Wake by Amanda Hocking Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Source: Conference
First book in Watersong series
Fall under the spell of Wake—the first book in an achingly beautiful new series by celebrated author Amanda Hocking—and lose yourself to the Watersong.
Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.
Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.
Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

Review
I'm a little conflicted on my feelings for this book. I liked it, I swear. But, I feel like it wasn't really what I was expecting. It didn't seem very paranormal. If they weren't sirens I would have sworn it was a contemporary. The writing felt very contemporary. I think there were some good things and some bad things about this one. I think I had too high expectations and it just barely missed my mark.

I really liked Gemma. I liked how she was a good girl but she still stuck up for herself. She didn't let her family take advantage of her having always been well behaved. I liked how dedicated she was to the things she wanted. Even though she did give up she put up a good fight. She wasn't really thinking about her as much as the people who loved her. I'm excited to see where Gemma's story goes. I felt like Harper wasn't that important to the story. I feel like she will be in future books but she seemed a little unneeded in this. Penn, Lexi, and Thea really bothered me. As characters who are probably going to play a big part in the story, they seemed a little underdeveloped. I'm hoping their better in the next book.
 
I love the water and mermaids(in this case sirens). Mermaids have always been my favorite. I think they are so cool to read about. This had a pretty interesting storyline. But, the siren aspect didn't play that big of a part. Yeah, it was what the story was about but the book focused more on the main character than on the sirens. I feel like I might have enjoyed the story more if Gemma had spent more time as a siren. There was a nice amount of action and suspense. Gemma and Alex were very well done characters. The setting was great. This really did have some pretty great aspects. It just wasn't really what I was expecting. Overall this one was just okay for me. I plan on continuing the series as the books come out. I think I will end up enjoying the series. This one just fell a little flat for me.