Don’t draw attention
I thought Sara Raasch’s previous series was great and I hoped These Rebel Waves would be too. It was a little bit of a disappointment, but I was still an okay read.
Book Review: These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch
Rating:
Title & Author: These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Release date: August 7 2018
Series: Stream Raiders
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Synopsis
Adeluna is a soldier. Five years ago, she helped the magic-rich island of Grace Loray overthrow its oppressor, Argrid, a country ruled by religion. But adjusting to postwar life has not been easy. When an Argridian delegate vanishes during peace talks with Grace Loray’s new Council, Argrid demands brutal justice—but Lu suspects something more dangerous is at work.
Devereux is a pirate. As one of the outlaws called stream raiders who run rampant on Grace Loray, he pirates the island’s magic plants and sells them on the black market. But after Argrid accuses raiders of the diplomat’s abduction, Vex becomes a target. An expert navigator, he agrees to help Lu find the Argridian—but the truth they uncover could be deadlier than any war.
Benat is a heretic. The crown prince of Argrid, he harbors a secret obsession with Grace Loray’s forbidden magic. When Ben’s father, the king, gives him the shocking task of reversing Argrid’s fear of magic, Ben has to decide if one prince can change a devout country—or if he’s building his own pyre.
As conspiracies arise, Lu, Vex, and Ben will have to decide who they really are . . . and what they are willing to become for peace.
I give These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch three out of five hearts because it felt a little bit like a disappointment, but it was an okay read. It was a good, fast-paced book, I just thought it could have been better. Like Adeluna mostly goes by the name of Lu die entire novel, why give her such a long name then?
The synopsis sounds very compelling, but it ended up a little dry. I felt like I had to drag myself through the novel and when I had to put it down, I was hesitant to pick it back up. There was a lot of politics going on and the romances felt forced because there is both an m/m and f/f romance. The romance really felt like Sara put it in to go with the current trend of having gay romances in novels (I DON’T CARE ABOUT ROMANCE, whether it’s gay or straight. Just please stop!)
Now that I think about the “cute” shorter names these characters have, I remember that all three of them had long names and very short nicknames. Why couldn’t the characters just keep their own names and only sometimes be shortened, because basically only the first time the character is introduced the full name is used and after that, they are called by their nicknames? It confused the f*** out of me and only when Benat and Devereux meet each other again by the end of the book they call each other by their full name again for a minute. I really wonder why Sara gave these characters such difficult name if she then stops using them right after introducing them.
The magic system was complicating and I am still confused with how it works and what the rules are. It really seems more like chemistry and it’s not very well explained. I had a hard time seeing where to expect magic and where it wouldn’t be useful.
Overall I think the world has my interest, but I would like it better explained and with characters that don’t have such difficult names. I hope Sara picks up the slack she left in this novel during the next one.
Let me know what you thought of this book!
If you have any requests for which book I should talk about next, please let me know in the comments down below.
For now, let books enrich your life!