Lullaby by Amanda Hocking

Author: Amanda Hocking
Format: Paperback
Pages: 290
Date Published: November 27, 2012
Publisher:  St. Martin Griffin

Introduction                                                                                                                                                       In the second installment of the Watersong series, Gemma has gone off to live with the sirens, under the condition that Alex and Harper are not harmed. While Penn, Lexi, and Thea are off frolicking on the beach, Gemma refuses to enjoy any part of it. She won’t swim or take any pleasure in her new life, but everybody can see it. Gemma is growing weaker, getting sicker. She knows that soon she will have to swim, and she will have to eat.                                                                                                                                                     Alex and Harper will stop at nothing to get Gemma back. They don't know what she is, where she went, or how she is doing. What they do know is Gemma left with Penn, Lexi, and Thea. Those girls are nothing but bad news. Harper knows that Gemma is a good girl, but hanging around with those girls, would never do anybody any good.

Cover

       I found this cover nice but I think that I like the cover for Wake better. The cover shows Gemma (?) holding feathers. Probably from the bird form that the sirens can take.

Characters/Relationships

       Gemma is a little better of a protagonist this time around. I mean, I still prefer Harper, but Gemma is a little bit more fun to read about, and I wasn't constantly feeling the urge to roll my eyes at her.

       I don't have much to say about Alex and Gemma but I still don't really care for their relationship.

       Harper and Daniel however, make some progress in their relationship. I really like the relationship that they have. I have liked it since the very beginning because it wasn't insta-love and it doesn't feel rushed. They still aren't really serious, but Harper is more open to liking Daniel now.

The Ending

       Lullaby's ending was really disappointing. When I finished reading the book all I was thinking was,

       Sooo...That's it?...That's all?...A whole 290 pages for this?

       Fortunately, the Watersong Series still has two more books, so maybe the endings to those will be more fulfilling.

I've Fixed Everybody's Problems!
       Alright, so everybody wants to kill the sirens right? Gemma basically decided that she would rather die than eat like a siren. So, I think that Gemma should run away the day before a full moon. That way, the sirens will have no time to find a replacement, and then they will all die. Problem solved. Of course Gemma would die too...eh I've always liked Harper better anyway

Conclusion

          I am happy to say that in my opinion, this book is better than the first. It still had faults, (The ending) but hey, no book is perfect.

 QUESTION TIME

        So,   I've been thinking about starting to participate in some Top Ten Tuesdays (A feature/weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) or maybe a Teaser Tuesday once in a while. I've been thinking about this for a while but I didn't know if anybody would read them. So what do you guys think? should I try it out? 

Wake by Amanda Hocking

Author: Amanda Hocking
Format Hardcover
Pages: 309
Date Published: April 16 2013
Publisher: St Martin's Griffin

Introduction
       In the small town of Capri, the beaches are always full of tourists. When three stunningly beautiful girls show up seemingly out of nowhere, people are a bit suspicious. Especially because, a few days before, there were four of them. Now they have there heart set on becoming Gemma’s friend. While swimming one night, she finds Penn Lexi, and Thea, partying and they invite Gemma to join them. She wasn’t with them long before accepting a special drink. The next day, she wakes up at the cove, covered in bruises wrapped in a shawl. She doesn’t remember much after accepting the drink from the girls, but after that day she begins to change. She’s more beautiful than she ever was before, stronger, and a faster swimmer. A downside is that the water seems to be calling her. If she ever wants to find out why all this seems to be happening she will have to get closer to Lexi, Penn, and Thea than she’s comfortable with.

Cover       The cover to this book is very nice. Plus if have a hardcover copy and you happen to look under the dust cover, you’ll see this pretty bonus poster!

Dislikes
       Alright, let’s start things off with Gemma. For one thing, she is unrealistic. She starts finding big fish scales on herself (bigger than any fish around Capri) and just brushes it off. Then, when she needs advice on what to do about Penn, Lexi, and Thea, she goes to of all people, her mentally ill mother…I’m not even joking.
The beginning is super slow. Barley anything happens for about 100 pages. Then I still found that even after things get rolling, there were still large parts of the book where nothing happens.
       Gemma and Alex’s relationship doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I mean Alex is the semi-geeky gamer guy, who isn’t much of an athlete. Then we have Gemma. Her whole life basically revolves around swimming and training. What do they have to talk about other than how creepy Penn, Lexi, and Thea are? They have nothing in common.

Harper
       Harper was a really good character. She defiantly had much more personality than Gemma had. Harper cares about Gemma a lot, kind of like a mother does. Gemma hates this, but her mother isn’t well enough to take care of her anymore and her dad works a lot and is never really home. I found Harper very realistic.

Conclusion
       This book was good. If you can get past the slow parts, you could defiantly enjoy it. I don’t think you would be able to find many boys who would jump at the chance to read the Watersong series, but if you can, that’s fantastic.