Scan barcode
A review by solly
Waking Up the Sun by Laura Bailo
3.0
I had a hard time figuring out if I liked this book or not. To be honest, I'm still not sure.
I liked the world and the premise, but it didn't live up to my expectations. The casual fantasy/magic, the magic forest, the creatures that inhabit it: everything was great. I actually wanted more of that strange forest and more creatures, but it wasn't the focus of the story (and that's okay).
I liked the rep, too. I loved how important Lander's anxiety was. Important might not be the word, but what I mean is that it was always there in the background, and Lander spends quite some time trying to make his medicine again to help him deal with his anxious brain. It was really great. Same with the demisexuality rep, the discussion around Yban's sexuality was nice, and it made his demisexuality quite explicit.
I have nothing against low-stakes, sweet stories, so I don't think that's what held me back. I didn't really connect to the characters, though, which doesn't happen to me very often but almost always spoils my reading experience. It *might* also have to do with me being in a period where romance doesn't sit well with me (I'm aro, my receptiveness to romance tends to fluctuate wildly).
One of my other problems was the writing style that felt monotonous, especially at the beginning. I'm not too mad about this, though, because I'm pretty sure the author is bilingual like me and I know how hard writing in your second language can be, but I still wasn't in love with the writing.
The story did have its interesting parts, and I loved the world (even if I wanted more of it) and the rep (anxiety and also a side character is trans). But I didn't love the characters and characters really tend to make or break a book for me.
TW: explicit sex, anxiety & panic attacks, mentions of transphobia, bullying and emotional abuse/neglect, mention of minor violence.
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
I liked the world and the premise, but it didn't live up to my expectations. The casual fantasy/magic, the magic forest, the creatures that inhabit it: everything was great. I actually wanted more of that strange forest and more creatures, but it wasn't the focus of the story (and that's okay).
I liked the rep, too. I loved how important Lander's anxiety was. Important might not be the word, but what I mean is that it was always there in the background, and Lander spends quite some time trying to make his medicine again to help him deal with his anxious brain. It was really great. Same with the demisexuality rep, the discussion around Yban's sexuality was nice, and it made his demisexuality quite explicit.
I have nothing against low-stakes, sweet stories, so I don't think that's what held me back. I didn't really connect to the characters, though, which doesn't happen to me very often but almost always spoils my reading experience. It *might* also have to do with me being in a period where romance doesn't sit well with me (I'm aro, my receptiveness to romance tends to fluctuate wildly).
One of my other problems was the writing style that felt monotonous, especially at the beginning. I'm not too mad about this, though, because I'm pretty sure the author is bilingual like me and I know how hard writing in your second language can be, but I still wasn't in love with the writing.
The story did have its interesting parts, and I loved the world (even if I wanted more of it) and the rep (anxiety and also a side character is trans). But I didn't love the characters and characters really tend to make or break a book for me.
TW: explicit sex, anxiety & panic attacks, mentions of transphobia, bullying and emotional abuse/neglect, mention of minor violence.
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review