Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Wake the Dead
SERIES: The Godstone Saga, Book 3
AUTHOR: Jocelynn Drake
NARRATOR: Kale Williams
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 11 hours and 4 minutes
RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2022
BLURB:
The dead wait for Caelan.
The Goddess of Life has sent Caelan to wake her brother, the Dead God.
But crossing the reclusive country of Zastrad is even more treacherous when Caelan and his friends aren’t sure they can trust their guide.
The four friends will be tested by violence, death, political intrigue, and secrets better left in the dark.
When Caelan finally reaches the fractured godstone, he may have to give up everything to save the family he’s cobbled together.
Wake the Dead is the third book in the six-book Godstone Saga fantasy series and is not a stand-alone. The story contains danger, secrets, bossy gods, stolen kisses, a new king finding his way, a possessive boyfriend, magic, and lots of delicious angst.
REVIEW:
Jocelynn Drake’s epic The Godstone Saga six-book series contains an overarching story arc centering around the found family unit of the four main characters: King Caelan of Erya, Drayce, his childhood best friend/love interest; Rayne, his advisor; and Eno, his bodyguard. You need to read these books in order; they are not standalones.
Wake the Dead sits in the third spot in this series, and as such, experiences some inertia after the events of book one, Steal the Wind, and book two, Breath of Life. Not a lot happens in this book, yet a lot happens. Meaning that the story contains less external action, but we explore the internal strife and struggle that plays out within Caelan’s mind.
When Breath of Life ended, Caelan had an at best tenuous hold on his newly reclaimed kingdom of Erya. Yet, he reluctantly is forced to pursue a mission to find the dead god Nyx in the country of Zastrad, a nation that no one willingly enters, because the two gods inhabiting his mind have told him that it’s the only way to save the world from the Goddess of the Hunt. Interestingly, while things seem to stall out a bit in the plot, perhaps the most crucial part of the story is explored – Caelan’s internal strength. He’s a young man beset with grief from his mother’s murder, weighed down by the mantle of responsibility for the people of his kingdom, and grappling with newly acknowledged romantic feelings between him and Drayce. All of those things upend Caelan’s world, but it’s then compounded by the danger, treachery, and violence that has followed him and his friends. So what we witness is a man who is mentally taxed beyond measure. It becomes clear in this story that the war being waged is in Caelan’s mind. Can he withstand the dictates and demands of the gods in his mind to hold his own, all while not knowing who, if anyone, he can trust, including the gods themselves, who seem to have their own agendas. Even the unshakeable trust between Caelan, Drayce, Rayne, and Eno shows some strain.
Drake tells a complex, intricate story here, and it’s extremely important to the story arc of the series as a whole, even if it isn’t the most gripping plotwise. Kale Williams does an excellent job conveying Calean’s myriad emotions. He delivers a notable performance of a character who’s schizophrenic adjacent. Caelan has personality shifts due to the influence of the gods, yet he always remains at core himself. Williams delivers a nuanced portrayal that showcases his skill at intuiting characters’ motivations and feelings, and he delivers it convincingly in an authentic, non-melodramatic way.
Wake the Dead is an important audiobook in this series, brought to life through Williams’ equanimous, dulcet tones. It may not be the most exciting, but it is definitely still an engaging enjoyable listening experience that I recommend.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: