Review: Wake by Amanda Hocking

Goodreads summary:

Fall under the spell of Wake—the first book in an achingly beautiful new series by celebrated author Amanda Hocking—and lose yourself to the Watersong.
Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.
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.


Release Date: August 7, 2012
Series?#1
Pages: 309
Publisher: St. Martin's Press


 LONG STORY SHORT:
I can't really recommend Wake because I found it pretty boring and uneventful and - it just didn't appeal to me in a special way. If you like Amanda Hocking's writing or if you love everything mermaids/sirens then you might want to check it out but the creepiness and suspense the premise lets you expect is not really a part of the book.

 REVIEW:

Everybody seemed to have read a book by Amanda Hocking so how on earth could I miss out? And then just like that I saw that new series of hers, starting with Wake.
Now, there were more reasons for me to pick up and read the book. For one, I have never read anything about mermaids. Or sirens. And I've been a swimmer pretty much my whole life - I love the water!
There was only one reason I should leave that book in the bookstore: it's a paranormal romance. Or... it's not. It might be a bit more on the contemporary side. At least, that's how I felt. But why don't I start over and try to actually make sense here?

Sooo...the beginning I liked. There were Gemma and Harper - two completely opposite characters who need to get along with each other. There was their super sweet dad, there were Alex and Daniel - very nice love interests, if you ask me.
The only thing that was missing? The paranormal.
Well, it was there in the form of four - and then three - absolutely beautiful girls. And the fact that they were so pretty was the ONLY reason everyone in town was scared of them. I didn't really get that, to be honest.

As soon as I reached the middle of the book the paranormal aspect grew more prominent but I still didn't really see the point of the novel, I didn't know what I was waiting for and there was practically no suspense that would have kept me reading. I pretty much only continued because I loved the swimming aspect.

The ending, I guess, was supposed to make my heart beat faster but it somehow really didn't. Wake was so predictable in a way that it seemed like a fake horror movie - you know that one you watch and sort of enjoy but you know what kind of monster lingers behind every door and that  - actually  - that monster is made of a bunch of colored plastic.

All in all, I can only say blah. You can read the book and you will probably be as emotionless about it as I am or you can not read it and you won't miss a thing. I guess I will continue this series/trilogy but only really to know if it gets any better and how things will turn out.

RATING: 1 out of 3 Smarties