ARC provided by Angel from Mermaid Visions.
Before the storm hit Tristan Hart was a heart-breaker, a swoon-maker, and life guard extraordinaire. After the storm nothing will be the same.
I’ve heard people say that mermaids are going to be the next vampires, and if it means more books like The Vicious Deep I don’t think I’ll mind one bit. The bottoms of our oceans are one of the last big mysteries on our Earth, and I think the idea of mermaids is very tempting. Mermaids represent the forbidden and the same time they represent freedom, and I think both of these themes can be found in The Vicious Deep.
Tristan Hart, the protagonist, is not my favourite male character. I see too much inside his head to find him attractive. He’s made some very poor choices. He’s not particularly strong or brave or smart. All in all, he’s your average if more physically attractive than usual guy. And that is actually what I love about him. Getting to read Tristan’s oh-so-ordinary thoughts and concerns in the face of such extraordinary circumstances is a breath of fresh air. He uses what he’s got and he blunders around a lot because that’s what any normal kid would do in his situation. He didn’t choose to have this happen to him, but he deals with it.
On the other hand, there are some really shiny secondary character (and I’m not just making a Firefly reference…some of them are literally shiny). My favourite by far is Kurt because oh my goodness I do so love a duty-bound, stick in the mud. For real. It makes me want to mess with his hair and tickle his sides to make him giggle.
The plot works. It moves fairly easily from point A to point B. There’s a bit more changes of scenery than you would see in a lot of YA, which is nice. The first bit of the book dragged a bit, and then it picked up for a little while only to confuse me near the end. A lot of information gets thrown at you at times, but as a first book in a series that’s not uncommon. The set-up for the second book has me expecting quite a bit of action, but I’ll be happy as long as I get to see more Kurt, and maybe that pocket of his…
Books with similar aspects
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
recommended to fans of the beach and adventure mixed with mythology
not recommended to those looking for super-fast paced books with a side of a insta-love romance
Don’t just take my word for it!
“The Vicious Deep will draw readers into a realm of skin-prickling mystery and brilliant characterization–I dare anyone not to find something to like in this thrilling new YA series.” Angel @ Mermaid Visions
“I cannot recommend this book. It displays some attitudes that I’m really not okay with.” Christa @ Hooked on Books
coffeeandwizards 
I’ve heard something similar about mermaids being the new vampires… although that kind of strikes me as weird. Don’t know why; just does. I guess if you think about it that really is the ultimate forbidden romance, so there’s all sorts of room for romantic stuff there. But all that aside, I think the lore behind mermaids is super interesting, whether they’re good or bad, the history of them… and I love the ocean aspects that come with them. There’s something intriguing about the ocean and the depths, the world in which mermaids live. This one sounds like a winner and I hope it does open doors for mermaid books; will definitely be checking this one out!
I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!
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