February 13, 2018

BLOG TOUR| The Waking Land

The Waking Land (The Waking Land #1)
Callie Bates
⭐⭐⭐

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Synopsis:

It's been fourteen years, since King Antoine took Elanna hostage. Fourteen years since her father's rebellion failed. Fourteen years spent being raised by the man who condemned her people to misery. A man she's come to love as a father.

Now 20, Elanna is about to be taken prisoner once again... but this time by her father's mysterious righthand man.

Her father wants to reignite his rebellion, this time using Elanna as figurehead. He will tell his followers she is the legendary Wildegarde reborn, a sorceress who could make the very earth tremble.

But what no one knows is that magic really does flow through Elanna's veins. Now she must decide which side she's on, and whether she'll use her powers for mercy... or revenge.
 


Review

The Cover

I do like the cover, and there is something that does entice it as a book with magical elements. But, it just doesn't jump out and attack you from the shelf, screaming that you need to read it. It's just a bit pretty, and not bad.

The Content

When I accepted being on this blog tour, I had only read a few pages and thought that this was something that I was going to absolutely love and give it all the stars. And then I dove in a little deeper. 

This won't be a bad review, nor one that gushes over everything that makes something a novel. It just wouldn't be me, and it wouldn't be honest. There was no problematic elements, this just wasn't a book for me.

The best thing that I enjoyed about this book is how Callie Bates looked at Stockholm Syndrome and explored a young girl who had been impressionable. Bates slow awakening from this fogged perspective is something that I thoroughly enjoyed. I remember when the hardcover came out and heard Robin Hobb talk about this with rigorous praise. And I wholeheartedly agree. In fact this is what made me continue on and turn the page.

What didn't work was how Bates introduced characters and world building- there was so much to remember without any small details that allowed me to identify who was what and where each kingdom was in relation to one another. Which meant I had to constantly flip to the front of the book for an ill-placed map.  

I don't mind this at all, we all know how much I love great epic fantasies with hundreds of characters and an index at the back, but when you feel like there isn't much pay off for the amount of work we have to put into reading the book, again I was disinterested. 

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