Review: Wake Unto Me By: Lisa Cach

Title: Wake Unto Me
Author: Lisa Cach
Publisher: Speak, 304 Pages (March 31st 2011)
From: the Author & Publisher, Thank You!

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.

And nothing breaks her heart as badly as falling in love with a dead guy.

Review: 3.5 Stars - Wake Unto Me by Young Adult debut author Lisa Cach was not only wonderfully written, but was interesting in the fact that it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. With characters far and wide and set over different places and different times it’s easy to see the love that Cach has for European history.

When outcast Caitlyn Monahan gets a chance to escape Oregon and head to a boarding school in France she jumps at the offer and heads off on what’ll be a life changing adventure. She’s lonely in both her family life and at school. I could understand the want to get away, start over and live out a dream in a school far, far away that just happens to be in a castle. I mean who wouldn’t want to do that? I liked how Caitlyn looked at the mysteries surrounding her and didn’t stop until she found answers.

She has nightmares and dreams that she has a hard time remembering, but writes and sketches the various things she has in her mind before they quickly fade away. When her dreams start to take place in the castles history she wants to learn more and find out what their true purpose is.

Raphael was interesting and I liked him from the first scene. I can honestly say that I felt he was the best part of the story, which is funny because I tend to not like anything historical very much. And I do have to say that not only was he interesting, but the time which he was from and that time in which he lived in the castle were what held my interest and were exciting and fascinating. I think this is further proof that I need to change my mind about historicals because I continue to surprise myself with liking them more and more.

Her two new friends were great. I was a bit upset at first with how her roommate Amalia treated her, but then she really grew on me with how she helped Caitlyn. And I was a fan of Naomi from the start. The two seemed to have a connection with how they each had trouble with sleeping and quickly to become friends over late nights and ghost stories.

The mystery was interesting and I felt that most of the questions I had were answered. There were a few things that I felt were left wide open, leaving me to question if this first book is set out to be a trilogy or series. Also, since I was reading an ARC copy I’m not sure if anything was changed much in the finished version.

All in all I was excited to read this title and I did in fact enjoy it. From the characters to the castle – which I think was a character in itself – to the mystery, writing and plot, Cach has taken a romantic ghost story and kicked it up a notch. It’s has so much to offer to fans of the YA paranormal genre and will quickly leave future readers looking for more from this author, just as I will be too.

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.