Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach

Synopsis:

“A haunted castle, a handsome young man dead for four hundred years, one heck of a scary portrait of a witch, and a treasure hunt — not to mention a princess for a roommate! — all await 15 year old American girl Caitlyn Monahan when she earns a scholarship to a French boarding school. There are secrets behind the stone walls of Chateau de la Fortune, buried for centuries along with the mystery of who killed Raphael, the charming ghost who visits Caitlyn at night. But as Caitlyn unearths the history of the castle, nothing scares her as badly as the secret she learns about herself, and the reason she was chosen to come to the Fortune School. “

Review:

I set fairly high expectations when starting Wake Unto Me. The pretty cover, the unique title, and the interesting synopsis all made the book appealing on many different levels. I was extremely eager to crack open my copy of the book, and once I did, I devoured it. It was really good.

The concept of Wake Unto Me was one of the best things about the book. What if your true love only existed in a dream? Though in Caitlyn’s case, it’s more than just a dream. The idea of falling in love with someone from a different time, place, and reality is just brilliant. There is more to the story than just that though, there is sort of an element of mystery and suspense that really adds to the book.

Wake Unto Me really flew by. Before I knew it, I was half way done with the book and I could have sworn I had just started it.  While Wake Unto Me is not a super long book, it manages to captivate you within a few pages and makes it hard to put the book down. Wake Unto Me is not full of twists and turns that you never saw coming on every page, but there are a few, especially towards the end. There was one turn in particular that I honestly never saw coming, and I absolutely loved it. It made you realize how well thought-out the story was.

Another thing I liked about Wake Unto Me was the history and how it fits into the book. One of my favorite parts was reading about the history of the castle and the people involved. Though if you are not really into history, you might find those parts slightly boring, but they really are important for the most part to the story. There was one part, towards the beginning, where Caitlyn was in her art class, and for some reason, I really liked that part. It wasn’t really a contribution to the overall story, but it was a lot of fun to read, especially since it reminded me of the art class I took in high school.

The writing was pretty good; I mean I liked it, so I guess that’s what’s important. It was third person, which I really liked, since most books with romance are told in first person. Though since it was written in third person, it felt like it was slightly harder to connect with Caitlyn. Not impossible, just harder, because you weren’t inside her head as much.

My favorite part about the ending was the one twist I mentioned earlier. This twist occurred in one of the last few chapters, so I am considering it a part of the ending. I really didn’t see it coming and it really did help answer some questions. The story wraps up nicely in the end, no cliff hangers or anything like that.

Overall:

Wake Unto Me was a great book. I really enjoyed it. It was a fast, enjoyable read that I think anyone could like. The idea of falling in love with someone that only seems to exist in your dreams was extremely unique and interesting. I would totally recommend this book if you get the chance to read it.

Rating: 4.5/5

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC!