These Rebel Waves (These Rebel Waves, 1) Paperback – July 23, 2019

The war between Grace Loray, Stream Raiders, and Argrid may have ended on a paper treaty over five years ago; however, antagonism between the three groups have grown even more intense since then. When an Argridian delegate suddenly disappears during peace talks and foul play is suspected, Adeluna and Devereux join forces to find the missing delegate. Instead they uncover a conspiracy that began over five years ago and discovered that the true exploitation of their people has just begun. Meanwhile, in the deeply religious heart of Argrid's capital, Prince Benat risks being burned as a heretic as he tinkers with magic in the hopes of curing a mysterious sickness that began since the previous war.StoryThese Rebel Waves starts off 5 years after the war between the magic-phobic nation of Argrid and the magic rich Grace Loray. The Stream Raiders, or the Syndicate, is composed of multiple factions of raiders who found themselves adrift and socially outcast from both Argrid and Grace Loray.Argrid, Grace Loray, and the Syndicate each have their own fully developed history and culture. I'm not kidding when I say, for a YA novel, this book is thick on intrigue, morality, and politics. It's not difficult to see why these extremely different nations might find it difficult to get along. And so, yes, the tension that builds is deliciously high.The magic in this world is also fascinating. When readers open a fantasy novel, most would expect magic and sorcery. But the magical system here is plant based, which might seem odd at first, but it also brings to mind wiccan magic with herbs and potions like in the TV series Charmed. Or even in Harry Potter where potions class involves different combinations of herbs and plants. And different preparation techniques create different effects. So while magical plants may seem odd, it certainly has been done before in movies, tv, and books.(As an added bonus, scattered throughout the book are illustrations of the different magical plants and its effects and preparation. Nerdy but super cool.)Overall, I think this story will interest those who enjoy political intrigue and conspiracies along with a healthy dose of magic, action and fight scenes.WritingThere are a lot of details thrown in with the story: religion, politics, plants, cultures, history, medicine. I personally love the complexity and the need to unravel motives and conspiracies.There are no romantic gay pirates. There are no swashbuckling high ocean pirate fights.However, there are good intriguing politics and a highly developed world. There are fun character interactions and an awesome cast of main and supporting characters.CharactersIn general, I thought the characters were all well written and highly developed. Adeluna was described as a soldier but I feel that while she was a soldier in the first war, she behaves more like a politician who is trying to forget and find forgiveness for her actions as a soldier. There is a nice romantic tension between her and Devereux. Benat's storyline developed separately from Adeluna and Devereux at the start of the novel but there should be more interaction in the next book.EnjoyabilityI purchased this book on a whim without any expectations nor did I read any reviews beforehand. So I have to admit I was pretty surprised at how many negative reviews I saw after I got around to browsing review sites. Romantic gay pirates? High ocean pirate fights? As much as I love these ideas, I’m not really sure where these rumors came from.I re-read the blurb on Goodreads and thought the book delivered based on the expectations set forth on the blurb. Personally, I love the story and its characters. There are a lot of action and political intrigue on every page and I was satisfied with the detailed world building and the lead up to the next book of the series.

Raasch is one of those authors whose next series is never lacking. I started with her Snow Like Ashes series and went into These Rebel Waves with high hopes. It didn't disappoint. Great banter, well-placed plot twists, and realistic depictions of trauma and relationships. A fantastic read that will have you buying These Divided Shores within minutes of finishing the first book

I bought the Audio book initially, not going to lie... I don't like this narrator and as a result it took me a while to get into. Once I did though, I felt like it was a narrative I have been looking for. These rebel waves tells the story of young woman, forced to grow up much too young, now trying to prevent a new war in a society that believes Magic is the root of all evil. Through her efforts, she learns about herself and her companions in ways she never imagined, and unveils a greater plot to ensure the Kings unquestionable dominance over society. Emotions described and relationships depicted are true and life like, a story of overcoming differences to fight for what's right. By the time I got to the end of this book, I wanted more. Can't wait for the next installment.

These Rebel Waves by Sara Raasch is a pirating adventure full of conspiracy! The prologue introduces our three main characters: Ben, Lu and Vex. Chapter One starts six years later when Ben and Vex are nineteen and Lu is seventeen. Ben is royalty, Vex is a pirate and Lu was a warrior, now turned politician. Lu and Vex work together to find a missing diplomat and settle the peace in their country. I enjoy the personalities of Lu, Vex and Nayeli, who is part of Vex’s crew. I never really felt empathy or interest for Ben until his friend Jakes shows him the truth about the kingdom. After that moment, twists pop up and I couldn’t stop reading until I finished the book! These Rebel Waves contains characters with depth and humor. They were very fun to read about and I’m looking forward to the sequel, These Divided Shores. 4 stars!

Eh. Just ok . As an adult who enjoys YA books this one just didn’t the the spot for me .This came recommended as a pirate based book and it gave no affect to it at all. There’s no pirate ship and his crew of two women . A good chunk of this book takes place on land .I found myself wanting to skip chapters because it got boring and it was too political.The world building was nice once I figured it out by the end but it was a bit confusing .I did finish the book but have no interest in finishing the series .I did really love Lu, Ben , And Rex though .

The cover is striking, stunning. I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened this book. What more could you hope for with a book that has Pirates, magic, war, rebellion, and a Prince who happens to be gay? Showing that LGBTQ love!! This book does an amazing job with giving all of the characters their individual personalities. They don't overlap each other, or forget who they're supposed to be or what they're fighting for. With a book that has more than one or two POV's, sometimes the story gets lost in trying to keep up, but These Rebel Waves was spectacular. It was breathtakingly original, and kept me on the edge of my seat! I read this book through the night. It might take me a little while to get over that ending, though. Definitely 5 stars and two thumbs up! I cannot wait for the next installment in this series!

I haven't read Sara's other series yet, but I definitely will after reading this! This story felt super fresh, and I loved learning about the way that magic works in this world. The politics as well are very real and very complicated, and we only learn the full complexity of them as Lu does throughout the book. There were more plot twists than I thought possible, and sometimes I had to re-read sections to make sure I was getting everything. But the complex politics and magic are balanced out by delightful multi-dimensional characters. I loved everything Vex said, everything Nayeli did, and just everything about Teo. I cannot wait for book two!

Almost every book I read these days has "New York Times bestselling author" along the top of it on the front cover .I find that hard to believe . Two things are important for a good book, firstly the story has to be really good and secondly and perhaps more importantly the writing has to be excellent. A good writer can make the protagonists come alive with in-depth characterisation.They can make the world in which they live vibrant and surrounding. Having sadly come to the end of Lani Taylor's totally stunning and unforgettable "the Muse of Nightmares", ( which, by the way, does NOT have "New York Times bestselling author" on the front cover), I moved on to "Courting Darkness" by Robin Lafevers, and followed that withb"These Rebel Waves"" by Sara Raasch. One thing that really annoyed me about these books is that they are cliffhangers. They both finish halfway through the most exciting event in the books. they are not complete in and of themselves . This is all very fine if the next book is going to come out within a couple of months. However it is going to be probably one year before the follow-up books comes out, by which time we have all forgotten what the first book was about. A good writer can make you breathe with their hero/heroine, taste their food smell the air and feel the fabric of their clothes on their bodies. and I have to say that neither the latter two authors were able to do that, they rather treated their characters with disregard for our finer senses.I am afraid that "These Reble Waves" just didn't do it for me. There was a hell of a lot of dialogue but not much sensitivity about feelings and inconsistent characterisation especially with the main female and male. Sometimes a bit trashy; a lot of "swallowed a sob", "gasped", "blanched", "glared" etc. and to be honest I can't remember much about the book although I read it less than a month ago.But the idea of magical plants was such an original and good one, I felt more could have been done with that.It almost had the feeling/ sensation of the Rain Wilds by Robin Hobb.Perhaps for the younger girl readers?However, love it or hate it, it's a lot to do with personal preference. Thank you.

The story revolves around politics, brewing war, and the trade in magical plants. There is a ragtag crew on a boat, but I wouldn’t describe it as pirate-y in any way which is what I had been hoping for? Other reviews seem to disagree though.Whilst I did enjoy the story itself, and found the idea of magic plants really interesting, it was a little predictable in parts. My main issue though was how the characters just acted and sounded like they were several years older than they were. It was as though the author had intended them to be in their twenties perhaps, but instead they had to age them down. It was a weird feeling that took me out of the story quite a lot.Overall however I enjoyed the storyline, and would be interested to see where the sequel went next.

i absolutely loved this book, i've really enjoyed soaking up the story while on holiday as i was able to imagine the tropical climes depicted so well in this book. I loved the main character Lu, even when i was shouting at her to open her eyes. There is loads of room for this series to develop with the characters and the ending leaves you crying out for more, i was shouting "Noooooooo" and looking for the publishing date of the next book, pretty please sara make it quick xx

Yet to read but was so excited to finally get my hands on it

Read it in a day, enjoyed the story and love that I became immersed in the storyline, scenery and troubles that occurred.