I was immediately drawn to this book by it's cover art - it's stunning! Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for letting me read the ARC.

The Waking Land's protagonist, Elanna Valtai, has been held prisoner by the king of Eren, which invaded and controls her homeland, Caeris. Elanna grows up to like the king --he treats her well, but in the end she is still a prisoner. When the king dies after a mysterious poisoning, Elanna is set up and escapes (with some help) back to her homeland, Caeris. During all these years in captivity, Elanna has become an Eren lady, so there is some culture shock at being thrown back into a land and society that she barely remembers, and grew up to believe was barbaric. Not only that, but Elanna discovers she is Steward of the Land, a magical and very important person in Caeris that can control the power of nature. After initial hesitation, Elanna is persuaded to take up her homeland's fight for freedom, and the story progresses from there. I admit this book took me about 2 months to slog through, and while I enjoyed it mostly, you can tell it's a debut.

What was done well: In regards to the story--there was a lot of potential, but it wasn't fully exploited. I really enjoyed the magic system. I like Bates' overall tone and her writing structure was good too. I liked the imagery that was created, especially for the singing pines.

What wasn't done well: While I enjoyed the magic system, it really wasn't explained very well. I LOVE romance in my fantasy novels (<3 u Maas) but the romance in this book was juvenile and not believable--No good build up. The plot moved unevenly and was very jerky at some points. Bates should work on writing transitions a bit better. In addition, nearly everything wrapped together a bit too neatly--too formulaic of traditional fantasy (but not in a good way).

In all, I thought it was a really good effort for a debut novel, but it suffered from some major issues. I hope Bates learns from these as she goes forward because I think she has a lot of potential!

Unfortunately this one really didn't hit it for me. I was so excited going in, and to be honest, I really liked the first few chapters. The synopsis sold me right off the bat. I WANTED TO LIKE IT SO BAD.

Then things got frustrating. VERY frustrating.

First of all, there are SO many characters and different kingdoms/empires to keep track of. I think by about the 30% point, I figured out the general idea, but my gosh, it was a headache until then. There's this crown prince, that crown prince, this delegate, that delegate. I don't even know. Hey, I'm all about a book that focuses on politics between kingdoms/etc (heck, I'm writing one myself) but this was just too much which such little pay off. I don't mind diving deep into a world if you end up getting to explore all of it, but there was SO MUCH unnecessary information about places we don't even see and people we don't meet.

Secondly, gah I liked the heroine at first. I really did. But as the book progressed, we are constantly forced into her every thought and she goes back and forth on how she feels EVERY OTHER PAGE. Aalskdfj;dfj. One minute, she's scared to go home. The next, she's like 'oh, this is fine.' The next, 'oh my gosh i don't want to meet my dad' and the next 'oh hi dad, we're chill'. I am so confused by her. This happens throughout the entire book. If her inner monologue was removed, this would have been a much better book. We, as readers, really don't need to know THAT much. Plus, her actions and thoughts did not line up at all.

Okay, okay... whatever. I was holding out hope because the magic seemed cool. Land magic where you compel the earth to do crap? Sure. Why not. Especially in a world that feels like the late 1700-early 1800s where there are guns/etc as weapons, I thought it was creative to have the magic be 'getting back to the roots' blah blah.

BUT.

The heroine 'weds the land'??? SHE WEDS THE LAND. What even does that mean? I read the book and I still don't know. I can tell you this... I am THOROUGHLY creeped out. What even. Like she legit lays in the dirt with a guy and that is called 'wedding the land.'

I sincerely hope I just misunderstood but ew.

Anyway, back to the plot - Elena is basically kidnapped as a child and brought to this kingdom and brainwashed about her previous family. Blah blah happens, she's framed for the death of the king who kidnapped her, and her family whatever people finds her and brings her back 'home' except she doesn't want to go. Okay, not bad. But after she gets home, it's 90% politics and traveling and whatnot. The pacing isn't bad, exactly, but I just got so lost in the sea of characters and inner monologue that I stopped caring.

Alright, I feel like this has been nothing but a ranty review. I will say this - the writing was pretty and the author certainly has a big imagination. Her world felt grounded, even if I couldn't keep up with it, and there's definitely not another book out there (that I've read) like this one. Unfortunately it was just a headache for me.

My Review: Upon reading the synopsis this book sounded vaguely familiar but different enough that I wanted to give it a try. I have to say even with the interesting synopsis and beautifully detailed cover, the story itself fell rather short. I almost DNFed this book multiple times. The pacing is very slow, and not because it is building up to something either. We spend nearly 3/4 of the book following Elanna around as she waffles about who she wants to support, who she wants to be, what she believes or wants to do, all without knowing what exactly is going on. So basically she is in the dark, and so are we as the readers. We are always reading along the sidelines of the game changing events, always late to battles, hearing half whispered conversations, etc. until the very last battle so you aren't really invested in the outcome. The story also got lost with the romance, which should have stayed completely out of the picture because it came on sudden and then took over but with no real purpose in the long run. All in all this was really a long, slow read with no actual investment or excitement for the reader.

My Rating: This was really an unfortunate book, I so wanted to like it but it fell flat for me. Everything about it felt undeveloped and incomplete, the world building, the characters and the overall point of book. I can only give this one a rating of One Paw and a Stump Wag.

Lady Elanna was raised by the king as a political hostage since the age of 5 when her father was accused of treason. Fourteen years later, the king was poisoned and Elanna was blamed for it even though she considered the king her father figure. Escaping the city and the threat of death, her father's men brought her back to her homeland and her gift of magic was awakened. Her loyalties divided, she had to find her place in the rebellion and the kingdom, and protect the ones she loved.

This is a fantasy novel that feels very grounded in reality, in part because of the vivid descriptions. We see the land almost as its own character, changing with each part of the kingdom that Elanna has to flee to.

The magic in this world can be anywhere from subtle to outrageously obvious: making a wooden scaffold sprout into a tree, raising a river out of its banks, making trees walk. The world building is fantastic, with the sense of history weighing down the characters and the locations, and characters who we learn more about over time.

Elanna is such a sheltered young woman in the beginning of the novel, but she saves others as much as she needs saving, and the troubles of others help shape her into the warden of the land. She is rather merciful at the end, far more than I would be in that situation; no matter what cruelties she had seen and heard of, there is still a part of her able to care and love and remain kind.

This is a well-crafted novel, and one that I'm already recommending to friends.

Revolution is a messy, dangerous business and THE WAKING LAND doesn’t pull punches to depict it. After her father’s failed uprising, Elanna Valtai was taken from her home and placed as a ward within King Erylais’ household. Over 11 years, she learned to hate her homeland and its culture. When another revolution rises Elanna must become a figurehead and unite Caeris, a country that she doesn't fully love or understand.

Elanna spends much of the novel working through the trauma of being kidnapped at a young age, the anger at her family for never rescuing her, and the confusion that King Erylais may not have been the man she thought he was. Elanna can be naive but she never lacks for agency. She’s constantly planning, plotting, ready to throw herself into action. Unfortunately, she does seem to have a poor memory -- thoughts tend to repeat before she understands their meaning. Near the end of the novel, she’s surprised by a reveal about Finn that we learned in the first chapter. There are a lot of side characters in THE WAKING LAND, but the core focus is Elanna, Jahan (a sorcerer from Ida), and Finn (a potential king for Caeris). Yes, there is a love triangle, but it never weighs down the novel or distract from Elanna’s story. It’s clear who she prefers. While she likes and respects both men, she never dallies between them.

THE WAKING LAND is a big book. Not just the page count but also the amount of characters and the history between the countries. The plot moves quickly and readers are expected to keep up. With each chapter, new characters are replaced by newer characters. At times, you want to plot to slow down so you can spend more time learning about a particular setting or character. The book is also written in first-person present, which can be a turnoff for some readers. It’s surprising that the book is considered YA since main characters are 19 or older and there’s a sex scene. It reads more like a New Adult title. Regardless, if you’ve ever had a fascination with revolutions (especially the story of Marie Thérèse, the daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette), THE WAKING LAND is the book for you.

The Waking Land tells the story of Elanna, a young woman who is taken from her family at a young age and held hostage in an enemy country. There are so many great things about this book: an interesting magic, plenty of strong and developed characters, a rich history…the list goes on and on. And for the most part, I really enjoyed all of it. But there were a few parts that didn’t quite mesh with me, so I felt like I couldn’t give it a full 4 or 5 star rating. As much as I liked parts of it, I just didn’t love it.

That beginning was fantastic. Right from the prologue I was completely drawn in. I couldn’t wait to learn more. Then the story got going and I started to lose a bit of interest. Things just began to seem a little too cliché and stereotypical of young adult fantasy. I love many of the young adult tropes, but sometimes they just don’t work well. Towards the end I warmed back up though and began to really enjoy myself. In the end, even though I felt like the last few chapters were kind of rushed, I was left feeling pretty good about what I’d read. I definitely needed more closure and explanation at the end though.

As you all know, characters are the biggest thing for me. No matter how interesting a world is, if there aren’t equally interesting characters, it’s really hard to stay engaged. And I think that for the most part, the characters in this book were pretty solid. I would have liked a little more back story for a few of them, but overall I was satisfied. Elanna was especially good in my opinion. So despite some of my misgivings about the plot, I feel like the characters often saved the book for me.

So basically, this was a good book. Not great, but good. There were a fair amount of common tropes, which kind of worked, although sometimes got on my nerves. And sometimes I feel like the plot didn’t quite work. But, overall, I’m glad I read this book. There were some truly good parts that made me smile and tugged on my heartstrings. So would I recommend it? Probably, if you know you like young adult fantasy and are okay with a relatively stereotypical plot. It’s worth checking out for yourself.

I thought the premise was good, but the main character was flip-flopping back and forth so much Icouldnt stick with it.

Well. I started and finished a book for the first time in almost 2 months. I am so happy, and I am happy to report that I enjoyed this book.

There are some mild cliche moments in this book, but one thing that I really liked was that the MC, doesn't automatically trust "her people" when they finally extract her from the kingdom that held her captive for most her life. It takes her time to trust them again, and even longer to get on board with their rebellion. It would have been far too cliche and unrealistic for her to just trust the people she didn't grow up with, just because they were once her people. It makes sense that she believes and trusts the people that raised her a little more.

The magic in this book, while very interesting, needed to be explained a little better in my opinion. There were times when I just didn't understand how any of the magic systems worked, and what caused someone to have magic over others. It was all a little vague to me, I might have missed something.

The rebellion was the more interesting part of this book, and I really wish there wasn't a romance. It fell out of place, and I just didn't buy when these two characters were talking about caring as deeply for each other when they did. They only had a small handful of interactions before one of them is halfway across the country, yet they are still talking about each other like they had known each other for years and were already in love before the book started.

I don’t really know what to say about The Waking Land. It was good but not memorable for me. It’s well written and fun to read and perfect for young people who want a good romance with some fantasy. The first portion reminded me of an inspirational romance – sexual tension, gorgeous love interest, little bit of conflict… The chemistry between Elanna and Jahanne is quite well done if occasionally too much (of course she’s aware he’s sitting on the horse behind her). By the end, though, Elanna’s relationships with the charming Jahanne and with the land reminded me of Marian’s in The Forest Wife by Theresa Tomlinson (one of my favouritest books ever as a kid). They are both wed to the land, but in love with a man.

Elanna is frustrating. She has no choice. I hate when characters do something horrid then say, “I had no choice” to justify it but she actually has no choice! Elanna was kidnapped as a child, raised (kindly) by her captor, then basically rekidnapped by her people after being framed for murder. Every time she tries to run away something happens to alert her hero-captors or limit her options even further. “Well, now I can’t beg refuge in this other country because everyone knows I’m a witch. Damn it.” When all her options run out, then she settles into her newly forced role. She accepts it but how much of it is some level of “at least I can control this” versus “I actually want to be here.” When she does accept her new life, she gets choices again. That is when I start to like her.

She starts off as a total victim but never ever identifies as one, which is a positive. She has compassion for both sides of the conflict her father has started. Also a plus so far as wanting to maybe possibly reunite the lands peacefully. She does grow as a character. The weakling with no choices becomes strong and independent. She also has wicked abilities to communicate with and control the land. Lovingly, of course. Their relationship is very much one of adoration. When it weeps, Elanna comforts it. She feels its horror over past incidents and it shares its memories with her. It also rises to her bidding when she has need. That part I loved; the gentleness, beauty and love of the land.

That and Jehanne’s vulnerability in the face of Elanna’s love by the end.

Lady Elanna has been raised a hostage in a foreign land-well treated by the king, educated, castle dwelling-but a hostage just the same.  She cares for botany, for her best friend and dreams of heading off to study under a master.  Her memories for her hometown have faded to nearly nothing, her home is Laon now.  The rumors of magic from her homeland all but forgotten.

"Then the nightmares faded; my tutors taught me that, while magic is considered anathema, in truth it simply has no place in the rational, modern world."

Everything changes when her father comes for her, at long last.  Accused of regicide, her "otherness" has never left her.  To Caeris she must run, to a land and a people she no longer knows.  It's time for a revolution, birth land against homeland.

"No one in this revolution is ever alone."

A motley crew of assorted figures fill out our cast of characters and Bates' writing shines.  I loved the prose, loved the plot, loved the world-building.  Follow along as El goes to war against an empire, and herself.

"All the gods damn it.  I hate battle, El.  I hate it-I hate what it makes me into.  It makes people's lives seem not to matter.  But they do.  No one should have to die like that, not even for freedom."

You see, Elanna isn't just a hostage.  She has the power to wake the land.  What does that mean?  Read and find out!

4 stars.

I loved this book. It was much longer than I was expecting but that was not a problem given the steady pace of the story. I love that the main character is a young female that has to learn to overcome the views of a very patriarchal society determined to view her as a useless, little girl. The plot is both fresh and unusual. This was a great first book for the author and I look forward to reading more from her and possibly these characters.

Filled with magic, dueling lands, and a continent on the brink of battle, The Waking Land was a fantastic first installment in debut author Callie Bates' new trilogy.

Lady Elanna Valtai has spent the past 14 years living in the kingdom of Eren. Brutally taken from her home in the land of Caeris at the age of 5, she has since been raised by the King as a sort of adopted daughter. Tensions between the King's blood daughter and Elanna have always been high, but now that the King has been murdered, the situation has grown even more dire. Loyce, the King's daughter and the new Queen, has her sights set on Elanna as the murderer, forcing Elanna to flee Eren for safe territory, and her journey takes her unexpectedly back to the land she was ripped from. Back to the people who can't be trusted, the ones who let her be taken in the first place.

The Waking Land surprised me in so many ways. I initially wanted to read this books based on the cover alone, not thinking that the greenery on the cover would perfectly mirror Lady Elanna and the magic surrounding her. Yes, Elanna is the central character, but the heart of this story is the land itself and how it's a living, breathing entity that's as important, if not more so, than the actual humans in this tale. Having always had a greener than the greenest thumb, it's no surprise that Lady Elanna's magic would be tied to the earth and the plants, and I absolutely adored that aspect of the story.

For me, the strength of The Waking Land lies in its worldbuilding; the multitude of lands and kingdoms and how the land itself is an incredibly prominent character that only yields to a chosen few. The various lands are in a battle for many reasons, mostly for freedom, and the earth itself, again, plays a very important role in the war, fighting alongside Elanna and her people in hopes of affording the various lands the freedoms and the respect they desire.

As with most fantasy novels, there were quite a number of characters involved in many aspects of this story, and while it was a little difficult to keep some of them straight, Bates managed to ensure that everyone was dimensional and varied. Even the most minor of characters were fully developed, making it a bit easier to grasp who was who among the crowd. While the world and the various lands stood out to me as the highlight, the characterization was just as top-notch as the worldbuilding was.

Bottom line - I loved this story, I loved the magic and the hint of romance thrown in (romance really does make everything better :-) ) and the politics between the various territories. Highly recommended, and I'll certainly be anxiously awaiting the next book in this trilogy.

When I read a new fantasy book, one of the things I look for is how well the author does world-building. It can be really tricky to give out he necessary information so that everything makes sense, yet keeps the ball rolling so the story doesn't stall. I thought The Waking Land, by Callie Bates, did a wonderful job of introducing the reader to this world, while keeping a fast-paced story moving along. This was a very enjoyable book with a love story that took some wonderfully unexpected turns.

What I Liked:
Characters:

Elanna is headstrong yet is very conflicted about who she should be loyal to. Although king Antoine has treated her as a daughter, the fact remains that Elanna has been a hostage in Eren for fourteen years. She is very resentful the fact that her father never tried to rescue her.

It's no surprise that as the story begins, Elanna is certain her allegiance lies with Antoine and his kingdom of Eren. But she begins to question everything as she flees for her life, travelling to her father's lands in Caeris. Was king Antoine really such a benevolent leader? Did her parents actually forget about her? I liked that Elanna had to take in lots of conflicting information and decide who to believe.

I also appreciated that she wasn't a fool for love. She forged her own path with the men in her life, not letting custom dictate what she should do.


Most of the other women in the book were equally complex. Her childhood friend, Victoire, also begins to question what she has been taught, and must decide how to respond to the reality that her father worked to hide money for the king. Elanna's mother appeared to be uncaring and too consumed with her own pursuits to care about Elanna. Yet, she actually finds ways to contribute to the cause for freedom. Her actions are subtle and show how women often work behind the scenes to get things done.

World-Building:

I thought the author did a wonderful job of creating several different kingdoms. Eren is supposed to be the superior, refined kingdom. People in that capitol regard the people of Caeris as uneducated barbarians because they use magic and are in tune with the land. The mountain region of Dalriada is an isolated part of Caeris that is the home of the wardens of the mountains. They live more simply than the people of Eren, but are highly educated and have an intricate society.

I particularly enjoyed the complex structure of power in Caeris. Power is shared equally between a King, the wardens of the mountain, and the Caveadear, the steward of the land. However, there hasn't been a king, or a Caveadear, in nearly 200 years. When Elanna shows that she has magical powers, her father determines that she is the Caveadear. Is she really destined to be the steward of the land? Or is her father just trying to use Elanna to grab power for himself?

Love Story:

At first I groaned when I saw that there would be a love triangle between Elanna, Finn, and Jahan. Finn is set to be the new King of Caeris and there is pressure for Elanna and Finn to marry. But she has already formed a connection with Jahan. I think this plays out in a very smart way. It wasn't forced and it showed that Elanna could maintain her independence.

There is a sex scene in this book. While it does not go into "mommy porn" territory, the moment is frank so I would recommend this for older teens and up.

What I Was Mixed About:
Characters:

I thought the character of Princess Loyce was a bit two-dimensional. She served the purpose of creating a situation where Elanna would need to escape to Caeris. But we don't have any idea of why she is so vengeful toward Elanna. I would have also liked to have seen how Loyce was coping with suddenly becoming queen. This would have provided a great contrast with Elanna's struggle to understand her new role as the Caveadear.

This was an exciting book that was hard for me to put down. As the land wakes up, so does Elanna. She not only finds out the truth about her family, but finds her own way to live in the role life has given her.

I absolutely fell in love with this book. I could not put it down.

What a gorgeous book! I'm in love! Everything about this book was engaging and unique and kept me spellbound all the way through the story.
The story is about a girl, the Lady Elanna Valtai, who has been held hostage for 12 or so years to ensure her fathers loyalty to the crown. She was taken when she was five years old and has few memories of her parents and has been raised and educated with the royal children of the family. Therefore she has an incorrect education in the real history of her parents and countries history. She has been studying botany for some time as she has a gift for growing things. Lloyce, the kings heir to the throne hates Elanna, and when the king suddenly becomes ill by a poisoned mushroom that she was studying she becomes framed for his murder. Elanna loved the king like a father and would never had anything to do with his murder.
She also know that she has a bond with the secret circles of stones found throughout the country, when she puts a drop of her blood on the stone once a year she hears and sees things that most others cannot. Once she is safely brought back to her homeland she feels an immediate bond with the land itself and finds out that her magic (that was outlawed in her previous home) makes her the Caveadear, the waker of the lands. A position that has been vacant for nearly 200 years. As she grows to learn more about her family and people she becomes torn on her family that raised her and the one she was born to lead.
I am really looking forward to the next book in the series.

I just want to start off by saying how much the cover drew me to this book. The silhouette of a girl with tree branches shooting out of her fingers and the imagery of land, people, and a weapon all seem to be living within her.
The beginning pages of The Waking Land grabbed me immediately. The story took me into the heart of the matter almost instantly and from there I could not put the book down. I was thrust into the world of Elanna, precarious, fantastic, and horrible all at once because the actions from childhood to teenager was quick and the author did not linger too long where it wasn't necessary.
I liked the heroine, Elanna right away because her thoughts are transparent and I felt the same sadness as her, the same bewilderment, and the same innocence. Although there were some parts of the story that could have delved a bit deeper into the meaning of her powers the storyline was still smooth and easy to follow along.
Of course with any true conflicting story there has to be a great antagonist but I felt that with The Waking Land there were several - not just the people in the story, but the land and the history. I loved Jahan. From the instant I could tell he would become Elanna's true hero, her first love. What can I say about Jahan - he was described to be handsome, brave, and a touch dangerous. He was a sorcerer and was very powerful but like Elanna, I felt he was somewhat of a pawn to be used in the game of warfare. Jahan was sweet and yet brooding and I think the author described him better than she did with Elanna. The love between Jahan and Elanna grew steadily and nicely.
Now, a couple of things that would have made the story flow even smoother for me. First, the language of these people in the story. I couldn't tell if it was a mixture of some old Irish and Fae language or just something the author made up. A dictionary of sorts would have been nice. Second, the language was a bit hard to pronounce and once again a dictionary would have helped. There were some words that Regency England used which kind of confused me because I didn't know if the author just threw those words in because she liked the sound of them or liked their meaning or did the people of the lands just picked up those words once upon a time in England? Those were the confusing areas in the book.
Overall I would definitely recommend The Waking Land. It has beautifully described images and the rich history of the powers of the land along with Elanna's growing powers were fun to read.
I'll be looking forward to reading more of Callie Bates books.

An enchanting magical tale. Full of fantasy, power struggles, rebellion, myth, and legend. Really enjoyed this.

The Waking Land follows the story of a girl who was taken hostage by a king at five years old. That king chose to raise her like his own daughter, and she grew to love the kingdom she grew up in. But when the king is murdered, she stands accused, and has to flee back to the homeland she despises.

It’s an interesting premise, and readers won’t be let down; Lady Elannna’s story has magic, politics, daring escapes and more.

The magic in The Waking Land is a little unique, especially Elanna’s, and the folklore that she has to sift through makes the reader more involved. The story itself never rests; there’s always something happening, which kept me up late reading a few nights in a row. I loved the way Bates wove the story back and forth, taking Elanna off-course only to find herself where she needs to be.

Overall, The Waking Land is an engaging and unique YA fantasy that many will enjoy. Plus, this book is a standalone! That’s great news for those who want a change of pace from the countless series in the YA market right now. Sometimes it’s nice to read a book and not have to wait for a sequel.

So, why did I give it four stars instead of five?

Ultimately, because there were some issues with the writing itself — near the beginning, when Elanna is riding back to her homeland, her fellow rider keeps commenting on how she’s basically been brainwashed and fed false facts by her tutors. When she finally asks him what the truth is if not what she was taught, he launches into the entire history of the countries the book is set in. This is a common way to insert worldbuilding facts via dialogue, but it was literally just a page of Hugh rambling about history. No breaks, no real reason for him to go so in-depth. It seemed like an editor said, “There needs to be more context here!” And Bates just stuck it all on one page so she wouldn’t have to rewrite the whole beginning to include more context.

That’s honestly one of the biggest issues I had with this book, and I still really enjoyed reading it. There were other more minor things — Elanna’s mother could literally be cut out of the story and it wouldn’t matter; there’s a part where a battle breaks out seemingly out of nowhere with little context — but, honestly, nothing that made me wrinkle my nose and want to put the book down. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Waking Land by Callie Bates

"All she is loyal to she must now destroy"
"Mo cri, mo tire, mo fiel" "My heart, my land, my blood"

I enjoyed reading The waking Land. This story is original and unique. An epic fantasy with royalty and old magic. A tale of war and oppression.
Lady Elanna finds herself a prisoner at the tender age of five. Elanna is smart, strong and courageous. She is burdened by her position and not knowing who she truly is. There are many interesting well developed characters that I enjoyed getting to know. Elanna and the character Rhia Knoll were my favorites. I enjoyed the writing of this Author and I'm looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.

I give The Waking Land 4 stars for its originality.
I would recommend this book to fantasy fans.

I was excited to receive a chance to read The Waking Land - it has been compared to Uprooted by Naomi Novik, which I loved. And maybe if it hadn't been, my expectations wouldn't have been so high and I would have enjoyed it more. Alas.

In recent years, I've been trying to be more open to unlikeable protagonists for a variety of reasons, but I just canNOT with Elanna. Selfish, bitter, wishy-washy, naive, angsty, self-victimizing (in the "people only like me for my powers WOE IS ME BOOOOHOOOOO" vein) - I mean, I get that she's supposed to be 19 and sometimes those descriptors come with the age, but UGH. I had whiplash from how often she changed her tune. Basically? Whatever she THOUGHT was happening was NEVER happening, which took all the tension out of the book. You think that guy is a bad guy? Surprise, 1 page later you find out he's not AD NAUSEUM. Fool me once, etc.

I found the magic in the book poorly described, which is too bad because it had a lot of potential. Elanna IS the land, but the descriptions of being both a singular person and the land incarnate were few, lacking, and just not believable. I am HERE for magic and have a strong ability to suspend disbelief, but I was just not convinced. It felt like such a missed opportunity.

I really wanted to like this book - I love a good fantasy story with magic, a strong female protagonist and revolution - but this one just fell short for me. Convoluted to the point of not interesting with a main character who I never felt much sympathy for - I just wasn't convinced by this story.