Sixteen-year-old Gemma spends most of her time in the water. If she's not practicing laps at the pool as an Olympic hopeful, she's in the ocean-preferably at night-becoming one with the salt water, the moon and the stars. The comparably short time that she's out of the water, she's spending time with neighbor and recent boyfriend, Alex, or trying to be the daughter her father and older sister want her to be.

Arriving on scene are three unbelievably beautiful young women: Lexi, Penn and Thea. They've entranced all the males and are the envy of all the females in town. Gemma finds them a little creepy and tries to stay away from them, but soon the trio has set their sights on Gemma and want her for their group. After an impromptu meeting with them down by the cove, Gemma wakes the next morning completely changed in ways she doesn't understand. Then, the girls tell her who, and what, she's become. And suddenly her choices become a whole lot more complex.

Welcome to the new series by bestselling author, Amanda Hocking. The first book in the Watersong series certainly wasn't what I was expecting. The back of the book mentions secrets and dark hungers and my imagination took me all over the paranormal map...except the correct direction, and I was a bit magnetized by the creativity of this author. Once again, Ms. Hocking has begun a series that even with the first book appears to have a specific direction and feels finite in its telling, which will make reading the stories that much more exciting.

Gemma is intensely mature for her age. She's dealing with the lasting tragedy of her mother and the ensuing mothering of older sister, Harper, who's only two years her senior. Harper is a bit high strung even though she has Gemma's-and their father's-best interests at heart. Gemma, even in her youth and somewhat naïveté in a few aspects, charms the reader with her newfound love, her vivacity for the ocean and the way she tackles the situation placed in front of her. I can't say I was surprised by the cliffhanger ending, but nonetheless I immediately became impatient for the second story in the series.

Wake looks to be the start of a wonderfully adventurous and dynamic series, full of high intrigue, mythology, paranormal lore, romance, and suspense. I, for one, can't wait to be swept away in the new world of the Watersong.

Reviewed by: Bella