A review by novelshire
The Waking Land by Callie Bates

3.0

Book received from a goodreads giveaway.
I had a lot of trouble with this book, hence the unusually long time it took for me to finish.
I liked a lot of the ideas and world involved but felt like we didn't get to see enough of it. The main character spends half the book with obvious stockholm syndrome which, when the whole book is from their perspective, can make for a frustrating read. I wished for the occasional chapter from someone else (as it's not often that all the main characters are all together doing the same thing) to break it up a bit or maybe interludes with some of the songs/stories that seem to be important to the Caerisian's culture.
The halfway mark arrives, the pace picks up and it becomes a much more enjoyable read although with a fairly quick wrap-up compared to the pace of the start.
I'd be interested in reading more about the world if the author plans a follow up.