I don’t really know what to say about The Waking Land. It was good but not memorable for me. It’s well written and fun to read and perfect for young people who want a good romance with some fantasy. The first portion reminded me of an inspirational romance – sexual tension, gorgeous love interest, little bit of conflict… The chemistry between Elanna and Jahanne is quite well done if occasionally too much (of course she’s aware he’s sitting on the horse behind her). By the end, though, Elanna’s relationships with the charming Jahanne and with the land reminded me of Marian’s in The Forest Wife by Theresa Tomlinson (one of my favouritest books ever as a kid). They are both wed to the land, but in love with a man.

Elanna is frustrating. She has no choice. I hate when characters do something horrid then say, “I had no choice” to justify it but she actually has no choice! Elanna was kidnapped as a child, raised (kindly) by her captor, then basically rekidnapped by her people after being framed for murder. Every time she tries to run away something happens to alert her hero-captors or limit her options even further. “Well, now I can’t beg refuge in this other country because everyone knows I’m a witch. Damn it.” When all her options run out, then she settles into her newly forced role. She accepts it but how much of it is some level of “at least I can control this” versus “I actually want to be here.” When she does accept her new life, she gets choices again. That is when I start to like her.

She starts off as a total victim but never ever identifies as one, which is a positive. She has compassion for both sides of the conflict her father has started. Also a plus so far as wanting to maybe possibly reunite the lands peacefully. She does grow as a character. The weakling with no choices becomes strong and independent. She also has wicked abilities to communicate with and control the land. Lovingly, of course. Their relationship is very much one of adoration. When it weeps, Elanna comforts it. She feels its horror over past incidents and it shares its memories with her. It also rises to her bidding when she has need. That part I loved; the gentleness, beauty and love of the land.

That and Jehanne’s vulnerability in the face of Elanna’s love by the end.

The comparison of this to Uprooted is not apropos, as Naomi Novik is not a novice novelist. Culturally this book reminded me more of The Last Days of Magic, although I liked the latter better. Bates succeeds in kingdom-building, but doesn't allow the story to build up effectively. Events cascade too rapidly, the magic gains potency too easily, and the overall effect is undermined as a result. A better approximation for Uprooted would be The Bear and the Nightingale, also by a new writer, and out today in paperback.

Lady Elanna has been raised a hostage in a foreign land-well treated by the king, educated, castle dwelling-but a hostage just the same.  She cares for botany, for her best friend and dreams of heading off to study under a master.  Her memories for her hometown have faded to nearly nothing, her home is Laon now.  The rumors of magic from her homeland all but forgotten.

"Then the nightmares faded; my tutors taught me that, while magic is considered anathema, in truth it simply has no place in the rational, modern world."

Everything changes when her father comes for her, at long last.  Accused of regicide, her "otherness" has never left her.  To Caeris she must run, to a land and a people she no longer knows.  It's time for a revolution, birth land against homeland.

"No one in this revolution is ever alone."

A motley crew of assorted figures fill out our cast of characters and Bates' writing shines.  I loved the prose, loved the plot, loved the world-building.  Follow along as El goes to war against an empire, and herself.

"All the gods damn it.  I hate battle, El.  I hate it-I hate what it makes me into.  It makes people's lives seem not to matter.  But they do.  No one should have to die like that, not even for freedom."

You see, Elanna isn't just a hostage.  She has the power to wake the land.  What does that mean?  Read and find out!

4 stars.

I loved this book. It was much longer than I was expecting but that was not a problem given the steady pace of the story. I love that the main character is a young female that has to learn to overcome the views of a very patriarchal society determined to view her as a useless, little girl. The plot is both fresh and unusual. This was a great first book for the author and I look forward to reading more from her and possibly these characters.

When a book has words of praise on the cover from Tamora Pierce, that’s about all the encouragement I need to give that novel a try. Thankfully, The Waking Land by Callie Bates did not disappoint. It’s a solidly enjoyable (albeit not perfect) tale about a young woman who’s been a pawn all of her life and now has to figure who she is and what she wants in the midst of a revolutionary war.

Written in first person, the reader spends the entire book in Lady Elanna Valtai’s head and experiences her confusion, second thoughts, and successes right along with her. The Waking Land works because Elanna feels like such a real person. At age five, she was taken from her family by the king as a hostage to ensure their good behavior and to make sure they won’t try and rebel again. Over the next fifteen years, she falls prey to Stockholm Syndrome and identifies more with the people of Eren than those of her homeland Caeris. She even thinks fondly of the king who held a gun to her head. When he’s murdered, she doesn’t immediately jump with glee and run home to her family with open arms. In fact, she doesn’t even want to leave when they do come for her. It’s a complicated emotional journey for El as she tries to figure out whose side she’s on, who she is, and what the right thing to do is all while trying to learn about her particular brand of earth magic. People are so infrequently always rational and Bates captures that perfectly with Elanna.

Speaking of earth magic, it’s a refreshing sort of magic for a fantasy novel like this. Admittedly I didn’t quite get the point of marrying the land but the entire concept was cool to read about. Equally fascinating is the rest of the world that Bates builds. It could have benefited from a little more exploration and explanation than first person allowed for but it was intriguing nonetheless. I particularly liked how Caeris is ruled by a sort of triumvirate with the elected king/queen, the steward of the land, and the warden of the mountain with each fulfilling their specific function and none truly flourishing without the others.

Another great thing about The Waking Land is that there are plenty of distinct female characters; none of whom fight over a man. While I would have liked to spend more time with some of them, Victoire, Sophy, and Rhia all have distinct voices and aren’t just passive characters who waited for men to fight the war. They contribute in their own ways which had every bit as much value as taking up a sword or pistol.

It’s not a perfect book though. The romance isn’t anything special and feels a little like it was put into the book because it was expected although I did like the love interest well enough. The ending also felt very chaotic and rushed; almost as if the author suddenly realized she had a page count limit and needed to wrap things up. It could have used a little more room to breath.

The Waking Dead is a strong debut novel from Callie Bates and a worthy addition to the fantasy young adult world. While not breathtaking, the realness of its protagonist does make it worth your time.

Filled with magic, dueling lands, and a continent on the brink of battle, The Waking Land was a fantastic first installment in debut author Callie Bates' new trilogy.

Lady Elanna Valtai has spent the past 14 years living in the kingdom of Eren. Brutally taken from her home in the land of Caeris at the age of 5, she has since been raised by the King as a sort of adopted daughter. Tensions between the King's blood daughter and Elanna have always been high, but now that the King has been murdered, the situation has grown even more dire. Loyce, the King's daughter and the new Queen, has her sights set on Elanna as the murderer, forcing Elanna to flee Eren for safe territory, and her journey takes her unexpectedly back to the land she was ripped from. Back to the people who can't be trusted, the ones who let her be taken in the first place.

The Waking Land surprised me in so many ways. I initially wanted to read this books based on the cover alone, not thinking that the greenery on the cover would perfectly mirror Lady Elanna and the magic surrounding her. Yes, Elanna is the central character, but the heart of this story is the land itself and how it's a living, breathing entity that's as important, if not more so, than the actual humans in this tale. Having always had a greener than the greenest thumb, it's no surprise that Lady Elanna's magic would be tied to the earth and the plants, and I absolutely adored that aspect of the story.

For me, the strength of The Waking Land lies in its worldbuilding; the multitude of lands and kingdoms and how the land itself is an incredibly prominent character that only yields to a chosen few. The various lands are in a battle for many reasons, mostly for freedom, and the earth itself, again, plays a very important role in the war, fighting alongside Elanna and her people in hopes of affording the various lands the freedoms and the respect they desire.

As with most fantasy novels, there were quite a number of characters involved in many aspects of this story, and while it was a little difficult to keep some of them straight, Bates managed to ensure that everyone was dimensional and varied. Even the most minor of characters were fully developed, making it a bit easier to grasp who was who among the crowd. While the world and the various lands stood out to me as the highlight, the characterization was just as top-notch as the worldbuilding was.

Bottom line - I loved this story, I loved the magic and the hint of romance thrown in (romance really does make everything better :-) ) and the politics between the various territories. Highly recommended, and I'll certainly be anxiously awaiting the next book in this trilogy.

When I read a new fantasy book, one of the things I look for is how well the author does world-building. It can be really tricky to give out he necessary information so that everything makes sense, yet keeps the ball rolling so the story doesn't stall. I thought The Waking Land, by Callie Bates, did a wonderful job of introducing the reader to this world, while keeping a fast-paced story moving along. This was a very enjoyable book with a love story that took some wonderfully unexpected turns.

What I Liked:
Characters:

Elanna is headstrong yet is very conflicted about who she should be loyal to. Although king Antoine has treated her as a daughter, the fact remains that Elanna has been a hostage in Eren for fourteen years. She is very resentful the fact that her father never tried to rescue her.

It's no surprise that as the story begins, Elanna is certain her allegiance lies with Antoine and his kingdom of Eren. But she begins to question everything as she flees for her life, travelling to her father's lands in Caeris. Was king Antoine really such a benevolent leader? Did her parents actually forget about her? I liked that Elanna had to take in lots of conflicting information and decide who to believe.

I also appreciated that she wasn't a fool for love. She forged her own path with the men in her life, not letting custom dictate what she should do.


Most of the other women in the book were equally complex. Her childhood friend, Victoire, also begins to question what she has been taught, and must decide how to respond to the reality that her father worked to hide money for the king. Elanna's mother appeared to be uncaring and too consumed with her own pursuits to care about Elanna. Yet, she actually finds ways to contribute to the cause for freedom. Her actions are subtle and show how women often work behind the scenes to get things done.

World-Building:

I thought the author did a wonderful job of creating several different kingdoms. Eren is supposed to be the superior, refined kingdom. People in that capitol regard the people of Caeris as uneducated barbarians because they use magic and are in tune with the land. The mountain region of Dalriada is an isolated part of Caeris that is the home of the wardens of the mountains. They live more simply than the people of Eren, but are highly educated and have an intricate society.

I particularly enjoyed the complex structure of power in Caeris. Power is shared equally between a King, the wardens of the mountain, and the Caveadear, the steward of the land. However, there hasn't been a king, or a Caveadear, in nearly 200 years. When Elanna shows that she has magical powers, her father determines that she is the Caveadear. Is she really destined to be the steward of the land? Or is her father just trying to use Elanna to grab power for himself?

Love Story:

At first I groaned when I saw that there would be a love triangle between Elanna, Finn, and Jahan. Finn is set to be the new King of Caeris and there is pressure for Elanna and Finn to marry. But she has already formed a connection with Jahan. I think this plays out in a very smart way. It wasn't forced and it showed that Elanna could maintain her independence.

There is a sex scene in this book. While it does not go into "mommy porn" territory, the moment is frank so I would recommend this for older teens and up.

What I Was Mixed About:
Characters:

I thought the character of Princess Loyce was a bit two-dimensional. She served the purpose of creating a situation where Elanna would need to escape to Caeris. But we don't have any idea of why she is so vengeful toward Elanna. I would have also liked to have seen how Loyce was coping with suddenly becoming queen. This would have provided a great contrast with Elanna's struggle to understand her new role as the Caveadear.

This was an exciting book that was hard for me to put down. As the land wakes up, so does Elanna. She not only finds out the truth about her family, but finds her own way to live in the role life has given her.

I absolutely fell in love with this book. I could not put it down.

What a gorgeous book! I'm in love! Everything about this book was engaging and unique and kept me spellbound all the way through the story.
The story is about a girl, the Lady Elanna Valtai, who has been held hostage for 12 or so years to ensure her fathers loyalty to the crown. She was taken when she was five years old and has few memories of her parents and has been raised and educated with the royal children of the family. Therefore she has an incorrect education in the real history of her parents and countries history. She has been studying botany for some time as she has a gift for growing things. Lloyce, the kings heir to the throne hates Elanna, and when the king suddenly becomes ill by a poisoned mushroom that she was studying she becomes framed for his murder. Elanna loved the king like a father and would never had anything to do with his murder.
She also know that she has a bond with the secret circles of stones found throughout the country, when she puts a drop of her blood on the stone once a year she hears and sees things that most others cannot. Once she is safely brought back to her homeland she feels an immediate bond with the land itself and finds out that her magic (that was outlawed in her previous home) makes her the Caveadear, the waker of the lands. A position that has been vacant for nearly 200 years. As she grows to learn more about her family and people she becomes torn on her family that raised her and the one she was born to lead.
I am really looking forward to the next book in the series.

I just want to start off by saying how much the cover drew me to this book. The silhouette of a girl with tree branches shooting out of her fingers and the imagery of land, people, and a weapon all seem to be living within her.
The beginning pages of The Waking Land grabbed me immediately. The story took me into the heart of the matter almost instantly and from there I could not put the book down. I was thrust into the world of Elanna, precarious, fantastic, and horrible all at once because the actions from childhood to teenager was quick and the author did not linger too long where it wasn't necessary.
I liked the heroine, Elanna right away because her thoughts are transparent and I felt the same sadness as her, the same bewilderment, and the same innocence. Although there were some parts of the story that could have delved a bit deeper into the meaning of her powers the storyline was still smooth and easy to follow along.
Of course with any true conflicting story there has to be a great antagonist but I felt that with The Waking Land there were several - not just the people in the story, but the land and the history. I loved Jahan. From the instant I could tell he would become Elanna's true hero, her first love. What can I say about Jahan - he was described to be handsome, brave, and a touch dangerous. He was a sorcerer and was very powerful but like Elanna, I felt he was somewhat of a pawn to be used in the game of warfare. Jahan was sweet and yet brooding and I think the author described him better than she did with Elanna. The love between Jahan and Elanna grew steadily and nicely.
Now, a couple of things that would have made the story flow even smoother for me. First, the language of these people in the story. I couldn't tell if it was a mixture of some old Irish and Fae language or just something the author made up. A dictionary of sorts would have been nice. Second, the language was a bit hard to pronounce and once again a dictionary would have helped. There were some words that Regency England used which kind of confused me because I didn't know if the author just threw those words in because she liked the sound of them or liked their meaning or did the people of the lands just picked up those words once upon a time in England? Those were the confusing areas in the book.
Overall I would definitely recommend The Waking Land. It has beautifully described images and the rich history of the powers of the land along with Elanna's growing powers were fun to read.
I'll be looking forward to reading more of Callie Bates books.

An enchanting magical tale. Full of fantasy, power struggles, rebellion, myth, and legend. Really enjoyed this.

The Waking Land follows the story of a girl who was taken hostage by a king at five years old. That king chose to raise her like his own daughter, and she grew to love the kingdom she grew up in. But when the king is murdered, she stands accused, and has to flee back to the homeland she despises.

It’s an interesting premise, and readers won’t be let down; Lady Elannna’s story has magic, politics, daring escapes and more.

The magic in The Waking Land is a little unique, especially Elanna’s, and the folklore that she has to sift through makes the reader more involved. The story itself never rests; there’s always something happening, which kept me up late reading a few nights in a row. I loved the way Bates wove the story back and forth, taking Elanna off-course only to find herself where she needs to be.

Overall, The Waking Land is an engaging and unique YA fantasy that many will enjoy. Plus, this book is a standalone! That’s great news for those who want a change of pace from the countless series in the YA market right now. Sometimes it’s nice to read a book and not have to wait for a sequel.

So, why did I give it four stars instead of five?

Ultimately, because there were some issues with the writing itself — near the beginning, when Elanna is riding back to her homeland, her fellow rider keeps commenting on how she’s basically been brainwashed and fed false facts by her tutors. When she finally asks him what the truth is if not what she was taught, he launches into the entire history of the countries the book is set in. This is a common way to insert worldbuilding facts via dialogue, but it was literally just a page of Hugh rambling about history. No breaks, no real reason for him to go so in-depth. It seemed like an editor said, “There needs to be more context here!” And Bates just stuck it all on one page so she wouldn’t have to rewrite the whole beginning to include more context.

That’s honestly one of the biggest issues I had with this book, and I still really enjoyed reading it. There were other more minor things — Elanna’s mother could literally be cut out of the story and it wouldn’t matter; there’s a part where a battle breaks out seemingly out of nowhere with little context — but, honestly, nothing that made me wrinkle my nose and want to put the book down. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Lady Elanna Valtai (El for short) was kidnapped at age five by the King of Ereni because of her father’s political connections and designs. She is raised as the adopted daugher in King Antoine’s court but never fits in because everyone thinks her family are traitors. Fourteen years pass and El has cut all ties to her family and considers herself Ereni. That is until the King is mysteriously murdered, and she is blamed for it. She escapes with the help of a mysterious young man with magical abilities named Lord Jahan and his party of Caerisi supporters. She soon has to deal with her parents that abandoned her so long ago, and the semi-dormant nature magic she has been keeping secret for years. Magic is forbidden and is punishable by death. Will El be able to lead the rebellion that will determine her destiny and possibly her future love? Recommended for ages 14+, 4-1/2 stars.

I adored this book! The world-building was great and the author really did manage to create a rich detailed novel. El could be a spoiled princess who cares about nobody but herself (like her adopted sister Loyce), but she is way more than that. This is especially true after she realizes all that is going on her around her – i.e. her role in the political machinations of her father and the kingdom of Ereni. Eren reminded me of late medieval/early Renaissance England, while Caeris reminded me a lot of Scotland with a splash of Ireland, and a little bit of Diana Gabaldon with the magic stones and power of the earth element of the story. I loved the El and Jahan story! Finn totally reminded me of Leith from the TV show Reign, in fact the actor is who I picture in my head whenever I read about him. He’s got that whole innocent caught in the middle vibe, especially in regard to being the next king, and I do feel a little bad for him as he’s seems to have feelings for El. That marriage to the land scene at the end of the book…wow is all I can say.

There were two things I didn’t like about this book. The first was that the story dragged a bit in the beginning and end, which dragged the story out unnecessarily, and made it hard to get into and then I was praying for it to hurry up and end. Second, there was not enough background information on one of my favorite characters besides El, Jahan Korakides. Seriously, he’s El’s love interest and all you know are some vague details about the guy and he’s the most interesting character because he’s a sorcerer who completely hides this fact and manages to live amongst royalty.

The Waking Land by Callie Bates

"All she is loyal to she must now destroy"
"Mo cri, mo tire, mo fiel" "My heart, my land, my blood"

I enjoyed reading The waking Land. This story is original and unique. An epic fantasy with royalty and old magic. A tale of war and oppression.
Lady Elanna finds herself a prisoner at the tender age of five. Elanna is smart, strong and courageous. She is burdened by her position and not knowing who she truly is. There are many interesting well developed characters that I enjoyed getting to know. Elanna and the character Rhia Knoll were my favorites. I enjoyed the writing of this Author and I'm looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.

I give The Waking Land 4 stars for its originality.
I would recommend this book to fantasy fans.

I was excited to receive a chance to read The Waking Land - it has been compared to Uprooted by Naomi Novik, which I loved. And maybe if it hadn't been, my expectations wouldn't have been so high and I would have enjoyed it more. Alas.

In recent years, I've been trying to be more open to unlikeable protagonists for a variety of reasons, but I just canNOT with Elanna. Selfish, bitter, wishy-washy, naive, angsty, self-victimizing (in the "people only like me for my powers WOE IS ME BOOOOHOOOOO" vein) - I mean, I get that she's supposed to be 19 and sometimes those descriptors come with the age, but UGH. I had whiplash from how often she changed her tune. Basically? Whatever she THOUGHT was happening was NEVER happening, which took all the tension out of the book. You think that guy is a bad guy? Surprise, 1 page later you find out he's not AD NAUSEUM. Fool me once, etc.

I found the magic in the book poorly described, which is too bad because it had a lot of potential. Elanna IS the land, but the descriptions of being both a singular person and the land incarnate were few, lacking, and just not believable. I am HERE for magic and have a strong ability to suspend disbelief, but I was just not convinced. It felt like such a missed opportunity.

I really wanted to like this book - I love a good fantasy story with magic, a strong female protagonist and revolution - but this one just fell short for me. Convoluted to the point of not interesting with a main character who I never felt much sympathy for - I just wasn't convinced by this story.

This book was fantastic! It had everything I was looking for in a fantasy novel. A great set of heroes to get behind, a great premise, and a great ending. I can't wait for more!

I wanted to like this book, the earth magic was at least interesting. The main character Elanna was very unlikable though and the rest of the characters were very one-dimensional. Elanna seemed completely oblivious of the most obvious facts and changed her mind very quickly on everything which made the book feel very disjointed.

The Waking Land was very interesting at first. I liked the idea of Stockholm Syndrome-ish relationship, but it grew very info-dumpy as the story progressed. The characters didn't have any distinct personality so it was hard identifying them and setting them apart.

Somehow this book managed to be both dull and unnerving in a squicky sort of way. The relationships all seemed very toxic, but at the same time neatly convenient for the story to proceed.

THE WAKING LANDS was a great fantasy novel filled with action and excitement. It begins with a five-year-old girl taken hostage by a king as a guarantee of her parents good behavior. Then fourteen years pass and Elanna has been thoroughly brainwashed into her captor's point of view and even thinks of him as a foster father which incites the jealousy and spitefulness of his daughter Loyce.

When the king is poisoned by a tainted mushroom, Elanna is the first suspect. She needs to flee to save her life but she doesn't know where to go. Some of her father's loyal people are urging her to return home to Caeris but she wants to go anywhere else. She would like to go to Ida and study botany and a representative of the emperor who is something of a double agent is willing to help with her plans.

However, she finds herself going to Caeris and learning more about the magic that she has been denying all her life since use of magic is forbidden by the emperor. Elanna changes greatly in this story as she learns that what she knew about her foster father was mostly lies and what he told her about her home and family was lies too.

There are battles, betrayals, false friends and real ones. There is an intriguing magic that Elanna must learn to use to save her country. There is a romantic triangle with Elanna torn between the prince she was betrothed to as a child and the sorcerer from the empire that she might or might not be able to trust.

Fans of epic fantasy will enjoy this richly drawn story filled with intriguing characters and great world building.