These Rebel Waves

Almost every book I read these days has "New York Times bestselling author" along the top of it on the front cover .I find that hard to believe . Two things are important for a good book, firstly the story has to be really good and secondly and perhaps more importantly the writing has to be excellent. A good writer can make the protagonists come alive with in-depth characterisation.They can make the world in which they live vibrant and surrounding. Having sadly come to the end of Lani Taylor's totally stunning and unforgettable "the Muse of Nightmares", ( which, by the way, does NOT have "New York Times bestselling author" on the front cover), I moved on to "Courting Darkness" by Robin Lafevers, and followed that withb"These Rebel Waves"" by Sara Raasch. One thing that really annoyed me about these books is that they are cliffhangers. They both finish halfway through the most exciting event in the books. they are not complete in and of themselves . This is all very fine if the next book is going to come out within a couple of months. However it is going to be probably one year before the follow-up books comes out, by which time we have all forgotten what the first book was about. A good writer can make you breathe with their hero/heroine, taste their food smell the air and feel the fabric of their clothes on their bodies. and I have to say that neither the latter two authors were able to do that, they rather treated their characters with disregard for our finer senses.I am afraid that "These Reble Waves" just didn't do it for me. There was a hell of a lot of dialogue but not much sensitivity about feelings and inconsistent characterisation especially with the main female and male. Sometimes a bit trashy; a lot of "swallowed a sob", "gasped", "blanched", "glared" etc. and to be honest I can't remember much about the book although I read it less than a month ago.But the idea of magical plants was such an original and good one, I felt more could have been done with that.It almost had the feeling/ sensation of the Rain Wilds by Robin Hobb.Perhaps for the younger girl readers?However, love it or hate it, it's a lot to do with personal preference. Thank you.

The story revolves around politics, brewing war, and the trade in magical plants. There is a ragtag crew on a boat, but I wouldn’t describe it as pirate-y in any way which is what I had been hoping for? Other reviews seem to disagree though.Whilst I did enjoy the story itself, and found the idea of magic plants really interesting, it was a little predictable in parts. My main issue though was how the characters just acted and sounded like they were several years older than they were. It was as though the author had intended them to be in their twenties perhaps, but instead they had to age them down. It was a weird feeling that took me out of the story quite a lot.Overall however I enjoyed the storyline, and would be interested to see where the sequel went next.

Yet to read but was so excited to finally get my hands on it

Read it in a day, enjoyed the story and love that I became immersed in the storyline, scenery and troubles that occurred.

These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch is a pirating adventure full of conspiracy! The prologue introduces our three main characters: Ben, Lu and Vex. Chapter One starts six years later when Ben and Vex are nineteen and Lu is seventeen. Ben is royalty, Vex is a pirate and Lu was a warrior, now turned politician. Lu and Vex work together to find a missing diplomat and settle the peace in their country. I enjoy the personalities of Lu, Vex and Nayeli, who is part of Vex’s crew. I never really felt empathy or interest for Ben until his friend Jakes shows him the truth about the kingdom. After that moment, twists pop up and I couldn’t stop reading until I finished the book! These Rebel Waves contains characters with depth and humor. They were very fun to read about and I’m looking forward to the sequel, These Divided Shores. 4 stars!