Early Review – These Rebel Waves (Stream Raiders, Book 1) by Sara Raasch (2/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 480 pages
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Release Date: August 7, 2018
ISBN-13: 978-0062471505
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Steam Raiders series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 2/5 stars

“Adeluna is a soldier. Five years ago, she helped the magic-rich island of Grace Loray overthrow its oppressor, Agrid, 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 dangerous is at work.

Devereux is a pirate. As one of the stream raiders who run rampant on Grace Loray, he scavenges 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 really enjoyed Raasch’s “Snow Like Ashes” series and was excited to see that she was starting a new series. This series was just not for me. I read the first 25% of it and just could not get into the story. I kept finding anything to do rather than read this book, so I finally stopped.

The book jumps around a lot right from the beginning. We are introduced to a plethora of characters right away and immersed in a complex world of rebellions and politics. That there describes why I struggled with this book; tons of characters that were hard to distinguish from each other and lots of politics including a rebellion plot (which I never like much).

I just couldn’t do this book and ended up setting it aside in frustration. Hopefully others will like this more than I did.

Overall this book just was not my thing. I found it irritating and hard to follow from the first chapter and tried to push through, but never was able to get engaged. I decided to set it aside in favor of something (anything) else.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Goodreads Reading Challenge