A Review for Wake & Lullaby (Watersong #1 & 2) by Amanda Hocking

Posted by Melanie 
Release Date: August 7th, 2012
Finished Date: October 7th, 2013

Publishers: Tor 
Genre: YA Paranormal, Romance
Source: For Review

Format: Paperback
Pages: 356

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Gemma Fisher seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door.  He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now she’s falling harder for him every day.  But Gemma doesn’t know that her ordinary life is about to change forever.
Penn, Lexi and Thea are strangers in town for the summer—and they’ve been watching her.  Three sisters with mysterious powers, they invite Gemma to join their exclusive circle, and it changes her in ways she never imagined.  Suddenly she’s stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price.  And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

The Review: 3.5 flowers! 

Wake was a likable read and a good introduction to the ‘Watersong’ series.
I’m not going to go over the description again because I think it pretty much covers everything I would say anyway so on with my thoughts….
Wake felt like a coming of age story that was made more intriguing by a plot involving mysterious strangers, unsolved murders and first love with just a splash of paranormal. We have two main characters - sisters Gemma & Harper – and we get both POV’s throughout the book. I thought both characters were very likeable in different ways.. I liked Gemma for her carefree ways, someone who was driven & determined and not afraid to take a risk whereas Harper was more grounded and took a more responsible roll, you will find out why during the book and it is understandable when you find out why they are that way which does help the reader connect to the characters, especially Harper for me, as an older sister myself it’s easy to connect with her maternal side towards her sister. It was nice reading about how their relationship was & how they viewed each other. I really enjoyed that they both got a bit of romance, first loves for the pair of them really but whilst Gemma’s was more innocent & straight forward, Harper’s - not so much but I liked that, it totally fit with her up tight, bossy nature and I thought Daniel was perfect for her just as the boy next door – Alex – was perfect for Gemma. You can tell that the strength & basis of both relationships are going to become a major factor in the series.
The storyline was very intriguing, when you have a trio of strangers causing a stir around town & a murder investigation underway at the same time, it isn’t hard to connect the dots but it’s the discoveries made along the way that keep your attention and turning the pages waiting for the big reveal and that just grows when Gemma is brought into the situation in a big way, giving the book that paranormal element. I think the less I say about the plot, the better because a lot of it hinges on what is found out during the story but as I already stated, this is a good read, definitely a page turner and so easy to read, it was very intriguing and even though we got big reveals at the end, it does leave you wanting more.. I think you definitely have to be in this for the whole series though because there is a lot left ‘in the air’ and you are not going to get any real conclusion from this one book, it felt a lot like a taster of bigger things to come, so it will keep you reading and with that, I’m off to read the sequel Lullaby ;) 

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: December 6th, 2012
Finished Date: October 8th, 2013

Publishers: Tor
Genre: YA Paranormal, Romance
Source: For Review

Format: Paperback 
Pages: 292

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Beautiful but deadly, their song won’t let her rest
Gemma had to disappear with Penn, Lexi and Thea after a night of incredible violence on the island. She can still barely come to terms with her new affinity with the ocean – and the siren powers that go with it. Now she’s been transformed, Gemma has no choice but to leave all she loves behind. She swears she won’t lose her humanity, but the call of the sea is maddening and compulsive.
Harper won’t give up on her missing sister. The search draws her closer than she’d like to bohemian Daniel, but she could really use his help. They’d almost given up, until a small news item tells of a horrific murder in a nearby beach town, and Harper thinks she’s found the deadly group. But can Gemma’s curse be reversed – and what if she doesn’t want to come home?

The Review: 3.5 flowers!

**SPOILERS FOR BOOK ONE**

Lullaby was an equally enjoyable read as book 1 Wake and we pick up where we left off. Gemma has accepted her fate as a siren and has joined Penn, Lexi & Thea as they leave Capri & the murder investigation behind. Gemma doesn’t really want to go but promised the sirens so that they wouldn’t harm Harper, Daniel or her boyfriend Alex. Harper is left behind to explain Gemma’s disappearance to everyone, needless to say, her Dad is devastated and so is their Mother who barely has a grasp on her own life. So, Harper, Alex and Daniel become determined to find Gemma and bring her home….Regardless of the fact that they will be inciting the wrath of a trio of murderous sirens.
So I enjoyed this, both of the girls have been separated so the pov’s are in different areas. Gemma is struggling with her new identity, she’s been forced to be what she is and doesn’t want to become a monster by murdering people to survive, so she tries to deny the way her body feels, starving it of the sea that calls to her and resisting the need to feed. She’s still pretty much in the dark about a lot of things about being a siren but has help from the most unlikely source. Meanwhile, Harper has thrown herself into finding Gemma to bring her home so she doesn’t have to go it alone, she won’t give up & neither will Alex. I like Harper, I like that she is determined and driven, it’s sort of like a swap of traits for the girls in the second book as Harper becomes focussed whilst Gemma loses hope, I like that their connection as sisters is strong and that there is determination not to just sit and accept things. I like where Harper’s relationship with Daniel seems to be heading, she is hard work and I really liked how Daniel is approaching that, he’s is the only one who seems to see that she needs looking after too.
The storyline is a good progression albeit slow, these two books have shown that there is only about 2 reveals per book and they come pretty much at the end. Don’t get me wrong, it was still intriguing; they aren’t boring because we are getting character development in between and discoveries are made just not at the pace I like, it’s a plodder and it shouldn’t take a full book to discover that there may be hope for Gemma. I said in the last books review that you are going to have to be in this for the whole series or you will never get a conclusion and I’m definitely reiterating that. Each book has left me with more questions than answers but it has always left me curious and I think that’s what keeps me reading because they are so easy to read and the characters are very likable, so is the storyline but I just want more action, more often. I will still read the rest of the series because as I said, it really does keep you reading with curiosity , I want to know how ‘love’ is going to affect things, I want to know what’s going on with Nathalie (their mother) and how she will play into this, obviously I want more of the Sirens, do they have to be that way? Have they tried to change things? If there’s hope…. What is it? Hopefully book 3 will enlighten me.