Review: Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach

Book Description via Goodreads:

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.

Source: Penguin USA – Speak, Lisa Cach (Thank you!)

My Thoughts:

Nothing I could write in this review could ever give justice to the perfection of Wake Unto Me. No words could ever perfectly describe how awesome this was.

Caitlyn did not have outstanding grades or any outstanding talent for that matter – aside from drawing and dreaming strange vivid dreams if you consider those. She was the odd-woman-out in Spring Creek. Her mother died in a car accident and was thought of as a crazy woman. Her father and her stepmother thought Caitlyn took after her mother. So when the Fortune School offered her a full ride, she grabs it to leave Spring Creek. I was able to relate to her in many ways. Her character was something that was very likable.

Cach made an exquisite combination of paranormal, historical and romance that will spin the smooth threads of Caitlyn’s life – her past, her present and her future. Caitlyn’s dreams allowed her to share her life with Raphael, a gorgeous artist who carried a burden. Every dream strengthened her desire to see Raphael for a longer time and to help him find a hidden treasure that dates back to the Crusades. She really felt that he was real. But that couldn’t be because Raphael only lived in her dreams or didn’t he?

I found myself drawn to the mystery of Caitlyn’s dreams, to the haunted history of the castle and to the abyss near the grounds of the Fortune School. The castle itself emanated so much mystery. I loved it! To add to that, the castle was said to be haunted by the Woman in Black, a girl looking for her lost beloved. And beyond the walls of the castle, lies the Abyss where Thierry, Brigette’s brother, fell. The area was more or less filled with death, loss and bitterness – a perfect place for ghosts.

Through dreams, I got to see the past of the castle. Raphael had lived there with Beneto, his mentor, Ursino, Giovanni and Philippe, a French spy. Raphael’s life was in jeopardy. Someone wanted to kill him. But the castle has more complicated stories than that. Inside its walls were a treasure brought back from the time of the Crusades and a heart waiting to be found.

Wake Unto Me is an unforgettable story with remarkable characters, following the rush of treasure-hunting and dream-travelling. Intricately woven with shocking and unpredictable secrets and revelations, this is one of the most compelling paranormal romances out there. The best ghost novel in YA is finally here! I recommend this to paranormal romance fans, maybe to historical – specifically the ones fond of the Crusades fictions, ghost story readers and everyone who wants an unpredictable read.

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