Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach

Who: Lisa Cach
What: Wake Unto Me
Where: Speak (Penguin)
When: March 31st, 2011
Why: Hype
How: Gift

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

Wake Unto Me is the story of Caitlin moving from her small town in Oregon where it seems like no one understands her, to the rural boarding school called the Chateau De La Fortune in France, where crazy ghosts stories and mysterious dreams begin to haunt her. The beginning is a bit slow, but once it gets you, you don't be able to stop!

Caitlin was a little hard for her to relate too, since while she was in Oregon, I found her melodramatic. She was really "woe is me" and until she leaves for France (which is pretty early in the book), she gets her head back on her shoulders and is good again. She was likeable and a bit gullible, which made the story actually flow correctly, to my surprise. My favorite part had to be the historical intrigue, especially having to do with Bianca and Raphael. Not only her dreams, but the things she discovered with Naomi really bring the mystery and suspense to the story.

Cach plants small seeds in your head of what's coming, but you have no idea they're actually clues until it's been revealed. I loved every plot twist and turn, because I never saw them coming! Finally, we have Raphael. I was a little nervous about that whole "instant love" connection thing, because as you all know, there's nothing I love more than a nice, slow romance (see: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephine Perkins) but they had a sweet, yet smoldering relationship that worked for the book and the mystery that they had to solve.

I do hope there's a second book, because there are definitely strings left untied about Bianca's history and the whole circle thing.