Wake by Amanda Hocking: Review and Audiobook Sample

Wake
By: Amanda Hocking
Released: August 7, 2012
Source: ARC from BEA 
Purchase the Book: Amazon

"Gemma 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 there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different. Suddenly Gemma is 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." (Summary from goodreads.com)

Wake is a great beginning to a creepy new series by Amanda Hocking. I was really excited about this book for months because I will read anything that Hocking writes and Wake turned out to be a book that was hard to put down.

Gemma and Harper are sisters and pretty different from one another. Gemma loves to swim while Harper is the responsible one. Harper was very overbearing and uptight for most of the book which made me like Gemma a lot more. Gemma's life is changed though when she meets the mysterious new girls. Penn, Lexi, and Thea arrive at the same time as bad things begin to occur in town.

This book had several other great characters as well. I especially loved Alex and Daniel. Alex is the dorky boy next door who Gemma is beginning to grow closer to. While Daniel lives on his boat and Harper can't stop running into him.

The plot picks up immediately which made this a book that was easy to finish quickly. Although some things could get predictable, other moments definitely took me by surprise. I especially enjoyed the last half of the book the most though. The concept and the mythology that Hocking uses is so interesting and quite scary. I loved how it was all explained clearly and set up but there was still some mystery surrounding it.

The only problem I had with this book though was the writing style. It's written in third person point of view and bounces back and forth between following Gemma and Harper. It took me a while to get used to it but also I found that I wanted to know what was going through Gemma and Harper's minds at certain moments. Overall though I really enjoyed Wake and will definitely be highly anticipating the sequel.

My Rating:

*Now check out the sample of chapter 1 of the Wake audiobook: HERE