Karen Healey (1) (1981–)

This takes place after the events of Persephone in Bloom and Aphrodite Unbound. After divorcing her unfaithful husband, Hera has her sights set on becoming Olympus Inc.’s next CEO.

She has also acquired a couple of new housemates -- Don, one of her ex-husband’s older brothers, is staying in case Zeus shows up and makes a nuisance of himself again, and Leia, a homeless teenager who Hera has taken in. Seeing both Hera’s and Don’s interactions with Leia is part of why I enjoyed the dual show more POV, because the relationships that develop reveal a fuller picture of all three of them. I really liked the found-family dynamic which emerges.

I generally prefer single POV romances but I noticed that I was enjoying this book because of the dual perspectives! It portrays the characters and their relationships with depth, without losing tension or becoming frustrating. Don and Hera have known each other for years, but for all that time, she’s been very much in love with someone else -- and she’s still processing the end of that relationship. So it’s very understandable that Don has never told Hera how he feels about her and that she has never realised neither the truth of his feelings nor the potential for her own.

And having dual POV enhanced the tension, because the story was clearly setting up these two to get together, yet I couldn’t anticipate how that would happen! I wasn’t sure how and when Hera would realise, nor how she would react when she did.

This story is also notable for being about a couple in their forties, and for thoughtfully exploring the challenges faced by women in leadership roles. So that was interesting too. I’m still sorting out how much I like the ending (subjective emotional reactions are subjective, et cetera, et cetera) but I really enjoyed reading this book. And I came away wanting to revisit Persephone in Bloom.

Well, now it was her office, and she’d decorate it as she pleased, in light woods and harmonious shades.
And she’d ask Don for advice. He’d know how to make this space professional, but not dull, and elegant, but not stiff.
So many things she had to be, so many tightropes to walk.

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Aphrodite and Heph ran into each other in Persephone in Bloom. Aphrodite is a model/actress who wants to convince the media she’s moved on from her ex; Heph is an IT security specialist who wants to stop his older sisters’ meddling from match-making. They embark on a fake-dating arrangement.

This was fun. But it was also thoughtful about things, including who is to blame when a powerful married man has an affair with a teenage girl (that would be Aphrodite’s backstory). And the way show more people approach and accept their disabilities. Heph’s use of mobility aids is such a matter-of-fact part of his life, but he hasn’t had the option of hiding that part of himself, whereas Aphrodite has been able to keep her learning difficulties a secret.

“This may shock you,” Heph said solemnly, “but I do know something about how difficult it is to move through a world that wasn’t made for you.”
Aphrodite widened her eyes at him. “No way!”

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Just yesterday, series information was added to Goodreads for When We Wake. I'm so glad that happened before I wrote up this review, because, honestly, the open-ended ending might have left me rather unsatisfied if I didn't know there was going to be more. Plus, I'm just excited there will be more, because When We Wake was a delight all the way through, populated with lovable characters, science-fictiony goodness, and references to The Beatles.

Before I get into the serious plot stuff, I have show more to talk about all of The Beatles love in this book. My parents raised me on music from the 60s and 70s, so, though I'm not a child of that age, I sure do know most of the music, and The Beatles have always been amongst my favorites, even if my favorite album changes through the years. Every chapter title is a Beatles song, but the references go much deeper than that, and you better believe I adore every single one. The songs do even serve a plot point, providing a link to her old life and a way to connect with the people of 2128 through music.

Tegan makes a wonderful heroine. Awakened over a hundred years after her last memory and informed of her death and revival, she is, understandably, freaked. However, after some time to mourn over her old life, she makes the best out of her new situation. She is helpful, hopeful, loving, determined, and sarcastic. Her voice thoughout When We Wake is a delight, and I connected to her immediately, not just because of her love of The Beatles.

Reviving Tegan a century later enables Healey to impart information to the reader in a logical way. Tegan really does not know anything about the world she's in and can ask questions and receive answers without it feeling like an infodump. Healey uses the device to the fullest and spaces out Tegan's education well. Healey does not feel the need to drop everything on the reader all at once, taking breaks for character development or to talk about less serious things like slang or toilets (in this future, people poo into compost buckets).

What makes this novel stand out from many others is that the society in which Tegan awakes really does seem to verge on utopian for quite a while. Sure, it's not completely perfect, but it seems largely better than the past. The world has warmed due to the depletion of the ozone layer, but mankind is now living in such a way as to diminish the negative effects on the environment. Homosexual love is now valued just as highly as heterosexual love, something our society really needs to learn to accept. The more Tegan learns, the more negatives appear in this future world, including continued racial tensions.

When We Wake, though not focused on romance, does have a couple of very sweet relationships. Tegan develops a crush on a Abdi, a musically-gifted, clever boy from Djibouti. Watching them slowly overcome the difficulties their situations (he's a thirdie - from the third world - and she's the Living Dead Girl) place on a relationship is adorable. I also really love Joph and Bethari, and I hope those girls can work out their issues and get back together.

The only thing missing from the novel for me were high enough stakes. There's some action and they are in danger, but, for whatever reason, they never felt especially imperilled. Perhaps this is due to the lack of death toll in the novel, or the narrative device whereby the entirety of the book is a broadcast being issued live by Tegan, since that means she survives to the end. In the sequel, I hope to see more from the dystopian government, so that I can really feel scared for Tegan and her friends.

Karen Healey was unknown to me prior to When We Wake, but I will definitely be reading more of her books, including the sequel to this novel. When We Wake is a must-read for Beatles fans and for those who enjoy dystopian stories that don't focus entirely on romance. show less

If you follow my reviews, you’ll know I don’t generally read romance. But I’ve enjoyed all the Olympus, Inc books so far and this was no exception. The combination of mature, (mostly) sensible adult characters and mythological references gives me a satisfying read.

The prose was tidy and the reading smooth. Both Cassie and Manny were sympathetic characters who had baggage to deal with, but not to a ludicrous extent. The other major characters were distinct and consistent, and their show more lives didn’t revolve round the main characters.

The mystery clues came together nicely. Sometimes they seemed a touch coincidental, but I don’t think this was supposed to be a brain-twisting plot, so that’s all fine.

Overall, a very enjoyable continuation to the series (and would be fine to read as a stand-alone). show less