This book was fantastic! It had everything I was looking for in a fantasy novel. A great set of heroes to get behind, a great premise, and a great ending. I can't wait for more!

I wanted to like this book, the earth magic was at least interesting. The main character Elanna was very unlikable though and the rest of the characters were very one-dimensional. Elanna seemed completely oblivious of the most obvious facts and changed her mind very quickly on everything which made the book feel very disjointed.

Somehow this book managed to be both dull and unnerving in a squicky sort of way. The relationships all seemed very toxic, but at the same time neatly convenient for the story to proceed.

THE WAKING LANDS was a great fantasy novel filled with action and excitement. It begins with a five-year-old girl taken hostage by a king as a guarantee of her parents good behavior. Then fourteen years pass and Elanna has been thoroughly brainwashed into her captor's point of view and even thinks of him as a foster father which incites the jealousy and spitefulness of his daughter Loyce.

When the king is poisoned by a tainted mushroom, Elanna is the first suspect. She needs to flee to save her life but she doesn't know where to go. Some of her father's loyal people are urging her to return home to Caeris but she wants to go anywhere else. She would like to go to Ida and study botany and a representative of the emperor who is something of a double agent is willing to help with her plans.

However, she finds herself going to Caeris and learning more about the magic that she has been denying all her life since use of magic is forbidden by the emperor. Elanna changes greatly in this story as she learns that what she knew about her foster father was mostly lies and what he told her about her home and family was lies too.

There are battles, betrayals, false friends and real ones. There is an intriguing magic that Elanna must learn to use to save her country. There is a romantic triangle with Elanna torn between the prince she was betrothed to as a child and the sorcerer from the empire that she might or might not be able to trust.

Fans of epic fantasy will enjoy this richly drawn story filled with intriguing characters and great world building.

I liked that this was a standalone story, but in order to make it standalone, the plot had to advance very quickly. Almost to the point where it became more of 'telling' instead of 'showing'. Regardless of that, it was an interesting story.

DNF @20% The MC was too annoying for me and I couldn't connect with the characters.

Oof, I really had to force myself to finish this one! I found it slow and distant, but The Waking Land has an intriguing premise. The Waking Land by Callie Bates is a magical book that is told in first-person and focuses on Elanna Valtai, age nineteen, who was taken hostage as a young girl and forced to live away from her parents. The book starts out with the king being murdered, and Elanna being accused of that crime. Elanna has lived for years trying to hide her magical powers, and she escapes and meets up with various people who can help her learn her magic and help right the kingdom.
I’ll start out by saying that I found Elanna quite bland. She is magical, in that she can control nature, ie, grow trees and plants, and control rivers and rocks, and her magic was far more interesting than she was. There were many scenes where Elanna would be trapped somewhere and she’d be complaining about being trapped, but she had just done some wonderful magic, and I’d think, “Why aren’t you trying to use your surroundings to escape? You can control the ______ (trees, river, mountain, fog, etc)!” Perhaps I’m being too harsh on Elanna, but I never felt a true connection to her, or the other characters around her. It’s not that she was written badly, she did have gumption and bravery and intelligence, but I just could not connect to her or to her love interest, Jahan.
I think the world building of the novel was done well. There are various people and rivalries, languages and magics, stories and myths. This was interesting, but I felt removed from this story, and The Waking Land seemed to take me forever to finish. Sadly, I would’ve probably DNF’d this book had I not gotten an ARC of it. I feel really awful making that statement, as the author clearly put forth a lot of hard work on this book, but I just didn’t connect and found it slow and it felt exceedingly long. Amazon has the book listed at 400 pages, so it’s not too terribly long, but I just really felt that it dragged and I never felt compelled to read it.
I do think that some readers will really enjoy this book; unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. I think that those who like a more clean-cut fantasy (although there was one sex scene that seemed out of place and came out of nowhere) and those who enjoy books that focus on magic and nature may really love this. Sadly it just wasn’t in the cards for me this time! There isn’t any particular reason I felt this way about The Waking Land (ie, the main character wasn’t annoying, the writing was good, the setting was interesting), but I just felt removed from the entire book. Bummer.

Bottom Line: Not for me. I couldn’t connect to the story or the characters, and had to struggle to finish this one.

My feelings about The Waking Land are a bit mixed. The first half of the book is mostly spent repeating the same stuff over and over again. I understand the need for world-building. It is a vital part of any story, especially one that is in a brand new world. However, the number of times the same history was repeated makes it feel like the author is assuming her readers are either incredibly stupid or have memory issues. My other issue with the world-building was how much useless information was also provided. We did not need to know the name of every servant or soldier. It felt like the spitting out of random names was being used, like much of the politics and history, as filler to stretch things out. These sections of the book dragged on and on and took quite a bit of enjoyment out of it. I also found myself incredibly annoyed by Elanna, who was immature, whiny, and obnoxiously indecisive. What I found to be the most annoying about her was the "everything is all my responsibility" mentality. The best feature of this story is definitely the world in which everything happens. I found myself wanting to know more about the side characters, previous rulers, and magic. The second half of the book was more focused on action and with the exception of a few battle scenes, made it worth getting through the first half. I was surprised at how neatly everything was tied up at the end though. I was under the assumption this was going to be book one of a new series (because of the time spent on world-building) but it seems this is just a stand alone. Regardless of all the things that annoyed me, I think that would be a shame. I would love to read more stories set in this world.

“The Waking Land” is an enthralling YA fantasy that follows Elanna Valtai. The prologue shows us Elanna’s nightmares over the life-changing event that altered the course of her life. Elanna was only 5 years old when the Ereni king came to her house and attacked her family, holding a gun to her head and threatening her parents. He took her captive and treated her somewhat like a daughter, indoctrinating her into the Ereni way of life. Elanna is Caerisian and the other young courtiers won’t let her forget it. Caerisians are seen as backwards, ignorant, and pagan. Caeris and Eren used to be the same land but the people were divided long ago, and after a bloody war, Eren captured Caeris and exploited its riches. Caeris was ruled by three- the mountain lords, the elected king, and the steward of the land with a balance of power and strong respect/reverence for nature.

Magic has been outlawed across the empire- not just in Eren/Caeris, and magicians are tortured and killed. Elanna not only tries to hide that she is from Caeris but also that she carries magic. She desperately wants to fit in, so much so that it appears she may have Stockholm Syndrome, believing all the lies that have been fed to her over the last fourteen years and hating Caeris, her family, and her people. Early in the book, the king who had taken her captive is poisoned and dies, leaving her not only uncertain about her future but a victim of the king’s daughter and new queen Loyce, who has always hated her, and her sadistic lover, Denis. Loyce and Denis accuse Elanna of murder and witchcraft (although they do not know that she has any power). Luckily, some of her father’s people have come to save her and escort her away to Caeris. Elanna resists them at every step, seeking any other option, as she has been raised to hate Caeris. We slowly watch her transform to understand the lies that have been told to her and appreciate the truth of the events that led to her capture.

Elanna also begins to understand that her magic is unique and special, tying her to the land as the steward (a position currently held by her father) also called the Caveadear. The story begins to take some twists and turns as we learn more about why her family was threatened and she taken captive when she was five years old, as well as the history of Eren, Caeris, and the powers at play in the laws and nature. This is not a short book and the pace is surprisingly perfect with how we watch Elanna grow and learn. The content seems to fit a whole trilogy of books, and I liked that it was all in one novel rather than divided as has been the trends these days. It does take longer to read than others, but I absolutely enjoyed every minute of it- the explanations and content were really right on target.

The romance is also really strong; although there is an instant attraction, we see the relationship grow and develop, and I really enjoyed the couple who emerges. While on this topic, I would mention that there is explicit sex (one scene) in the book. That, along with the violence and bloodshed of war, would make this book more appropriate for older young adult or new adult readers. There is emotional and physical torture as well as violent deaths that may not be appropriate for younger readers.

There are several really fantastically developed and strong characters, including some really great stand-out females, like Elanna, Victoire (who I wish we got to hear even more about), and Rhia. This is a really fantastic book, and I really hope to see more in this series, as I am not yet ready to let these characters go. Perfect for fans of “The Girl of Fire and Thorns” series, this was an engaging and thought-provoking coming-of-age story set in a beautifully-developed fantasy world. I look forward to seeing more from this talented author!

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This cover is amazing! I can't wait to display this on our library's New Titles shelf. This story will be popular with lots of our readers, especially those who like fantasy series like Sarah J. Maas and Robin McKinley.

I got 10% in but was uninterested and a bit confused - my apologies for not being able to finish.

At five years old, Elanna Valtai is seized from her family at gunpoint and kidnapped by a powerful king who raises her as his own, in his palace, under one condition: her father is never to come and reclaim her. In her home land of Caeris, Elanna was loved and doted upon, warmly welcomed for her natural inclination to magic; in the royal city of Laon, however, despite the king's growing affections for her, she is subjected to prejudices for her darker skin, her Caerisian blood, and her family name. Worst of all, she must hide her magic at all costs, for the witch hunters would surely execute her if they found out her blood could wake the stones and the earth, and bring forth spirits of ancestors past.

When the king is poisoned and his daughter takes her place as Queen, she accuses Elanna of regicide, and thus begins an adventure that leaves Elanna running for her life - right into the arms of the family she was stolen from. They've got big plans for her and her magic, but will she be able to leave behind the life the kingdom gave her?

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Where do I even begin? I usually try to type up my RTCs in the order that I read the books, but I had to let The Waking Land cut to the front of the line because I just have so many feelings about this book. I hope you guys are buckled in. I'll start with the positives, because this book was not a total loss.

What I liked:
First and foremost, Callie Bates has real potential as an author. Her style is enjoyable and easy to read, she paints beautiful pictures without being too flowery and descriptive, and the plot itself was intriguing to me. I always love a good story of magic and betrayal, and that's the central theme to this entire book. There were a lot of really enjoyable side characters, such as Jahan, Rhia, Hugh, and Victoire.

I actually found the main plot line to be fairly refreshing, with the whole idea that El's magic comes from the earth, and that she can see through the eyes of animals and trees and such. The entire Caveadear ordeal reminded me a lot of the spiritual beliefs of some indigenous peoples, with the emphasis on the idea that the earth is a living, feeling entity that deserves respect and kindness, and is capable of feeling grief, rage, sorrow, etc. Between that aspect, and the fact that the Caerisians have darker skin than the Ereni people, are called "savages" as an insult, and the back story that the Paladisan emperors essentially came in and forced them to forsake their religion, magic, homes, and destroyed their lands... well, I saw huge similarities to how settlers affected the native people here in North America, and I actually really enjoyed the political nudge that I felt Callie Bates gave the whole book.

What I didn't like:
The absolute worst thing about this book is that, no matter how I felt about anything else, Elanna is absolutely horrible. She is one of the single most infuriating, self-obsessed, arrogant, self-contradicting, and obtuse narrators I have ever had the displeasure of reading about. She has a nasty temper and constantly starts screaming at people for nothing. It felt like at least once every few chapters, she would completely misunderstand someone, yell at them for a little bit, realize she misunderstood (or was just wrong), and then she just moves on. She never apologizes once for treating everyone around her like shit, and she continues to treat them terribly right to the very end of the book, yet intermingled with some of these incidents, she thinks to herself that these people are her family, her best friends, etc. Well, lady, you sure have one hell of an odd way to show your affection to people.

She spends the entire book contradicting herself at every possible turn. She says she refuses to let anyone see her cry, yet cries constantly. She says she never allows herself to indulge in her magic, but then immediately explains that she goes to this special, magical spot in Laon once every year to practice her magic. She implies in the beginning of the book that she never knew she was magical as a kid until this one specific incident, but later describes that she played with magic a lot as a small child. She acts stunned to find out she is the Caveadear (which is basically a fancy sorcerer of the land), but says that her family and Hugh basically acknowledged from her toddler years that they knew she would be the Caveadear.

The absolute worst part of her behavior is her attitude towards the Caerisians, and her family. She fully remembers being pulled from them at gunpoint, and the king telling her father that, if he ever came to take her back home, she would be killed immediately rather than being raised as the king's daughter. Any form of common sense would lead one to think El should blame the king for ripping their family apart, but instead, she decides to worship the ground the king walks on, and spends her entire childhood/teen life hating her parents for not coming to get her. When she first sees Hugh, one of her childhood best friends and her father's right-hand man, she is absolutely awful to him. She accuses him of lying every time he opens his mouth, and constantly asks him for explanations only to interrupt him with what she thinks actually happened (which is wrong, literally every single time). Characteristic of her own self-contradicting behavior, though, in the span of about a day, she goes from hating and disbelieving him to being willing to die to save him because he is so important to her.

Moving on from the focus on El as a character, there are some major issues with the story and writing itself, too. The insta love in this book is ridiculously strong. She literally spends a day or two with Jahan before becoming obsessed with him, and after five-minute conversations through magical mirrors, accusing him of betraying them, and then changing her mind, she's suddenly considering marrying the guy - partially out of love, and partially out of trying to avoid telling Finn [**SPOILER** who she's been betrothed to since childhood, (hide spoiler)] that she isn't interested. After another day or two together, she's in love, and it's all just so insta-lovey and gagworthy that I couldn't even enjoy the fact that Jahan was actually a likable love interest.

One last issue I'll touch on before I let this rant end is that the author, despite having potential, has one problem that I really hope she'll focus on fixing before her next project: she frequently describes things only halfway before trailing off or changing topics, yet the narrator clearly expects us to fully understand what is being described with the half explanations. There are also several moments when a side character will start to ask a question or say something that seems important, but they then get cut off by an event or another character and they never go back and finish the thought process. This frustrated me to no end, because I kept thinking, "Was that something important? Am I supposed to know what they were going to say?" It makes the entire book feel very jumpy and dismembered.

All in all, this was not an absolutely terrible book - I powered through and finished it, which should tell you something about how much I did want to know how everything ended. That said, if El had been an even remotely enjoyable character, and the insta-love had been cut out of it, I probably could have given this a solid 3.5 or even 4 stars. As it stands, 2 stars for this one. I've been told this will be the first book in a series, and if that's the case, I can safely say I won't be picking up the next installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing company for giving me an ARC of this book to review.
All thoughts expressed in this review are my own honest opinions.

3.5
Fantastic nature centered magical adventure with interesting characters topped with action.
What a bang this author made with this her debut book. The details, abilities, personal and political drams so complex, so visually written. I hope her work only gets better from here.
Ellana was kidnapped when very young by a king that raised and treated her well, by him but she was never allowed to be who she was or see her family. The kings daughter, well she's not so kind toward his ward. Having been raise in this kingdom she becomes part of their culture, absorbing their beliefs and customs. When a death/murder happens and she forced to face her old home and family the culture clash and old hurts scar everything for this young woman.
Faced with who she really is she explores her nature, her magic that she has always hidden. This is really a fantastic part of the book. She is part of the earth, part of the ancestors souls, connected to the world. Her magic is at the center of a political war, her power coveted. She resents and relishes this at the same time.
Why wasn't it a 5 star read for me:
The romance is slow and frustraiting at times. They would separate, come together talk or not talk, ignore or cling. While I loved the love interests it bordered on obsession one chapter to disappearing in the next. I didn't love the courtship process, it felt jerky and without a natural flow.
It dragged on a bit too long on several sections, the mountain lessons, the traveling, the rehashing on the same thoughts. It needed so trimming for this reader. For a first book this was was amazing, it is rare to hit it out of the park with #1. Bravo Ms. Bates

Elanna became a pawn in a game of political power tug-of-war when she was kidnapped by the king her father was leading a rebellion against. Growing up in the royal palace, actually being loved by the king tainted her view and her memories of the family she was stolen from. But Elanna is different than those around her, she has magic that she doesn’t understand and she must keep it hidden. When the king is murdered, she discovers who her true allies are when she is falsely accused and must run to the only place she can think to be safe, the family she lost, the family she was poisoned against and turned her back on. Could it be she was lied to for all those years? These people are not the monsters she came to believe, or will one prove her wrong?

In a world tainted by hatred, war and lies, Elanna will learn the truth about herself, her family and the land that calls to her, but with that truth could be the most painful betrayal she will ever face, even as she changes sides to become the leader of a rebellions her father started years before.

THE WAKING LAND is about change, opening one’s eyes to the world around them, about coming of age and learning to think for one’s self. Callie Bates starts out with a bang high tension, intrigue and the promise of a fascinating story to tell. I could not connect with the main character once she “grew up.” I realize she is struggling with a new world, a new way of thinking, lies and the terror of the unknown both within herself and all around her, but, something was missing for me.

Perhaps, it is just me, but I found that some scenes did not belong in a young adult read, which the tone of this book appeared to be. Other times, I wondered where I was being led in this chaotic world that failed to give me the magnetic action the editorial one-liners promised.

I received an ARC edition from Del Ray in exchange for my honest review.

My rating: 2.5 stars
Publisher: Del Rey (June 27, 2017)
Publication Date: June 27, 2017
Genre: Fantasy | Coming of Age |YA
Print Length: 400 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

Ok, where do I start... it wasn't horrible but definitely not the best. I think mainly my main problem with the book was that I did not like the main character like at all. I kept thinking I would eventually like her but unfortunately it never happened. It also didn't help that the love interest (Jahan) was not very swoon worthy. I didn't fall in love with him as I usually do in all the books I read, he just wasn't book boyfriend material in my opinion. He was kinda shady for a lot of the book and then they are together like super fast. One second she isn't trusting him and thinking he betrayed her and the next everything is A OKAY. The story does have a lot of potential but I was a bit bored a few times, felt like it was too long I guess.
***** Also and this is very important***** I thought this book was YA but there is a graphic scene and I would suggest caution if you have a teen that wants to read it. My teens are definitely not reading this one.
The story did have a few cool elements that involved the magic and how it was explained.
Would I recommend this book? I think many will actually like it, it just wasn't for me.

There was a lot more than the land waking in this tale. This was a story of a young woman awakening from years of imprisonment to realize that she had been peddled lies, and that she had a legacy which she needed to fully embrace.

This book was not perfect, but I liked a lot of things about it.

The earth magic - I found Elanna's link to the land quite interesting and Bates' descriptions had me fully enthralled. I still have some questions regarding this magic, Jahan's as well, and I hope to learn more in the next installment.

The history and the old ways were also very intriguing. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding Alanna's power and the history of the Caveadear and the kingdoms. I hope more will be revealed in subsequent books to fill in those gaps regarding the Caerisian people.

Elanna's squad was filled with many complex and appealing characters. The females were all quite empowered, and definitely played a huge role in her growth over the course of the story. But there was so much more to this group of people brought together by a revolt. I loved their dynamic and found the bond that grew between them quite special.

I always love the romance in a book, so it was no surprise to me that I loved Elanna and Jahan so much. The push and pull as they tried to resist each other, and the way Elanna struggles with her obligation to Caeris and the wants of her heart. I was totally on board this ship.

Elanna was a characters with quite a few flaws. At 19, everything she believed had been shattered. She was then asked to put her life on the line to protect people she believed betrayed her many years ago. She did make some poor choices and some mistakes, but these were the missteps that shaped her and helped her grown into the woman and leader that was needed for this revolution.

Overall: a good beginning to a promising series.

Sleepless. That's what this book left me. I was desperate to know the fate of Elanna and her friends in this gorgeous and deftly woven tale. I loved the evolution of Elanna as the book progressed. I loved the twisty romance with Jahan. I loved the bevy of female friendships . I loved the complexity of the Revolution and conflict between the warring kingdoms. Simply put, I loved everything about this magical debut.

The Waking Land started off very promising; there was so much potential! But, the kind of character complexity that I was looking for was ultimately missing.

Lady Elanna Valtai was taken hostage as a young girl when her father tried to launch a rebellion. Over the past 14 years, Elanna has adopted the attitudes of her captors, to the point that she views the king - the man that held a gun to her head - as a father figure. Obviously, Elanna has some issues with her parents. So, when Elanna is accused of murdering the king and reunited with her parents and their people, she is resistant to being part of their movement to crown a new king.

I liked the fact that Elanna had to deal with her own notions about her people and the lies that she has been told over the years. This personal journey was great and I think it was an important part of the story. However, with the amount of time indicating the issues Elanna had with both of her parents, I was left surprised and disappointed that there wasn't more time spent on their relationship. I think The Waking Land would have been a much strong read had more time been given to exploring Elanna's conflicted emotions to her parents. As it stood, I felt that there was very little reason for Elanna to feel as strongly compelled to help her parents as she did. The core issues of their familial relationship were essentially left unresolved.

A more elaborate approach to the relationships between Elanna and other characters would have been beneficial to creating a more interesting main character and fleshed out some of Elanna's internal conflict. That being said, the world created by the author was interesting, especially due to it's environmental connection.

The Waking Land was a promising fantasy debut. Those who value a stronger sense of character development may be somewhat disappointed, but, there's a lot here that will interest fantasy readers.

I really love the speciall effects in this book, this book is a must read!

Bates creates a very clear and vivid fantasy world that has well thought out characters with depth of backstories. The plot line is set with many twists and unexpected turns, without giving to much away, I found this to be a fast read that was captivating and thrilling. Overall, an amazing read that I recommend to anyone who loves science fiction fantasy