Publisher: Walker Books (2011)
Format: Hardcover | 340 pages
Format: Hardcover | 340 pages
Genre(s): Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Description (Goodreads): "Tempest Maguire wants nothing more than to surf the killer waves near her California home; continue her steady relationship with her boyfriend, Mark; and take care of her brothers and surfer dad. But Tempest is half mermaid, and as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she will have to decide whether to remain on land or give herself to the ocean like her mother. The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kona, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water's temptation and enters a fantastical underwater world, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her—and that the entire ocean's future hangs in the balance."
I may or may not have mentioned before that I love mermaids. I love their mythology and I love "The Little Mermaid", eheh. So I must say I am pretty happy with this recent 'explosion' of mermaid 'heroines' in Urban Fantasy books. Too bad most of these books are targeted to younger crowds. That was actually my main problem with this particular book.
"Tempest Rising" is your typical Young Adult paranormal romance, complete with the whiny heroine, the inevitable love triangle and the insta-romance. Plus the story was a crossover between Harry Potter and... well, I suppose it reminded me a bit of "Goddess of the Sea" by P.C. Cast. Not too much though.
I actually really liked the author's descriptions of Tempests' gradual metamorphosis into mermaid. It seemed like it could actually happen that way and she mentioned details I haven't read in other mermaid related books (the breathing system, etc)... after all it's not only about the tail. I also thought the writing was very accessible and it pulled you into the book.
What I didn't like so much were all the flagrant stereotypes in the plot which were, as I referred before the love triangle, the insta-romance and the whiny heroine or the fact that I kept thinking it all looked like Harry Potter with mermaids and a sea witch instead of Voldemort. Come on, there was even a prophecy! :P
The characters weren't much better, as they were mostly stereotypes. I think the author tried some character development by having the characters talk and talk but unfortunately it didn't work as most of the dialogue 'sounded' kind of long-winded, circular and pointless. I really disliked Tempest sometimes, although overall I could stand her just fine. She just didn't have that much of a personality and the same happened with her love interests (one was jealous and the other was jealous and tortured/protective).
Overall, I enjoyed this book as a light, unoriginal read that featured my favorite mythological creature. While Deebs did have moments of great world building (and she had her characters go through a few rough spots, which I kind of thought, was brave of her), she failed at making this book something special... it's just another YA paranormal romance. Still, a light and fun beach read.
Comentários
Well, please keep reading, and when you find 'the one' give me a warning, because I really want to read a good one.
P.S.: If she really though of those transformation details you mentioned, then that's a plus point, because, like you said, most authors forget those 'details'.
Whitelady: something like that. More like "join me or die". :P