Book Faery: Tori's Review: Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach

A Note:

6/2/13

I once told myself: IF I am accepted into grad school, this blog would no longer be updated. As it turns out, in April, I received news of my acceptance for the Fall 2013 semester, where I will attain a Master's degree of Science in Nutrition.

Running a blog, as many of you may already know, is a demanding side job once the excitement wears off. And once I fell out of the blogging community's loop (have you SEEN how many blogs there are now? Wow!), it was like the kiss of death. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't get into a blogging routine once this happened due to the disconnect I felt from the community.

So I took a break. I struggled with the loss and with missing my blog. And then I realized I didn't have to run Book Faery to still be a book reviewer; I could read my books and post reviews online. I'm still a book review blogger, just not in the traditional sense.

I'll still be online. You can chat with me on Twitter, where I'll be posting links to my reviews and talking books. I'll also be posting links to nutrition articles. And if you'd like to connect with me where I guarantee I will post reviews, just add me as a friend on Goodreads.

So that's all, folks! It's been a fun and amazing journey, and I thank you all for listening to my thoughts about books. I hope we all can keep in touch elsewhere :)

Tori

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Tori's Review: Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach

Paperback - 304 pages
Price: $8.99
ISBN 13: 978-0142414361
Released: March 31, 2011

Lisa's Website
Buy it via the Publisher
Buy it via Amazon

Obtained: Contest
Genre: Paranormal YA
Series:
1. Wake Unto Me

A haunted castle, a handsome young man dead for four hundred years, one heck of a scary portrait of a witch, and a treasure hunt -- not to mention a princess for a roommate! -- all await 15 year old American girl Caitlyn Monahan when she earns a scholarship to a French boarding school.

There are secrets behind the stone walls of Chateau de la Fortune, buried for centuries along with the mystery of who killed Raphael, the charming ghost who visits Caitlyn at night. But as Caitlyn unearths the history of the castle, nothing scares her as badly as the secret she learns about herself, and the reason she was chosen to come to the Fortune School.

And nothing breaks her heart as badly as falling in love with a dead guy.

My Rating: DNF

My Opinion:
I was intrigued when I first started reading WAKE UNTO ME. Then I stopped to watch Obama's speech about Bin Laden. Fast forward two days later, and have now DNF'ed the novel.

Caitlyn was a sympathetic character, but then at some point along the journey to France, she transformed from someone I could tolerate as the heroine to someone I could not stand. Suddenly, she went from a "normal" teenage girl with issues to someone who's a blabber mouth speaking her mind about everything. Blame it on being nervous, but she began annoying me because of that behavior.

Another element I took issue with was the voice. For me, it was bland and detached, feeling more like a history book than a YA novel. There was also a lot of telling in the story and barely any showing. For so much emphasis on showing in stories, I'm surprised that so many YA debuts don't have much.

One of the elements that I was most excited about was the romance with Raphael. Too bad I nearly reached the halfway point and only saw him two times. After Caitlyn's behavior at her new boarding school, the romance was the only thing I looked forward to. Alas, I could only read for so long before I gave up.

I know some people who said they loved the book, so really, it all just depends on the reader's mindset, I think. I began this book with a certain amount of excitement. I continued wanting to finish it ASAP so I could start a new book, and I think that mentality is what spoiled my experience.

Other Reviews Chapter Chicks - A
Call me Crazy - 5/5
My Love Affair with Books - 4/5