These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch is a young adult fantasy that has pirates, magic, politics, and slooow-burn romance (which my heart is still craving more of). 🏴☠️🌊
And I’m a part of its blog tour! 🖤
Enjoy this ORIGINAL book tag inspired by the book—and now I tag YOU!
QUESTIONS
- Lu: a female character who’s a soldier.
- Vex: a character who’s a cinnamon roll but hides under a tough exterior.
- Ben: a character with a different outlook than their parents.
- Botanical magic: a book that understands the power of nature.
- These Rebel Waves: a book that features political intrigue and rebel forces.
THESE REBEL WAVES BY SARA RAASCH
(Stream Raiders #1)
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
SYNOPSIS
Adeluna is a soldier. Five years ago, she helped the magic-rich island of Grace Loray overthrow its oppressor, Argrid, 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 more dangerous is at work.
Devereux is a pirate. As one of the outlaws called stream raiders who run rampant on Grace Loray, he pirates 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.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then — her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, the first in a trilogy, came out October 14, 2014 from Balzer + Bray. It does not feature her hand-drawn pictures.
REVIEW
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. The novel followed three protagonists—Lu, Vex, and Ben—and though jumping to each made the story a bit trickier to read in the beginning, I was desperate to read more from each character by the end. The story took its time with each character’s development (and each character’s romantic subplot), but this made it all the more believable. I wasn’t expecting to be so invested in these characters. Now I’m desperate for more.
Also, this book combined a lot of different elements—politics, pirates, magic. At the start, the politics had me dizzy, but again, I had found my footing and was cheering for our main characters by the end. The combination of these elements were so well tied together and thought out, and it made for a very unique story.
Last, though I won’t give anything away, I LOVED the multiple plot twists at the end of this book. Everything connected, all the plot lines came together, and I kept speed-reading in awe.
I would definitely recommend this book if you’re into fantasy with political intrigue! 👍🏼
FAVORITE QUOTES
🖤 “Better to wound your ego with compromise than feed your own pride with blood.”
🖤 “‘You’re sad. People do lots of things when they’re sad.'”
🖤 “But he hadn’t expected his mark to hit him. He’d thought she’d scream or struggle over her bag, enough to rile soldiers into arresting him—but he had not expected the girl to be so goddamn accurate with her fist.”
BOOK LINKS
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
BOOK TOUR
Check out the rest of the stops along this book tour!
