle seemed like a huge mess of emotions and plots. I probably wouldn't recommend it.
There were also a lot of characters. Some of them were important and other seemed totally random. Have I mentioned how much I hate love triangles for the sake of adding unimportant drama? Yeah. This book has one of those. Blech.
Loved the idea of elemental magic and fast transit. Didn't love the wed the land aspect. Loved the northern people. Rhia and her auntie were my favorite characters.
Interesting premise, strong start and finish. The middle seemed like a huge mess of emotions and plots. I probably wouldn't recommend it.
jessiethelion's review against another edition
2.5
I wanted to really like this book, but the writing is all over the place and it leans a little too heavily into YA romance tropes. I feel like I got whiplash from Elenna and Jahan.