These Rebel Waves: Volume 1

I’d been reading this book for WEEKS before the pace picked up and I kind of got into the book. And even after that, just like my experience with the other Sara Raasch book I read, Snow like Ashes, I ended up being confused amidst all the politics and descriptions and didn’t end up enjoying the book at all. THINGS THAT CONFUSED ME/ I DIDN’T ENJOY MUCH: 1. Adeluna: Honestly, I felt like I read the same line – ‘The Argridians are behind the capture of Milo Iberra and I intend to expose it to bring peace to the island’ – only about 800 times throughout this 400+ page book from Adeluna’s perspective. IT FELT SO LINEAR and REPETITIVE and honestly, it bored me. There was also, through the book, so much mystery surrounding who exactly she was in the revolution and well, WHY? I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND HOW A TEN-YEAR-OLD BECAME AN ASSASSIN, and SUCH a good shot, AND WHY HER FATHER WOULD TURN HER INTO ONE IN THE FIRST PLACE. I understand the spying aspect, because WHO WOULD SUSPECT A 10-YEAR-OLD, but why an assassin? ALSO, HOW DID HER MOTHER NOT KNOW ABOUT ANY OF THIS? It seemed, honestly, incredulous and unbelievable. 2. Magic: For so much talk of magic, the evils and the benefits consuming so much of the book, we learnt almost nothing of it in the book. The plants are so confusing, and if you ask me now, one day after I finished the book, I couldn’t name any of them for you. 3. The Church and Royalty of Argrid: I absolutely hated the king and the poisonous environment he fostered in his country. I didn’t understand how people believed his with NO QUESTION, especially when he changed his mind on the very thing he used as an excuse to burn thousands at the stake, including his own brother and nephew. I also didn’t get his motivation or grand plan and I’M JUST CONFUSED ABOUT THE AMBIGUITY OF IT ALL. Where did a legion of super soldiers COME FROM INTO THE PLOT? What are they going to be used for? Honestly, I had HIGH hopes for this book. It had been on my radar from early this year, and I was VERY much looking forward to reading it. Pirates and magic? WHAT COULD GO WRONG? And yet, everything did. I didn’t enjoy myself reading this book, and I probably won’t be picking up the sequel.

Raasch's latest fantasy comes in the form of an island trying to maintain its sovereignty from its original colonizers. Grace Loray has been a punching bag for Argrid long enough, and now, 5 years into its freedom it is gearing up for an important peace treaty to put a definite end to the war with the fanatical kingdom. The island is a melting pot of cultures, with immigrants from all five mainland countries living in a delicate balance, and separated by pirate syndicates that want to retain their original countries' culture and not assimilate into the main island culture because they are considered criminals by the latter. The treaty, and the machinations of Argrid form the backdrop for our three main characters, Benat (the crown prince of Argrid), Adeluna (the daughter of two prominent Councilmembers of Grace Loray) and Devereux (an infamous Stream Raider with no allegiance to any of the syndicates). If you were expecting a swash-buckling pirate adventure (perhaps informed so by the Goodreads genres), this will be a bit of a disappointment. It is more political intrigue than high seas adventure, and the plot proceeds very slowly. It is, in parts, both character-driven, and plot-driven (though I would argue it is more of the latter) and takes you through a series of revelations about the nature of the relationships between the different cultures, and the magic of the island. And by magic, I mean 'Really Advanced Botany' - the magical plants of Grace Loray are said to be fed by the waters on the island, which make them useful for trade, but Argrid's fanatical interest in holding the island is so that they can 'cleanse the heretics from the devil magic'. Ben was interested in the plants and how they can be used for good in his childhood, but after his uncle and cousin were both burned for their interest, he had to keep his down really low. His father is the head of the kingdom and church, and so wields enormous power as well as a iron-fisted hold over his subjects, with the slightest hint of subversion being met with torture and executions. Lu was a part of the freedom struggle from a young age, as a spy and soldier in the revolutionists' arsenal and has come away with bloody hands and a heart full of regrets, and idealistically believes in the Grace Lorayan Council until shown the truth through Vex. Vex, for his part, has a lot of secrets in his past, the least of which is his torture by the church, and the hold Argrid has over him. When she recruits him to help her find the diplomat, she is still under the impression that things will change from that one small act, but they soon realize that the schemes of Argrid go further than what they both knew. The world-building of the novel takes place throughout the book, giving us hints into the cultures of the original mainland countries, but also showing it in the diaspora of the syndicates. Some of them are attached to their countries, but others want to work for the future of Grace Loray instead. The races described are mostly POC, including Argridians, and there are some multiracial characters, including Lu, so it goes into how it defines them, as well as the plight of immigrants onto the island. Another theme is how just because something isn't as bad as before doesn't make it right, as evidenced by Lu initially clinging to her prejudices because she holds the Council in high regard. One thing I loved in this fantasy world is that there was no homophobia, not even in one of the countries (yep, not even in the uber-religious one, which was especially a relief as Ben is gay); it does, however, have class divide and racism. On relationships, there are few developments, but the prominent romantic ones are Ben-Jakes and Lu-Vex. I was particularly amused by how Vex is continuously surprised and amazed by Lu throughout the book, and she slowly warms up to him over their shared tortured childhoods. Lu's and Teo's relationship as foster siblings is also a key decision point for her, something that keeps her grounded while she is getting lost in her past

loved it!