Warning: Possible spoilers for The Vicious Deep.
Tristan now holds one of three pieces of the trident that once united will allow him to save the sea and its people from the terrifying sea witch Nieve. Can Tristan find the other pieces and protect those he cares about?
The Savage Blue picks up right were The Vicious Deep ends…I think. It definitely picks up right in the middle of some action, and this led to some big problems in my personal reading experience. It had been awhile since I read the first book in the series, and unfortunately most of the details had left me. This left me feeling very much like a fish out of water. (Get it…because the book’s about mermaids… it’s funny.) I would definitely recommend rereading The Vicious Deep prior to reading The Savage Blue, unless you have a good head for details.
The book itself felt more like a side trip. For some reason I went in thinking the competition was going to be a… competition. But interactions between the challengers seemed almost friendly? And none of them really seemed to have a clue as to what was happening, which definitely made the story more realistic, but also made it kind of frustrating because as the reader it’s hard to pick out the end game. It’s a fine balance, and I still can’t decide if Córdova managed to keep it.
From a character perspective, I didn’t find myself as invested. My favourite character, Kurt, has his own storyline, but it only plays a role the last hundred or so pages of the book, and I felt like he wasn’t around as much. Tristan and Layla’s romance really didn’t do much for me. Tristan frequently thinks about how much he loves Layla and how she’s the only girl for him, but he doesn’t do much to show it in this book. I think Nieve, the antagonist of the book, could potentially be a really interesting character. I’m hoping to get even more of her back story in the third book because as of right now it feels like she’s mostly just evil incarnate.
On the plus side, the book didn’t have anything in it that made me want to angry rant, but on the other hand it really didn’t have anything that makes me want to happy rant either. It’s kind of an in-between book: Easy enough to get lost in and easier to let go of when you’re done.
Don’t just take my word for it!
“The plot raced along at a speed that was intense and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” – The Book Cellar
“There was a lot of action in this one!” – The Story Siren
“dark and funny and romantic and just the absolute best.” – In Bed With Books
coffeeandwizards 
So I probably would have picked up this book solely for the cover. Might be good for a night when I just want to get briefly lost in a book.
It’s definitely good for that!