The Waking Land ARC Review

I received an advanced readers copy of The Waking Land from Illumicrate. From the description it sound like just the sort of book for me. 

“Wildegarde came bearing a flame in her heart and her hair crowned with the pale light of stars. Where she placed her feet, the earth trembled. Where she raised her hand, mountains moved.”

It’s been twelve years, since King Antonin took Ellana hostage. Twelve years since her father’s rebellion failed. Twelve 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 goddess Wildegarde reborn, a warrior of legend 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.

The premise of this book is great. It is set in the fictional countries of Caeris and Eren. Eren conquered Caeris and now Caeris wants its freedom. 

It is written from Elannas point of view. She was taken captive by the King when she was five and raised in his castle. She has grapes up thinking the king is just and fair. The rebellion her father tried to start was only because he was power hungry. She has desire to go back to her parents and wishes to go to Ida to study bontony. However when when the king is poisoned and Elanna is framed for the crime she has no chose but to flee back to her parents in the Caeris. She discovers everything she was taught was a lie. El has a Magic she has been hiding her whole life. The power of the land which could be what makes the difference in this rebellion.

Over all I liked the book. The pace was good and the characters great. I liked on the most part that none of them were perfect they all had flaws and made mistakes sometimes with deadly consequences.

Jahan is the exception to the realistic characters. He is a bit of a stereotype. The mysterious handsome sorcerer from across the sea who seems to be the only one who really sees Elanna. It’s a bit of an eye roll. I wasn’t to keen on the romance in the story. They just fell for each other just like that. There was no getting to know each other or tension between them. They had no real chemistry. 

I liked that even though it was set in a time when women are seen as inferior to men there were a lot of strong female characters. They were also strong in different ways. 

The book ia the first in a trilogy but is pretty self contained. You can however see were the next books could go. I am interested in seeing what is next in the story. 

The Waking Land is released today in hardback. The paperback will be released later.