Reviews

Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer

donnaburtwistle's review against another edition

4.0

Connect the mafioso and shapeshifters, desended from Greek mythology, and you have the premise for this novel. I really grew to like this novel and especially enjoyed the development of the relationship between the two main characters of Rosa and Alessandro. Both are next in line to lead rival families on the island of Sicily, but are also hiding an enormous secret.

naru11's review against another edition

3.0

2.5 stars. I wish I could give this a higher score, but I have a bone to pick with Kai Meyer. I LOVE the ideas of his books! The are such brilliantly thought out concepts (Ancient China with Dragons plus Renaissance Italy plus Cities flying on clouds. Spaceships plus princesses plus steam punk. Booklovers plus grand fantastical manors plus mysteries). And now we have Mafia plus polit thriller plus shape shifters plus family feuds. But recenctly I really haven't been enjoying his books despite the brilliant ideas. This was the first of three I've managed to even finish. I just dislike the way the story progresses, among other things: Rosas backstory and the way she talked about what happened to her just completely rubbed me the wrong way. I hated the way she kept saying "I killed my son". Just stop, please! The treatment of LGBTQ characters was awful, too. And the feelings between the main characters didn't make any sense to me. The writing had beautiful moments, especially the descriptions of Italy, the dream sequences and the way the shifting happened. But I still read the book with such reluctance. I couldn't enjoy it and I'm really mad about it.

sweetsibilance's review against another edition

4.0

I really loved the concept for this one. I mean, Sicilian Mafia and a dark, mysterious, fantastical family secret? Plus forbidden love, Romeo and Juliet style? This was my first Kai Meyer read for me and it certainly lived up to my expectations (and its beautiful cover!). The only problem I had was that there were a few awkward sentences here and there and, then again, that will probably be fixed in the final version. The characters were entertaining and, over time, Rosa grew on me with her bad-girl attitude (and her stapler) plus I was rooting for Alessandro from the beginning, which is far more than I can say about some other love interests in YA books. Overall, an amazing read!

kristenceci's review against another edition

4.0

Arcadia Awakens is a modern day Romeo and Juliet mixed with some supernatural elements and the Italian Mafia.

This was such a thrilling read. I could not get enough of Rosa and Alessandro. The plot twists were absolutely extraordinary.

I loved Alessandro from the moment he appeared. He is so sweet and caring but he is torn due to his responsibilities to his family and his legacy.

I was a little hesitant on Rosa at first. I wasn't exactly sure what to think of her. Her sullen and depressed attitude did not sit well with me. I did enjoy her snarky and witty comebacks.

It took a while to learn Rosa's backstory but as soon as I did I finally understood why her character was like that and it made perfect sense and I began to appreciate her character so much more. By the end of the book Rosa comes into her own more than I thought she would.

The fact that Rosa and Alessandro fall for eachother but cannot be together killed me. But of course unrequieted love makes for great reading.

I could not put this book down. It was full of action, betrayal, secrets and lies and has got to be one of the most fast paced, heartpounding reads that I have gotten my hands on in a long time. Kai Meyer is a master of his craft. A not to be missed novel.

janessaalexis's review against another edition

3.0

Actual Rating: 2.5

I didn't hate this book. But I certainly didn't love it.
While the actual concept of the book is intriguing, the way it panned out was extremely boring. I don't know whether that was the translator's fault or what, but I felt that the entire story just lacked depth.
Know what I'm saying?
Nevertheless, it was interesting enough for me to want to read the second...
... maybe.

nicoleabouttown's review against another edition

Review Pending!

n_iniel's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

kathikuhn's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

2.75

emleemay's review against another edition

2.0

This book managed to tick all of the boxes for the first few chapters (actually quite a few chapters because they're only short) and I was pleasantly surprised to find a young adult author that: a) doesn't think it's okay to be condescending when the audience is younger, and b) creates an atypical heroine who isn't all about drooling after her inevitable one true love. As a matter of fact, the author attempts to write quite prettily and sets the scene in the Sicilian countryside very well, you can practically hear the waves of the Mediterranean sloshing against the shore.

The protagonist - Rosa - immediately stands out against countless other young adult urban fantasy heroines. She's introduced as something of a kleptomaniac, she's snarky and upon meeting the novel's obvious love interest, rather than seeing cupids flying and hearing someone playing a violin, she turns away with a good dose of sarcasm as a goodbye present. It's no secret that they will clearly meet again and gradually Rosa's attitude towards him will change, but I was thankful for the lack of insta-love and sappy heroines.

So, I had the protagonist I've always longed for, the setting out of my wildest dreams... what was the problem? The lack of story. Or, at least, the lack of an engaging story. I kept reading and waiting for the moment when the author would use her heroine and her setting to create a novel that would blow my mind but it just never delivered. The big mystery of the book was easy to guess, even the author realised this and revealed it all pretty early on... but after that the story consisted of a lot of info-dumping about Greek mythology and the Italian mafia and the legendary island of Arcadia. I felt that the author set the kind of scene that had me anticipating something awesome but it was highly anticlimatic in the end.

I do wonder if this was done intentionally, because this book is the start of a trilogy and perhaps the author wanted to place emphasis on the setting and characters in book one so that you would actually care about them when the real story gets going in book two. It's possible but it isn't enough, if you're writing the first book in a series it's so important to make sure the readers are going to want to continue. I finished this book feeling like I had nothing to look forward to in the sequels.

Many thanks to the publisher for kindly providing an arc of this for review

daisychainreads's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5