Lullaby by Amanda Hocking

The Watersong Tetralogy Reviews

Wake and Lullaby

Published: December 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Series: #2 Watersong (sequel, Tidal coming “Spring 2013”, as per the back of the Lullaby)
Website: Author Blog 

Introduction

             Gemma, the newest member of the siren quartet, has left Capri with the sirens to protect her loved ones. She learns about what it means to live as a siren, and what happens when you refuse the pull of the watersong. The hunger is swelling inside of her and her resistance will only last so long. Meanwhile in Capri, Harper, Daniel, and Alex search for Gemma and a way to break the curse, going on very little. Gemma desperately wants to return home, but there is no way the sirens will, or can, allow her to go back to her old life. Unless they want to replace her.  

Cover

            The cover of the book is nice, but it isn’t like the first book. With Wake you have the girl underwater, and while she doesn’t have a tail, you know something’s up. Lullaby has a girl standing on the rocks and she’s holding feathers. The feathers are obviously from the “bird-monster” form, though I don’t recall that form having yellow feathers. I know the cover is trying to convey the water and the air components, but it would have been better if the girl was interacting in some way with the water. While the “bird-monster” form is featured more in this book, it’s still really a book about mermaids. 

Mermaids

            In this installment we get to see more about what mermaids do-how they nourish themselves and how the live in general. We also get to see more of what is described as their “bird-monster” form, what is probably similar to a harpy. I enjoyed those moments a lot, though most of the book is them chilling out/arguing in human form. My favourite part of this book was when Gemma was living with the sirens. It was more interesting than when she goes back home. 

Pacing

            This book has much better pacing throughout the story. The last book had a boring and slow beginning and this one is pretty consistent in delivering action or interesting dialogue. I did like the second book, and I could not bear to put it down...most of the time.  

Gemma

            I still think the protagonist has a startling lack of personality. I think the author is trying to use a wide brush to make her “typical”, without actually describing what she thinks a typical teen is. And if you knew anything about teens *coughcough you’d know that there is no such thing as a typical teen. What do we know of Gemma? She thinks houses that have white painted/themed interiors are boring, and that she likes her blue room. And she swims. She likes the boy next door, though they do not share interests, at least none that I can remember. Alex is interested in what we would probably call geek culture (yay!) and he is a nice/helpful guy in general. Gemma does work hard at swimming, until she becomes a siren. So she’s dedicated, until she has to stop. And...nothing else.   

Harper and Daniel

            As I said in my Wake post, I liked these two characters a great deal. Both characters have personalities-unlike the protagonist-and they like each other. What I couldn’t stand is the constant back-and-forth between the two that happens in this book. Yes, she has to find her sister, so love would complicate the mix slightly, though he is already involved. What, are you going to tell him to forget the climax of the last book and go away? Returning Daniel’s calls doesn’t take much time or make things more complicated. You know if you call a boy you don’t have to get married, right? It makes me feel like Harper is being a jerk. And Daniel tries to take it in and accept that nothing will happen and Harper...gets upset? Well, what the hell did you just tell him?    

 Ending

            I spoke with a teen who had read Lullaby with me, and she was also disappointed with the ending. Everyone ends up where they were in the beginning with very few variances, and a lame excuse for arriving at the conclusion is given. It left me asking, that with everything that had happened, that’s it? There is an amazing climax where you’re wondering how this will all turn out and...it ends in disappointment.

For her, the ending upset her feeling about the book as a whole. For me, it’s a great book that has a sucky ending. It happens. 

Verdict

            I highly recommend this book, and I would even go so far as to say that it is better than the first. If your teen book club has read the first book and enjoyed it, this book is sure to please (except maybe for the ending). I do not recommend reading this book before Wake, as I feel that authors establish stories right from the first book (though there are a few exceptions). It might be weird to jump in, wondering what/who these sirens/other characters are, and how they got where they are.

Wake by Amanda Hocking

The Watersong Tetralogy Reviews

Wake and Lullaby

Published: August 7th 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Series: #1 Watersong (sequel, Lullaby coming November 27th 2012)
Website: Official Blog 

Introduction

 Tourists flock to the ocean side town of Capri. This year, three drop-dead girls arrive. There used to be a fourth girl in their click. Now, they have their sights set on swim-star Gemma Fisher. There is something creepy about Penn, Lexi, and Thea, but when Gemma parties with them one night and wakes up on the rocks battered and ill, she knows that there is definitely something seriously wrong with them. And from that point on, she herself begins to change. She is an even better swimmer. She’s faster, stronger. And the water is calling out to her, to leave behind everything she’s ever known to become part of it...for a price.

The next book in the Watersong series is Lullaby, which will be released month. The book is on its way to me and I’ll be reviewing that shortly. I figured it would make sense to review the first one instead of diving into the second book.

Mermaids

            Mermaids are coming up big in YA lit right now. It’s an interest for me, so I’m not complaining. At least these lame vampires stories will finally go away. However, this story is simply not about just mermaids. Of course not. They’re sirens. The author uses Greek mythology as the explanation. They are not The Little Mermaid kind of mermaids. They’re the kind that lure males. The ones you’d actually find in mythology. So if you’re looking for a magical journey of seashell bras and talking fish, you’ll not find that here.

Genre

            Gemma gets a new summer romance that should make the teen readers go “aaawwwww!” and her older sister, Harper, gets a love life. So, romance. There’s one genre. There’s the paranormal element. All good. But then this book also has some darker moments. Passages describing rotting corpses. In detail. It’s romance and happy butterflies and rainbows, but then...some horror. Aside from the beginning where there are two girls with blood stains talking ominously, it had been a pretty standard, slice-of-life affair. In fact, it was a bit boring at times. The whole, there’s something paranormal about those three ridiculously pretty girls is laid on pretty thickly. It’s too obvious. It’s not scary at all. So I hesitate to let it fall in the horror genre, but the moments of bloated corpses lying around are jarring. Like the author couldn’t quite decide who she was trying to market the book to.

Gripes

            I hate the name Gemma. It sounds like it’s short for something, but it isn’t. I know everyone is supposed to have interesting names. Gemma sounds like you’re talking with your mouth full. Harper points out that people can’t pick their birth names, and it’s not nice to make fun of people’s names. Which is true. So I’m just saying that out of all the “unusual” names out there, why Gemma? Harper is a cool name. Penn is great (reminds me of Jake’s original name from Adventure Time with Finn and Jake). Thea is a different name. Lexi is normal. Too normal. Alexia or the variants of it can be turned to Lexi. Not special at all. By the way, if your name is Gemma, sorry. I really am.

            The beginning is S L O W . Yet Gemma’s relationship with Alex feels rushed with me.

            Gemma isn’t the most convincing character. She’s flat. She starts finding scales that are obviously coming off herself and she doesn’t freak out. Unbelievable. She’s also majorly level headed about everything. Yet she decides to get life-altering advice from her mentally ill mother. Right.

The Good

            While Gemma was boring, Harper is a much more detailed character. Their father works long hours to support the family, her mother is mentally unstable, and Harper has to step into the mother role. Some might find her overbearing. And yes, in reality she would be. I found her to be realistic. She’s trying to keep everyone safe and everything in order so much she has not really been living life. I found her eventual love interest to be more believable than her sister’s. I have to wonder how the sister got more detail than the protagonist, though.

            Also, the hardcover’s dust jacket has a cool image of a girl underwater reaching for a boy. I lent this book to a teen and she pointed it out to me. I would have never noticed! The cover is beautiful too. 

Verdict
           Great for teens who are into paranormal romances. I’d recommend it to girls who have exhausted the vampire genre and are seeking to move on. My sister, who is nearly 13, loved it. I don’t recommend this for boys. There will be boys who will love it, of course. But for the average male teen, I don’t see the appeal for them. It’s very girl central. However, Daniel is my favourite character. Alex is actually an awesome, geeky guy. The father is typical. But the story is centered on Gemma and the three girls, with Harper on the side. Writing-wise, this book isn’t the greatest penned work of all time. But it delivers a story and it gives you some entertainment. The beginning is slow, but if you can get over that hurdle there are bits of gold in here.