Review: The Waking Land

The Waking Land
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

It's been fourteen years, since King Antoine took Elanna hostage. Fourteen years since her father's rebellion failed. Fourteen years spent being raised by the man who condemned her people to misery. A man she's come to love as a father.

Now 20, Elanna is about to be taken prisoner once again... but this time by her father's mysterious righthand man.

Her father wants to reignite his rebellion, this time using Elanna as figurehead. He will tell his followers she is the legendary Wildegarde reborn, a sorceress who could make the very earth tremble.

But what no one knows is that magic really does flow through Elanna's veins. Now she must decide which side she's on, and whether she'll use her powers for mercy... or revenge. 

I appear to be one of a small minority who completely and utterly loved this book, after looking on Goodreads at other ratings! I have to say, I've had a huge reading slump, then I started to read again, but recently I've been slumping on and off and I've also been super busy with work and doing long hours so I haven't been able to read as much. I've also been feeling pretty crappy lately. This book has single handedly pulled me right out of every single slump I'm in right now. Reading and emotional wise. I really, genuinely enjoyed it. 

The Waking Land sucked me in immediately from the prologue, I was drawn so easily in to the world of the book. The history, the Gods, it's lore and so on where so rich and detailed, I was so eager to know more about it and learn more about it. I was utterly hooked from page one. The writing is beautiful and brilliant and creates a vivid world that you can get lost in. It's atmospheric, pulling you in to each and every scene as the writing builds the settings around you. It's cinematic for sure! 

There's a brilliant cast of characters populating the book. I loved Elanna, I was on her side from the start. I got where she was coming from, I could see her point of view and I related to and empathised with her not wanting to be used, and yet was being dragged away from what she's known just for that to happen. Not to mention the moment her own parents didn't recognise her and she found out about their ward. My heart literally broke for her. I loved watching her grow and change over the course of the book, becoming stronger. It's a coming of age story and Elanna fits that perfectly. 

Jahan...I shipped Elanna and Jahan so much it hurt. I loved him completely. I loved his banter, and his interactions with Elanna...not to mention his swagger. I loved that there was no love triangle, I could see where the story could have diverged and given us one but nope. Team Jahan all the way! I also loved how things between the two of them weren't as traditional at the end. Jahan was just one of those characters that brought a smile to my face and he was the perfect match for Elanna. 

Along with our main two, we have Finn, who I called straight from the start and his character took an interesting turn. Alistar was brilliant along with his hounds and I ship him and Sophy pretty hard. I would love a book about the two of them. I freaking loved Rhia, she was such a badass and for me...Rhia, Sophy and Elanna where the holy trinity. So ready for a book with all of them working together and being badass and in charge. Victoire was also quite excellent. The Butcher...well...I didn't want to like him, but it reached a point where I had to snigger at his snark, particularly when it was directed at Denis who I hated. 

I do feel like the storyline with Finn and Victoire was quite fleeting, it was there and not really resolved and then things happened and then it was gone, we never saw Victoire's reaction to things etc. Likewise with Elanna's father, I'd have liked to see them reunited and sorting things out. They where almost forgotten, I thought but then again they weren't ultimately the main focus of the book, Elanna was and there was a lot going on. 

The Waking Land has a fantastic pace, the world building is rich and vivid. There's action, intrigue and betrayal all woven together with excellent plot threads. I found myself totally hooked and read the book in one sitting, which is something I haven't done in a good long while. I finished reading at like 2am. Everything came together and wrapped up so well, and the ending was perfect, although I think there's a little opening for a second book, which I wouldn't mind at all! The Waking Land is definitely one of my favourites of the year and it's an intricate and rich read!